As time passed—perhaps a thousand years, perhaps two thousand—since Qiqi had helped the adepti defeat the demons, Liyue had enjoyed a long period of peace.
It had also gained the chance to develop.
The people who had fled to the Liyue coast built a city upon these shores and prospered through flourishing trade.
They had long forgotten the war between adepti and demons a thousand years ago.
They had even forgotten the innocent little girl.
Even the adepti who had fought the demons had forgotten the amber that sealed Qiqi.
Until one day—
That sealed cave was finally excavated by miners from Liyue.
The miners cleared away the weeds.
They brushed aside branches and vines.
Deep within the cave, they discovered the amber that had sealed Qiqi.
"Look, what a huge piece of amber—it must be at least a thousand years old."
"How is there a little girl inside the amber? And there's a yellow talisman on her forehead. How strange."
"Who knows? Even if it were an adeptus, let alone a little girl, no one could survive a thousand years inside amber."
"What a shame. She looks like such a sweet child."
"Look, it seems like she's holding something in her hands."
"Those are Qixing Flowers. This cliffside is covered with them. Even the war between adepti and demons a thousand years ago didn't wipe them out."
The miners of Liyue murmured among themselves.
They took an immediate liking to this adorable little girl.
They could not imagine why anyone would seal such a sweet child inside amber.
Who could have done something so cruel?
The miners grumbled, thinking Qiqi had been wrongfully imprisoned, and spoke up in her defense.
But—
No matter how endearing she was, she was nothing more than a corpse that had been dead for who knows how many years.
The only reason she had not decayed was because she was sealed in amber.
The miners gazed at Qiqi within the amber and said among themselves:
"It would be a shame to leave her exposed in the wild like this."
"The former director of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor once said—if a body is never buried, the soul cannot find peace. She's so pitiful."
"Since we've found her, the least we can do is build her a grave so she can rest in peace."
The miners discussed among themselves.
They wanted to build Qiqi a grave in the meadow not far from the cliffs, where Qixing Flowers grew in abundance.
But the moment the thought arose, they dismissed it.
No—would it not be disrespectful to the deceased to bury her without permission?
After much deliberation, the miners came to a decision.
At the very least, they should follow Liyue's customs.
They would find the current young director of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor to arrange a proper burial for the girl.
And so—
The miners worked together to carefully lift the amber containing Qiqi out of the cave.
Gently, they placed it onto a small cart.
Several miners pushed from behind, while others pulled from the front.
Leaving the cliffs behind, they made their way toward Liyue Harbor.
They wanted to bring Qiqi to Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, so that the director and consultant there could decide how to lay her to rest.
The distance from the cliffs to the parlor was not short.
The miners pressed forward step by step. They noticed that along both sides of the path, Qixing Flowers grew in abundance, both large and small.
The faint bitterness of the Qixing Flowers made the miners wrinkle their noses.
"How strange—why do Qixing Flowers grow so abundantly along this path beneath the cliffs, and nowhere else in all of Liyue?"
"Could it have something to do with the war between adepti and demons a thousand years ago?"
"Who knows? Surely no one actually likes eating Qixing Flowers, do they?"
As a medicinal herb, Qixing Flowers had a faint bitterness that most found unpleasant.
But—
None of the miners noticed that when they pulled the amber onto this path, when the scent of Qixing Flowers touched it, a tiny crack appeared on the previously flawless amber surface.
By sheer coincidence—
At that moment, a large rock blocked the cart's path.
The miners had no choice but to set the cart aside and work together to move the stone.
But the moment they stepped away, a crisp cracking sound came from within the amber on the cart.
The cracks on the amber grew wider.
Inside, Qiqi's fingers twitched slightly.
The next moment, the amber quietly split apart.
Qiqi opened her eyes.
Stimulated by the familiar scent of Qixing Flowers, Qiqi, who had slumbered for a thousand years, finally awoke.
Though she had lost all her memories, she could not remember who she was or where she was.
But she still remembered the scent of Qixing Flowers.
The moment she caught it, Qiqi instinctively jumped down from the cart.
Following the scent, she ran desperately toward the forest, toward the place where Qixing Flowers grew.
With a thud, Qiqi tripped over a stone and fell.
"It hurts—it really hurts!"
This was the first sound Qiqi had made since awakening.
She wrinkled her nose.
She caught the familiar scent of Qixing Flowers.
Brushing the leaves from her clothes, she carefully pulled a stalk of Qixing Flower from the ground.
Like a precious treasure, she clutched it tightly in her small hand.
But she had forgotten why she picked it.
What was she supposed to do with these little plants?
Suddenly, the yellow talisman on Qiqi's forehead flickered with a cold light.
Qiqi seemed to remember something.
Yes, she was a healer. She picked Qixing Flowers to save people.
But who was the person she was supposed to save?
Why did tears well in her eyes whenever she saw these Qixing Flowers?
Qiqi could not remember.
To deliver the Qixing Flowers to her patient, she would hold a stalk up high with her small arms whenever she saw someone.
"Eat… Qixing Flower…"
"Get better…"
Some thought Qiqi was a madwoman.
Who would willingly wear a yellow talisman on their forehead?
Who would go around forcing Qixing Flowers on strangers?
Her strange behavior baffled everyone.
