The Weapon Master Shall Never Die Bare-Handed in Genshin Impact [226]

“Tch, so I got tricked in the end, huh?” Lumine grumbled, crossing her arms. “Zhongli, you owe me a meal! A proper one! Otherwise, I won’t forgive you!”

“Very well,” Zhongli nodded with his characteristic composure. “It is only fair. I will arrange a banquet and formally invite both of you.”

“I don’t really mind. I had a lot of fun fighting this time,” Jia Changjiang said with a grin, but Lumine immediately jabbed him in the ribs.

“You were part of the deception too, Jax!”

“Exactly!” Paimon chimed in, pumping her tiny fists. “Mr. Jax, you lied to us for so long! We’re not letting you off the hook that easily!”

“You have to treat me and Paimon to something fancy!” Lumine insisted, prodding Jia Changjiang’s side.

“Alright, alright, fine…” Jia Changjiang relented, raising his hands. “But let’s not hang around the Northland Bank any longer, shall we? Let’s get out of here first.”

“Isn’t everything settled already?” Lumine asked.

“Yes,” Zhongli replied with a nod. “However, there is one matter I must discuss with Jia Changjiang.”

“What’s that?” Lumine asked curiously.

“It concerns the ancient god. I doubt it would interest you.” Zhongli’s tone was calm, and Lumine quickly waved it off.

“Ugh, fine. If it’s about Osial, I’m not interested. I’ll go find Ningguang and Keqing instead.”

---

As soon as they exited the Northland Bank, Lumine and Paimon excitedly headed toward Yujing Terrace, while Jia Changjiang followed Zhongli up a series of steps, ascending to the rooftop.

Zhongli gazed at him with measured calm. “It seems that you, like Tartaglia, had your own share of excitement in all this chaos.”

Jia Changjiang leaned on the railing, looking out over the harbor. “Of course. A proper fight with Tartaglia, witnessing an epic clash that’ll go down in history, and participating in the war between gods and mortals? What more could I ask for?”

He chuckled lightly. “If I wasn’t satisfied after all that, I’d be insatiable.”

Zhongli regarded him thoughtfully. “No. To me, it seems you are not satisfied, merely content. You strike me as a man who will not settle until you achieve what you desire.”

“Ha! Is that supposed to be a compliment?” Jia Changjiang laughed, glancing over his shoulder.

“Perhaps,” Zhongli replied, his amber eyes sharp. “Your ambition is rare, even in my six millennia of life. If you choose to pursue something, I doubt you would ever give up halfway.”

“Ambitious, huh…” Jia Changjiang smiled, stretching his arms. “I guess you’re not wrong. But what’s so bad about ambition? It’s how we chase what we want.”

He stood upright, looking to the horizon. “I want plenty of things. If I didn’t, how would I keep moving forward?

“Sure, I might fail, but how will I ever know if I don’t give it a shot? And besides,” he added with a grin, “I love a good gamble. Just look at our little wager—I won all three bets, didn’t I?”

Zhongli nodded slightly before turning his gaze toward Guyun Stone Forest. “Still, there are matters I wish to discuss with you.”

“The Vortex God Osial… I did not elaborate earlier at the bank, but his actions caught even me by surprise,” Zhongli admitted.

“Surprised?” Jia Changjiang raised an eyebrow.

“When you rallied Liyue against the ancient god, Osial forced his way out of the seal, damaging himself in the process. It was only through such self-inflicted harm that he manifested his sixth head,” Zhongli explained.

“The way he was defeated—and the state he was in when he was resealed—was unexpected.”

Zhongli’s finger tapped the railing rhythmically. “When Osial was sealed once more, he was not as enraged as one might expect.”

He turned his piercing gaze toward Jia Changjiang. “Did you do something?”

Jia Changjiang followed Zhongli’s gaze toward the distant Guyun Stone Forest. “Not much,” he said casually. “Just… said goodbye.”

“Goodbye?” Zhongli’s brow furrowed slightly. “You treated Osial as a friend?”

“Hardly,” Jia Changjiang replied with a smirk. “But even an ancient god deserves to understand one thing.”

He leaned forward on the railing, resting his chin on his hand. “The old era has passed.”

The sea breeze swept past, carrying a faint chill. Jia Changjiang stood and stretched, a relaxed smile on his face. “I don’t pretend to understand you gods or your millennia of history. I’ve only been alive for a couple of decades—plenty of people out there know more than I ever will.”

“To guess at thousands of years of experience with just a few decades of life is foolish. I won’t waste my time trying,” he added.

“But if nothing else, Osial has the right to see and understand that the world has moved on.”

Zhongli’s gaze softened, his voice deep and measured. “Even unyielding stone erodes with the passage of time. For some, an eternal life is not the blessing it may seem.”

“Maybe,” Jia Changjiang replied, shaking his head. “But I can’t relate. Living longer just sounds better to me.”

He laughed, stepping onto the outer edge of the railing and sitting down. “As for how long I’ll live? Who knows? If I make it to a hundred, great. If not, no big deal—I wasn’t built to last forever anyway.”

He looked out over the harbor, the bustling city below. “But I like to think someone will remember me. I’ve done enough in Mondstadt and Liyue to leave a mark, right?”

He gestured toward Zhongli with a grin. “You talk about stone eroding over centuries, but I don’t have that kind of time. By the time the rocks start to wear down, I’ll probably be long gone.”

“But if, years from now, those of you with eternal lives can remember this day—a day when some guy fought an ancient god—well, that’s enough for me.”

The breeze rustled through his hair as he smiled. “That’d be more than enough.”

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This is a fan translation of 武器大师在原神绝不死于徒手 by 徐人双 All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!