Qiu Xue looked at the confused little Paimon and couldn't help but chuckle softly.
"I won't be going, Paimon. There are still some things I need to ask Zhongli."
"After that, I'll be heading back."
She gently patted Paimon head, her voice filled with warmth.
"Alright then! Traveler, let's go!"
Paimon turned around and looked at the Traveler, whose hair was still a complete mess.
Lumine simply nodded in response.
"This hairstyle really doesn't suit either of you."
Qiu Xue giggled at the sight of the two and then stepped forward gracefully, her snow-white legs moving with elegance.
She stood beside them and carefully tidied up their hair.
With that done, Paimon and Lumine set off towards Yujing Terrace.
Meanwhile, as if they had some sort of unspoken understanding, Qiu Xue and Zhongli quietly walked towards a more secluded area.
They sat down beside the storyteller's table though at this hour, the storyteller Tian Tiezui had yet to arrive.
Zhongli ordered a pot of hot tea.
Qiu Xue, with a casual wave of her slender hand, cast a soundproofing barrier around them.
"Old friend, what's with this new appearance of yours...?"
Zhongli was the first to break the silence, gazing at Qiu Xue with a hint of confusion.
"Morax, do you still remember a thousand years ago, when I purified Azhdaha?"
Qiu Xue long, inky-white dress draped naturally as she sat, her snow-white legs gracefully crossed.
Though her expression remained calm, the barely-there smile on her lips gave her an air of elegance and quiet poise.
"Of course, I remember."
Zhongli lifted his teacup, blowing gently over the surface, before turning his gaze back to the stunning woman beside him.
"A thousand years ago, I left my very essence behind in that place."
"Just yesterday, while outside Liyue Harbor, I sensed a very familiar presence."
"But... I couldn't pinpoint its exact location."
Qiu Xue lifted her teacup, exhaled softly over the rim, and took a delicate sip before continuing.
Zhongli, sensing that she had more to say, simply waited in silence.
"So, I decided to use the authority of the Yin-Yang Archon—to transform into a woman."
"With this form, I was able to track the presence."
Hearing this, Zhongli finally understood.
He took a sip of hot tea as realization dawned, his old friend had changed forms in order to track down this peculiar aura.
"At the site where I once purified Azhdaha, something strange happened—"
"A white light suddenly emerged from the earth."
"I seized it and carefully examined it."
"Inside was another Archon, identical to me, in the process of being born."
"Fortunately, it had not yet developed sentience so I absorbed it before it could awaken."
"And yet, I can't shake this strange feeling. Ever since I absorbed that light, I feel like... I'm no longer myself."
Qiu Xue downed the rest of her tea in one breath, her slender jade-like fingers idly playing with the teacup. She smiled playfully at Zhongli, who sat beside her.
"And in my current state, the longer I stay in this changed gender, the more I become that gender."
Hearing this explanation, Zhongli turned his gaze toward the elegant woman beside him.
"I am no longer myself... What do you mean by that?"
He asked, a trace of doubt in his voice.
"I'm not entirely sure yet, but it feels like my consciousness is splitting in two."
Ever since she transformed into a female form and absorbed that mysterious light, she had felt strange, as if something within her was shifting.
"But can you still change back? If the Hall Master sees you like this, she's bound to be shocked."
Zhongli let out a small chuckle, looking at Qiu Xue.
After all, if she walked around Liyue in her current form, she was certain to draw unnecessary attention.
"Hehe, do you really want me to change back that badly?"
Qiu Xue charming smile carried a hint of mischief as she teased Zhongli, clearly enjoying the moment.
For a split second, Zhongli was taken aback, caught off guard by the familiar yet unfamiliar smile of his old friend.
"Alright, alright, I'll stop teasing you."
With a flick of her delicate fingers, Qiu Xue reinforced the barrier, ensuring that no one from the outside could see what was happening inside.
Then, she cast an illusion, creating a duplicate of her female form, which walked toward the outskirts of Liyue Harbor.
At the same time, she conjured another illusion, this time taking the form of Qiu Bai, walking into Liyue Harbor from the outside.
Suppressing the discomfort in her body, Qiu Xue endured the splitting headache and painfully shifted into a young man, appearing to be around eighteen or nineteen years old.
