Yunqin walked toward Liyue Harbor in the morning light, her fingertips still holding the warmth from pinching Xiao's cheek, her heart full of anticipation.
She planned to buy some candied chestnuts to tide her over before heading to Wanmin Restaurant to find Xiangling. With luck, she might even make it in time for a fresh hot meal.
With these thoughts in mind, Yunqin waved at Uncle Wang's chestnut stall from a distance, her voice crisp and clear: "Uncle Wang! Are today's chestnuts still hot? I'll take a catty!"
Before her words had even faded, Uncle Wang, who always smiled and replied, "Coming right up," acted as if he hadn't heard her. He merely glanced at her hastily and hurriedly stuffed the chestnuts into a burlap sack.
At a nearby snack stall, a child with braided hair held a tanghulu and was about to speak when Auntie Li abruptly covered their mouth.
The smile on Yunqin's face stiffened.
Is everyone busy packing up their stalls?
But the sun had only just risen, hadn't it?
Maybe something happened at home, yeah...
She comforted herself this way, but her pace slowed.
Only when her stomach growled did she remember that her usual restaurant was just ahead. She cheered herself up and walked toward the familiar wooden sign.
Just as she arrived at the restaurant's entrance, the waiter's smiling face, which had been greeting customers, instantly turned as white as paper, as if he had seen some fierce and vicious demon.
The cloth in his hand fell to the ground with a thud, and he turned to rush back into the shop, banging the two wooden doors shut with a crash.
Immediately after, the click of the bolt sliding into place behind the door echoed, sounding especially jarring on the empty street.
"Eh? Uncle Zhang? It's me, Yunqin!" Yunqin stood there stunned, reaching out to knock on the cold wooden door, the sensation transmitted through her knuckles making her heart panic. "I want to come in and have a bowl of vegetable noodles with a braised egg..."
Her words had just fallen when she caught a glimpse of the pedestrians around her stopping in their tracks.
Some hid behind stalls, some huddled under the eaves of shops...
One by one, they pointed at her from a distance, their whispering voices like tiny needles, densely pricking her ears:
"It's Yunqin. Why hasn't she been taken away by the Millelith yet?"
"I heard she's possessed by a god's lingering resentment, and when she goes mad, she will hurt people!"
"Stay away quickly, don't get tangled up with her!"
Yunqin's heart sank with a thud, and the warmth at her fingertips vanished in an instant.
She knocked hard on the door, refusing to give up, her voice carrying a faint, barely perceptible tremor: "Uncle Zhang, please open the door..."
This time, the door finally opened a crack.
The restaurant owner, Uncle Zhang, peeked his face out from the gap.
He first gave Yunqin a deep look, his expression so complicated it made her heart race, before cautiously stepping out and deliberately standing three steps away from her.
"Miss Yunqin, are you... are you all right?" Uncle Zhang gripped his apron tightly with both hands, even his voice trembling slightly.
"I'm fine!" Yunqin nodded hastily, trying to point to the menu. "I just want a bowl of noodles. You said before that the new broth was freshly brewed..."
Her hand had just been raised halfway when Uncle Zhang jumped back as if he had been burned, only relaxing when his back hit the door.
He glanced at the growing crowd of onlookers around them, his voice lowered to a whisper, filled with unconcealable difficulty: "I'm sorry, miss. Today... today we've run out of ingredients. We're closed!"
"Please come back another day."
"Run out?" Yunqin turned her head, looking past Uncle Zhang's figure into the shop.
Three tables of diners were clearly still sitting in the main hall, the bowls and chopsticks on the tables uncleared, the air still floating with the rich aroma of chicken soup, and she could even see smoke still rising from the kitchen chimney.
Just as she was about to press for more, she saw Uncle Zhang point quickly at the adjacent wall, then abruptly turn and retreat into the shop.
"Thud!" The main door slammed shut once more, without even a single extra word of explanation.
Yunqin looked in the direction he had pointed, her heart instantly feeling as if it had been struck by a heavy hammer, even her breathing halting.
A brand-new notice was pasted on the wall, featuring her portrait prominently upon it, her features clearly depicted.
The text below it was written in striking red ink: "Yunqin, unfortunately possessed by a god's lingering resentment, may suddenly go mad and harm innocent people, Anyone who sees this person must immediately report to the Millelith and maintain a safe distance of ten steps or more, Do not approach, Do not communicate!"
"Possessed by a god's lingering resentment..." Yunqin murmured the words, her fingers trembling as she touched the notice, the rough paper feeling so cold it made her whole body shiver.
She suddenly raised her head to look around; the people who had just been whispering secretly among themselves instantly scattered like a startled flock of birds when they saw her look over.
"Hurry, find the Millelith! She's at the restaurant entrance!" someone shouted while running, completely disregarding Yunqin's feelings.
"No! I'm not possessed! I've already driven the Abyss out!" Yunqin shouted at their retreating backs, her voice choked with sobs.
The only responses she received were the receding footsteps and the "whoosh" of the wind blowing through the street, as if mocking her wretched state.
She ripped the notice off the wall, her hands tearing it into shreds. Scraps of paper fell from between her fingers, drifting onto the bluestone slabs at her feet, mirroring her shattered heart.
"Why did they write this..." She crouched down, picking up a piece of paper, her fingertips squeezing it so hard it nearly crumbled.
A stubborn thought kept her going as she walked toward the snack stall and grocery store next door.
But at every shop, either the staff member poked their head out of the window, only to instantly shrink back and lock the window with a "click" upon seeing her;
Or a door that had just been pushed open a crack would slam shut with a "bang" the moment they saw her, denying her even a single chance to speak.
She walked along the street, and seeing the walls plastered with notices of herself, she tore them down one by one.
The edges of the paper sliced her fingers, and beads of blood welled up, but she hardly noticed. She just kept tearing the notices, crying and explaining, "I'm okay! I've already defeated the Abyss! Please believe me!"
But no one believed her.
Even the old stonemason, who used to engrave Rock Jade with her, hid in his workshop, peeking through the crack in the door. His eyes were filled with fear, none of the warmth from his usual "Yunqin girl, you carve well."
Yunqin's footsteps grew heavier and heavier, the street before her began to spin, and tears blurred her vision.
She had tried so hard, fought with all her might to drive the Abyss out, and Xiao had said she could still go back to how things were.
But why?
Why was even Liyue Harbor rejecting her now?
Just then, a colorful leather ball rolled to her feet.
Three children ran over. The smallest one, wearing a bun, tilted up her chubby little face, reached out her small hand, and said timidly, "Big sister, can you give the ball back to us?"
Looking at the child's innocent eyes, a faint warmth stirred in Yunqin's heart.
She squatted down, carefully picked up the ball, and gently brushed the dust off it with her fingertips. Just as she was about to say, "Be careful when you play, don't bump into passersby,"
a stone suddenly flew from the side, striking Yunqin's forehead with unerring accuracy.
Fresh blood instantly flowed down, dripping along her cheek.
Yunqin let out a low groan of pain and turned her head to look.