On the other side, at the Irminsul.
Shao Yun stood where he was, waiting for a very long time.
Time ticked by second after second, yet those four Iniquitous Baptists never spoke.
He finally lost patience and turned to Aether beside him, asking, "Did we… really succeed? Did Miss Nianhua's fate change?"
Aether was watching the four Iniquitous Baptists encircling the Irminsul. They gave him a slight nod, indicating everything was progressing smoothly.
Seeing this, Aether felt reassured. He turned back to Shao Yun and nodded firmly. "That's right. We succeeded."
With the definite answer, the tension that had been stretched tight in Shao Yun finally loosened a little, and a faint, relieved smile appeared on his face.
However, before that joy had time to settle, a new problem immediately surfaced.
"In that case, next we need to face the energy issue of the Loom of Fate. How are we supposed to solve that?"
Clearly, Shao Yun cared deeply about this key step.
Aether had already anticipated this and had prepared his own mental disclaimer ahead of time. He quickly waved his hand to stop him. "That part… you really don't need to worry about!"
"The help you've given us is already more than enough. Leave the rest to us professionals."
Hearing his future brother-in-law trying so earnestly to dissuade him, Shao Yun finally understood the lesson of once burned, twice shy, and readily agreed.
"All right, I won't press the matter anymore."
Although he no longer needed to concern himself with the energy issue, yet another thorny problem immediately presented itself.
"But next comes the problem of the Dendro Archon." Shao Yun sighed anxiously.
How was he supposed to convince Nahida to allow his brother-in-law to use the Irminsul… that was a real nightmare.
Hearing that the Dendro Archon was actually still alive, Aether couldn't help showing a hint of surprise.
"You actually didn't kill her? That's… unexpected."
Facing Aether's question, Shao Yun calmly offered one of the reasons why he hadn't killed Nahida.
Shao Yun narrowed his eyes slightly. "I could've killed her. But then—who would govern Sumeru? If Sumeru suddenly had no Archon and a power vacuum appeared, what do you think would happen?"
"So keeping Nahida alive is still useful."
Aether nodded thoughtfully at those words, acknowledging, "Mm, you're not wrong…"
Right then, Shao Yun thought of something and suggested:
"I suggest you talk to Nahida directly. Your plan has already succeeded. If you can alter fate—that's far beyond what the Irminsul could do by merely changing memories."
"I think she'd be interested."
But when Aether heard Shao Yun suggest cooperating with the Dendro Archon, his expression instantly shifted to one of concern.
He hesitated. "But… the relationship between the Abyss Order and the Seven Archons…"
It couldn't exactly be called peaceful—more like mutual hostility with drawn weapons.
Shao Yun easily saw through Aether's worries. He patted his shoulder lightly and reassured, "It's only a suggestion. The final choice is yours. After all—"
At that moment, Nahida's voice suddenly rang out behind them. "I will never allow you to tamper with the Irminsul!"
At the sound behind him, Shao Yun spun around sharply, his gaze instantly locking onto the figure that had suddenly appeared.
It was Nahida—but her condition was shockingly terrible.
Her once clear, luminous eyes were now veined entirely with blood, turning crimson.
Her lips were smeared with traces of blood; her whole face was drained and fragile, as if a light breeze would topple her small body.
To rush here in time to stop Shao Yun and the Abyss Order, Nahida had paid an enormous price, disregarding everything.
She had smashed open the meditation capsule imprisoning her with her bare hands! And that had left her already delicate hands severely injured.
Multiple fractures, fingers twisted unnaturally out of shape, her entire palm mangled and unrecognizable—blood dripping onto the roots of the Irminsul, leaving trails of red behind.
Seeing Nahida in such a state, Shao Yun widened his eyes in shock and asked, "Whoa—Nahida! How… how did you even get out?"
Nahida lifted her ruined, blood-soaked hands with difficulty, gesturing toward him.
She shouted hoarsely, "I… I smashed it open with these hands! Good thing you left me those medicines earlier, or I wouldn't have made it here!"
Shao Yun, however, only wore a lazy, careless expression and replied casually, "Oh, so that's how. You're welcome."
His complete lack of gravity sharply contrasted Nahida's dire seriousness.
But Nahida clearly had no energy to bother with that.
