Chapter 4: Encounter in Ji City
-Jianxin-
Steam curled from the basket as the middle-aged stall owner lifted the lid, revealing plump dumplings glistening under the afternoon sun.
"Eight steamed pork buns, miss," the woman said warmly, her cheeks dimpling as she handed the bamboo steamer over.
Jianxin smiled and offered the silver coins. "Three hundred Valis."
The auntie blinked, shaking her head quickly. "Ah, no, no, it's only two hundred and forty, dear. You've given too much."
But the young Martial Artist only smiled brighter, shaking her head gently. "When one gives a little more, the heart gains more in return. To haggle over kindness is to lose sight of virtue."
The woman's eyes softened at that. "Such a well-mannered girl. May Heaven's fortune walk beside you, child."
Jianxin cupped her hands respectfully. "Thank you, Auntie. May your family be blessed with full bellies and peaceful nights."
She stepped aside to make room for the next customer, turning toward where her Master stood across the street.
He was at it again.
Tet was seated at a small tea stand, legs crossed, chatting amiably with the old owner and two locals. He was laughing, relaxed, completely at ease among mortals. Even now, he had conjured a full mahjong set from thin air, gifting it to the stunned tea-seller as thanks for the free cup of tea.
Jianxin couldn't help but smile at the sight. In these two weeks together, she had come to understand the kind of person her Master was.
Cheerful and playful, always quick to bring laughter and ease tension. Mischievous, yes, but never cruel. A peace-loving man who avoided conflict when he could.
During their journey together he told her, "Water is the softest thing, yet it can penetrate mountains and earth. This shows clearly the principle of softness overcoming hardness."
And Jianxin understood. That while Master Tet claimed to be gentle and peace-loving, such softness was not weakness. It was strength, unyielding, patient, and formless. The kind that could bend yet never break.
And because she had a better understanding of him, Jianxin knew her Master was not the type of person to be distracted during a conversation.
Ever since they entered Ji City, her Master's eyes wandered. He still smiled and joked with commoners, but his gaze often flicked toward alleys, rooftops, and passing crowds.
As if waiting or searching for someone.
Lady Shion, perhaps? It wouldn't be a surprise if she too, like Tet, took action to search for her friend.
According to Master Tet, Lady Shion was a lonely goddess back in Heaven. Because of her domains—Misfortune and Poverty—she had no friends. Few dared to approach her. Only two ever did: Master Tet, and Lady Izanami, the Goddess of Death.
When Jianxin heard that, she couldn't help but feel sympathy for the poor goddess. No wonder her Master worried so much. So, it was her duty as Master Tet's disciple to help ease his burden.
Just as she was about to step forward, a soft, cold voice reached her ears—
"Excuse me, Lord Celestial, may I have some of your time?"
Jianxin's attention snapped toward the sound.
A woman had stepped into Tet's path. She was tall and poised, her long black hair falling straight down her back, with neat bangs framing a face that could be mistaken for carved jade. Her teal-green eyes were striking, calm, and distant. She wore a black qipao trimmed with gold, its hem brushing her thighs, with white fabric layered across her shoulders and sleeves. Black gloves completed her attire.
Her master's eyes narrowed briefly, the only sign of irritation, before his usual carefree smile returned.
….
-Tet-
It hasn't even been an hour, and I've already been found, Tet mused, his lips curling faintly as he studied the woman blocking his way.
Everything about her—hair, eyes, clothes, expression—was exactly as he remembered from Wuthering Waves.
Baizhi.
He was excited to see her, sure. Another "fictional" person who'd somehow found her way into this world. But that didn't mean he'd let her disrespect him so casually.
So, true to his domain, the God of Play decided to play.
Tilting his head in realisation, Tet said, "Could you be the child my dear Wangmu sent to fetch me?"
"'Dear'?" Her eyes widened, lips parting in confusion.
Ah, that reaction, already soothing his irritation. Before she could recover, Tet pressed his advantage.
He nodded slowly, lowering his gaze, his tone softening, and his face flushing faintly as if recalling a steamy romance. "…Wangmu was rough—!"
The God of Play didn't have the chance to finish besmirching Xi Wangmu's image.
