Didn't you go to Teyvat to earn money to support me?

“What is destined to happen will happen eventually. My master often said that one should not get too involved in worldly karma. Saving him was karma. He died, and I avenged him to settle the karma.” The woman was neither happy nor sad. “The ethics of cultivators are different from yours. I don’t ask you to understand, but like now, this young man acted righteously for me, and I have to accept this karma. So I can’t let him be taken away by you.”

Ke Qing glanced at Shen Liang, thinking to herself, "Oh, so he's just a little boy. Thank goodness I didn't call him 'Miss' directly, or I would have been so embarrassed. Seriously, how can a boy be this handsome? If you're a boy, don't grow your hair long!"

Chapter Nine: Rice Wife's Young Dragon, Unparalleled Ferocity, The General of Flowers, Shen Liang

The atmosphere, which had just eased, became tense again.

"We can't agree on anything." Ke Qing stared at the white-haired woman before her, her tone harsh. "Whether we can save them or not is not our place. You are an immortal who has slain the ringleader and done nothing else, so you can leave. In fact, if you were to also exterminate these mortals, even if it were for the sake of so-called eradicating evil, I would definitely bring you to justice!"

Shen Liang was quite curious, "Even if you already know the other party is a bad person, you still want us to be brought to justice?"

“Evil people should be punished by law. Liyue is the city of contracts, and the law is clear. They killed a coachman, and their crime is nothing more than killing the ringleader and punishing the others. But now many people have died.” Keqing said calmly. “If I take you back, I can testify. It should be considered an act of bravery. But if you don’t come back with me, it will be considered excessive self-defense and fleeing from justice… sir.”

Clearly, neither Shen Liang nor Shen He agreed with these words, and Shen He was already feeling somewhat irritated. She never liked arguing with people, and if she couldn't get through to them, she would feel murderous, but at this moment she knew she had to suppress her temper.

Otherwise, although he could knock out this so-called Liyue Seven Stars and take the boy away, what would happen afterward? The boy would also face difficulties and might even be wanted by the authorities.

That would only amplify one's own karmic burden.

My master said that after experiencing the world and seeing all its affairs, many things cannot be solved by sheer brute force... and now we've encountered this situation.

However, Shen Liang was quite interested in Ke Qing's attitude at this moment, especially when she seriously referred to "this gentleman," which made Shen Liang feel very good.

His habit of "reasoning" with people has resurfaced.

“But Miss Cat, the crimes of these treasure-hunting gangs might not just be a matter of taking a life. You saw it yourself, they beheaded people while laughing and joking, showing no respect for life whatsoever. If such people were taken back for interrogation, they might all deserve the death penalty,” Shen Liang laughed. “I may have been too heavy-handed and killed a few, but should I be lenient with the most vicious criminals, sparing them a chance when fighting for justice and risking my life?”

“What you said makes sense, so I just want you to come back with me. Please believe me, I will try my best to clear your name,” Ke Maomao said calmly. “Also, don’t call me Miss Maomao. This is my hair tied up. I’m not a cat.”

"Just 'as much as possible'?" Shen Liang wasn't very satisfied with this answer. He tilted his head, a look of doubt in his eyes.

"Because among these people there may be those who are not so heinous, even if the probability is very low, but I cannot only trust you and her."

"You're talking to us about probability in something where there's no time to think?" Shen Liang laughed. "If I were an ordinary person, facing such vicious criminals, would I have time to figure out who was less guilty so I could retaliate with less force? Miss Ke Qing, no matter how much you value fairness and the law, you can't ignore reality."

“As you said, we can’t ignore reality.” Ke Qing raised her eyes, her purple eyes filled with seriousness and determination. “But are you ordinary people?”

Shen Liang was taken aback.

“You are not ordinary people, you are very powerful. You are capable of protecting yourselves from their attacks.” The girl with twin ponytails and cat-like hair stood before two beings more powerful than herself, neither humble nor arrogant.

"But you two, one had the ability to save people, yet you didn't. The other had the ability to bring people back with ease, yet you let them be tortured to death. You are not ordinary people, so you cannot be judged by the standards of ordinary people facing difficulties—so tell me, can I really trust you?"

She spoke slowly and deliberately: "If I were to consider the worst possible scenario, wouldn't I suspect that you simply wanted to use legal means to torture and kill ordinary people who had no power to fight back? Aren't there two of you who have lost their reverence for life? Therefore, if someone bullies the weak, even if the weak is evil, I must remain skeptical. After all, in the face of the strong, the evil of the weak is just an excuse for the strong to unleash their own evil!"

These words were like a burning iron striking the heart, exploding violently and deafeningly.

Shen Liang, who was used to arguing, opened his mouth but couldn't utter a word in front of Ke Qing's clear and sharp eyes.

He subconsciously examined his own heart.

—Am I using the malice of the weak as a pretext to unleash my own malice?

—Have I also lost my reverence for life?

