"Live well. I don't want to see you killed by the Raiden Shogun either."
Jing Chen froze slightly. This sharp-tongued Sandrone… actually caring about whether he lived or died?!
Was the sun about to rise from the west tomorrow?
Or had Barbatos suddenly stopped drinking? Or maybe Zhongli finally stopped freeloading?!
Then Sandrone's poisonous tone returned once more.
"After all, only I'm allowed to kill you."
Jing Chen could only stare awkwardly at her. Yep—this was the Sandrone he knew.
Sandrone gave another heavy "hmph," shot him a fierce sidelong glance, and finally left with her Puppet.
As soon as Jing Chen shut the door, Columbina wrapped her arms tightly around him.
"What happened?! I smell that sharp-tongued doll girl's presence on you?!"
Jing Chen flicked her forehead gently with his finger.
"Alright, my lady. She only came to deliver the Ice Queen's decree."
"What did she want you to do?"
"To go to Inazuma and obtain the Raiden Shogun's Gnosis."
"Inazuma?! When are you leaving?"
"Sigh… I have to leave for Liyue Harbor tomorrow, then sail to Inazuma."
Columbina gripped his hand tightly, then let go, taking out her blue-and-white notebook and feather pen.
As she wrote, she spoke deliberately:
'The third autumn with Jing Chen, September 2. Sandrone insulted my Jing Chen again. Hmph. One day, I'll make her pay the price she deserves.'
After finishing, Columbina put away her notebook and quill into her spatial backpack.
Pouting, she continued to question him.
"Liyue, Inazuma?! Those girls—those ones who rejected you before—what will they do to you?! No! I'm going with you!"
Jing Chen gently pinched her nose.
According to the original story, in Liyue and Inazuma, the Traveler only encountered La Signora, Tartaglia, and Scaramouche.
But after coming to this world himself, he'd clearly caused a massive butterfly effect.
Then Columbina suddenly gagged again. Jing Chen quickly supported her, patting her back.
She'd been gagging often these days… and craving spicy food too. Don't tell me—she's carrying my child?
"Ah Ya, am I going to be a father?"
Columbina smiled faintly.
"Then I'm going to be a mother?"
Jing Chen gripped her hand tightly.
"I'll take care of you. Just rest and nourish yourself."
Columbina nestled gently against him, nodding obediently.
Half a month later, Jing Chen arrived at Liyue's Stone Gate with Columbina. The moment they set foot in Liyue's lands,
a gentle breeze blew, lifting up swirls of dust and sand.
When the dust cleared, Columbina exclaimed in surprise from Jing Chen's arms.
"Wow!! Such a big bird—two whole slabs of poultry!!"
Liuyun Jiefeng Zhenjun gave Columbina a slanted glance. For some reason, this girl gave her a dangerous feeling.
Jing Chen hurriedly covered Columbina's mouth, shielding her behind him.
"Master, what brings you here?"
"Hmph. Ten years without a single letter to tell your master how you've been. I caught wind of my unfilial disciple's scent from afar and flew here at once."
Jing Chen immediately saw the frustration, worry, and longing in Liuyun Jiefeng Zhenjun's eyes—
and the faint loneliness of an old immortal.
He spoke softly to her.
"Master, I've come back now, haven't I?"
"Back?! Dressed in white robes like that and bringing home a Fatui Executive?"
Clearly, Liuyun Jiefeng Zhenjun was not pleased with his current identity.
"Master, Columbina is a good girl. Even among the Fatui Executives, there must be good people."
Liuyun Jiefeng Zhenjun smiled faintly.
"'Must be'? Forget it. As long as you're back. Come with me to Mt. Aocang first. I'd like to have a talk with my disciple's wife."
"Ah?! Master, I still have official duties to handle right now."
The smile that had just appeared on Liuyun Jiefeng Zhenjun's face stiffened again, and a hint of loneliness flickered in her feathery brows.
"What?! Duties?! What duty could be more important than a reunion between master and disciple?!"
"The Ice Queen's decree."
Liuyun Jiefeng Zhenjun sighed and shook her head helplessly. She could understand Jing Chen.
After all, he had confessed to both Yuheng and Tianquan, and both had cruelly rejected him.
Her little disciple Jing Chen had elegance, strength, and a gentle yet powerful heart.
Hmph, those two women failed to recognize his worth. Only after he disappeared did they realize how precious he was—
coming to her every day after work, asking after his whereabouts.
Still, going to Snezhnaya as an Executive wasn't bad. At least it meant he had ambition now, not slacking his life away.
But that girl behind him…?
Liuyun Jiefeng Zhenjun coughed awkwardly.
"Jing Chen, what's the story with this young lady?"
Columbina gestured to Jing Chen that she would explain herself.
"Liuyun Jiefeng Zhenjun, how should I address you?"
"If you're my disciple's wife, then call me however you wish. Now, tell me about you and Jing Chen."
"I've always watched Jing Chen, witnessed everything he's done, know everything about him, and I—"
"Stop, stop, stop. Spare me the vague talk. I just want to know—did Jing Chen confess to you?"
"I confessed to Jing Chen myself."
Liuyun Jiefeng Zhenjun froze. In all of Liyue's history, it was always the man who confessed to the woman. How did this girl end up confessing instead?!
And Jing Chen had confessed to several girls before, all of whom rejected him—yet this one voluntarily confessed?
Liuyun Jiefeng Zhenjun still looked doubtful, gently flapping her wings as she asked again.
"You took the initiative to confess to Jing Chen? And he accepted?"
"Mhm. I even turned him completely into my own kind."
As Columbina spoke, she summoned the white wings hidden on Jing Chen's head.
Liuyun Jiefeng Zhenjun's eyes widened. In all her thousands of years of life, she had never seen such a thing.
"Xianling?! And one that isn't cursed?!"
"Heehee, this is my Jing Chen."
Columbina snuggled closer to him, and the long-single Liuyun Jiefeng Zhenjun couldn't help but shiver.
So much dog food—she felt full already.
Liuyun Jiefeng Zhenjun sighed helplessly, hesitating for a moment whether to take out the letters she carried—
letters from Ningguang and Keqing addressed to Jing Chen…
But seeing how close these two were, she decided against it.
"Not bad. By the way, Jing Chen—when will you bring my grand-disciple to see me?"
Jing Chen froze.
Columbina suddenly gagged again, and he immediately supported her.
Liuyun Jiefeng Zhenjun smiled faintly and flapped her wings, rising into the sky.
"Alright then, it seems the grand-disciple isn't far off. Perfect timing—Ping gave me a Serenitea Pot, and I've got no use for it.
Take it, Jing Chen. Don't let Columbina suffer wind and rain or wander homeless. Take good care of her!
Inside are some mechanisms and my token—use them if you need, ignore them if you don't."
The Serenitea Pot she left behind floated gently into Jing Chen's hands.
Jing Chen understood well—both the immortals and people of Liyue had treated him with kindness in the past.
He'd have to find a way someday… to stop that person's future recklessness.