Though small and cute like a little loli, she now radiated shocking hatred and fury.
She glared at Shao Yun and the surrounding Abyss creatures, grinding her teeth as she cursed, "Go die! All of you bastards! Whether it's you or the Abyss Order—go die!"
Though the tension between her and Shao Yun had reached a point of absolute hostility and irreconcilable conflict—
—as the old saying goes, when someone is in a position of weakness, even their threats appear fragile and helpless.
Shao Yun obviously didn't take her hostility seriously. He even grew triumphant, proudly boasting about the achievement he and his brother-in-law had accomplished with the Abyss Order.
"You don't know what we achieved just now using the Irminsul! We rewrote fate itself!"
Then he added, striking while the iron was hot, "So now, why not consider cooperating with my brother-in-law? You provide the Irminsul, he provides his tools."
Hearing this, Nahida let out a hollow laugh—one filled with boundless sorrow and despair.
Then she raised her voice sharply, screaming, "Cooperate? With the Abyss Order? Are you insane?"
"Your deceit and schemes only bring harm to Teyvat. Don't even dream of manipulating me!"
Despite her outburst, Shao Yun remained unfazed, still speaking gently as he tried to soothe her. "Don't get so worked up. That's only because you haven't seen what we accomplished just now through the Irminsul."
"We truly changed fate! Are you sure you don't want to know more?"
But Nahida's eyes were now round and bloodshot, so red they looked as if tears of blood might spill at any moment.
She screamed, "You tried to kill me earlier—and now you're using the Irminsul to rewrite Teyvat's memories!"
"If I were to side with you, wouldn't the entire Teyvat fall into chaos and disorder?"
Then, as if activating an invisible command sigil, she issued a forceful order:
"Restore everything you altered through the Irminsul immediately!"
But Nahida had no idea how unimaginably powerful the Loom of Fate truly was.
Its capabilities far surpassed simple manipulation of memory.
Originally, Shao Yun had intended to explain the reasoning and consequences to her.
But upon hearing her stern, uncompromising command—
He couldn't help bursting into laughter.
"Hahaha… what? If someone else said that, it'd sound serious."
"But hearing it from a diaper-fairy like you is even funnier than someone claiming the world is fair and just!"
Shao Yun laughed so hard he nearly bent over backward—he'd just heard the funniest joke in the world.
"That's hilarious! You—do you really think you're some paragon of righteousness?"
Laughing wildly, Shao Yun swept her up and down with a mocking gaze.
Listening to him, Nahida was bewildered. She didn't understand why he reacted like that.
But she didn't back down. Instead, she yelled those righteous principles she believed in with unshakable conviction.
"Do you not understand that manipulating others' memories at will is inherently vile and unforgivable?"
"No one—neither you, nor even myself—has the right to use the Irminsul however they please!"
Nahida denounced him righteously.
But as soon as her words fell, Shao Yun's unrestrained laughter slowly faded from his face.
In place of that laugh, what surfaced on Shao Yun's face was a chilling expression of cold indifference.
He narrowed his eyes slightly, staring straight at Nahida as he asked in an icy tone, "Then tell me—what if it were that Fatui Harbinger, the Balladeer?"
The moment Nahida heard him bring up a Fatui Harbinger, she froze in shock.
"What? Why bring up that Fatui who died in your hands?"
Shao Yun shrugged dismissively, as if it were all nothing more than another conspiracy theory of his.
"Let's assume something bold for a second. If I hadn't killed the Balladeer back then, and if there had been no deal between you and me—what would you have done with him? Kill him? Send him back to Inazuma?"
Hearing that, Nahida was stunned speechless…
Shao Yun paused briefly, observing her reaction, then continued, "If you ask me, with your personality and methods, you'd very likely choose to bring him under your control."
"Then you'd pretend to 'accidentally slip up' and let him access the Irminsul, open a little backdoor for him, allow him to tamper with people's memories as he pleases… and eventually take him in as your subordinate—because you don't have any proper followers in Sumeru."
As he spoke, Shao Yun emphasized his words, clearly fully convinced by his own deduction.
"The Balladeer, that so-called 'Everlasting Lord of Arcane Wisdom'—after all, he was created from the dreams of the people of Sumeru. He was just one step away from becoming a god. He definitely had some capabilities."
