Stadium of the Sacred Flame.
"Koji, do you know someone named Citlali?"
"I do. A woman who's lived for over two hundred years—she's a special kind of long-lived being." Koji nodded.
"A long-lived being, huh? Then she must've run into the whole 'mortality problem' too." Xin nodded. No wonder people called her "Obsidian Grandma." Turns out she really was that old.
"The mortality problem… yeah, definitely."
A woman walked over. She had long hair that faded from pink into purple, and even though she looked as bright and pretty as a girl in her prime, her clothes carried a Natlan shaman style—[a smooth shield + rose-whisker living-tongue vine].
Her expression was tinged with nostalgia. With such a long lifespan, she really had watched many familiar people and friends leave.
Even now, it was the same.
"Citlali, you're here." Xilonen said with a smile.
"So young… I figured as much when I heard 'long-lived,' but I didn't expect you to not look old at all." Xin said in surprise.
"Pretty normal. I'm also a long-lived being. Looks and all that aren't important." Citlali said casually.
"I've heard of you—Traveler 013, traveling between the nations."
"Let me introduce myself. I'm Citlali of the Masters of the Night-Wind."
"Xin—professionally, a Traveler. Honorary Knight of the Knights of Favonius in Mondstadt; honored guest of Liyue's Jade Chamber; frequent visitor at Inazuma's Tenshukaku…" Xin started listing her identities across the nations.
Citlali: "…"
Xilonen: "…"
They'd heard of the Traveler before, but they hadn't expected her connections to be this ridiculously hardcore.
In every nation, she'd managed to befriend the people at the top. That kind of network was genuinely insane.
Now that she'd come to Natlan, she'd probably end up earning Natlan's friendship too.
"There are soul fragments from the Night God's Kingdom clinging to you."
"Disperse!"
Citlali glanced at Xin and acted immediately.
"It's nothing. Those kinds of soul fragments only affect your mind a bit—make your mood worse, that's all."
"It's still stuck to me?" Xin turned to look at Koji. She honestly hadn't noticed.
And what Citlali described—she didn't feel it at all. Mentally, she felt perfectly fine.
"It'll disperse on its own after a while. Your mind and soul also have a blessing on them—mere soul fragments won't be able to hurt you." Koji said.
Xin nodded. So that was why. No wonder she hadn't felt anything.
Inside, she was absolutely delighted. Having a reliable man really was nice.
"If we're talking about souls, Director Hu Tao should be really good at that too, right?" Paimon suddenly said.
That little girl who liked sleeping in coffins, maintaining the balance of yin and yang in the world.
"Are you talking about Liyue's Wangsheng Funeral Parlor?" Citlali asked.
"Citlali, you know it?"
Paimon was a little shocked. She hadn't expected someone all the way in Natlan to know about a Liyue organization that handled funeral rites.
"Of course I know it. The Wangsheng Funeral Parlor has lasted for over seventy generations without decline. At minimum, it has a history of over a thousand years—longer than even my life." Citlali said.
In the funerary field, even the all-powerful Qixing couldn't stick their noses into it.
Seventy-plus generations of accumulated reputation—that was something the people of Liyue recognized. That was exactly why the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's status was unshakable.
"I've heard the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor is responsible for Liyue's boundary between life and death."
The Night God's Kingdom was the world of the dead, and the boundary between life and death was the checkpoint between dying and living. If that checkpoint went wrong, death would invade life and affect all living beings.
"Enough about that. Liyue's affairs don't help Natlan." Citlali shook her head.
"Come on. Let's go find my big grandson, Olorun." Citlali said.
"Big grandson?" Paimon looked at Citlali curiously.
Xin didn't find it strange at all. Someone over two hundred—any younger generation could easily count as grandchildren.
"Ahem. Olorun was an infant abandoned by the roadside. The tribe picked him up. Everyone took care of him together." Citlali cleared her throat.
…
By tracking him down, they found Olorun in a camp. With Koji and Xin—both Harbingers—present, the Fatui soldiers didn't stop them.
"Grandma?!" Olorun looked at Citlali, and his head started aching. He really hadn't wanted Citlali involved.
"And you too, Grandma." Olorun greeted Xin and the others.
"This one is… Grandpa?"
Finally, Olorun looked at Koji. He thought for a moment, then tested the waters with a tentative address.
"Grandpa?"
Eula and the others' mouths twitched. They weren't at "grandma" age either. Only Xin's age actually fit being his grandma.
Fists clenched—everyone wanted to draw their weapons and chop Olorun on the spot.
"Pfft…" Koji couldn't hold it in. He actually got called "Grandpa." This kind of experience… it was really—ugh—hard to describe.
Citlali said wearily, "Olorun, how many times have I told you? Don't just assume things like that. Plenty of people look like they're in the same generation as your grandma. You can't go around yelling 'Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle, Auntie' at random strangers on the street!"
Even though she was several hundred years old, she looked just like a young person, so there were plenty of people who looked about her age.
"Please. If you talk like that, your seniority ends up being the smallest." Paimon couldn't help saying.
"I don't mind." Olorun shook his head.
If he could say it out loud, then he'd already thought it through. Being shy was impossible. Back with the Masters of the Night-Wind, he'd always addressed elders that warmly.
Citlali sneered. "Olorun, you think doing this means you'll get scolded less?"
"What you need to explain right now is why you rescued that Fatui Captain."
When it came to that, Citlali had a headache too. The nature of it was serious—very serious—but it wasn't unsolvable.
The Captain hadn't caused any casualties, but he had fought the Pyro Archon. It was hard not to suspect Olorun might have joined the Fatui.
"And those ritual tools you hid before—what were you planning to do?"
Citlali said it bluntly. Old ginger was still the spiciest—how could she not see through it?
"Come to think of it, I also felt like someone was messing with my soul earlier." Xin said.
It was probably Koji's blessing doing its job. Otherwise, she would've dropped for a nap right on the spot.
Olorun scratched his head awkwardly. His guilty eyes darted around, not daring to look at Citlali or any of them.
He'd originally planned to make Xin's soul leave her body and talk to her alone, but it hadn't worked, so he could only improvise.
There was some kind of special power protecting Xin's soul…
(End of Chapter)
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