Whoosh—
"You two finally decided to come back?"
Gu Sanqiu descended steadily into the courtyard of the Feiyun Commerce Guild, hands in his pockets.
While he could have chosen a faster way to land, that would likely damage the floor—and more importantly, he'd have to crouch slightly to absorb the impact, which risked giving those on the ground an unfortunate view of his backside.
In short, it wasn't cool. A slow descent? Much more stylish.
"You can fly now?"
Xingqiu raised a brow. "I didn't see you use your wind glider this time."
"True," Chongyun interjected, eyes gleaming with envy. "But it looks amazing! Can I learn it, Old Gu?"
If he could fly, exorcising evil spirits would become much easier, even if just for the intimidation factor.
"Learn, learn, learn! Do you just want to learn everything you see?" Xingqiu shot him a look full of disdain.
"Is there anything wrong with improving myself?" Chongyun countered, completely unfazed.
"No, nothing at all. But this guy's just jealous," Gu Sanqiu said casually, thanking Ah Xu, who handed him a cup of tea.
"For example, you've been adventuring for so long, and now Chongyun has earned the nickname Snow and Cloud Wanderer. Meanwhile..."
"Exactly!" Xingqiu interrupted with mock indignation. "I'm jealous! We were together the whole time—sometimes I worked even harder than him—so why don't I have a fancy nickname?"
"Huh? So all that passive-aggressive complaining on the way back was because of this?" Chongyun blinked, then waved dismissively. "It's just a nickname. No big deal, right?"
"And didn't you say titles and nicknames don't matter? What's important is genuinely contributing to the world. Wasn't that your philosophy?"
Chongyun's smug tone was akin to saying, Oh, I just pulled three five-stars in ten pulls. All their artifacts have perfect substats too. No big deal, right?
"You... You insufferable brat!" Xingqiu exploded, drawing his sword and aiming for Chongyun's icy-blue hair.
"Hey! Why are you resorting to violence out of nowhere?!"
Gu Sanqiu sipped his tea calmly, while Ah Xu lowered his head and pretended not to notice. Were it not inappropriate at the moment, Ah Xu might have joined Gu Sanqiu in sipping tea nonchalantly.
It couldn't be helped—they'd both grown entirely too used to this sort of chaos.
┓(′?`)┏
"Damn it! Why don't I get a nickname? Is this world just cruel to handsome men like me?" Xingqiu lamented, his tone a mix of outrage and despair.
It felt like being one of two equally hardworking students, but only the other got TV interviews, a feature in the local paper, and was invited to give motivational speeches at school. Meanwhile, the most Xingqiu got was a pat on the back from a teacher.
For someone like Xingqiu, who dreamed of leaving his mark on the martial world, seeing Chongyun gain recognition while he remained titleless was enough to raise his blood pressure.
"Alright, calm down."
A flick of Gu Sanqiu's finger sent a gust of wind that gently separated the two, pushing them back a step.
"If you keep this up, we might as well eat at home instead of going out for dinner."
"I don't mind continuing," Xingqiu said, brimming with determination. "I already checked—Keqing's busy and won't join us. Xiangling can't make it until she finishes cooking for the workers. It's just the four of us tonight."
"And Xinyan's off on that study trip you sent her on to improve her musical skills," he added. "No idea if she'll make it back in time for the festival. If she did, our dinner squad might've grown by one."
"Then suit yourselves."
Gu Sanqiu motioned for them to carry on, gesturing for Ah Xu to refill his tea.
"Heh, enough tea! We weren't planning to keep fighting each other, anyway," Xingqiu said with a sly grin. "So, what do you say, Old Gu? Care to spar with us?"
"Are you sure?"
Gu Sanqiu raised an eyebrow. He'd recently acquired not only an elemental seed with Archon-level power but also combat techniques personally taught by the Conqueror of Demons.
If they really sparred, there was a high chance both of them would end up black and blue.
"Never mind. Only a lunatic would spar with you," Xingqiu said, sheathing his sword. "You split us apart with a flick of your finger—clearly, your strength has grown again. Fighting you would just be asking for humiliation."
"Not bad for the man Mondstadt specifically mentioned in their official reports," Xingqiu teased. "Looks like you haven't been lazing around while we were out adventuring."
"For the record," Gu Sanqiu retorted, "I only did that because your 'sparring' was more like playing around. Splitting you up barely took any effort."
It was true—mid-fight, both had started laughing. To an outsider, it might've looked more like flirting than sparring.
Separating them was less a feat of strength and more a matter of basic situational awareness.
"Anyway, we should get going," Xingqiu said. "I told Xiangling we'd meet at Liuli Pavilion. I reserved the private room we usually use for Feiyun Commerce Guild guests."
Xingqiu turned to Gu Sanqiu. "Hey, could you fly us over there?"
"The only reason I could glide down to your courtyard from the Jade Chamber unnoticed is that it's your family's property. Flying to Liuli Pavilion, with all the people around? Are you sure?"
"Even if you want attention, aren't you worried your family would break your legs afterward?"
"Ha! What's there to fear?" Xingqiu puffed out his chest. "My Vision is Hydro. Who's better at recovery than me? I'll heal myself if it comes to that."
"Besides," he added with a cheeky grin, "we've got you, don't we? I'll leave the healing to you."
...
Gu Sanqiu sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Let's just go eat."
At Liuli Pavilion, the three sat at their table, listening to Xiangling enthusiastically critique the dishes. If not for the meal having just been served, the staff might have broken down in tears.
The genius chef of one of Liyue's most popular restaurants was here spying on the competition, and in the Feiyun Commerce Guild's exclusive private room, no less.
Interfering would risk offending one of their biggest clients. But letting her freely dissect the menu felt like handing over their trade secrets.
Fortunately for the owner, the other three weren't involved in the food business, and Xiangling had already forged her unique path as a chef. There was no real risk of losing any culinary secrets.
Otherwise, the poor man might've shown up with a rope, ready to plead for mercy.
---
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Zhongli