"But now? The Abyss Order, me, and Lumine—you can't control any of us, and you have no way to. But that guy, the Balladeer I burned to death, he'd be super easy for you to control."
Nahida frowned, tilting her head slightly as she raised her voice in protest. "What nonsense conspiracy are you spouting now! Hypotheticals are baseless drivel!"
Shao Yun smirked proudly and invoked what he called an "authority," a figure to back up his narrative of an alternate timeline.
"When I went to the heavens, Istaroth told me. If the Balladeer had survived, that's exactly what you would've done."
"And honestly? That's just how this world works—whoever has the biggest fist is right. No need for fancy excuses. In front of me, nobody needs to hide behind fig leaves."
Nahida, clutching her shattered hands and enduring wave after wave of piercing pain, shouted at him angrily, "You're talking absolute nonsense! Utter garbage!"
With that, she prepared to call upon her divine authority, to conjure a dreamscape and trap Shao Yun and the Abyss Order within it.
However, just as she began gathering her divine power, a rush of metallic sweetness surged up her throat, and she spewed a mouthful of blood.
Nahida collapsed again.
Clearly, the Abyssal energy was still rampaging violently through her body, tormenting her to the brink of collapse.
Seeing her fall so miserably once more, Shao Yun spoke unhurriedly, offering his "olive branch" again.
"Nahida, I'll give you one last chance. Let's sit down and talk calmly. Just you, me, and my brother-in-law."
At that moment, Aether—who had been quietly observing—suddenly interjected, "Brother-in-law, did you really meet the Regent of Time… Istaroth?"
Hearing Aether blurt that out, Shao Yun immediately hissed sternly, "Don't talk!"
No one knew whether Shao Yun was falsely accusing the Nahida of this timeline… or if he had accidentally touched a secret she had kept deeply buried.
Nahida bit her lip hard, fighting through the agony and weakness. She forced her trembling body upward, drew a deep breath, and gathered every last scrap of her strength into this one moment.
Then, holding her breath, she lunged at Shao Yun with all her might—intent on pushing him off the Irminsul, sending him crashing into the swirling ley-line currents below.
Seeing Nahida charging at him with such a primitive, direct attack, Shao Yun's lips curled into a cold, mocking smile.
Faced with her clumsy, technique-less tackle, he didn't even bother to move his feet. He simply raised one hand and casually blocked her.
Then, with a light push—Nahida felt an irresistible force slam into her. She lost her balance instantly, stumbling backward step after step.
To be fair, Shao Yun hadn't pushed hard at all. But he had clearly underestimated just how weak and fragile Nahida's wounded body had become.
Each step she took backward was unsteady, faltering.
Finally, after several staggered steps, her right foot slipped off the edge. She was about to tumble from the thick branches of the Irminsul.
Shao Yun had never intended to kill her. Acting on instinct, he lunged forward.
He reached out and grabbed Nahida's slender arm tightly.
"Sorry—I pushed too hard. Don't be scared, I'll pull you up. We really need to talk this out," Shao Yun panted, still shaken, speaking urgently.
Nahida looked down at the bottomless tangle of Irminsul roots beneath her—at the vast, roaring currents of ley energy coursing below.
Then she glared up at Shao Yun, her eyes wide with fury, and spat out:
"You shameless, despicable bastard!"
Shao Yun forced himself to remain calm, replying as evenly as he could, "Don't get worked up. Listen. We need to talk. I'm pulling you up now."
He gritted his teeth and hauled her upward.
Just as he was about to pull Nahida back to safety, she suddenly raised her fist—
—and smashed it straight into Shao Yun's nose.
THUD!
A dull, solid impact. Shao Yun saw stars explode across his vision.
A burst of blood shot out of his nose.
The scene resembled McGregor head-butting Franklin. It was like overturning a jar of mixed sauces—salty, sour, spicy—all the flavors flooding out at once.
He had never expected such a fierce punch from her. Caught completely off guard, he reflexively loosened his grip on Nahida's arm.
Nahida's body plunged downward, falling straight into the abyss below—vanishing from Shao Yun's sight in an instant.
===BREAK===
Like the story and want more chapters?
Join and support me by joining my Patreon!
[email protected]/SiRoasa