Original God Zhongli BG Xiao Qinglong traveled through time

At the highest point of the cliffs along the sea in Tianheng Mountain, the bustling hustle and bustle of the day has sunk into the deeper night. The moonlight is not pouring, but like a layer of flowing, semi-solidified silver frost, soaking every black tile and every vermilion lacquered corridor column of the inn, and even coating the copper bells hanging under the eaves with matte silver. The night wind rolled up the heavy mist from the depths of Dihuazhou, carrying the astringent taste of sea salt and the subtle fishy and salty pressure left over from the daytime. Dewdrops quietly condensed on the bamboo-framed wind lantern hanging under the corridor, slowly crawling along the lamp frame, and finally falling down under the heavy load, "snapping", breaking into smaller water lights on the bluestone steps, spreading a small dark wet mark, and then being swallowed up by the night fog.

Yu Qing leaned against the railing at the end of the seaside corridor on the top of the mountain, his back facing the warm orange lights. He almost blended into the thick night, except for the ice crystal ribbon around his waist, which symbolized the authority of winter and the bondage of ice. Under the cold moon, it reflected the inhuman, inorganic cold light, like a coiled venomous snake. He lowered his eyes, and the cold metal fingertips of his left hand were unconsciously and repeatedly twisting a tiny mark on the mechanical joint of his right arm - that was the place where the colorful flowers that were blown down by the sea breeze of Liyue Harbor during the day stayed for a short time. The weak and almost invisible thunder element on his fingertips jumped, trying to dispel the stagnation and coldness deep in his core that came from the winter ice and penetrated into his bones, but it only brought a very subtle and difficult friction sound inside the joint, like a rusty gear forcibly turning. Under my feet, the dark blue sea was surging at the bottom of the cliff. Although the remaining runes of the Ba Che that were torn apart by the thunder wedge during the day had dissipated, that area of sea still looked like a huge piece of black jade that had absorbed too much resentment and unwillingness, exuding a heart-pounding depression.

"The moonlight here is as warm as aged chalcedony, and is closer to the breath of the mortal world than the burning auroras on top of the Winter Palace."

A calm and gentle voice, as if coming from deep in the rock, sounded behind him, easily cutting through the stagnation of the night and the whispers of the tide.

Yu Qing did not look back. The lightning that struggled in vain on his fingertips suddenly went out, leaving only the cold metal glowing in the moonlight. "Mr. Zhongli, you are in a good mood," he said with his usual sarcasm, his eyes still fixed on the dark blue that seemed to swallow the light, "Are you here to confirm whether I, the 'Nail of the Fatui', have buried something that should not be in the ground of Liyue under the cover of night?"

Zhongli walked silently, the hem of his black robe brushed past the wooden corridor, not stained with a speck of dust. The dragon scale pattern embroidered with gold thread on his sleeves shone with a restrained and heavy glow under the moonlight. He did not come empty-handed. In his folded arms, he carefully held a ball of furry warmth in an almost pious manner.

It was a long-haired ragdoll cat that was completely white and without any other colors. It was slender and exquisite, with soft and fluffy long hair that shone with a silky and warm luster in the moonlight. Only the tips of its ears and the end of its fluffy tail were stained with an extremely elegant warm golden color, as if it had been gently swept by the finest rock gold powder. It curled up quietly in Zhongli's arms, its small head resting on the emperor's dark sleeves. Its round cat eyes were not ordinary vertical pupils, but showed an extremely strange, warm and transparent amber gold color, like top-grade beeswax that had been precipitated for thousands of years. At this moment, it was half-closed, revealing a kind of laziness and calmness that was not supposed to be possessed by cats, and it was insightful of the world. Its long tail with a golden tip hung from Zhongli's arms, and the tip of the tail gently swept across the cuffs of his dark clothes as the emperor walked.

Zhongli Xing came to Yu Qing's side, but did not look directly at the young executive. Instead, his eyes were cast towards the distant Liyue Harbor, where the lights were dim but still flickering stubbornly. "The rock layers were squeezed to form the ridges that support the sky; the water eroded to form the valleys that connect to the sea. The freezing technique of winter seems indestructible," he said in a low and gentle voice, as if narrating the changes of ancient earth veins, "but the way of heaven and earth is to combine hardness and softness, and yin and yang complement each other. In the depths of extreme cold, there may be a crack that can allow warm springs to grow and thaw into spring." As he spoke, he adjusted the position of his folded arms slightly, and the snow-white cat with a golden tail in his arms seemed to be disturbed from its light sleep. Its small nose twitched slightly, and its strange amber-gold eyes slowly opened, with clear eyes, quietly falling on Yu Qing's right hand covered with metal and ice crystals, which was tightly holding his cold joints.

