In the blink of an eye, three days passed.
The sky was clear.
The snow had stopped the previous afternoon, and for the first time in ages the sun shone over Liyue Harbor.
It was high noon.
Wisps of cooking smoke curled up over Liyue Harbor. Diners, cooped up and restless after so many days of heavy snow, streamed toward the big restaurants.
The streets of Liyue Harbor were bustling.
"Fang Qiu, time to get up."
Fang Qiu was curled up under the covers, lost in a beautiful dream where she'd become the Cryo Empress—her every word law across all the land, a single frost-cold sword-stroke sweeping fourteen provinces—when a knock came at the door, along with a clear, girlish voice.
"Mn…"
Fang Qiu's brow furrowed slightly. She nuzzled her soft, fair cheek against the pillow, and gradually her frown smoothed away—the corners of her mouth even curving up a little.
"Fang Qiu, get up already!"
Outside, the knocking grew louder.
Fang Qiu frowned again, rolled over, tucked the quilt between her legs, and drifted contentedly back to sleep.
Curled in the cat bed in the room, Tingyu raised its head a fraction to glance at the soundly sleeping Fang Qiu, then at the tightly shut door, and went back to sleep.
"Strange—why hasn't she opened up yet? Nothing's happened, has it?"
A muttering voice came, and then the door gave a soft click.
The one standing outside was none other than Hu Tao.
Her eyes full of worry, she looked toward the bed—only to find Fang Qiu lying on her side, fast asleep.
Her nightdress had ridden up past her chest, leaving her in nothing but her underwear.
Fang Qiu's back was to her.
Her soft, snow-white back, her slender waist, and her long, pale legs clamped around the velvet quilt were all bared to the air.
Utterly alluring.
Just as Hu Tao fretted over her, Fang Qiu stirred a little, rubbing her cheek against the pillow. Clearly deep in slumber.
For some reason, seeing Fang Qiu like this stirred in her an urge to give that bottom a good smack—
to leave a faint flush of red on Fang Qiu's pale skin.
"Fang Qiu, wake up. It's already noon—time to head out."
Fighting down the urge, Hu Tao stepped forward and shook Fang Qiu's shoulder.
"Mn…"
Fang Qiu squirmed restlessly, then groggily propped herself up and sat up in bed.
But her nightgown stayed bunched above her chest; sitting up hadn't made it slide back down.
Everything was on full view.
"Hu Tao? What are you doing here?"
Fang Qiu rubbed her eyes, gazing at Hu Tao, whose pretty face had gone a little red at the bedside. Confusion clouded her bleary, half-lidded eyes.
"Didn't we agree we'd go out to the outskirts at noon today, to test whether your strength has improved?" Hu Tao said.
At Hu Tao's words, she slowly came to her senses.
The snow had stopped yesterday afternoon, and the clouds overhead were showing faint signs of breaking apart.
A perfect chance to test her strength.
Being a Ten-Mile Slope Sword God—strong only in theory—wouldn't do.
If she ever ran into another god invasion like Beisht's, she'd want a clear grasp of her own power.
So yesterday she'd reached out to Hu Tao and Xiangling, arranging to head outside the city together at noon today.
But Xiangling was swamped—business at Wanmin Restaurant was too good for her to get away.
So only Hu Tao could make it.
Still, with Hu Tao and Shenhe both along, there shouldn't be any problems.
Though the thought did feel a bit like raising a death flag…
So that evening she'd invited Hu Tao to stay over.
There were plenty of rooms now, though, so they didn't have to squeeze into one bed and risk anything strange happening.
"Uh… sorry, I was still half-asleep. I'll get up now."
Fang Qiu said, making as if to climb out of bed.
But the moment she moved, she noticed a distinct chill against her skin.
She looked down…
Well… she couldn't see anything past her chest…
But one glance at the fabric bunched up over it told her everything.
Her clothes had rolled up above her chest again.
What kind of sleeping posture even did that?
Her sleeping habits were really the worst!
A flush bloomed across Fang Qiu's pretty face. She was about to yank the nightdress down when it occurred to her that Hu Tao was a girl too—overreacting might look bad…
So she tugged the nightdress down with feigned nonchalance, got up, walked over to the full-length mirror, and took out a set of clothes easy to move in.
Hu Tao showed no sign of leaving, so Fang Qiu had no choice but to change right in front of her, cheeks burning.
They were both girls, and yet she felt a peculiar sort of embarrassment.
All the fault of oversleeping…
She'd even pushed the meeting time back to noon, and still she'd overslept.
She shouldn't have stayed up so late reading novels last night…
It had left her dream unfinished.
The Cryo Empress!
