Luo Li gazed at the mature woman suspended in midair not far away.
A faint smile curved at his lips.
Back then, she had been a lively little girl who circled around him endlessly.
Now—
She had grown into a breathtaking, aloof beauty.
Compared to the past, her features had fully matured. Every line of her face had opened into perfection. Her temperament was no longer merely spirited — it was untouchable.
Unlike her mother, Reizenbou, whose warmth put others at ease—
Guangdai carried an air that placed her high above all things.
Unapproachable.
Thinking carefully, Luo Li realized most of the women around him were like this.
At first, he had felt complicated emotions about meeting his little disciple again.
But when the moment truly arrived—
Those tangled thoughts vanished.
Before him stood the same girl from memory.
The mischievous tengu child overlapped perfectly with the elegant woman she had become.
He had imagined saying many things.
In the end—
He spoke only one sentence.
That greeting from five hundred years later caused mist to gather in Guangdai's eyes.
Her lips trembled faintly.
"Teacher… is it really you?"
She stared at him.
Unchanged.
Still bearing that dangerously captivating beauty — the kind that drew women like moths to flame.
The pirates.
The chaos.
The world itself—
All faded from her awareness.
Only the two of them remained.
Not long ago, she had spoken of him to Kujou Sara.
And now—
He stood before her.
"Yes. I'm back. I'm sorry… for disappearing for so long."
Luo Li walked forward.
The warrior statues had already halted under her control.
"So it's truly you…"
The joy was indescribable.
She could never mistake that presence.
That aura had been engraved into her heart.
Even if he turned to ashes, she would know him.
But joy was not alone.
Five hundred years of grievance, loneliness, and suppressed resentment surged upward.
Luo Li met her trembling gaze.
After five centuries—
Their reunion happened in the middle of a battlefield.
It was absurd.
But to the intruders, it was horrifying.
So they were together.
The pirate leader's face turned pale.
That meant—
They now faced two monsters.
"Only two of them! Don't hold back! We might escape if we fight!"
The intruders snapped out of their shock.
They bolted for the corridor.
Some pulled unstable elemental compounds from their packs.
On Teyvat, elemental reactions were well studied.
Electro and Pyro—
The most violent.
Stronger than gunpowder.
They hurled the makeshift bombs without hesitation.
"When we get out, we split up! Whoever gets caught is on their own!"
It was their best chance.
Unfortunately—
It only hastened their deaths.
The intimate atmosphere between master and disciple had been shattered.
Guangdai's eyes turned cold.
They had already angered her by trespassing.
Now they dared interrupt her reunion?
Unforgivable.
She raised her hand.
Feathers bloomed in midair like black lotus petals.
Each feather descended trailing arcs of lightning.
Blue-violet brilliance surged across the hall.
The fleeing intruders were caught in the storm.
Screams echoed.
Minutes later—
Silence returned.
Not one survived.
The skilled kairagi.
The battle-hardened pirates.
The experienced treasure hoarders.
All fell effortlessly before the Great Tengu.
Luo Li watched her calmly eradicate them.
He couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
She had truly grown up.
Guangdai didn't even spare a glance at the treasures the intruders had carried.
The floodgate inside her finally shattered.
In the blink of an eye, she appeared before him.
The cold, proud yokai threw herself into his arms.
Her long hair cascaded down.
Her once slender figure had filled out, matured in ways he had never witnessed.
Luo Li wrapped his arms around her gently.
The girl who once barely reached his shoulder now came to his chin.
Her once slight frame had become soft and graceful.
"Teacher… am I dreaming?"
Her voice was faint.
She breathed in his scent.
After five hundred years—
It was the same.
"Well… it's already evening. A good time for dreams."
He stroked her hair as smooth as silk, teasing her just as he always had.
As if those five centuries had never happened.
As if no distance existed between them.
"You're still teasing me…"
Her voice broke.
Tears threatened to fall.
When she had learned that he perished in the abyss—
Her world had shattered.
Color drained away.
Sound faded.
Only now—
Breathing felt real again.
The world regained its color.
Life returned.
"It was my fault. I made you worry for too long."
Luo Li felt warmth dampen his shoulder.
He tilted his head slightly, heart full of tenderness.
For a moment—
He truly felt like the most sinful person in the world.
Five hundred years.
And she had waited.