Hearing Hu Tao's voice, Fang Qiu blinked in confusion.
Her hand? What was wrong with her hand?
And why did Hu Tao's voice sound so… strange? It sent a little shiver straight to her heart.
She turned to look without thinking.
Hu Tao's face was flushed a deep, burning red — her fair, delicate cheeks stained the color of clouds lit by a setting sun. Her plum-blossom eyes were glassy and unfocused, shimmering like a spring pool disturbed by a gentle ripple.
Moist. Soft.
Her rosy lips parted slightly, and despite herself, a small, breathless sound escaped her — barely suppressed, and utterly disarming.
"Fang Qiu… your hand… it's… in the wrong… place…" she murmured, squirming ever so slightly as she said it.
"S-sorry, I didn't mean to."
Only now did Fang Qiu fully snap back to her senses. She yanked her hand away at once, then frantically glanced around the room. Every single person in the audience had their eyes glued to the epic battle unfolding on the screen — no one had noticed a thing. She exhaled slowly.
"It's fine," Hu Tao said softly, with a small smile.
"Is your shoulder feeling better?"
The atmosphere had grown just slightly awkward, and Fang Qiu's own cheeks had gone pink. She couldn't believe she'd been so absorbed in the film that her hand had just… slipped. She quickly changed the subject, keeping her voice low.
"Much better." Hu Tao nodded, still faintly red in the face. "Come on, look at the screen — the fight's getting good."
"Mm."
Fang Qiu gave a soft murmur of assent and turned her gaze back toward the screen.
But the moment she did, Hu Tao's own gaze drifted — quietly, unhurriedly — to the elegant line of Fang Qiu's profile.
Then lower. To the graceful curve of Fang Qiu's chest.
And lower still — to the slender, fair hands resting in Fang Qiu's lap. A new flush bloomed across Hu Tao's cheeks, her eyes going soft and liquid.
Her plum-blossom pupils shifted slowly, and whatever she was thinking behind them, she kept entirely to herself.
Fang Qiu, for her part, was completely oblivious to being watched. She had her eyes fixed on the screen, entirely focused.
On the great screen, Jing Tian and the Evil Sword Immortal were still locked in fierce combat.
One had to admit — Teyvat was a land riddled with danger at every turn, and in Liyue, where a martial spirit ran deep in the culture, even a random passerby pulled off the street might turn out to be a formidable fighter.
Word had it that when Sister Beidou had hosted a gathering some time ago, she'd once organized a "Crux Fighting Tournament," with a spent Vision as the prize. That tournament had drawn warriors of extraordinary caliber — among them, fighters who had defeated Vision-holders using nothing but their bare fists.
So it was no surprise that both actors on screen possessed genuine and powerful martial arts foundations. With the guidance of seasoned masters, the two of them were practically fighting for real.
No actor from Fang Qiu's previous life, however skilled, could have conveyed that kind of raw authenticity.
Apparently, that tournament had ultimately been won by the Traveler.
Speaking of the Traveler — Fang Qiu wondered idly where she'd gotten to. She'd stopped by the inn today to look for her and Paimon, but there had been no sign of either of them.
At last, Jing Tian seized his moment and cut down the Evil Sword Immortal with a single decisive strike.
The great battle was over.
In its wake came celebration.
Then Zixuan and Xu Changqing made their way to the Lake of Forgetfulness. They gazed at each other one last, long moment — then each raised the water to their lips.
In the end, each had secretly chosen not to drink. Both pretended to forget, each trying to make the other's departure a little easier.
The music swelled.
Tears began to fall across the audience — and Fang Qiu's own nose stung painfully.
Jing Tian then went to the bridge to send Long Kui on to her reincarnation.
Xu Changqing returned to Mt. Shu and became its sect master.
And Jing Tian and Xuejian went back to Yong'an Pawnshop, and made a life there together.
Later, Xu Changqing danced his sword — and sent Zixuan a vast, boundless snowfall as his final farewell.
In the swirling white, Zixuan — silver-haired now, her life nearly spent — gazed out toward the distant silhouette of Mt. Shu. Her eyes were full of grief. Then, slowly, they cleared into something like peace.
Snow began to fall on Yuzhou City too.
In the midst of the flurrying flakes and playful laughter, Jing Tian looked up at the sky. The memories came flooding back — how he had spent his cultivation and used forbidden arts to bring the dead back to life.
He stood and shouted up at the heavens: "I don't want to leave!"
Tang Xuejian turned to him with an expression of pure, innocent delight, smiling brightly as she said, "Silly. Who said anything about leaving?"
The camera pulled back slowly, further and further, until the two figures were swallowed by the distance — leaving only Yuzhou City standing beneath an endless curtain of wind and snow.
Sword and Fairy — the film — had come to its end.
Credits began to roll across the screen.
The first name to appear was that of the investors: Ningguang's studio, and Fang Qiu.
Next came the source material: Sword and Fairy, author: Fang Qiu.
With the film over, the tea house erupted in noise.