One sword-stroke to split open the gates of heaven!
What a shame—the moment she opened her eyes, it all dissolved into nothing.
Dressed at last, Fang Qiu set off together with Hu Tao.
Shenhe had gone to work and would take the afternoon off to join them.
Fang Qiu had done her best to talk her out of it, but Shenhe insisted on taking the leave to come along.
Left with no choice, Fang Qiu had to agree.
They'd agreed to meet at Wanmin Restaurant, share lunch, and then set out.
This time they'd head toward the Lisha Outskirts.
Meanwhile, at the Wanwen Bookhouse.
Plenty of novel-lovers sat at the tea tables, sipping tea and reading.
Many were discussing Fang Qiu's new book.
"Weathering With You is just too sweet—I've actually started looking forward to Old Thief Fang Qiu's next book."
"What 'Old Thief Fang Qiu'? He's not an old thief anymore."
"For Fang Qiu's next book, I'm hoping for a swordsman's tale set in Liyue—sword in hand roaming the ends of the world, love and hate, the whole thing."
They chattered on, brimming with anticipation for Fang Qiu's new book.
Listening to the crowd's talk, the tavern's proprietress went back downstairs. Seeing the scattered few patrons nursing drinks in her shop, she sighed.
Over the past few days she'd found time to read Weathering With You.
Not only had Fang Qiu written a happy ending, he'd even gotten Mitsuha Miyamizu and Taki Tachibana together.
Which had left business rather flat these past few days.
It was still better than before Fang Qiu started writing, but once you'd gotten used to a boom, going back was hard.
What worried her more was exactly what those novel-lovers upstairs in the Wanwen Bookhouse had just been saying.
Fang Qiu had now, in the truest sense, written a happy ending. Whether his future books would still be tragedies was anyone's guess…
How disheartening.
Relying on Fang Qiu really wouldn't carry her far…
Just as she was weighing whether to have a word with Fang Qiu, a white-haired woman strung with red cords walked past along the street in front of her.
"Is that Fang Qiu?"
She was about to call out a greeting when she realized the woman hadn't so much as glanced her way, walking straight past along the street.
Again?
She froze for a moment, feeling let down and a little wronged…
That was twice now the woman had ignored her…
Who acts like that…
It wasn't as if she'd done anything to wrong Fang Qiu.
Could it be because of that promotion she'd set up—spend a certain amount and get one of Fang Qiu's books free?
But those books cost Mora too, didn't they?
It shouldn't affect Fang Qiu at all—and besides, her tavern gave Fang Qiu some publicity in return.
A win-win, surely.
As for the tavern's business…
She had indeed profited off Fang Qiu's books.
But her tavern sat right below the Wanwen Bookhouse—whenever Fang Qiu wrote a tragedy, business would explode.
It was the same for the other taverns.
Next time Fang Qiu came by, she'd have that talk with her…
Offer her some discounts, help her advertise a bit.
Such a worry.
She bit her lower lip gently, watching the white-clad woman's retreating figure with a touch of sadness.
Shenhe walked along the flagstone street, heading for the agreed-upon Wanmin Restaurant.
Watching the vendors setting up along the road and the noisy streets, Shenhe's gaze softened a little.
These past few days at work, the streets had been terribly quiet.
Once, she'd preferred cold, empty streets—free of clutter and bustle.
But now she found this Liyue Harbor better. Warmer, more human.
Perhaps this was what change felt like.
Just then a young man came walking from the opposite direction, apparently on his way to the Heyu Tea House to hear a story.
Him?
Shenhe paused.
This gentleman—she'd seen him at Mt. Aocang.
Her master had told her that if she ever saw this gentleman drinking on the stone bench before the adeptal abode, she was not to disturb him—to let him sit alone in peace for a while.
When she had seen him then, she'd done just as her master instructed.
But as she made to look away, the young man turned his gaze toward her and gave a nod.
Shenhe hurried to return the courtesy.
Then she watched the young man head up into the Heyu Tea House.
What a mysterious person.
Even her master kept his identity a closely guarded secret.
But she didn't dwell on it, continuing on toward Wanmin Restaurant.
As she passed a tavern, two crewmen from The Alcor did a double take.
"Huh… isn't that Miss Fang Qiu? Something feels a little off, though—did I get the wrong person?"
"You've had too much to drink, haven't you—that's obviously Miss Fang Qiu!"
"So, should we go say hello?"
"Say hello for what? Don't bother Miss Fang Qiu when she's on business. Here—drink!"
Meanwhile, Fang Qiu and Hu Tao had reached Chihu Rock.
Chihu Rock was lively.
The snow along the street had been cleared away, and children romped about.
