A soft smile touched Ji'an's lips as he watched the scene unfold.
"Xiao An—look! They're coming out!" Hu Tao's sudden exclamation made him turn.
Sure enough, the two Seelies had emerged. They drifted toward him, circling once, twice, before settling lightly onto his open palm. There they lingered for a heartbeat, then began to glow—brighter and brighter—until they dissolved into shimmering motes of light that faded into nothingness.
"Huh...?" Ji'an murmured.
Where they had rested, a single crimson feather remained, pulsing with a faint, steady azure light. As his fingers closed around it, he could feel a quiet, potent energy humming within.
Hu Tao leaned in to look. "Oh, a relic. And a decent one at that. Seems Xiao Jiang's father had quite a story behind him."
"A relic?"
"Mm-hmm, you don't know about these, do you? Allow the Director to educate you." Hu Tao cleared her throat, slipping into her lecturing voice. "They say relics are crystallized will and memory. They hold everything from their previous owners—experiences, feelings, dreams, even wishes. If you carry one, you can borrow a bit of that strength for yourself."
"That one in your hand is called a Plume of Death. Then there's the Flower of Life, Sands of Eon, Goblet of Eonothem, and Circlet of Logos...Why five? Honestly, I have no idea."
Ji'an glanced at her. "Do you have any?"
Hu Tao shook her head. "The common ones don't do much for me. And the really good ones... well, they don't exactly grow on trees."
---
After saying their goodbyes to Xiao Jiang, the group made their way down the mountain. Without further delay, they started the last stretch back to Liyue Harbor.
About half an hour later, Xiangling spotted the great bridge ahead and broke into a run. "Wah! Finally home!"
"♪" Guoba wobbled along on short legs, trying its best to keep up.
The Millelith soldiers prodded their Fatui prisoners forward. "Keep moving! No dawdling!"
Their return didn't go unnoticed. Passersby turned to watch as the dusty, tired-looking investigation team trudged back into the city. Word traveled fast, and it wasn't long before a messenger was headed toward the Jade Chamber.
Ji'an stretched, letting out a contented sigh as he stepped into the familiar, bustling streets of the harbor. Hu Tao walked beside him, her twin chestnut ponytails bouncing with her steps.
He paused.
"What is it, Xiao An?" Hu Tao stopped too, her plum-blossom eyes searching his face.
"Nothing. Just... thought I felt something."
That's strange.
He blinked, unsettled. For just a second, it had felt like eyes were on him—a prickling sensation at the nape of his neck.
Ji'an scanned the crowded street but saw nothing unusual. Shaking off the feeling, he kept walking.
He didn't catch the conversation between two shopkeepers nearby.
"Hey, where'd that white-haired lady go? The one who's been at the bridge every day?"
"Beats me. She was there a minute ago. I turned around to flip a flatbread, and she was gone."
Both shrugged, equally puzzled.
---
Around a corner, in a narrow, shadowed alley, Shenhe stood with her back pressed to the cool stone wall. Her head was bowed, white hair veiling her face. Her breath came fast and shallow.
I saw him.
But I—
She had imagined this moment so many times. She thought her longing would be too much to bear—that the second she saw him, she would run to him without a second thought and pull him into her arms.
After her talk with Chef Mao, she had truly believed she'd found the courage to face Ji'an.
But when the moment finally came, her feet refused to move.
The him she saw now was smiling, clean, and calm—nothing like the mud-streaked, heartbroken figure she remembered. Yet the sight of his face brought that day crashing back: the disappointment in his eyes, the weight of what she had done.
There's a saying: The closer you are to home, the more your courage falters.
What Shenhe felt now was deeper, more tangled, and far more painful than mere faltering courage.
"I can't...I just can't...I abandoned him. How can I walk up now and act like everything's fine?"
Her hand pressed against her chest as she whispered, voice thick with anguish. "Someone like me... could never be forgiven."
On the main street just beside the alley, a woman walked past, holding her young daughter's hand. The little girl, her hair tied in two perky buns, noticed Shenhe and tugged her mother's sleeve.
"Mama, that big sister looks sad. Should we help?"
"Help? Did she ask for help? Don't stick your nose where it doesn't belong," the woman scolded, giving her daughter's cheek a light pinch. "If you've got energy for that, you can copy the Thousand Character Classic one more time when we get home."
"Waaah!" The little girl burst into tears as her mother pulled her away.
A long time passed before Shenhe's racing heart began to settle. She lifted her head, her eyes beneath her pale brows now rimmed with red.
Then, a new thought struck her, sharp enough to cut through the grief.
"That girl walking beside An'er... who is she?"
Slowly, Shenhe's white eyebrows furrowed.
---
Back in Liyue Harbor, Ji'an and the others first handed over their Fatui prisoners to be locked up. Then they went to give their report to Ningguang.
The Jade Chamber
"So the ruin machines went wild because they were drawn to ley line energy?" Ningguang paced slowly, the light catching the pale length of her legs. "Their power source... has always been the leylines. Master Lu, Mr. Ji'an—you've uncovered something quite significant."
"And as for the Fatui stealing intelligence... It seems we have a leak within the Jade Chamber." A dangerous glint flickered in her eyes as she spoke.
"There's one more thing."
Ji'an and Master Luban exchanged a glance before telling her about the unusual Geovishap activity. In the end, Ji'an left out any mention of the girl. Since the whole team had been together the entire time, explaining how he knew about the events at Nantianmen would raise more questions than it answered.
If his story didn't line up with the others', it wouldn't just fail as a warning—it would make him look suspicious. Someone as sharp as Ningguang would look into the Geovishap lead seriously. There was no need to complicate things by adding details he couldn't explain.
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