"Wuu… Jing Tian, Long Kui, Zixuan… why did it have to end like this…"
"Stop crying, stop crying — let's go to the tavern and get a drink."
"But it's already late — how am I supposed to get home after drinking?"
"Don't worry, you can sleep at my place after. It's pretty big."
"Brother Jie, isn't that a bit…?"
"You absolute bastard! Didn't you tell me Sword and Fairy was supposed to be heartwarming? What in the world did you drag me here to watch?"
"I didn't say 'heartwarming' — I said 'heart-wrenching.' There's a difference."
"Just the other day I finished Your Name, and then you said you'd bought me Your Lie in April as something in the same vein — and now you've tricked me into watching Sword and Fairy on top of it all. I'm going to kill you!"
"Technically they're all the same genre — ow, ow, ow, alright, I was wrong, stop that, people are watching, have a little mercy on me — don't think I can't take you in a fight — ow! Someone help!"
"I didn't expect the production team to turn Miss Fang Qiu's little poems into songs — that was a rare touch of genius. Paired with those melodies, the story just broke your heart even more… wait, hold on. Why is Fang Qiu's name in the music credits too? Don't tell me she composed the music as well?"
"This was absolutely stunning. It brought the world of Sword and Fairy to life exactly the way I'd always pictured it."
"There are ten thousand kinds of love in this world, yet love itself is the cruelest of them all. Sigh… I'm still a long way from reaching the level where I could go train at Jueyun Karst. But after watching Sword and Fairy, I feel my understanding of the immortal and the heroic has deepened once more. I won't give up."
The shaven-headed young man wiped the tears from his face as he spoke.
"Keep at it, brother — you'll get there. By the way, what kind of danger were you in when someone saved you back then?"
"My house caught fire."
"Ah, I see. Did they ever find the cause?"
"I was smoking in bed."
"You really are something else…"
Voices overlapped and clamored throughout the room.
Yun Jin and Xiangling were both weeping freely, tears streaming down their faces — and this was the second time they'd seen it. The ending still wrecked them completely.
What made it especially something was that the very person responsible for their misery was sitting right beside them — and she, too, had a single clear tear tracing its way down her cheek.
Even the original author was crying.
Seeing Fang Qiu like that — beautiful and fragile as glass in her tears — both of them found, to their surprise, that they'd begun to feel sorry for the very person who'd put them through all this.
"Fang Qiu, don't cry."
Hu Tao produced a small white handkerchief embroidered with scattered plum blossoms, leaned close, and gently dabbed the tears from Fang Qiu's cheeks.
"Mm."
Fang Qiu glanced at Hu Tao's own faintly reddened eyes. She gave a quiet nod and let out a slow breath.
She had to admit — Miss Ningguang's studio had done a magnificent job.
That final snowfall in particular had been extraordinarily powerful. It must have been summoned by a Cryo Vision holder.
"Oh, and Fang Qiu — you must be hungry by now. Have some pastries, and then later we'll go to Wanmin Restaurant. I'll make you something delicious."
Xiangling wiped her own tears away as she spoke.
"I am a little hungry," Fang Qiu admitted, her voice still carrying just a faint tremor of leftover crying.
Inwardly, she sighed.
How embarrassing.
"Can I come along?" Yun Jin asked.
"Of course!" Xiangling said with a smile.
As the film ended, the audience filed out of the tea house one by one.
Outside, night had fallen.
A bright moon hung high overhead, and the river of stars stretched wide and brilliant across the sky.
Liyue Harbor was already aglow with hanging lanterns.
Warm light blazed in every direction.
The calls of vendors rose and fell without end.
The moment Fang Qiu and the others stepped out the door, they ran into Beidou, Kazuha, and Xinyan. After a quick exchange of greetings, the whole group set off together toward Wanmin Restaurant.
After they'd gone, a tall, straight-backed young man also stepped out of the Heyu Tea House. He glanced up at the star-filled sky, let out a quiet sigh, and turned to walk in the direction of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
Most of the other audience members had already made a beeline for the various taverns across the harbor.
The taverns filled up almost instantly.
Around the same time, the stream of viewers pouring out from the establishment across from Wanwen Bookhouse also surged straight toward the nearest tavern.
The proprietress leaning in the doorway watched the scene unfold with a quiet smile tugging at the corner of her lips.
Just as she'd expected.
Anyone who'd just sat through Sword and Fairy was going to be in a very dark place emotionally. And when people were in a dark place emotionally, they came to a tavern and drank.
She'd made sure to stock up on a large reserve of wine in anticipation of tonight's surge in business.
All one could say was — that was Fang Qiu for you.
Meanwhile, Fang Qiu and the others had arrived at Wanmin Restaurant. They had barely reached the entrance when a familiar voice drifted out to meet them.
"Chef Mao, one more order of Crystal Shrimp Dumplings, a Mora Meat, and a Flash-Fried Filet, please."
They stepped through the door and found the Traveler and Paimon already seated inside. Paimon had a chicken leg clutched in both little hands and was happily working her way through it — though her eyes were noticeably red-rimmed. She'd clearly been crying.