Fang Qiu and Hu Tao arrived outside Wanmin Restaurant, and just as they were about to go in, they spotted the storyteller from Third-Round Knockout—Iron Tongue Tian.
He was telling The Legend of Sword and Fairy 1—though not the main story, but a side tale Iron Tongue Tian had written himself. A fan work, in other words.
Third-Round Knockout had already paid the adaptation fee, so they were free to adapt as they pleased.
And it was a rather interesting adaptation, too.
"As the tale goes, Demon Lord Chonglou battled the previous Demon Lord in the Demon Realm. In that clash of two supreme demons, even the Great Dao itself was ground to nothing. Everywhere they passed, demonic pressure surged to the heavens; lesser demons crumbled to ash in an instant beneath it, snuffed out without a trace! Even demons who ruled their own domains had no choice but to bow their heads and tremble under the pressure of that great battle!"
So Fang Qiu decided to sit down and eat at Third-Round Knockout.
Third-Round Knockout had a partnership with Wanmin Restaurant, so Xiangling could bring the dishes straight over there.
They placed their order and had just stepped out of Wanmin Restaurant when they saw two men coming toward them.
One tall, one short; one fat, one thin—two men with bruise medicine plastered on their faces.
Fang Qiu and Hu Tao paid them no mind, of course—but the moment the two men saw Fang Qiu and Hu Tao, they looked as though they'd seen a ghost. They spun around and bolted.
Halfway through their escape, the skinny man even tripped and fell, drawing roars of laughter from a crowd.
"What's with those two? Hu Tao, do you know them?" Watching their hapless figures, Fang Qiu was puzzled.
"I guess you could say I know them."
"They're Treasure Hoarders," Hu Tao said. "I gave that skinny one a thrashing over at Wuwang Hill a while back. Then a bit later, when Zhongli and I were lined up to buy your book, those two were trying to scalp copies of it—and once they realized it was me, they got so scared they dropped the books and ran."
"So that's it—no wonder they looked like they'd seen a ghost the moment they saw you," Fang Qiu said, as if it all made sense now.
"Still… why do I get the feeling those two only ran once they got a look at you?"
"They were both staring right at you just now, you know," Hu Tao said.
"No way—I've never even met them."
Fang Qiu waved a hand. "Besides, weak as I am, there's no way I could scare them like that, right?"
"Hmm… is that so? Then it's strange."
Hu Tao thought it over. It did seem odd.
"Never mind, no point puzzling over it. Let's hurry to Third-Round Knockout before someone takes our seats," Fang Qiu said.
"Mn."
Hu Tao nodded.
They sat down at a table in Third-Round Knockout and quietly listened to the storyteller.
He was telling the tale of Chonglou and the previous Demon Lord.
Across the entire Sword and Fairy series, Demon Lord Chonglou's combat power stood at the very peak.
In all Seven Realms, likely only Fuxi, Shennong, Nuwa, and Chiyou ranked above him.
And the previous Demon Lord had died at Demon Lord Chonglou's hands.
So it wasn't entirely made up.
Before long, Xiangling brought out plate after plate of food, and Shenhe hurried over as well.
They ate while listening to the performance.
When Iron Tongue Tian reached the climax, Fang Qiu even joined the others in clapping and cheering.
After eating, they made their way out of Liyue and followed the road toward the outskirts.
The farther they went, the fewer travelers they passed.
Though the snow had stopped yesterday afternoon, both sides of the road were still banked with it.
They walked on and on, until there was no sign of anyone at all.
"You said your strength has improved a fair bit, Fang Qiu, but when it comes to testing it, better to take things step by step. How about we start by trying your hand on that one?" Hu Tao said, pointing to a small Hydro Slime bouncing about on a frozen sheet of ice.
Beside her, Shenhe nodded too.
"Mn."
Fang Qiu had no objection, of course.
If anything, that was exactly her plan.
After all, knowledge gained from paper always felt shallow—her own sense of her strength was bound to be inaccurate.
She hadn't even swung her ice sword at anything yet.
Better to take it step by step.
Fang Qiu looked at the little Slime.
Last time she'd gone out with Hu Tao and Xiangling to fight Slimes, it was this very kind that had bested her.
If Hu Tao hadn't stepped in, she'd have been swallowed into the Slime's fluid body—the outcome didn't bear thinking about.
But today, her strength was on a whole different level.
Fang Qiu figured she could handle this small Hydro Slime easily enough, but even a lion uses its full strength to catch a rabbit—she absolutely couldn't afford to underestimate it.
So they crept stealthily toward the pool.
Fang Qiu let out a long breath and took a few steps forward, her gaze resolute, ready to strike—
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