--seem……

Shen Liang suddenly realized that while he was dragging the group of treasure thieves for hundreds of meters, he was completely oblivious to their screams, even experiencing a kind of chivalrous pleasure. Was this indifference to the lives of evildoers the joy of upholding justice, or the satisfaction of ravaging others?

Shen Liang was unable to clearly explain where his pleasure came from.

alienation.

Shen Liang suddenly understood what Anna had once said: he had begun to alienate. His hatred and killing of mercenaries on Earth had gradually made him indifferent to the lives of others, and this alienation would eventually slowly affect his life... In a chaotic place like Inazuma, his alienation was not a problem at all; there, the chaos was so great that even civilians had become accustomed to war and death.

In the peaceful Liyue, his alienation was completely out of place.

Out of place to the point of being...

He had always felt that Keqing was targeting him, but he never thought that in the eyes of a girl like Keqing, someone as impulsive and ruthless as him who eliminates evil was equally dangerous!

The white-haired woman was the same; her values ​​were equally dangerous. Or rather, those values ​​that didn't align with the long-standing peace and stability of Liyue were essentially alienated.

Shen Liang sighed sincerely, then turned around and saw the white-haired woman whose eyes were gradually becoming impatient and whose pretty face was filled with murderous intent. He suddenly realized something.

—Having dealt with wild animals for too long, I've forgotten how to be a civilized person.

"Thank you for your guidance, Cat," Shen Liang said, bowing his head.

"Huh?" Keqing was taken aback by his sudden sincere thanks and was momentarily flustered, waving her hands frantically to explain, "Why are you doing this all of a sudden? I just wanted you to come with me to the General Affairs Department. Don't worry, at worst it'll be considered excessive self-defense, it won't tarnish your record. Besides, I'm one of the Liyue Seven Stars, you know. Although I can't use my authority to help you, that would be corruption, but out of respect for me, you must have acted bravely. Those treasure-hunting groups you mentioned are probably heinous criminals who deserve to die..."

"You're going with her?" The aloof, ethereal white-haired woman frowned. "I have important matters to attend to."

“If you have anything to do, we can take care of it together at Liyue Harbor,” Keqing blurted out.

“I made a reservation at Crescent Moon Pavilion,” the woman said earnestly. “My master made a reservation for me four months ago so that I could taste human cuisine. His good intentions are evident, and I can only come to Liyue Harbor.”

"Just because of this?" Ke Qing was stunned.

She wondered why the immortal had descended to the mortal world. Such a celestial being, who disregarded life and was decisive in killing, was only here for a meal?

"I didn't want to enter the world, as those with the Lone Star and Calamity Fate are prone to harming those around them. But my master's orders have been made," the woman said indifferently. "Before even reaching Liyue Harbor, the coachman died, and now this young man has been brought to ruin. Ha."

A faint self-deprecating smile appeared on her usually calm and delicate face. She then patted Shen Liang's head and said softly, "I'm so sorry."

Shen Liang was annoyed as she pressed his head. If it were an elder who liked to pat his hair like that, it would be one thing—elders are elders, after all. But this guy… was he really a hermit cultivating in the deep mountains? Didn't he understand any social etiquette? How old are you to be touching my head like that!

I hate girls like you who are 1.7 meters tall and still wear high heels!

"A solitary, calamity-ridden fate." Ke Qing frowned slightly, clearly unconvinced. "Do immortals still believe in such feudal superstitions?"

"Whether you believe it or not is irrelevant. You'll understand once you've spent enough time with me," the white-haired woman said calmly. "Besides, I'm not an immortal, just a disciple of an immortal family."

Seeing her slightly downcast face, Ke Maomao wanted to offer words of comfort, but didn't know how. She could only puff out her cheeks in annoyance, "Hmph, what fate? You old-fashioned immortals believe in such things, I don't! Come on, come back to Liyue Harbor with me, I'll take you to Crescent Moon Pavilion for dinner… We'll travel together, I want to see what kind of fate can suppress me, the mighty Jade Balance Star!"

The white-haired woman raised her head, her gaze filled with doubt.

“In that case, I’ll go back to Liyue with you. This fairy can treat me to a meal at New Moon Pavilion then.” Shen Liang also smiled. “What Miss Keqing said is exactly what I wanted to say. What nonsense about being a cursed lone star? Even if there is one, so what? I’d like to see if this so-called fate can restrain me.”

As an Earthling, Shen Liang naturally didn't believe in any superstitions, from astrology to fortune-telling. And even if such beliefs truly existed in Teyvat, he still wouldn't care. Are you kidding me? No matter how much fortune-telling you do, how could it possibly apply to someone from another world? And what cursed fate could possibly compare to the oppressive power of the seven ruling powers of the mortal realm?

Earthlings have always believed in the idea that fate can never overcome the will of the human heart.

Shen He quietly watched the two indifferent people, her right hand resting on her chest. She didn't know what was wrong with her, only that the organ supplying her blood... was beating strangely.