"Oh, it's the Traveler and Paimon — hello! It's been a while," Beidou called out cheerfully.
"Beidou! And Xinyan, Kazuha, Fang Qiu, Hu Tao, Xiangling, and… who's this?" Paimon waved her free hand in greeting, peering at the unfamiliar face.
"This is Yun Jin — she's one of Liyue's most celebrated opera performers. Sings beautifully," Hu Tao said by way of introduction.
Fang Qiu nodded in confirmation.
"Hello, everyone. I've long heard of your names — it's truly a pleasure to meet you in person. Though we've only just met, I have a feeling we'll all get along splendidly," Yun Jin said with a graceful wave.
"Is that so! I'm Paimon, and this is the Traveler." Paimon introduced them with a grin.
"Oh, right — it's rare for all of you to be in Liyue at the same time. Did you manage to catch the Sword and Fairy premiere today?" Beidou asked.
"We did, we did! Though we didn't manage to get tickets for the Heyu Tea House — we ended up watching it at Third-Round Knockout instead," Paimon said, spreading her hands.
"It was Paimon's fault for remembering the ticket sale time wrong, and then insisting I trust her instead of checking myself. By the time we got back, every ticket for the Heyu Tea House was already sold out. Lucky for us, we ran fast enough to grab two at Third-Round Knockout," Lumine said, spreading her hands with a look of weary resignation.
"Hey, don't put all the blame on me! Even if it was technically my fault," Paimon huffed, stomping her little foot.
"So — what did you think?" Xinyan asked.
"It left me feeling absolutely wrecked, but the film itself was excellent. Every aspect of it," Paimon said.
"Paimon cried," Lumine added.
"You cried too — don't even try it. All I can say is, what else would you expect from a Fang Qiu book," Paimon shot back.
"The success of the Sword and Fairy film wasn't down to me alone," Fang Qiu said with a smile. "There was Miss Ningguang's investment, and the effort of everyone on the production team — the acting coaches, the performers. Miss Yun Jin contributed enormously."
"No wonder the actors all felt so real — so it was Miss Yun Jin's guidance at work. The whole thing wrecked us, honestly. So we decided to channel our grief into appetite and came straight to Wanmin Restaurant. After eating, we didn't feel quite as bad. Food really does improve a person's mood," Paimon said brightly.
"Being Paimon really does seem like a joy," Lumine remarked.
"So you all went to see Sword and Fairy too?" Paimon asked.
"That's right — we just finished, and figured we'd come here for a proper meal," Beidou said with a grin.
"Perfect, then let's all squeeze around the same table," Paimon said.
"Sounds good! You sit down first, have a look at the menu — I'll go help Pop in the kitchen." Xiangling smiled brightly. "Tonight I'll make you my signature dishes — the ones I developed when I competed in the Chef's Championships during the Lantern Rite."
With that, she headed off to the kitchen. Guoba, who had stayed behind at Wanmin Restaurant instead of going to the film screening, came bounding and tumbling after her.
They settled in, and before long Xiangling was ferrying out plate after fragrant plate.
They ate and chatted, and soon the meal was well underway.
One thing Fang Qiu found quietly puzzling was the way Paimon kept acting strangely around Guoba.
How to put it…
Reverent?
Something about it was just off.
After dinner, the Traveler and Paimon headed back to their inn. They'd be staying in Liyue a while longer.
Beidou, Kazuha, and Xinyan set off toward the wharf. Before parting, Beidou took a moment to pull Fang Qiu aside and warn her: for the time being, she shouldn't go out fishing at sea the way she used to.
She left without explaining why.
Fang Qiu was puzzled, but she filed it away in her memory.
Then she said her goodbyes to Hu Tao and Yun Jin, and made her way back to her rented room.
The moment she pushed open the door, Tingyu came crawling out of her cat bed and padded straight over, eyes full of reproach.
"You little thing — I never see you being this clingy when I'm actually home," Fang Qiu said with an indulgent laugh, scooping Tingyu up and running her fingers through the cat's silky fur.
Thank goodness she'd set out enough cat food before leaving. Otherwise, coming home to those accusing eyes would have been the least of it — this little monster might have waited until Fang Qiu fell asleep and then sat directly on her face instead of just her chest. A cat staging a murder plot against her own owner.
Fang Qiu carried Tingyu to the window and gazed out at the night view of Liyue Harbor reflected in the water below. A small smile found its way to the corners of her lips.
The whole walk home, every conversation she'd passed had been about Sword and Fairy. The buzz was at its absolute peak, and the reception overwhelmingly positive.
"At least the sales on the new book won't suffer," she said to herself quietly, with a faint, satisfied smile.
____
________________________________________
🌸 Help Love Bloom!
Our girls need a little push... and you can help!
💖 Gift for Everyone: Once we hit 50 Powerstones, I'll release +1 bonus chapter to warm your hearts.
🚀 Community Reward: If we reach 20 supporting members, we'll have a +5 chapter marathon across all stories! The romance won't stop.
👻 Come to our secret corner: Search for GirlsLove on (P). You know that's where the magic happens... 😉