His vision suddenly tilted, the world flipping upside down as the azure sky filled his view. For a split second, he felt weightless, then solid arms caught him, and the ground blurred beneath him.
"…Huh?"
The last things Tet heard before his surroundings vanished into a rush of wind were two overlapping shouts—
"Master Tet!"
"Jingwei?!"
______________________________________________
"Miss, if you're going to kidnap someone, at least ensure the safety of the product." Tet chastised, lightly rubbing his eyelids that had previously been assaulted by air pressure.
"I apologize for the sudden relocation," she said, "And I didn't mean to kidnap you, but Xi Wangmu's child seemed intent on harassing you."
Oh? Had the mortal world changed so much that even kidnappers started minding their manners?
Tet's interest in his saviour now peaked and he slowly opened his eyes, and in that moment, his attention was fully transfixed on her.
You can't be serious…
His mouth opened and closed like a goldfish, utterly speechless. Standing before him was a figure that stepped straight out of legend.
She looked every bit a traditional martial arts master. Dark blue eyes met his mismatched eyes with an unflinching calm. Her long, dark-blue hair was tied back in a ponytail, strands loose around her face softening her otherwise strict appearance. She wore a modified Chinese martial arts uniform, flowing yet practical, in white and blue with red accents.
"You…" Tet tried, but words failed him.
Her head tilted slightly, the faintest quizzical lift of her brow. "Is something the matter?"
Yes, woman! A lot of things, in fact!
I never get five-star units until I hit pity, and even when I do, I lose the 50/50. So why are you, of all people, standing here in front of me?
For once, the God of Play could not brush this off with a joke or a tease. Standing before him was a living legend, fiction made flesh, as real as Jianxin or Baizhi. He hadn't even played Honkai Impact in his previous life, yet through fanfics and art, he knew her.
And the girl before him was unmistakably Fu Hua as she had been in St. Freya, not the red-and-white Fenghuang Immortal version.
The Fenghuang Immortal who had walked the mortal world long before Albert Waldstein's appearance, long before the Gods had even set eyes on it.
Back then, the world was chaos incarnate: monsters roamed freely, spirits—both good and evil—danced across the land. Fu Hua had been the first mortal to gain power, the first human to contract a spirit: Fenghuang, the Fire Spirit.
No one knew much about her early life, and those who did had long since perished. The Gods themselves only discovered Gekai near the tail end of her life. And why didn't they descend then, or even later, during Albert Waldstein's era?
Bureaucracy.
She had become a General under the First Emperor of Shenzhou, Huangdi, who was also her disciple. Her end, like her counterpart like her counterpart, had been far from peaceful.
During those years of unifying Shenzhou along with Huangdi, the Dungeon bit back at the Fu Hua who had caused it countless losses. Taotie, Taowu, Hundun, Qiongqi, the Acnologia Expy—the One Eyed Black Dragon—Zahhak, a three-headed dragon, five level-nine monsters, one level-eight, and several level-sevens.
Who'd have thought that at one point, the Black Dragon had been only level nine.
The battle had left entire regions in ruin: tens of thousands dead, the western half of Shenzhou fractured, ashes, and drowned.
Tet's eyes swept over the familiar desolation from a mountaintop west of Ji City that Jingwei brought him to. As far as one could see, for miles on end, was just flat plains. Nothing lived here. No grass. No mountains.
His excitement at encountering the Phoenix Immortal drained instantly. "How do you feel?"
She blinked, dark-blue eyes slowly turning to him. "…Hm?"
The God of Games gaze swept over the ruin once more. No words could capture it. She followed his eyes, and after a long pause, she spoke.
"…It hurts. I feel ashamed. Angry. Like a failure… confused. Who am I? Who was I?" Even as she said all this, her composure didn't shatter.
Tet remained silent, letting her words hang in the scorched wind.
So, like her counterpart, she too had lost her memories. A faint, amused thought fluttered through his mind. If I wasn't certain I existed for entertainment before, I would be now.
More importantly—
Should I tell her the truth?
He didn't need long to decide.
"You are the creator of Martial Arts, the Founder of Chi, the Transcendent, the Sage, the Fiend Slayer. You are—
Fenghuang Immortal Fu Hua."
++++
A/N: Zeus and Hera Familia's have level 9s?
Tet: Heh!