“By the way, after talking for so long, I’m the only one who has introduced myself. I don’t know the other two yet.” Keqing said with a smile. “Then I’ll start. Let me introduce myself again. I’m Keqing, a native of Liyue. I just ascended to the Star of Jade Balance and I’m seventeen years old this year.”

The white-haired fairy withdrew her hand from her long sleeve, her voice cold and detached, though the initial subtle sense of aloofness seemed to have diminished considerably. "My name is Shen He, a man of the mountains and fields, not worth mentioning."

After hesitating for a moment, she said again, "Twenty-one."

"Miss Shen He? May I ask which immortal family you belong to?" Ke Qing asked curiously.

This wasn't a secret, Shen He remembered that her master hadn't told her not to reveal it, "My master is Liuyun Jiefeng Zhenjun."

"A name that sounds familiar..." Ke Qing wasn't very familiar with mythological texts, but she vaguely remembered the name.

At this moment, Shen He stared intently at Shen Liang.

Keqing also turned her gaze back to the only man present, looking curiously at him. Although he was a boy, Keqing had to admit that he was actually the most handsome and cute of the three.

“Shen Liang, I came from Daoqi.” Shen Liang said with a smile, “Just a passing traveler, sixteen years old.”

A proud young woman who governs the Jade Capital, a cold-blooded immortal disciple from the deep mountains and forests, and a beautiful but still curious young man temporarily staying in Liyue.

Like white jade that has strayed into the mortal world, or black iron that has been smashed into a chaotic world.

Many years later, the historians of the Seven Kingdoms would pick up their pens in the dead of night, relying on their exhausted imaginations to recreate those years when young men and women sang songs with strong liquor, climbed towers, drew their swords and struck pillars, and emperors and rebellious ministers drank with high spirits and disdain for everyone else at the Jade Capital Terrace.

Their pride and ambition were first revealed in their youthful days, full of vigor and ambition.

Few people realize that they met at such a simple moment, in such an insignificant instant.

"Shen Liang?" Ke Qing felt that the name sounded familiar again, but unlike before, she was certain that she had only recently learned it.

"Surname Shen, given name Liang, from Liyue? But you just said you're from Inazuma?" Ke Mao Mao looked at the quiet and handsome young man with long, straight black hair in front of her, rubbing her temples as she tried to think, gradually matching the image in her mind with the smiling boy in front of her.

"I remember the portrait was about... an extremely handsome boy... short in stature... long black hair reaching his waist... a high ponytail... he had a name that sounded like someone from Liyue... and he was driving a strange-looking alchemical vehicle..."

Ke Qing finally raised her head, her cute big eyes wide open, pointing at Shen Liang with one finger, her face full of disbelief.

"Who's short!" Shen Liang exclaimed angrily. "How did your intelligence personnel describe me? Can't you show a little respect for exceptional individuals?"

"You! You are that, that, that otherworldly being who faced Thor in the Battle of Haiqi Island! His Highness the Regent of Haiqi Island!" Keqing was so panicked that she could barely speak. Even when she was possibly at odds with Shen Liang and Shen He, she hadn't lost her composure like this. "Shen Liang, whom the bards called 'Inazuma's Young Dragon,' 'The Unrivaled Ferocity of the East and West,' and 'The Flower General Hai Yuqian'! You've come to Liyue!"

If they hadn't already gotten to know each other so well, Shen Liang would have wanted to cover her face and disappear into a crack; the tips of her ears were completely red.

He could accept being addressed with such reverence as "Your Highness the Regent" in Inazuma, since his infamy outweighed his good reputation there, and people treated him with utmost respect.

But being bombarded with Keqing's rapid-fire, menu-like speech in Liyue is just too cringeworthy! I can't stand it!

What?! The Inazuma's Young Dragon?! The most ruthless and unparalleled creature from the East and West?! What version of me is being spread around outside?! Damn it, aren't the publishing houses in charge of diplomacy and propaganda?! Are they just letting those bards make up stories everywhere? Good heavens, they must be making a fortune in copyright fees. Who knows, maybe it's even content edited by that Yae no Kamiko editorial company themselves?

You Narukami Island got humiliated by me, so why don't you just write me as your Inazuma's chuunibyou and humiliate me along with you?

"I think you're intentionally ignoring the last part, 'Hanazoku Shogun Kaigozen,'" Torachiyo whispered.

[Shut up, you stupid woman!]

Chapter Ten: Brave New World

The case was temporarily closed, and Keqing took out a piece of fireworks tube from her Eye of God. Although it was noon, the bright fireworks and piercing shrieks could still be heard more than ten miles away from the sentry posts. The three waited in place for a while, and soon a squad of Thousand Rock Army soldiers dressed in standard light armor arrived quickly. After saluting Keqing, their expressions froze slightly when they saw the headless corpse on the ground and the surviving treasure-hunting group.

However, their actions were not affected by the bloody scene. After collecting evidence and basically confirming their identities, the Qianyan soldiers efficiently put shackles on the prisoners, threw them into the car, and drove away.