People would say, "Qixing Flowers are so bitter. Only a fool would eat them."
So Qiqi secretly coated the leaves of the Qixing Flowers with a layer of sweet honey.
She made the bitter flowers sweet.
From then on, a little girl appeared on the streets of Liyue Harbor, carrying Qixing Flowers with her.
Almost everyone in Liyue Harbor came to accept Qiqi's sweet Qixing Flowers.
But Qiqi knew she still had not found the person she missed. She still had not delivered the Qixing Flowers to them.
Until one day, Qiqi came to a bustling street. When she saw a towering tree, she froze.
Looking at this tree, she felt as if something was missing beneath it.
A passerby said, "Little girl, have you come to pray at this tree too?"
"Legend has it that a thousand years ago, there was a thatched hut here. A seed fell from that hut and grew into this towering tree."
With that, the passerby left.
But—
No one noticed the tears streaming down Qiqi's face as she gazed at the tree.
A thatched hut… a thatched hut…
Why did that name feel so familiar?
The next moment, Qiqi slowly walked to the base of the tree and lay down beside it.
As if leaning against a loved one, she pressed herself against the tree and fell asleep.
Qiqi, brought back to life, had forgotten everything from a thousand years ago.
But she remembered to go up the cliffs every day to pick Qixing Flowers.
So she picked a large pile of them and handed them out to every person in Liyue Harbor.
"Eat… Qixing Flower…"
"Get better…"
Qiqi only remembered that Qixing Flowers could cure illnesses. What illnesses they cured, she had forgotten.
Sometimes, unluckily, when picking herbs on the mountain, she would encounter a bad person dressed in red and brown with a small red flower in her hair, named Hu Tao.
Hu Tao would carry a shovel and dig a large hole.
"Jump in. You're already dead. You must follow the principles of the elemental cycle."
"It'll be easier if I bury you, you know."
But Qiqi firmly believed she was not dead.
She still had unfinished business. She did not want to be buried.
So every time she saw this scourge named Hu Tao, Qiqi would run for her life to avoid being caught.
To escape Hu Tao's pursuit, Qiqi often did stretching exercises to keep her body flexible.
Once, she was accidentally buried in the ground by Hu Tao, but Qiqi struggled her way back up.
She did not want to be buried.
The Qixing Flowers in her hand had not yet been delivered to the one she missed.
Her wish had not yet been fulfilled.
...
At that moment, at Wangshu Inn, Qiqi's story had come to an end.
Li Mo's voice had grown hoarse.
But the audience could still hear Qiqi's story clearly through the rasp.
They learned why Qiqi had become a zombie—forever trapped in a little girl's form.
They learned why Qiqi loved to feed Qixing Flowers to others—always triggered by strange forbidden commands.
And they learned why Qiqi did not want to be buried—why she kept running from Hu Tao of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
After hearing all this, the audience could not help but sigh.
"So this little zombie has been through so much."
"Now that the storyteller has told Qiqi's story, we can help her find the person she misses."
"Find what? Didn't you listen properly? That person died a thousand years ago."
"So what if he died? Qiqi's master is the reincarnation of the Raiden Shogun's brother. He would have been reincarnated again after death. Maybe they will meet again someday!"
"Ask the storyteller! Since he knows so much, he must know the final outcome of the reincarnations."
"Where has he been reincarnated now?"
...
From the earlier story of the Twin Electro Archons, the audience already knew that the soul of the Raiden Shogun's brother—the soul of Qiqi's master—had been reincarnated countless times for some reason.
From thousands of years ago to the present, he must have been reincarnated dozens, perhaps even hundreds, of times.
Where had he been reincarnated now?
The audience was full of questions.
They looked toward the corner of the inn and saw Qiqi, sitting in Keqing's arms, as if she had fallen asleep.
The audience turned their attention back to the stage.
They wanted to help Qiqi find her master and fulfill her wish.
But unfortunately, though Li Mo saw their eager gazes and understood their feelings, he could not reveal his identity now.
Not until he completed his hundredth lifetime mission and obtained his reward.
If his identity were exposed, the efforts of his first ninety-nine lifetimes, and the sacrifices of his companions in those lifetimes, would all be for nothing.
Li Mo sighed.
After a long silence, he said, "You guessed correctly. Qiqi's master died, but his soul did not enter the underworld, nor did it disappear."
"It entered the cycle of reincarnation once more."
As soon as he spoke, the audience erupted.
"Just as I thought—as long as he's not dead, Qiqi still has a chance to fulfill her wish."
"Poor Qiqi. She still has a chance to see her master again."
"Storyteller, where has Qiqi's master been reincarnated this time?"
"Hurry up and tell us, or I swear I'll go up there and give you a special Liyue specialty—"
"What kind of Liyue specialty?"
"Threatening letters, of course. As the most prosperous commercial hub in all of Teyvat, every threatening letter in Teyvat is produced right here in Liyue Harbor."
...
Faced with the audience's urging, Li Mo remained silent.
The Raiden sisters of his first life—though not his biological sisters—had made him understand the meaning of family.
The little girl Qiqi of his second life—though a disciple he had taken in along the way—had shown him the eternal bond between master and student.
In his third reincarnation, he would be reborn in ancient Mondstadt, where he would witness the birth of freedom.