Honkai Impact: The Dream Keeper

“Perhaps leaving here and starting a new life will allow him to begin afresh…” Theresa said.

“But that way he’ll never be able to get over it,” Bronya said.

“Indeed, running away isn’t the only solution; we have to find a way to solve it,” Long Qiao said after finishing her second bottle of vodka.

“Many times, we understand these principles, but there are still some things in our hearts that we find hard to let go of,” Theresa said.

"Even you or I wouldn't be able to let it go so easily."

"Qiao, is there something you're having trouble letting go of?" Bronya suddenly asked Long Qiao.

"No, if I had to say, it's that I've never met my parents since I was born. But I've let it go since I met Lu Ziyang. If they're not there, they're not there. At least I have a boyfriend, and he doesn't," Long Qiao said after thinking for a moment.

"And another thing is, if I could go back, I would never go to that 'No Pain' tattoo shop again, even if you beat me to death. They tattooed four designs and I was unconscious for four days."

"..."

“That being said, I still don’t want to see Joachim looking so gloomy. He wasn’t like this before. I want to help him, after all, he’s family,” Theresa said.

"...Speaking of which, it's already so dark. The priest should have been back long ago. How strange. I'll go out and take a look."

After Theresa finished speaking, she ran out immediately. Long Qiao and the others followed her, but they couldn't find any trace of the priest anywhere.

"Let's split up and search. I'll go check the other side of the hill. You guys take care of the other side." Theresa said and ran off to the other side of the hill.

Meanwhile, Long Qiao led Bronya and the others to search the other side, but they couldn't find any trace of the priest no matter how far they searched.

“It seems the priest isn’t here. Let’s go back,” Bronya said.

"Row."

With her feet planted in the snow, Bronya's mind kept replaying Theresa's words. The sunlight shone on the earth, and Bronya seemed to see the scene seven years ago when she first met her mother. That memory that she could not let go of had now become a painful shackle for her.

"Things that are hard to let go of... are the same for Bronya..."

“That memory must have been painful…” Long Qiao said abruptly as she walked next to Bronya.

"That unforgettable memory has now become a painful shackle for you. It must be a painful feeling..."

"Um……"

“I’ve never met my parents in my entire life. The first time I met Lu Ziyang was in the snow. I was scavenging for a living back then. When he walked up to me, the first thing he said was… Your experience is very similar to mine. We were both abandoned children. Be my little brother… It’s funny, right? After all, it’s unbelievable that a seven-year-old would take care of a five-year-old. But he really did it. My current fighting style and everything else were all taught to me by Lu Ziyang. He’s a natural at fighting. Back then, I was just like you. Those days are an inseparable part of my life.” Long Qiao softly told Bronya about her experiences, her thoughts drifting back to that time, and a slight smile appeared on her lips.

“No one can quickly let go of a painful thing unless they meet someone who can change their life.” Long Qiao stopped after saying the last sentence.

“Cho... what exactly was your past like?” Bronya suddenly asked.

Upon hearing Bronya's question, Long Qiao was taken aback, but she lowered her head, her long bangs covering her eyes. She sighed slightly and remained silent.

A short while later, Long Qiao raised his head again and looked at Bronya.

"My past... it was alright, nothing special. Because I didn't have parents, I basically ate and slept under bridges because I had no home," Long Qiao said with a self-deprecating tone.

"Then...why didn't you go to the orphanage?" Bronya asked the final question.

“They don’t want me because I used to have trouble finding food and shelter. I often made a living by scavenging, stealing, and robbing. In my old neighborhood, the traffic and security were terrible. I had no choice but to do that to avoid starving to death,” Long Qiao said.

"And another thing is... in order to avoid being harmed by thugs for some reason, every child gets some creepy tattoos on their body."

"So, have you gotten your tattoo removed?"

“…Uh…well…” Long Qiao scratched his face and stammered, then lifted half of his clothes, revealing a fierce-looking pattern tattooed on the left side of his chest and a headless human figure on the left side of his back.

"I have a Qiongqi tattoo on my left chest and a Xingtian tattoo on my left back," Long Qiao said awkwardly.

What about the right side?

“…You want to see the right side too? In just these two moments, I’ve shown you my entire upper body!” Long Qiao said, staring wide-eyed at Bronya.

"...Bronya just wanted to see your tattoos."

"Let's talk about it next time... After things are settled here, you can watch for as long as you want."

"..."

As Bronya looked at Long Qiao with a resentful expression, Long Qiao grabbed Bronya's hand.

"Are you feeling better? If you can't let go, then bury that memory in your heart. I'll be here for you, and I won't let anyone hurt Bronya," Long Qiao said to Bronya with a smile.

"Thank you...it's all over now."

"Ah."

Long Qiao then quickly walked to the front and summoned the five insect devices. Bronya and Seele started talking behind her, and Mo Ye also walked to Long Qiao's side, who was talking to Sword Scorpion.

"What are you planning to do next?" Mo Ye asked.

“I plan to have the insect device help me find the priest’s whereabouts. I can’t guarantee that there won’t be any unexpected situations. The insect device can perform time-space jumps and can also communicate with my consciousness. Once we find something, we can rush over immediately,” Long Qiao said.

At the same time, Bronya returned to Long Qiao's side and said.

“Sure, let’s go find Theresa. After all, we haven’t found any trace of the priest here,” Bronya said.

"Alright, Kabuto, the search for the priest depends on you two." Ryuki said, looking at the four floating insect devices and a sword scorpion on his shoulder.

The five insects nodded repeatedly, then turned around and set off to search. Long Qiao also led the three of them to search for Theresa, while Seele behind them suddenly acted strangely.

“Well done, Seele…we’re very close to our goal, but don’t let Long Qiao interfere…” a voice suddenly rang out.

Is doing this... really a good idea?

"It's alright, Seele~"

"Everything we did was just to leave this place and return to reality with my sister."

“…Seele understands…”

However… a small purple scorpion behind Seele witnessed everything. Blue code appeared in the scorpion's eyes and flowed into Long Qiao's mind. Long Qiao smiled and raised the corners of his mouth.

"Well done, Sword Scorpion. I only intended for Sword Scorpion to find the priest, but this guy suddenly came back and uploaded this great stuff to me. Blackie, Blackie, you didn't expect me to be the sixth one, did you?"