At that moment, the last rays of the setting sun spilled over two figures — one tall, one small — seated atop the great boulder outside Bubu Pharmacy.
The taller one cradled an orange-colored drink in her hands, sipping at it with an expression of pure contentment. She was strikingly beautiful, with a cool, refined air; her figure was graceful, and her white hair drifted gently in the breeze.
The smaller one was cute as a button, but the pair of cherry-red eyes set in her face would occasionally go distant and glassy — though somehow this made her look not dim, but rather endearingly vacant, in the most adorable way possible.
A gust of wind swept through, lifting the paper talisman stuck to the little girl's hat. She quickly set down her coconut milk and raised both hands to press the talisman flat. Only once the wind had died down did she let go. She gave it a cautious little tug — it held firm — and only then did she exhale in relief, pick up her coconut milk, and resume drinking.
Watching this, Fang Qiu couldn't help but smile, then stretched her arms above her head in a lazy yawn.
"I wonder how Sister Bai is getting on with it," she murmured, turning to gaze at the glittering sea, a faint smile on her lips.
These past few days, she'd barely slept.
She'd cried several times while writing. And when she lay in bed with her eyes shut, all she could see were the story scenes from Sword and Fairy 4 — the game she'd played in her past life — playing on a loop behind her eyelids, her head full of the melodies of "Return to the Dream, Wander Among Immortals" and "Sword and Fairy: A Question of Love."
The Chenzhou arc had left the deepest mark on her.
That song, "A Question of Love," said everything there was to say about the bitterness of longing. Qin Ji had chosen to bear the pain of loss alone, to live out her days in solitude — so very much like Yun Tianhe in the years that followed. And Jiang Shi had given everything for the one she loved, yet still couldn't have him.
She'd been so absorbed while writing it that she cried twice on that arc alone.
But once she'd handed the manuscript over to Bai Qing, a sense of relief had settled over her. As it turned out, pain didn't disappear — it could only be passed on to someone else.
Am I turning into some kind of sadistic monster?
Beside her, Qiqi tilted her head to one side in quiet puzzlement.
"It's nothing," Fang Qiu said with a smile. "It's getting late — I'll come find you to play again next time. I'll bring you iced coconut milk."
"Mm. Qiqi will wait for you," Qiqi replied with a well-behaved little nod.
After saying her goodbyes to Qiqi, Fang Qiu pushed off from the boulder and hopped down.
In fairness, it was only about a meter high. Fang Qiu had assumed that was nothing to worry about — but the moment she landed, she lurched sideways and nearly toppled over. Thankfully, Qiqi jumped down right behind her and caught her with one arm.
"Thank you, Qiqi," Fang Qiu said, pressing a hand to her chest as her heart continued to hammer.
There weren't many people around, but a full-on faceplant would definitely have drawn attention.
She could already imagine it: some future day when she'd ascended to divine power and the Storytellers of Liyue would be spinning tales about this very moment.
"They say the Cryo Goddess Fang Qiu rose from a frail, ordinary woman with no strength to her name. Word on the street has it that back when she was still young and weak, she and her dear friend Qiqi of Bubu Pharmacy were sitting on a great boulder having a chat. When it came time to leave, she leapt down from the boulder — and promptly fell flat on her face..."
And to make matters worse, someone nearby might have had a Kamera. They could have captured the whole thing.
Iron-clad evidence. The horror.
"No need to thank Qiqi. Qiqi said Qiqi would protect you," Qiqi replied.
Fang Qiu looked at the coconut milk now pooled all over the ground, ruffled Qiqi's hair gently, and said, "Qiqi, let me take you to the drinks shop and get you another one."
"But Mister Baizhu told Qiqi to mind the shop and not leave Bubu Pharmacy. Next time," Qiqi said, shaking her head.
"Alright then — next time I'll bring you double the coconut milk." Fang Qiu laughed.
"Mm," Qiqi nodded.
After parting with Qiqi, Fang Qiu found herself sinking into deep thought as she walked.
She'd always known Qiqi was a zombie — and a Vision-holder at that. But looking at her, so small and adorable, Fang Qiu had always assumed she couldn't be all that strong as zombies went.
Yet just now, Qiqi had caught her with one arm, effortlessly, without so much as a wobble.
That settles it — Qiqi is way, way stronger than me...
I'm just too weak.
And come to think of it — would she still be the kind of Cryo Goddess who could fall over jumping down from a one-meter rock even after she'd ascended to godhood? That would be a new low even for a mage.
Other people's mages were out there swinging clubs and charging into battle, cracking skulls left and right. Her? She probably couldn't even lift a one-handed sword, let alone a club.
This is what you get for dumping all your stat points into Intelligence.
Fang Qiu sighed, then looked up — and spotted a rather striking woman.
The woman had short hair, predominantly black with hints of blue. She was tall, dressed in an unusual blue-black outfit, with a white garment draped over her shoulders — its collar and cuffs trimmed with white fur about a handspan wide.
At her waist hung a Hydro Vision.
She was sitting at the teahouse with a few others, chatting and laughing over tea, looking thoroughly at ease.
Perhaps sensing Fang Qiu's gaze, the woman turned and looked back.
Caught in those green eyes, Fang Qiu felt an inexplicable flutter of unease — as if she were being assessed and measured. This was not a simple person.
Fang Qiu quickly looked away.
I'll just find somewhere nearby to grab a bite and head home, she thought to herself. I didn't prepare dinner for Tingyu — she'll give me the cold shoulder again if I get back late.
She'd originally planned to go to Wanmin Restaurant, but on reflection — the last time she'd submitted a manuscript and gone to Wangsheng Funeral Parlor for dinner, she'd gotten dragged into something. Better to just find a random spot this time.
She'd just made up her mind when a familiar voice called from behind her.
"Fang Qiu."
Fang Qiu turned on instinct — and found herself facing a whole group of editors, Bai Qing among them.
Bai Qing's eyes were red. She had clearly just finished a very thorough cry.
"Sister Bai — and everyone else... What a coincidence. Have you eaten yet?" Fang Qiu's smile froze on her face as a slight shiver ran through her.
"Not yet. We were thinking of going for a drink — want to join us?" Bai Qing replied, her smile sweet and her eyes eloquently accusatory.
She looked for all the world like a concubine who'd been banished to the cold palace — or, Fang Qiu couldn't help thinking, like that version of Jiang Shi from Sword and Fairy 4, the one the game never got around to depicting.
"Um... Sister Bai, I'm not much of a drinker — maybe next time? Next time for sure."
Fang Qiu swallowed and took a step back.
"No more 'next time' — let's do it tonight. You already missed the last gathering we'd planned. You're literally standing right in front of the tavern now, so just come in and have a couple drinks with us. And if you don't want to drink, that's fine too — just sit and chat," said an editor named Li Yao, stepping forward to block Fang Qiu's path.
"Well... alright then," Fang Qiu agreed, having no other choice.
And now that Li Yao had pointed it out, she realized she'd wandered right to the bottom of the Wanwen Bookhouse building — and right next door was that tavern with the married landlady.
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