"Alright, come in," Zhongli replied calmly.
Click.
The door to the private room swung open.
The moment it did, Rosalyn caught sight of Lin Mo gazing at her with a wry smile—and she froze in place.
"What's wrong?" Zhongli asked mildly.
"Zhongli, sir." Rosalyn nodded. "I rushed off earlier because my subordinates sent word that the person I've been waiting for had finally arrived in Liyue. But..."
"I searched everywhere in Liyue... and couldn't find him."
As Rosalyn spoke, her eyes drifted toward Lin Mo at Zhongli's side. Anyone with a keen eye could see the affection brimming in her gaze.
"No wonder you kept Mr. Zhongli waiting so long," Lin Mo said with a chuckle. "Earlier, I was right there at the entrance to Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, tucked in that corner by Northland Bank. I was mulling over your little spat, figuring the thief couldn't have gotten far."
"Yes, but... how did you end up here of all places?" Rosalyn couldn't help but ask, curiosity getting the better of her.
"We're old friends," Zhongli said evenly. "He's one of our own. It won't interfere with what we need to discuss next." He paused, then added with a faint smile, "Hey now, Mond's Keqing."
At that, Hu Tao elbowed Lin Mo, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "So, what's the deal between you and this lady?"
"I'm his lover," Rosalyn shot back without missing a beat.
The look she leveled at Hu Tao carried a sharp edge of warning.
"Lover."
Zhongli's brow furrowed ever so slightly.
As an ancient Archon, he'd heard the tales, of course. Back in Mondstadt, amid the ravages of the dragon plague, twenty knights had fallen in battle, giving rise to that heartbreaking love story between a knight and a witch. And even now, Zhongli knew Rosalyn had rallied the adepti to slay the dragon—all to avenge the man she'd lost five centuries ago.
Which was why a flicker of puzzlement crept into his gaze as he turned to Lin Mo.
"Huh? But wasn't your lover the Knight Captain from five hundred years ago? So what does any of this have to do with my Mond's Keqing?" Hu Tao, never one for holding back like Zhongli, blurted out her confusion without a second thought.
"Your...?"
Rosalyn's eyes flashed with icy fury. That single word had struck a nerve, crossing some invisible line deep within her. Faint wisps of frost began to curl in the air around her, born of her rising emotions.
"Got a problem with that?"
Hu Tao sprang to her feet in an instant. Glowing fireflies flickered to life, dancing in a protective swirl around her. Until she had the full story on whatever tied Mond's Keqing to Lin Mo, she wasn't about to let some other woman stake a claim.
Lin Mo stared at the two of them—fire and ice on a collision course—and felt a pounding headache coming on.
"Enough!"
"Can't you two give me some credit here?"
"Rosalyn, go put in the orders! Hall Master Hu, brew us some tea!" The Lin Mo who was usually so gentle and even-tempered had snapped, and it caught both women off guard.
Rosalyn shot Hu Tao a haughty glance but said nothing, turning on her heel and sweeping out of the room to handle the menu.
"Hmph! Fine, tea it is!"
Hu Tao was clearly miffed, but as the one being treated to the meal, she huffed and trudged out to fetch the tea anyway.
The private room fell into a heavy quiet.
"Old friend," Zhongli's voice finally cut through the silence, "after your passing, I imagine there must be countless stories to tell. Care to share a few over tea—like old times?"
"Emperor, you're too kind to tease an old soul like me." Lin Mo waved it off with a bitter chuckle. Still, he settled back and spoke plainly. "Truth be told... looking back, it's all a bit of a blur. Back then, after I died..."
"...I found myself at the threshold between life and death in Liyue, where I encountered the Moon Goddess herself."
"She was heartened by the changes I'd brought to Teyvat."
"So she made me a promise: endure the trials of three lives and three deaths, and I'd be allowed to return to the world—memories intact."
A spark of genuine intrigue lit Zhongli's eyes at that.
The Archon War had ended, but humanity's skirmishes in scattered corners of the continent had dragged on without respite. Those "changes" could only refer to Lin Mo's push for a unified currency across Teyvat. Under his guidance, the people had finally embraced fair trade, inching toward a shared prosperity. Liyue, of course, had reaped the greatest rewards.
What truly piqued Zhongli's curiosity now, though, was the nature of those three reincarnations. What roles had Lin Mo played in them? Far more captivating than any storyteller's yarn, to be sure.
Just then, Lin Mo pressed on.
"In my first life, I was the man Rhinedottir so admired. Together, we brought our child Durin into being—and then I departed the world."