His long, jet-black hair cascaded over his pristine, ink-white robes, untouched by even a speck of dust.
His face was as refined as jade, his light blue eyes resembling a tranquil yet unfathomable midnight sky, elegant and gentle.
He stood at about 1.85 meters tall, and at his waist hung a small Yin-Yang Taiji emblem, radiating a brilliant light, much like a Vision.
This was the original form of the Yin-Yang Immortal—the very first form Qiu Xue had taken.
Then, his form shifted once again, and his face transformed into Qiu Bai, the one Traveler and Paimon were familiar with.
Now back in this state, Qiu Bai no longer felt that strange sensation, though the headache still lingered from time to time.
"Well, I suppose that counts as turning back."
Qiu Bai murmured, then gestured with a single finger, dissolving the barrier around them.
He sat down and looked at Zhongli.
Zhongli, after witnessing this whole series of transformations, couldn't help but twitch his lips slightly.
But in the end, he simply took a calm sip of his tea, as if none of it fazed him.
"Alright then, Morax, tell me—"
"When you were at the Statue of the Seven, why did the worn parts of it crack after being repaired?"
Qiu Bai eyes held a curious glint as he looked at Zhongli.
At this moment, his headache still hadn't completely subsided.
"Could it be because of that essence?"
Qiu Bai pondered, slightly startled by the thought.
"They are all but dust-laden memories of the past."
Zhongli reminisced for a moment before slowly speaking to Qiu Bai.
"Today, at the Statue of the Seven when I saw you in your female form, Qiu Xue, it reminded me of a certain god."
"Guizhong... She was a god who perished before Liyue was even founded. The 'God of Dust.'"
"In the later stages of the Archon War, I learned my lesson."
"To prevent the lingering resentment of slain gods from becoming a threat, I chose to seal and suppress them rather than simply destroy them."
"It was only after other gods in Liyue had fallen and Liyue Harbor had been established that I set out for Qingce Village to subdue the evil dragon, Azhdaha."
"We fought a great battle, and in the end, Guili Plains was devastated."
"And in that very battle, Guizhong fell as well."
"The loss of a friend... filled me with anger."
Hearing Zhongli mention his anger over Guizhong death, Qiu Bai head suddenly throbbed with intense pain.
Yet, the moment he heard Zhongli refer to her as just a friend, the pain abruptly vanished.
"I divided Azhdaha body into five parts while he was still alive."
"I bound his divine essence to the north of Guili Plains."
"His bones were nailed into the southeast."
"His body was locked away in the northwest."
"His soul was bound to the northeast."
"And finally, his form was sealed beneath the southwest."
"So that he may never find peace for all eternity."
Zhongli spoke with a calm, indifferent expression, recounting the most terrifying deeds in the most casual tone.
Meanwhile, in the depths of the sea, Osial shuddered: "6."
The unaware citizens of Liyue, hearing Zhongli and Qiu Bai conversation, assumed they were merely chatting over tea.
"Heh, all of it is but the past now."
Zhongli chuckled lightly, taking a sip of tea before gazing at Qiu Bai.
"I see… so that's why…"
Qiu Bai murmured under his breath.
The Archon War had been unimaginably cruel. During that time, there was no standard for morality—only survival and dominance.
And that brutal war raged for a thousand years.
Though Qiu Bai had not been born three thousand years ago, he had still come into existence a thousand years prior.
He had witnessed the War between Adepti and Demons, the battle from five hundred years ago, by which time the concept of morality had already taken root.
Otherwise, someone like Qiqi might never have survived.
The Archon War was a conflict among gods, all vying for control over Teyvat.
But the Adepti-Demon War was fundamentally different from the Archon War—there was no need for explanation.
Still, given Qiu Bai current strength, he was confident that even if he were thrown back three thousand years, he could have stood as a ruler in his own right.
"Morax, do you wish to bring Guizhong back to life?"
Suppressing the discomfort in his body, Qiu Bai took a sip of tea, gazing at Zhongli with curiosity.
After all, the way Zhongli spoke of her was much like how he treated Azhdaha—nothing more than fond remembrance of an old friend.
(Author's Note)
(Dear readers, the author has combined various fan theories and woven them into a retelling of the Archon War!)
(I'll be releasing two more chapters soon—I won't keep you all waiting! I'll continue writing to push out the next few chapters!)
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