That gaze was calm and gentle, with a kind of penetrating power that Yu Qing was extremely familiar with - that was Lin Huan's gaze.

At the moment when Yu Qing's icy blue pupils shrank slightly, the cat in Zhongli's arms moved. It stretched out its front paws extremely lightly, and its small, tender pink pads silently rested on the cold railing that Yu Qing was leaning on. Then, it raised its furry little head and actively and unreservedly pressed its warm cheeks and soft ear tips against the back of Yu Qing's hand, which was covered with winter ice and metal and had no life temperature.

An extremely weak, yet extremely pure and majestic warm current, not forcibly impacting, but like a warm spring that quietly seeps into the frozen soil in spring, gently and irresistibly along the cold metal and ice, spreading to the depths of Yu Qing's core. This power is so familiar - it is the warmth when Lin Huan used the star sand to protect his shattered core in the depths of the rock abyss; it is the last bit of heat transmitted from Dan Yu's palm on the night when the fire of the stepping sand furnace was about to go out. It is not to dispel the extreme cold of winter immediately, but to gently awaken a certain frozen activity and resilience belonging to "life" itself in the depths of the ice.

Yu Qing's body stiffened for a moment. It was not a warning of being attacked, but a tremor from the depths of his soul, the most familiar and trusted warmth invading the cold fortress. He subconsciously wanted to withdraw his hand, as if the warmth made him more at a loss than the bitter cold of winter. However, the cat in his arms - or rather, Lin Huan in the form of a cat - just looked at him quietly and deeply with his clear amber eyes. There was no blame or urging in his eyes, only a kind of almost eternal tolerance and waiting.

"The people of Liyue firmly believe in 'passing on the torch'," Zhongli's voice sounded again, his eyes still fixed on the lights of thousands of houses in the distance, as if he was just whispering to the moonlight, "It's not about how the fire itself is blazing and immortal. It's about how a weak spark can be in countless hands, rough or tender, across the long cold night and the bottomless abyss, still immortal, passing on the hope of life and the will to protect." His fingertips hanging by his side moved slightly, and a wisp of rock elemental star sand as thin as dust but containing a heavy earth force silently precipitated from the void. It did not condense into any weapon or barrier, but turned into a ginkgo leaf with clear veins and warm golden light flowing on the edge, slowly swirling in the night wind, and finally, it accurately and gently fell on the stamen of the glass lily at Yu Qing's feet, which stubbornly poked its head out of the cold rock crack. The bright white petals received the golden leaves condensed from the star sand, as if they were infused with invisible blessings. Under the cold moonlight, they emitted a softer and tougher halo.

The sea breeze suddenly became strong, carrying a piercing salty smell as it rushed onto the cliff, causing Yu Qing's crimson purple robe to rustle. The cat in Zhongli's arms had its snow-white fur ruffled by the wind, but it did not flinch. Instead, it lightly jumped off the railing and landed silently on the cold and rough rocks at Yu Qing's feet. It paced around Yu Qing's boots for half a circle, then stopped, raised its head, and once again used its warm body to gently and firmly rub the side of Yu Qing's cold boots that were wrapped in winter iron. After doing all this, it raised its head again and uttered a very light and soft sound to Yu Qing, which seemed to be able to penetrate the barrier of the soul:

"Meow-"

This sound, with the soft tone peculiar to that of a cat, strangely blended with Lin Huan's unique gentleness and understanding that could calm all restlessness.

Yu Qing lowered his eyes, his icy blue pupils deeply colliding with the amber cat's pupils so close. Time seemed to freeze for a moment under the moon. Finally, he bent down very slowly, with a restraint that was almost ritualistic. He did not try to touch the snow-white fur that looked so soft and warm, but stretched out his right index finger covered with ice crystals and metal. He used the straightest, smoothest, and coldest knuckles, as if touching a rare and fragile treasure, and very lightly, like a dragonfly touching water, touched the warm and soft ear tips of the cat, which were stained with light gold.

