Chapter 26: Winning a Battle, Losing a Lifetime
Inside the Moonsea Pavilion, Keqing let out a long sigh of relief. This time, she had finally made Jingchen and Columbine pay a price.
Ningguang remained with her eyes tightly closed, her face pale and strained.
Keqing looked at Ningguang with a puzzled expression. "Ningguang, we should have won this time, right?"
Ningguang sighed softly. "Winning a battle but losing a lifetime—what's there to celebrate?!"
Keqing, who had just begun to feel a flicker of joy, lowered her gaze and her face darkened at Ningguang's words.
As Ningguang had said, they had won a battle but lost a lifetime.
From now on, she and Jingchen would become strangers, their paths diverging further and further.
After ten years of separation, when she turned back, he would already be standing beside another woman.
Even in her twilight years, Jingchen wouldn't appear before her.
Thinking of this, even the strong and decisive Keqing couldn't help but feel her nose sting, and she choked back tears.
Ganyu hurried forward to comfort her.
"Keqing, it's alright, it's alright. We need to focus on our work and govern Liyue well."
Keqing remained somewhat bewildered, her mind drifting back to the days when she and Jingchen had served together as Seven Stars in the Moonsea Pavilion.
She remembered that bright, sunny summer day, shaded by the trees, when he had mustered the courage to confess his feelings.
But she, with no experience in love, had rejected him.
Nothing remained, nothing at all.
If she had accepted his confession back then, perhaps everything would be different now.
Regret, remorse, loss.
So much regret, yet not a single chance to change things.
Seeing Ningguang and Keqing's expressions grow increasingly strained, Ganyu quickly changed the subject.
"Tomorrow is the Rite of Descension. I wonder what kind of contract the Rock Archon will make this year?!"
***
On the other side of the harbor, Jingchen sat with Columbine by the edge of Liyue Harbor, enjoying grilled fish and the sea breeze.
"Achen, Ningguang and Keqing were terrifying when they got serious."
"What can you do? That's their specialty, and this is their territory."
"They were settling a personal score, weren't they?"
Jingchen smiled wryly and nodded at Columbine.
"Actually, it wasn't too bad. If Senior Sister Ganyu had joined them, that would have been truly impossible for us."
"Senior Sister Ganyu? Is she really that terrifying? I always thought she was just a gentle and kind senior sister."
Jingchen handed Columbine a piece of grilled fish, adding with a hint of relief, "When Senior Sister Ganyu gets serious about her work, her mind becomes incredibly sharp and her insights are astonishing. She's even more terrifying than Yae Miko."
"Oh?! Do you have an example?"
"Last time, I confessed my feelings to Yae Miko in Inazuma. After she rejected me, she kept treating me poorly. She'd keep me at arm's length while freeloading off my labor. I immediately wrote to Senior Sister Ganyu, telling her about my miserable situation in Inazuma. The next morning, Senior Sister Ganyu found me and dragged me to the Grand Narukami Shrine. After her impassioned arguments, Yae Miko finally apologized and promised not to go too far with me again."
Columbine smiled wryly, clenching her jade fist slightly.
"Next time that fox Yae Miko bullies you again, I won't hold back."
Jingchen gently pinched Columbine's cheek.
"Not hold back? What do you mean by that?"
"I'll burn down her Yae Publishing House."
Jingchen waved his hand helplessly, pulling out a stack of Yae Publishing House light novels from Columbine's dimensional backpack.
Inazuma had closed itself off due to the Vision Hunt Decree, yet Columbine had still asked him to buy her the latest Yae Publishing House light novels.
He had even used some special methods to obtain them.
It was clear how determined Columbine was to avenge him.
Blushing furiously, Columbine pouted and stammered, "I... these don't count, they don't count! Anyway, if that fox dares to bully you again, I'll definitely burn down her Yae Publishing House!!"
Jingchen could only smile silently. No matter what, even in this childishly angry state, Columbine was utterly adorable.
"Alright, Aya, let's take one last stroll through Liyue together."
Jingchen offered his hand to Columbine, who happily grasped it and let him pull her up.
Then, Jingchen took out a handkerchief and gently wiped the grilled fish crumbs from the corner of Columbine's mouth.
(Some words can't be written.)
***
After spending the entire afternoon exploring Liyue Harbor and Columbine, the two of them prepared to return to the Northland Bank.
On the wooden bridge connecting Chihuo Rock and Feiyun Slope, Jingchen glanced back and saw them.
The girl with short golden hair, dressed in a white-themed outfit, stood beside Paimon, the emergency food floating in the air.
"Wow!! Traveler, look, look! This place is so bustling!"
The voice froze Jingchen in place. Deep within his memory, he felt as if another girl had spoken in a similar tone.
Was she a dragon, bound to endless cycles of reincarnation, rebirth, and imprisonment?
The words "reincarnation," "rebirth," and "shackles" flashed repeatedly through his mind, yet he couldn't recall anything specific.
Lumine nodded slightly, her gaze shifting unnaturally between Jingchen and Columbine.
Columbine closed her eyes and smiled faintly, whispering in Jingchen's ear, "Is that the Traveler Rosalyne mentioned?!"
"Yes."
Paimon pointed at Jingchen and Columbine.
"Traveler, they... they... they feel so strong! Could they be the legendary Seven Stars of Liyue?!"
Columbine said calmly to Paimon, "We're not the Seven Stars. We're Fatui Harbingers."
"Huh?! Harbingers?!"
Lumine drew her Dull Blade, and Paimon immediately hid behind her.
"Traveler, they said they're Harbingers?! Like the Lady?!"
Jingchen waved his hand helplessly.
"Lumine, Paimon, this is Liyue Harbor. Peace is the main theme here. Put away your Dull Blade."
Lumine paused, then asked in surprise, "How do you know my name?!"
Jingchen looked slightly embarrassed, covering his forehead.
"The other Fatui told me! Can we move on now?! If you don't put away your Dull Blade, we'll all end up at the Ministry of Civil Affairs for tea."
Hearing no hostility in Jingchen's tone, Lumine finally lowered her Dull Blade.
"Lumine, I mean you no harm. At least in Liyue, you'll find things far more peaceful than you imagine. Farewell."
Jingchen took Columbine's hand and turned to leave.
The Geo Archon's Heart had been recovered, and Rosalyne and Tartaglia had already set off back to Snezhnaya.
Lumine's Archon Quest probably had nothing left to accomplish.
*Sigh... the butterfly effect I triggered seems a bit too extreme.*
Columbine stood beside Jingchen, her voice soft and melancholic. "You were staring at her just now?!"
"Ah?! Aya, I was looking at the Dull Blade in her hand. After all, blades and swords are unforgiving."
Columbine snorted softly and, to Jingchen's surprise, pulled out her notebook again to record.
*Third year with Jingchen, autumn, September 22nd. Saw the legendary Lumine. My Jingchen was staring at her the whole time. It seemed unnatural, even Ningguang and Keqing don't act like that. I'll have to settle this with her later.*
Jingchen continued to explain. "I was just curious, Aya, just curious."
"How curious are you?!"
Jingchen couldn't possibly reveal that he had used "Lumine" to explore this world extensively.
"I swear, I'll never be curious about her again, Aya."
"That's more like it."
.....
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(End of Chapter)