The moon moved, and the shadows of flowers shifted; time flowed on.
In a flash, it was deep night.
The prosperous and bustling Liyue Harbor also gradually fell into silence.
All sounds were hushed.
On both sides of the Liyue streets, many storefronts had already closed their doors; only the taverns and the tea houses featuring midnight storytelling were still open.
In the tea houses, Storytellers were unceasingly recounting ghost novels and urban legends.
When they reached the terrifying parts, several young women turned pale with fright and burrowed into the arms of the men beside them.
Once they realized what they had done, those girls hurriedly struggled free from the embrace, their faces full of shy embarrassment.
This scene, however, fell into the eyes of a man who had just come out of a tavern, his face flushed red from drinking, completely dead drunk.
"Ayin... I miss you... so much."
He carried a wine bottle in one hand, while the other held a copy of Sword and Fairy.
Seeing this scene, he couldn't help but fiercely down a mouthful of wine.
Drowning his sorrows in alcohol.
This storytelling tavern was open day and night.
However, the content spoken during the day and at night was different.
During the day, they mostly told strange tales of the jianghu.
But at night, they told ghost novels and urban legends.
The night program, in particular, was quite popular with young lovers.
Once upon a time, he had also brought his beloved girl here to listen to storytelling.
That Storyteller had scared Ayin so much she turned pale and burrowed directly into his arms.
It was a pity that time had passed and circumstances had changed; looking back, Ayin had long since walked far away.
Things were still there, but people had changed.
Thinking of this, he smiled bitterly, fiercely downed another mouthful of wine, and continued walking forward.
He mumbled indistinctly as he went.
"It's all Old Thief Fang Qiu's fault... making me think of this past again... Wine really is a good thing; once drunk, you don't have to think about anything."
As he walked to a dark corner, he stumbled, and his entire body planted headfirst like a leek into a wooden crate.
After falling into the wooden crate, the man didn't move at all; after a while, muffled snoring sounds actually drifted out from inside.
Not long after.
Beidou and Xinyan also walked past that wooden crate. They glanced at the man who had fallen headfirst into the crate, then silently withdrew their gazes.
The two chatted as they walked.
They walked all the way to the pier.
Under the tranquil moonlight, the pier appeared extremely quiet, with ships of all sizes moored silently by the shore.
Only occasionally would a seabird ride the wind, flapping its wings to fly.
"Xinyan, is everything settled for your concert? Do you need my help?" Beidou asked.
"The application has already been submitted. Since it's not the first time processing it, there shouldn't be any problems," Xinyan nodded and said.
After speaking, Xinyan looked as if she had thought of something and said, "By the way, Sister Beidou, did you really give Miss Fang Qiu's book to Lady Ningguang?"
"That's for sure," Beidou smiled and said.
"It's hard to imagine what kind of reaction that Lady Ningguang, who devises strategies within a command tent to win victories a thousand li away, will have after reading Miss Fang Qiu's book," Xinyan said.
"What other reaction could she have?" Beidou smiled and said, "Naturally, she'll send the Millelith to arrest Fang Qiu."
"Ah? It's that serious? Then what should we do?" Xinyan hurriedly said.
"I'm teasing you," Beidou smiled and said. "If that woman wants to trouble someone, she'll come to me. She won't go out of her way to make things difficult for a little girl. On the contrary, she might even develop that little girl somewhat."
"Develop? Develop what?" Xinyan was stunned.
"Naturally, it's the commercial value on her," Beidou narrowed her eyes slightly and said.
"Commercial value? What commercial value?" Xinyan asked.
"That depends on what that woman can think of."
Beidou smiled faintly, turned her head to cast her gaze toward the Yujing Terrace at the highest point of Liyue Harbor, and said, "Speaking of which, it really feels a bit unaccustomed now that the Jade Chamber is gone."
"Yeah, I didn't expect Lady Ningguang to actually use the Jade Chamber to suppress the god back into the seabed back then. It makes one admire her," Xinyan followed with a sigh.
"By the way, have you read Fang Qiu's new book?" Beidou asked as they walked beneath The Alcor.
"Mn, I read some of it," Xinyan nodded and said. "I can only say, as expected of Miss Fang Qiu, it's written really well. It has a very Liyue flavor—chivalrous courage and roaming the world with a sword."
Because she was busy with setting up the concert, she hadn't read much.
She had only read up to the plot where Tang Xuejian and Jing Tian expressed their feelings for each other at the fireworks festival, and Xu Changqing resolved his inner knots to go find Zixuan.
"Sounds like the reviews are pretty good," Beidou raised a brow and said with a smile.
"It is indeed excellent. Perhaps because Sword and Fairy is a story based on Liyue prototypes. Compared to Your Lie in April which takes place in Inazuma, and The Eternal which takes place in Mondstadt, I like Sword and Fairy a bit more. I imagine many Liyue readers are the same as me."
Xinyan shook her head, then sighed and said, "Clearly I'm reading the sweetest part of the plot right now, but when I read it, I'm always on tenterhooks. I always feel like one of them will die in the next second. I really like the characters in this book. I hope Miss Fang Qiu can give them a decent ending. The first two books really left people feeling too unsettled."
"Let's hope so," Beidou smiled faintly as they climbed onto the ship.
They saw that on the ship, the crew members were drinking wine with faces full of melancholy. Many crew members were shedding tears as they drank.
Even Kaedehara Kazuha didn't look too good; his eyes were slightly red, looking as if he had been crying.
"I wish to buy Osmanthus wine and carry it with me, what a pity..."
"You've already said that before."
"Long ago, the wine drunk with her... is it because the climate has changed? The taste of the past, perhaps can never be recreated..."
"You heard that sentence from someone else too, right..."
"It is better not to meet than to meet; affection is still like no affection. If I hadn't insisted on boarding the ship to be a sailor back then, would I be married to her by now?"
"Miss Fang Qiu's books are truly more heart-wrenching one after another. Long Kui died, and even Jing Tian and Zixuan are going to die!"
"I'm simply crying to death..."
"Jing Tian is truly a great hero. Clearly, his dreams had already come true—he became the richest in the universe, became the manager of Yong'an Pawnshop, changed into a world-famous hero, possessed power like the Adepti, and even married his true love Tang Xuejian as his wife. Yet, to revive those who died at the hands of the Evil Sword Immortal, he sacrificed all his power and the majority of his lifespan."
"Indeed so. I didn't expect that although Miss Fang Qiu is delicate and weak, her pen could write such heroic characters. I have to say, I underestimated Miss Fang Qiu."
"She must also have a chivalrous heart; a woman who doesn't yield to men! I heard that in the wilderness, there is a white-haired immortal who has been upholding justice and suppressing violence to bring peace to the good. I wonder if that's Miss Fang Qiu."
"You already said suppressing violence to bring peace to the good. With Miss Fang Qiu's strength, that seems unlikely..."
Hearing everyone's discussion, Xinyan, who was originally still praying for Fang Qiu to write a grand reunion ending, and Beidou, who had been busy until now and had only read the beginning, suddenly had their expressions stiffen.
They had been spoiled!
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