Neuvillette gazed calmly out the window—overcast skies, light rain.
The loneliness of a "non-human being" was something he couldn't quite grasp, as he didn't truly understand the emotion of solitude.
But the conversation between Ganyu and Huixin afterward stirred something in him—"witnessing."
Over these five hundred years in Fontaine, he too had "witnessed" far too much. Before, he had considered these things meaningless to him.
He only needed to fulfill his duties. The changes in Fontaine, the intricacies of human relationships—none of it had ever crossed his mind, or rather, he couldn't comprehend their significance.
"Being relied upon, being acknowledged..." Neuvillette thought of Wriothesley and Carole.
It seemed that only after that incident did his identity as the Iudex truly earn the recognition of humans.
Five hundred years—Neuvillette had gained acknowledgment, but Nahida had not.
She, too, had witnessed the changes in Sumeru, yet her actions remained largely unknown.
Now, she curled up, feeling the weight of 'loneliness.' Perhaps in her dreams, there might still be a Sabzeruz Festival held in her honor.
"..." Xiao closed the book and placed it on the table.
Without a word, he vanished from Wangshu Inn, resuming his duty of purging demons.
The acknowledgment and reliance of humans... He cared nothing for such things. The Yaksha who once cared for these things were no longer here.
The Yaksha who sought to blend into the mortal world and live among humans did not survive.
Instead, he—the Yaksha who cared not for such things—remained in this world, witnessing its changes.
"Useless!" "Worthless!" Xiao's figure darted through the horde of monsters.
Was he exterminating demons, or venting his emotions? Perhaps both.
In Liyue Harbor, after finishing the book, Cloud Retainer asked, "Lucian, this one has a question for you..."
She hesitated, glancing at Shenhe. "Shenhe, aren't you going out for deliveries today?"
Shenhe nodded, indicating she was about to, but was just taking a short break.
Lumine also left with Shenhe—she had adventuring duties as well.
Once the two were gone, Cloud Retainer continued, "Do you have anything you desire?"
Lucian understood. Cloud Retainer wanted to thank him on behalf of her disciple. Despite her usual tsundere demeanor, she truly doted on her students.
"I want an automatic cooking machine," Lucian said. This was a gift he had prepared for Ei.
"A trivial matter. It cannot be counted as a proper gift," Cloud Retainer shook her head.
Beyond that, Lucian had nothing else he particularly wanted, so he said, "How about helping me with something in the future?"
"Agreed," Cloud Retainer assented, then prepared to leave to check on Ganyu.
But Lucian stopped her. He had accumulated a considerable amount of Emotional Value—some had been used to enhance his abilities, and the rest was enough to exchange for a puppet to revive Guizhong.
It was time. Lucian broached the topic of "reviving" Guizhong with Cloud Retainer.
"Are you serious!?" Cloud Retainer was stunned.
Death was irreversible—even for gods. Yet Lucian claimed to have a way?
Lucian nodded firmly. The system's puppet provided a vessel capable of housing any spiritual entity, even fragmented remnants.
This method wasn't true resurrection—more like granting a "mechanical ascension" to those who hadn't completely perished.
It was similar to how beings in advanced civilizations could replace their broken bodies with mechanical ones.
Except mechanical bodies required a functional brain or uploaded consciousness.
The system didn't need any of that—only a "spiritual remnant" would suffice.
It was somewhat like the Raiden Shogun, with one key difference: the Shogun required a complete consciousness and couldn't prevent its dissipation.
The system's puppet could prevent the consciousness from fading and didn't require a fully intact consciousness.
The trade-off was that relying solely on remnants could result in memory or power loss.
"If this is truly possible... No, this one must inform Ping at once." Cloud Retainer didn't waste a second, immediately using Divine Striding to vanish without a trace.
"Telling them is for the best. Their bond with Guizhong runs deeper than mine," Zhongli remarked, appearing out of nowhere.
"Why don't you use the front door!?" Lucian seized on the important detail.
Zhongli crossed his arms and stared at Lucian silently.
You exposed my identity. If I walked through the front door now, wouldn't your doorstep be trampled flat?
Lucian realized this and dropped the subject.
"So? Have the people of Liyue passed your test?" Lucian asked.
"Naturally," Zhongli replied. The old blockhead seemed to be in a good mood.
"Good to hear," Lucian said.
"Because of your book, the people of Liyue have grown excessively reverent toward me, while their attitude toward Ganyu has become much warmer," Zhongli said with a smile.
As the two chatted, a gust of wind swept past, and two beauties appeared before Lucian.
Cloud Retainer was a familiar sight, but the other person gave Lucian a fleeting sense of unfamiliarity.
However, that feeling lasted only a moment before he recognized her from his memories—this was the youthful form of Streetward Rambler.
Choosing to appear in this form suggested she wished for Guizhong to see her as she once was when she returned.
Beauty reserved for a kindred spirit, the strings of a lute plucked only for one who understands.
"Can Guizhong truly be revived?" Streetward Rambler asked, uncharacteristically impatient.
It seemed reverting to her youthful appearance had also softened her usual composed demeanor.
Come to think of it, Granny Ping had once been fiercely competitive and stubborn in her youth.
"Well... an eighty or ninety percent chance," Lucian didn't dare make absolute promises.
Streetward Rambler's anticipation was palpable—if this failed, the blow would be devastating.
After all, this was the first attempt. Lucian couldn't claim absolute certainty.
But after explaining the puppet's mechanics to Zhongli earlier, Zhongli had deemed it worth trying.
If Zhongli said it was possible, then it likely was.
"Is that so? Even if it were just ten percent, it would still be worth attempting," Streetward Rambler smiled.
"Such a treasure could be called peerless... I will find a way to repay you," she continued.
"Indeed, this one owes you an even greater debt..." Cloud Retainer added.
Lucian waved it off. Saving Guizhong was also for his own sake, and besides, he considered Zhongli and Cloud Retainer friends.
"No need. I won't hesitate to ask for your help in the future," Lucian said.
"As it should be," Zhongli nodded.
The four of them each employed Divine Striding to rush to the place where Guizhong was sealed.
Lucian's proficiency with the technique was slightly lacking, so Streetward Rambler and Cloud Retainer jointly cast a protective enhancement on him.
Soon, they arrived at their destination. Lucian saw a stone statue of a young girl curled up, embracing herself.
Guizhong's lingering consciousness was sealed within the statue.
Lucian took out the system puppet—a genderless, human-sized mannequin, like those used for posing in art.
Depending on the user, the puppet would take on a different form.
Then, Lucian realized a problem. "This puppet wouldn't just... manifest clothes out of thin air, would it?"
This was his first time using the puppet. He knew the general method, but the finer details were unclear.
Would the revived Guizhong be... naked?
===✧✦✧===
Character Voiceline · Streetward Rambler: About Guizhong
"Guizhong... She and I were very different in temperament, yet somehow, she always understood the meaning behind my music."