"Brother Zhongli, I've found another new story. Would you care to hear it?"
"Oh? Let's hear it."
"Have you ever heard the story of the Mirror Archon?"
Watching the storyteller's excited face, the usually composed, dignified man in dark robes paused with his teacup in hand. The hint of sunset orange at the corner of his eye suddenly faded, and for some reason even his golden eyes seemed dimmer.
After a long silence, he answered, "I have."
Dingdang, the Mirror Archon, always bundled herself up in thick clothes until she was a round little ball. She carefully avoided stones as she walked, and hid behind others whenever she saw a mechanism.
Because her true form was a water-moon mirror no bigger than a palm.
At gatherings, Guizhong would always tease her for being so delicate. She was an Archon already, after all, so how could she be so easy to break? Still, Guizhong would lay several thick cushions on her chair.
Yet this sweet-natured, timid Dingdang, who was terribly afraid of dying, stood in front of everyone during the Archon War.
Before the anguished eyes of the adepti, she shattered into thousands upon thousands of sparkling fragments.
Even after more than five hundred years, Zhongli could still recall every detail of that day.
Amid the fragments Dingdang had become, Liuyun spread her wings and cried out in grief. The young Yaksha stared in shock, his eyes reddening. A wave of terrible pain surged through Zhongli's heart.
Every year on Dingdang's death anniversary, though no one had made any arrangements, they would all go together to the place where she had fallen.
They would stand there quietly for a while.
Meanwhile, the Mirror Archon, now suffering from amnesia, was happily hopping along the coast among a group of Slimes.
She spat out a few bubbles with a "puff, puff, puff," and swayed her round body in confusion.
Why were her Slime companions sizzling and giving off white smoke?
Was it just because she was blue while they were all red?
Dingdang: I found several Sweet Flowers! QAQ Let's go eat them! QAQ So please stop evaporating, aaah!
A few things to know:
Zhongli is the love interest.
For similarly cute stories, see I Am a Hilichurl Child, Wandering the Mortal Realm and I Am a Lanaran, Wandering the Mortal Realm.
Theme: Live a sunny, healthy, positive life, and spread joy to the world.
