Genshin Impact: A Guide to the Unofficial History of Teyvat — Chapter 62

Chapter 62: Eye to Eye

Just as she was wallowing in a puddle of self-pity, nearly swallowed whole by despair—a strange, saving thought popped into her feverish brain, cutting through her pathetic little sobs.

“Wait…” Miss Lovia sniffled. Her voice was thick, clogged with heavy nasal congestion as she muttered to herself in the quiet room. “Melusines… logically speaking, we shouldn’t get sick. We don’t catch human colds. We are practically elemental beings, right? So this weakness, these awful chills… this has to be classified as energy loss!”

Her emerald eyes were still glassy with unshed tears, but the absolute helplessness clouding them slowly began to clear.

The sheer brilliance of the ‘energy loss’ theory gave her drooping spirits a tiny jolt. If this was not a biological sickness in the fragile human sense, but merely a glitch in the elemental circulation of her Melusine body, then it made perfect sense. It was not scary at all.

As long as it was not a disease. She couldn’t exactly drag herself all the way to Natlan to see Ifa, the Saurian veterinarian, could she?

“That’s exactly it…” The more she chewed on the idea, the more bulletproof it seemed. She even started pulling in historical lore to back up her delusion. “We Melusines originated from Elynas. That makes us an advanced, superior form of elemental life. How could a majestic elemental being catch a mundane human cold? Impossible. Something else is wrong.”

She didn’t care if the logic was flawed; she aggressively stapled this conclusion to her current misery and instantly felt a fraction better.

“So, I am not sick.” She sniffled again, nodding with a weak, forceful jerk of her head to convince herself. “I am just… well, maybe I have been way too absorbed in writing my novels lately. I burned too much creative energy. Or… or the elemental composition of this new batch of ore is defective! It is not giving me the nutrients I need!”

She cast a mournful glance at the scattered pile of raspberry-mixed ore on the floor. A tragic waste, but she no longer felt like the world was ending.

There was definitely something wrong with that ore. She needed fresh supplies.

“It is fine!” Lovia wiped her damp cheeks with the back of her hand and forced her spine straight, though her shoulders trembled from the sheer lack of strength. “Energy loss can be replenished! Sitting here enduring it is stupid; I have to actively save myself!”

She was a Melusine! A proud, wonderful creature born from the mysterious depths of Fontaine! How could she let herself be defeated by a phantom cold, left to crouch on the floor crying like a kicked puppy?

If the others back in Merusea Village heard about this, she would never live it down.

Going to Mr. Baizhu at Bubu Pharmacy was out of the question, but she could handle this herself. Studying her own racial quirks was practically a survival skill. She would just consider this a very hands-on practical exam.

Looking at the messy snacks on the floor, she felt like a total fool. First things first: she needed to venture out and buy some high-grade ore to top up her reserves. Liyue Harbor had to sell something like that, right?

Whatever. Ore first. Questions later.

Lovia pumped herself up, forcing a strained, optimistic tone into her quiet muttering, even managing a dry, self-deprecating chuckle. Gritting her teeth, she shoved the persistent, aching discomfort to the back of her mind and gathered her meager strength. Gripping the edge of the wooden table, she hauled herself up.

That single, basic motion made her vision swim with black spots. She slumped heavily against the wood, gasping for breath.

After a grueling struggle, she managed to drag her thick, oversized hooded cloak over her shoulders, bundling the heavy fabric tightly around her small frame. Then, she wobbled toward the door.

Her legs felt like they were cast in solid iron. The simple threshold she usually skipped over now looked like a towering mountain peak. Halfway across the room, she had to slump against the wall just to keep from collapsing.

“Come on, Lovia… you can do this… do it for the ore… for the energy…” she chanted under her breath.

Dragging her feet, she finally reached the entrance and shoved the wooden door open. It felt ten times heavier than usual. The cool evening breeze of the harbor immediately slapped her face, cutting through her clothes and sending violent tremors through her frame. Her teeth clattered together like castanets.

“S-So cold…” She wrapped her arms around her chest, peering out into the Liyue night.

The harbor was a sea of brilliant, warm lights. The distant hum of laughter and commerce drifted through the air, but that vibrant life belonged to other people. Standing in the dark doorway, she only felt smaller, colder, and utterly isolated.

“Whatever… let’s go.” Gritting her teeth, Lovia took her first step outside, nearly pitching forward onto the cobblestones.

Her pace was agonizingly slow. Her footsteps were light, erratic, and she constantly had to drag her shoulder against the nearby stone walls and wooden railings just to stay upright.

The night market of Liyue Harbor was in full, lively swing, but the colorful lanterns and bustling stalls blurred into a distant, smeared painting in Lovia’s feverish eyes. Every ounce of her focus was dedicated to fighting the crushing weakness in her bones and keeping her oversized hood pulled low.

She kept her chin tucked to her chest, shrinking into the darkest shadows of the eaves, handling entirely by memory toward the merchant district where special ores were sold.

