Chapter 943: Eighth Day of Departure (19)

Xingqiri walked slowly toward the girl in the distance: "I didn't expect to meet you here, Ms. Zhigengniao..."

In Zhigengniao's eyes, Xingqiri appeared as a mechanical figure, and she herself had no idea she was under the influence of tuning.

"Hello, ma'am. May I ask how to address you?"

"My name is… Wan Weike, a member of the Hidden Night Thrush family."

"So you're a Dream Weaver; thanks to your hard work, the dream has recovered from the crisis."

Xingqiri: "You're the one who's busy, Ms. Zhigengniao; how did you come to the Dreamweaving Border?"

Zhigengniao's mouth curled into a bitter smile as she turned and gazed toward the city's distance: "Finding a moment of leisure in the busyness, I wanted to find a quiet place to clear my mind, preferably where I could see the stars. Walking and walking, I ended up here."

"Although, it's just the starry sky in a dream."

"Perhaps there's no difference between dream and reality on this point. We look up at the starry sky, but the stars aren't there. Every beam of light we see is how they looked long, long ago." Xingqiri walked to her side, lifted her head to gaze at the night sky, and asked, "When have we ever seen the true starry sky?"

——

Chinese Paladin 3.

"No, no!" Jing Tian slapped his thigh in anxiety, "Oh dear, Lao Ri, you're clueless! If you say that, wouldn't your sister discover you? Don't you think about what relation you and your sister have? The kind where you grew up together since childhood! You ought to speak in a mechanical style!"

Long Kui blinked her eyes: "But… brother, he's disguised, huh?"

"What's the use of disguising?" Jing Tian waved a hand, "The voice can change, the face can change, the figure can change, but some things cannot be changed!"

"For example?"

"For example… well, just take me—I'm also a brother." Jing Tian patted his chest, "If one day some monster changes my appearance and voice, Xiao Kui, would you recognize me?"

Long Kui nodded eagerly: "No matter what brother becomes, Long Kui can recognize him at a glance! Some things in the blood—"

Jing Tian clapped his hands: "Exactly! That's what I mean! Similar to the bond between siblings, although the tuning altered their vision, Lao Ri's habit of speaking in a refined, archaic way still can't change—who starts off speaking like that?"

Xuejian glanced over with her eyes: "Then, according to your meaning, what should we say?"

"You could pretend to be a fan; as long as you show a little enthusiasm, Zhigengniao won't suspect. Lao Ri is acting far too calm—nothing like someone facing a universal superstar."

——

Zhigengniao's expression instantly turned to disbelief; she rubbed her eyes, confirming that the person standing before her was not the brother she had always cared for.

"Ms. Wan Weike speaks with great wisdom, like someone I know." Zhigengniao changed the question, "Do you work nearby?"

"No, no, today is my day off; there's a performance later, I came early to get a good spot."

"A performance? Here?"

Xingqiri looked at the distant theater where lights flickered: "It's said to be a finale performance farther away; it's more suited to listening from afar than watching up close."

"That's true; the observatory is a good choice. From here you can see all of Pinokangni." Zhigengniao's brows slightly furrowed, "Distance makes some things appear more beautiful."

"Ms. Zhigengniao, before the performance begins, may I stay and watch the stars with you?"

Zhigengniao returned a polite smile: "Of course. You're being too kind; the request should be mine. This is the Dreamweaving Border, and the dreamweavers are its masters."

Seeing this, Wan Weike understood, left without lingering, and turned to go.

——

Genshin Impact.

"Eh eh eh? How did he leave? Isn't he not tuning anymore?" A Qiao curiously observed the little Pipisi folk in the sky canopy, "What a sneaky little dwarf; perhaps he intends for Xingqiri to drop the disguise so Zhigengniao can see him clearly? Tsk tsk tsk..."

"A Qiao, stop fooling around." Malani threw a piece of dragon-dragon biscuit at A Qiao, "I guess Wan Weike already figured out that Ms. Zhigengniao recognized Xingqiri, but she's just willing to accompany her brother to finish this performance."

"That's fine too; at least neither person will harbor regret." Kazina lowered her head somewhat dejectedly, "It's a pity that Sister Zhigengniao never got to see his true self in the end… I hope that when they meet again in the future, Brother Xingqiri will have fulfilled his ideal."

"A paradise… Actually I don't want Xingqiri to chase that kind of illusory, lofty ideal—it's too extreme, such ideals often demand a heavy price." Jiniqi said lightly, "Perhaps in Zhigengniao's view, rather than seeing her brother become a sacrifice for a sublime ideal, she'd prefer to see him as a happy, ordinary person."

"Hehe, letting this chicken-wing-headed guy be ordinary is worse than locking him up; if he ever gets bored, even the jadeite wouldn't let him out." A Qiao excitedly floated around Jiniqi's head, "Besides, reviving dead star gods and such is still too complicated; if only one could become a god directly…"

Jiniqi waved a hand, shooing the chattering A Qiao perched on his head to one side: "What are you thinking? The number of existing star gods is just this; unless we blaze a completely new cosmic path… there's still a certain possibility."

——

Xingqiri gazed at the sky full of stars: "Although that's so, these stars feel unfamiliar; not a single one is familiar. It makes one uneasy."

"What's making you uneasy?" Zhigengniao approached with concern, "Is it the vastness of the sky, or the unknown?"

"Although the Stellar Core Disaster caused no actual impact, many residents still chose to check out, leaving the hotel deserted. I don't know how Pinokangni's tomorrow will be; I hope it doesn't affect Ms. Zhigengniao's life."

"Thank you, I'm fine. By a fortunate coincidence, in this disaster I saw much of the past and also clarified many futures." Zhigengniao's eyes held a faint sorrow, "The only thing worth regretting is merely that some words were never spoken."

"Is it that the person you were talking to left?" Xingqiri asked.

"Mm, he left in a hurry, didn't even have time to say goodbye."

"Sincerity doesn't need much adornment; perhaps your feelings have already gotten across."

"But when you want to encourage someone, shouldn't you put in a bit more thought?"

Xingqiri blinked: "May I ask boldly, who is the person you want to encourage?"

Zhigengniao closed her eyes, quietly feeling the breeze blowing from afar: "It's someone who has just experienced failure and is about to set out on a journey."