"In my second, I was Mondstadt's Knight Captain, Rostam, who laid down his life to stand against the dragon's apocalyptic wrath."
"In my third, I was the guest elder from Hu Tao's dreams, the one who stayed by her side till the end. After guiding countless restless souls to peace, I simply... reached the end of my days."
The words hung in the air, and silence stretched between them for a long moment.
At last, Zhongli cracked a rare, genuine smile. "By all rational measure, old friend, I'll grant your tale about half my trust."
"Uh... do I really come off that unreliable?" Lin Mo asked, a twinge of guilt in his voice. He'd never dreamed Zhongli would pick up on his omissions.
"You haven't shaken that old habit of yours," Zhongli replied. "Your heart's never fully opened to us—not even to me. There's always something held back."
It was as if time had folded back on itself, to those bygone days when they were all together. Zhongli, ever the same, couldn't resist chiding him for not treating them like true kin.
Lin Mo met Zhongli's smile—that unchanged expression from thousands of years past—and let out a rueful shake of his head. How could he have bared his soul back then? He could hardly confess that his aid to the Emperor, his bonds as brother and ally, had all been in service of some greater task.
No, that secret stayed buried.
"It's fine," Zhongli said then, his tone softening as it always had. "Just like the old days, old friend—you've got your reasons, and I won't pry. But since you've shared this much..."
"...I take it you want me to turn down Rosalyn's request?"
True to form, the longest-lived Archon saw right through it. From those three lives Lin Mo had laid out, the message was plain: Refuse her plea to hunt down the child he'd fathered with Rhinedottir—Durin himself.
The bit about Hu Tao? That was just a straightforward nod to their bond.
Which explained why Zhongli only half-believed him. Those identities were tools, chosen to make his case. As for whether there had truly been just three lives and three deaths... well, Zhongli harbored his doubts.
"Yes, exactly," Lin Mo admitted without hesitation. He managed a wry smile. "Sure, I met my end at the claws of that mindless dragon Durin."
"But... he was my son, all the same. And now that I'm back at Rosalyn's side, I don't think she needs to chase vengeance anymore."
"Even if I refuse her," Zhongli countered mildly, "won't she just turn to the Tsaritsa instead?"
"No."
Lin Mo shook his head. "Refuse her this once, Emperor, and I can talk her down from there. You've got my word."
"Mm. Then it's settled."
Zhongli inclined his head slowly.
As he did, a dense orb of Geo energy—like a shrunken Celestial Star—coalesced swiftly in his palm. In moments, it took shape as a Geo Vision.
"Our reunion's been rather abrupt; I haven't had time to fetch a proper welcome-home gift." Zhongli slid it across the table. "Take this, while my strength endures."
"Thank you, Emperor," Lin Mo said, accepting it without protest.
He knew better than to decline. In a few days' time, once the Gnosis slipped away, even Zhongli would lose the authority to bestow such a thing.
The Geo Vision hummed with immense power, much like the Anemo one Barbatos had granted him—a true all-rounder. It could channel the signature abilities of any Geo wielder and, with a spark of ingenuity, even birth devastating attacks all its own.
"Tea's ready~"
Hu Tao bustled back in then, teapot in hand.
"Hmph."
A sharp sniff followed from the doorway—Rosalyn, naturally, fresh from placing the orders.
Yajin Pavilion's service was lightning-fast, which only deepened Lin Mo's growing dread.
"Wow! This is exactly Hall Master's favorite—boiled fish wrapped around shrimp dumplings, super-duper delicious!" Hu Tao beamed, deftly spearing a dumpling enfolded in fish slices with her chopsticks and holding it to Lin Mo's lips. "C'mon, Mond's Keqing, open wide—ahh~"
In that heartbeat, the room's warmth plunged into winter's grip.
Pristine Cryo swirled in a frosty halo around Rosalyn. The disdain in her eyes, fixed on Lin Mo, all but dared him: Go ahead—try it.
For all her menacing glare at him, though, Rosalyn took exquisite care to keep her elemental aura from so much as grazing him.
But...
She'd overlooked the man seated to her left: Zhongli.
He'd just lifted a piping-hot slice of boiled fish to his mouth when the creeping chill from beside him struck. In an instant, the morsel flash-froze on his chopsticks, transformed into a slab of iced fish.
"..."
Zhongli stared at it.
He opened his mouth to speak—then glanced at Lin Mo.
One look at his old friend's torn expression, and he let out a quiet sigh instead.
"Sigh..."
Even a mind as sharp as yours must struggle with a tangle like this, old friend.
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T/N:
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