The touch of the fur, with the vigorous warmth of fresh life, penetrated the cold metal shell and was clearly imprinted on his core of perception. It was a long-lost, almost forgotten touch.

He stood up, the night wind ruffled his hair. His voice remained flat, no emotion could be heard, but strangely the sharp edge he usually had faded away, leaving only a calmness that was almost exhausted: "...It seems that in Sister Huan's eyes, this bit of cold poison from Zhidong is more troublesome than the remnants of the evil spirit that have accumulated in the depths of the abyss for thousands of years?"

A faint smile that seemed to melt the frost under the moon passed across the corners of Zhongli's lips, but he said nothing. The snow-white, golden-tailed ragdoll cat seemed to have completed some important mission. It turned around gracefully, lightly jumped back into the emperor's empty arms, and rolled itself into a warm and fluffy ball of fur again, leaving only its long tail with a rock-gold tip, which swayed comfortably and rhythmically on Zhongli's dark sleeves. The moonlight flowed on it, and its snow-white long fur and the golden tail seemed to be absorbing the moonlight, flowing with a quiet and sacred brilliance.

Yu Qing's eyes passed over the warm fur ball that exuded a familiar scent, and cast towards the distant Liyue Harbor, which was outlined by the sparse lights and had a soft and hazy outline. The night wind blew away his whispers, making them almost inaudible: "...The Lantern Festival is coming soon." He paused, and his fingertips unconsciously drew a faint white mark on the cold vermilion railing, "Wait until these filthy things on the sea are completely cleaned up..." His voice was even softer, almost drowned out by the sound of the waves, but with a strange certainty, as if he was talking to the cat in his arms, or to himself, "...I'll take you to taste the new golden shrimp ball-stuffed Yuanxiao from Wanmin Hall. Captain Beidou's 'hot stuff' should be left to warm up her crew."

Deep in the night fog, a cat's cry with obvious dissatisfaction and warning was heard: "Meow--!" A silver-gray shadow as fast as lightning suddenly jumped out from the shadow of the eaves of the inn! The cat, with its fluffy long hair all over its body, fell accurately on the railing beside Yu Qing like an angry ball of yarn. Its glass-like vertical pupils were bulging, staring at the snow-white existence in Zhongli's arms, and a threatening growl came from its throat. Its tail stood up high, like an exploded flag, full of anger at the invasion of its territory.

Yu Qing's eyes lightly swept over the puffy silver-gray fur ball beside him. The corners of his frozen lips seemed to move upwards in an extremely weak, almost undetectable arc, as fast as the flash of moonlight on a knife blade. He did not look at Zhongli again, nor at the cat in his arms. His last look was cast at the dark blue sea under his feet, which was still surging with an uneasy atmosphere and seemed to be able to swallow everything. A hint of coldness flashed through the depths of his eyes. Then, without any warning, he turned around very naturally.

The purple hem of her dress silently swept across the smooth wooden floor of the corridor. Without any lingering or pausing, she walked straight to a half-closed door of a guest room deep in the corridor, which was emitting warm orange light. Her back was tall and lonely, blending into the warm shadows of the light and shadow inside the inn. She didn't say goodbye or look back, as if she was just an ordinary traveler returning from a late-night walk, returning to her temporary residence for resting with a slight chill from the night dew. Her movements were smooth and natural, without any signs of intentional departure.

The night wind blew through the suddenly empty corridor, picking up a few pieces of ginkgo-shaped rock elemental star sand that Zhongli had left behind, swirling around, and finally dissipating silently in the moist mist. Zhongli lowered his eyes, and his fingertips gently stroked the warm and soft back of the cat in his arms, with an indescribable cherishment in that action. Xizhi cat bared its teeth unwillingly at the snow-white figure, gurgling in its throat, and finally shook its bristly tail in dissatisfaction. The silver-gray figure was like ink blending into the water, quietly sliding into the thick shadows of the interlaced beams and pillars of the inn, and disappeared.

On the edge of the cliff, only the glass lily with golden leaves of star sand remained, silently and stubbornly stretching its jade-like petals in the cold moonlight and salty sea breeze. The sound of waves hitting the reefs was eternal, as if the silent confrontation and brief warm touch under the moon just now were just a ripple in the endless night, accidentally recorded by the moonlight and then wiped out by the tide.