Original God Zhongli BG Xiao Qinglong traveled through time

The night was as dark as ink, but Lin Huan’s dream was deeper than the night.

She had long since learned to control herself and seldom dreamed. But tonight, the winding dream was like a poisonous snake, entwining her mind and making it difficult for her to control herself.

At this moment, she stood in a desolate wilderness, surrounded by broken mountains and rivers, and the sky was torn into countless pieces, like a curtain torn apart by a giant hand. The wind swept past her with ashes, bringing a biting chill, as if to freeze her soul as well.

But her memory still stayed at the moment many years ago when she learned that someone had died in the battle to resist the invasion of Liyue by the Fatui. But at this moment, she couldn't remember clearly how she had used almost cruel perseverance to forcibly suppress the urge to rush to question a certain brother. She had wanted to stand in front of him countless times and ask him why he excluded her and why he didn't let her stay with them. Wasn't she a family member? Wasn't she worthy of knowing the truth? Wasn't she their friend and comrade-in-arms? Why couldn't they overcome the difficulties together? Just because she was an immortal and because of the destined separation, they didn't even want her to see them for the last time?

But in the end, she chose to understand his difficulties and chose to remain silent.

But... Lin Huan tilted her head mischievously, with a sly light in her eyes. She still went - after all, she was an immortal. As long as she wanted, how could those brothers who were ordinary people be aware of her existence?

Yes, she admitted that she might be a little angry with Boyang. But she just wanted to see Rong Zhao for the last time.

He was also her brother, her comrade-in-arms, who had fought side by side with her, drank and talked happily with her, and had quietly and unquestionably loved her. Although she could not respond, she truly received the affection, and protected it with all her heart, and finally carefully exchanged it for the original sincere friendship. She was a little happy, because those memories were like a jar of aged wine, the longer it was sealed, the mellower it became. So, how could she not go? How could she not see him off for the last time?

Even if she only watched from a distance, even if she only stood quietly in a corner and didn't attract attention, she had to go. However, she would not show up, and would not make the other brother sad, at the saddest moment for everyone...

However, it was that understanding that, like a blunt knife, tore her heart apart. She ignored the cracks and pain that spread instantly when the truth pierced her heart like a sharp blade. The wound has never healed, but has been buried deep in her memory and in every breath. At this moment, when her psychological defenses were at their most vulnerable, the pain swept over her like a tide, attacking her mind crazily.

This is karma. She understood it very clearly.

How many times had she had this dream since the seal was loosened? She couldn't remember. Ever since the escaping karma began to erode her mind, these dreams followed her like a shadow, like an invisible chain, tightly wrapped around her soul. Every time, she dreamed that she was losing something - maybe a loved one, a close friend, or everything she cherished. Those dreams were terrifyingly real, as if reminding her that she didn't have much time left.

Lin Huan looked down at her hands, her fingertips trembling slightly. She could feel that the karma in her body was slowly devouring her strength and even her memory. Those once clear images now seemed to be covered with a layer of mist, blurry and making her panic.

She closed her eyes, trying to grasp the gradually fading memories, but they were like quicksand through her fingers; the harder she tried, the faster they slipped away.

She knew she had to do something, even if it was for the faces that were still vivid in her memory, even if it was for the precious things she had not yet lost.

But she also knew that the erosion of karma was far more terrible than the pollution of the abyss. It would not take her life all at once, but would eat away at her soul bit by bit until she was completely lost in the endless darkness.

The moonlight permeated the carved window lattices, weaving silver lines on the blue brick floor. Lin Huan leaned against the cold rosewood window frame, her pale fingertips unconsciously stroking an old crack - it was the mark left by a thunderstorm seventy years ago. The night wind, wrapped in the bitterness of the neon flower, brushed across her temples, but could not blow away the gloom solidified between her eyebrows. The vague outline of the rocky abyss in the distance swayed in her eyes, as if it was going to swallow up the crumbling jade plate on the sky.

The sound of the cloud-patterned black boots rolling over the fallen leaves stopped just seven steps away. The fragrance of the water-sinking rose from the wide sleeves of the visitor, and the shadow cast on the marble floor seemed as heavy as a rock. When the gilded cuffs caught the afterglow, she was surprised to find that her hand holding the silver lock was already sweating.

“Lin Keqing.” As soon as the title of the ceremonial attendant of the Hall of Rebirth fell, the gentle voice suddenly changed to a personal name like spring breeze and rain: “A Huan.”

The moment Lin Huan turned around, two bright moons suddenly reflected in his brown eyes - one hanging in the sky, and one in Zhongli's hand. The clear medicinal soup rippled in the white glaze lotus-patterned cup, and the surging scent of herbs broke the barrier of agarwood. The coolness of evening primrose mixed with the bitterness of the glass bag lingered between the two people's clothes.

“Lianli Zhenxin Powder.” The jade ring tapped against the porcelain cup, making a clear sound, accompanied by the calm tone that had not changed for a thousand years, “The snow-capped ginseng must be boiled together with Qingxin. It will not chill the lungs and can also calm night terrors.” The trajectory of the slender fingers pushing the medicine cup was like the arc of a rock spear cutting through the sky.

Her palm unexpectedly touched the warm wall of the cup, causing her fingertips to tremble slightly. She looked up and saw the snow-like forehead ornament between the other person's eyebrows reflecting the moonlight. She had the illusion that there were amber fragments floating in the medicine soup. After drinking the medicine juice boiled over three times, the warmth in her throat actually overwhelmed the biting coldness entangled in her meridians.

The jade cup made a light "click" sound when it was placed on the rosewood table, and he turned his head away to avoid her gaze: "Emperor, even the dosage of medicine is to be compared with that of Xiao Shangxian?"

The wide sleeves of silk gauze swept across the ancient books on the desk, and the belt embroidered with butterflies of the dead fluttered in the wind like a crane. "It seems that I have to go to the "Sumeru" tomorrow."

The sleeves with dark rock embroidery suddenly brushed against her drooping fingertips. "Before leaving, Ah Huan should make a pot of good tea with the hall master and have a night talk by candlelight." Zhongli's figure standing with his back to the light cast the outline of a towering mountain on the ground, and the jade halberd on his waist hummed like a sigh, "Those old stories sealed in the jade box may not be more boring than the "Tour Guide of Teyvat" collected by children today."

Amid the sound of a night owl flapping its wings startled by the eaves, she smiled softly and raised her hand to catch the falling sycamore leaves: "If the story I brought back is not exciting enough..." Her nails stained with nail polish suddenly crushed the veins of the leaf, "Then I'll trouble you to prepare three cups of Ghost Tooth Morning Dew from Wuwang Slope, and thank the hall master for his kindness on my behalf--"

The unfinished words disappeared when the black jade ring suddenly pressed against his lips. The god's pupils were filled with gilded ripples, and the time that had been frozen for thousands of years quietly loosened at this moment: "The promise of the past has been made. Even if the underworld flows backwards, the rock..." He leaned over to pick up the broken leaves, and the rock elements flowing through his fingertips instantly restored them to their original state, "I will keep my promise."

"And the breeze should be like this, too."