**Chapter 10: Have Things Changed, or Have People Changed?**
Cloud Retainer paused. The girl Hu Tao was referring to must be Columbina.
The Jingchen she had just cursed was none other than Cloud Retainer's most beloved disciple.
*I should ask more,* she thought.
"Seelie... is the man you speak of Jingchen, who once served as the Acting Tianquan, the Tianshu Star?"
Hu Tao froze at the mention of Jingchen's name, then burst into even more desperate sobs.
"He promised me... he promised that when my hair grew long enough to reach my waist, he would give me a chance. But... but in the blink of an eye, a girl appeared by his side, and she even seemed to be pregnant!"
Tears welled in the corners of Hu Tao's eyes as she finished speaking. The usually mischievous, optimistic, and carefree Hu Tao found herself unable to articulate this profound sense of loss, now that Jingchen was destined to belong to another.
Her grandfather had already passed away, and now Jingchen had become another woman's husband. It was like adding snow to frost, pain upon pain.
*I just want to be the Hu Tao who smiles every day,* she thought. *But right now, that feels impossible.*
True Monarch Xiao Yue Zhuyang and True Monarch Li Shui Dieshan exchanged awkward glances at Cloud Retainer.
*Isn't Jingchen that obedient disciple of hers?* they wondered. *How dare he hurt Hu Tao like this? Doesn't he fear Your Majesty's Rock-Eating Punishment?!*
Cloud Retainer frowned slightly. She knew Jingchen had been rejected by the Yuheng Tianquan in Liyue.
He had only recently traveled to Snezhnaya, where he encountered Columbina and became a Harbinger.
As for Hu Tao, she genuinely had no recollection of Jingchen ever mentioning any promise between them.
"Hu Tao, did Jingchen ever confess his feelings for you?"
"Ah?! I don't think so... But he did make a promise to me. My grandfather was there at the time."
"A promise? What kind of promise was it?"
Hu Tao recounted the entire conversation between Jingchen and her grandfather that day, as well as the promise she had made with him.
True Monarch Xiao Yue Zhuyang, True Monarch Li Shui Dieshan, and Cloud Retainer exchanged worried glances.
Their faces were etched with concern. A promise made while drunk, and seemingly only voiced by Hu Tao herself. Jingchen, also intoxicated, had offered no response.
Most likely, it was the kind of half-conscious, utterly vague, and hazy agreement.
Could such a thing even be considered binding?!
True Monarch Xiao Yue Zhuyang and True Monarch Li Shui Dieshan secretly conferred with Cloud Retainer.
"Cloud Retainer, we two are utterly clueless when it comes to matters of the heart. Besides, this is your wayward disciple's romantic debt. It wouldn't be appropriate for us to interfere, either morally or logically."
"What are you implying?!"
"We have urgent matters to attend to in our immortal abodes. Cloud Retainer, we'll leave this girl in your care."
"Wait, you—?!"
Cloud Retainer tried to stop the two old bachelors who had been single for thousands of years, but they fled without looking back.
Lowering her head, Cloud Retainer glanced at Hu Tao and cleared her throat, feigning composure.
"Hu Tao, child, we are destined to meet. I will help you with this matter. Have a proper talk with my stu—no, with Jingchen."
Hu Tao nodded weakly, only aware that Jingchen had an Immortal master. She didn't yet realize that this Immortal master was none other than the frowning, helpless Cloud Retainer standing before her.
"Then... would you come down the mountain with me, Immortal?"
"Ah? Down the mountain..."
Cloud Retainer's voice was filled with surprise and hesitation at the mention of leaving the mountain. But seeing Hu Tao's red-rimmed eyes and adorable face, she could only nod awkwardly.
*For such a lovely girl to be so heartbroken... my disciple has truly committed a grave sin.*
Hu Tao instantly reverted to her usual cheerful self, eagerly taking the hand of Cloud Retainer, who had transformed into human form.
*With an Immortal's help... maybe, just maybe, I still have a chance.*
Cloud Retainer struggled slightly, but Hu Tao held her hand firmly, pulling her along the narrow mountain path with bouncy steps.
In that moment, Cloud Retainer felt as if she had returned to the days of three thousand years ago.
Once, a barefoot girl in celestial robes had held her hand, skipping joyfully along this mountain path.
Of course, sometimes they would argue over mechanical contraptions, indulging in petty squabbles.
But with Ping'er and Your Majesty's mediation, they would reconcile by the next day.
Then they would run together like this, exploring the mountains, seeking beauty and wonder.
She had been a cheerful, open-hearted girl, about the same height as Hu Tao.
Now, everything was gone, vanished like smoke. She had become mere dust in the annals of history.
Unbidden, a tear, cold as frost, welled in Cloud Retainer's eye and dripped onto Hu Tao's cheek.
Hu Tao tilted her head, her face filled with confusion as she gazed up at Cloud Retainer.
"Immortal, what's wrong?"
Cloud Retainer turned her head haughtily, wiping the tear with her sleeve before hastily explaining.
"This Immortal... this Immortal is merely lamenting that a young girl like you has already been hurt by love. That's all. Don't mind it too much."
"So the Immortals of Liyue really are good people. Zhongli was right all along."
Cloud Retainer stared at Hu Tao, speechless. Did this girl really not know that Zhongli was the Rock Archon?
She cautiously ventured, "Hu Tao, what do you think of the Rock Archon?"
"Ah?! His Majesty the Rock Archon? He's diligent, benefits all living beings, and has protected Liyue for over three thousand years. I deeply admire him."
"Then... would you like to know where His Majesty is now?"
"Hmm... How should I put it? Not really."
"Why not? I thought you admired him so much?"
"Admiration is one thing, but right now, I can't even handle the basic funeral rites at Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. My mind is completely occupied with Jingchen and that girl."
"I see."
On the way down the mountain, Cloud Retainer discovered that she actually got along quite well with Hu Tao.
The girl talked incessantly, mostly about Jingchen, with occasional mentions of Zhongli, the freeloading old man who was living off her.
Her own dear friend Xiangling, and the two young men she often teased.
*Finally, she would complain about Qiqi.*
"Ah, Immortal, I really want to be friends with Qiqi. But every time I get near her, she hides away."
Cloud Retainer gazed at the scenic beauty of Luhua Pool as she replied to Hu Tao.
"Is that so? If I recall correctly, Qiqi is that poor zombie girl, isn't she?"
"Mm-hmm."
"Hu Tao, do you know Qiqi's past?"
"No."
"A young child ventured alone into the mountains to gather herbs, only to be caught in the Archon War..."
Cloud Retainer recounted everything she knew and had witnessed about Qiqi to Hu Tao.
Hu Tao stood frozen, biting her thin lip tightly.
She suddenly realized how... *foolish* her past attempts to guide Qiqi into reincarnation had been.
*Qiqi is just a poor child too. Ah, next time I must apologize to her very carefully.*
*I'll strive to become her dearest friend.*
............
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