Anyone paying attention would immediately flag her as a highly suspicious individual. Luckily, even through the dizzy haze, Lovia retained enough sense to stick to the deserted back alleys.

A walk that usually took ten brisk minutes stretched into an eternity.

Just as she was nearing the edge of her destination, a familiar, clear voice laced with a polite, easygoing laugh drifted from the street ahead.

“Boss, two servings of Lotus Crisp, if you please. One packaged to go, and one to enjoy now.”

Xingqiu.

Why was he literally everywhere? He was like a lingering ghost haunting her every step!

Lovia’s heart slammed against her ribs. Her entire body locked up. She instantly yanked her hood down another three inches, desperately wishing she could melt into the fabric and disappear. Her survival instincts screamed at her to turn around and flee, but her fever-heavy limbs were a fatal second too slow.

At the mouth of the alley, Xingqiu paused. His sharp gaze caught the tiny, bundled figure lurking in the shadows, swaying unsteadily on her feet. She was wrapped up so tightly and pressing herself so hard against the brickwork that she practically radiated guilt.

There was no way a sight like that wouldn’t draw his attention.

Lovia felt the weight of Xingqiu’s gaze pin her in place.

Panic seized her throat. Feigning a calm she absolutely did not possess, she kept her face hidden and forced her leaden legs to move faster, praying she could just slip past him in the dark.

Just as she brushed past his shoulder, his voice floated over, soft and laced with genuine concern.

“My friend, the night is deep and the dew grows heavy. Seeing your unsteady steps… are you perhaps feeling unwell?”

He didn’t raise his voice, but the words struck Lovia’s ears with crystal clarity.

She froze. Her boots stopped dead on the cobblestones.

Did he figure it out?

Did he see through the disguise, or was this just ordinary chivalry acting up for a stranger?

A suffocating wave of panic, amplified by the fragile vulnerability of her fever, wiped her mind completely blank. She had no idea what to do.

Should she play deaf and keep walking? Should she lower her voice and croak out a fake excuse?

But her frozen hesitation, and the faint, uncontrollable trembling of her shoulders, only sharpened Xingqiu’s focus.

He turned slightly. His amber eyes, usually dancing with a hidden, teasing smile, locked onto the oversized hood.

Through the dark gap of the fabric, their eyes met.

Lovia’s breath hitched.

To Xingqiu, the math was instantaneous. The unusually petite stature, the desperate, bundled-up posture—it perfectly overlapped with the panicked little blue figure burned into his memory.

More, those vivid emerald eyes flashing from the shadows of the hood… he could not mistake them.

It was Miss Lovia. And she looked entirely wrong.

Despite the thick layers, she couldn’t hide the violent tremors wracking her small frame. During their previous run-ins, she had been flustered, yes, but always quick and agile. Now, she swayed like a leaf in the wind, looking as though a single breath would knock her over. Even the soft sound of her breathing was ragged and weak.

“My friend, are you perhaps feeling unwell?” Xingqiu asked again when she didn’t answer. This time, his voice dropped an octave, softening considerably. He deliberately stripped away his usual probing curiosity, leaving only a warm, careful concern so as not to spook her.

Lovia stood rooted to the spot. Her brain was a boiling pot of feverish static. A harsh refusal sat right on the tip of her tongue, but before she could force it out, a vicious wave of vertigo crashed over her. The world tilted. She instinctively threw a hand out, slapping against the rough stone wall to keep her knees from buckling.

That single slip completely validated his suspicions.

Xingqiu’s brow creased. He immediately closed the distance, stepping forward, yet he stopped just short, maintaining a perfectly polite, respectful space. He offered his presence without invading her boundaries.

He lowered his voice to a whisper meant only for the two of them. “Miss Lovia. It is me, Xingqiu. You appear to be in need of assistance.”

Hearing her actual name fall from his lips shattered the last fragile piece of her denial.

She slowly lifted her head. Beneath the heavy cowl, her emerald eyes were glassy, filmed over with the hot moisture of her fever. She looked at him with a heartbreaking mixture of cornered wariness and raw, unmaskable vulnerability.

She wanted to push him away. She wanted to say she didn’t need him and that she was perfectly fine. But the crushing exhaustion in her bones and the relentless waves of cold stripped away her ability to act tough. Her pale lips parted, trembling slightly, but all that escaped was a faint, pathetic little wheeze.

Seeing her in such a state, the last remnants of Xingqiu’s playful investigation evaporated. He could see exactly how hard she was pushing herself, and he perfectly understood her desperate need to hide.

“Please, do not worry. I mean you no harm.” Xingqiu’s tone was deeply sincere, his words slow and measured to cut through her fevered haze. “You are clearly very ill. While Liyue Harbor is bright and lively, handling it alone in this condition is far from safe. If you would permit me…”

He paused, carefully weighing his next words so she wouldn’t feel trapped.

“…may I escort you home? Or, if you prefer, allow me to fetch a reliable physician for you?”

He knew she was terrified of exposing her true identity to the public, so he gently laid the choices at her feet, giving the power back to her.