100 Catfighters 03

Before we left, Yanfei had one more thing she needed to do.

And that thing was called apologizing. "I am so sorry for my earlier behavior. There is no excuse for it." She was bowing towards Katheryne.

Who didn't seem bothered at all. "It's fine, I deal with things like these at least twice a day." Being the receptionist of the Adventurers' Guild might be the scariest job in all of the nations. "So, you're gonna pay back for the jade, Miss Yanfei?" Seriously, she went back into work business like it was nothing!

Not too long ago Yanfei was threatening to burn this place down! Just how composed was Katheryne!?

Yanfei nodded. "Of course, just give me the price!" Yanfei shook around her bag to emphasize her point, it must have been filled with Mora.

The receptionist gave the price of what was owed, an absurd amount, and Yanfei paid like it was nothing. And it probably was to her. I had no idea how much Mora Liyue's greatest Legal Adviser made per year, but it was probably enough to make even someone fairly wealthy look poor.

And then after that was done, Yanfei actually handed me Mora. "Here, as promised."

When did she promise to give me money? "Huh? Where is this coming from?"

Yanfei blushed. "I said I would play triple for the damages I caused, remember? So I'm just keeping my word..." Her eyes became filled with determination. "Please don't reject it! I know guys are always full of pride about this kind of stuff, but—"

Katheryne cut her off. "If you don't accept all that money, I'm slapping you, little hero."

The two were acting crazy… because since when did I give any signs of being the type of guy that would reject free money!? "Of course I'll accept it. I'm very thankful, Miss Yanfei." Maybe today I would not sleep in a box…!

Yanfei clasped her hands together. "That's good to hear, but there's no need to thank me. I am the one who inconvenienced you in the first place." On one hand, that was indeed true.

On the other hand, if all inconveniences were like this, then I want more of them.



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Yujing Terrace was the most wealthy residential district in all of Liyue Harbor, so naturally a broke — previously broke — guy like me rarely stepped foot in it.

Not to say I had not come here before though, in fact I loved this place. Mostly because I had done some pretty great areas around here before! Rich kids would pay a lot of money to find their equally rich pets! And other things like that.

I imagine Yanfei, being as rich as she was, probably lived around here. Could it be that she was taking me to her house…!? I already had evolved a lot as a man in the past few hours, but could it be that we were already taking the next step!?

In the end, no. That wasn't what happened. Instead, Yanfei just took me to meet some old lady.

Yanfei waved at the old lady in question, a big smile on her face. "Madame Ping! I'm glad you're here as usual." As usual? Ah, the power of being old and just kind of lazing around all day sure was amazing.

The old lady smiled back. "Oh, Yanfei, what a pleasant surprise!" She shifted her gaze at me. "And I see you did not come alone. Who is this adventurer friend of yours?" My clothes must have given me away.

"Well… he is… um…" Yanfei was struggling to speak.

So I answered for her. "Just a common adventurer, I'm nothing too special." Unless I was! The possibility was back on the table!

Apparently my words gave Yanfei enough courage to speak up. "No, you are special!" She put a hand on her heart and looked towards Madame Ping. "This is my soulmate! I think—"

Madame Ping gasped. "Did you come here to introduce me to your boyfriend? That's very nice of you, Yanfei. But isn't he…" She narrowed her eyes. "A bit too young for you?" Age was just a number! Please don't take my Yanfei away from me!

It was true that there was probably a decent age difference here though, I am not yet an adult, and Yanfei is already a lawyer… And an Adepti…!

A realization hit me with the force of a thousand gods. "Yanfei is actually a thousand years old!? I mean, she is an Adepti!" Some super older woman had confessed she liked me!? That was… was…!

It was okay. She still looked really good, so this was totally acceptable by me. Besides, I didn't feel like I was being taken advantage of by a much more experienced woman, and wasn't my opinion what mattered!? And if even she is taking advantage of me, I consent!

Yanfei sputtered. "I'm not that old! I'm in my twenties!" She had to be lying, right? That was cute.

Madame Ping chuckled. "Indeed, Yanfei may be an Adepti, but she is quite young even by human standards." Her chuckling quickly faded. "That said, being young and foolish does not excuse seeking out someone even more younger and foolish, Yanfei—"

Yanfei scowled, putting her hands on her hips. "I'm not dating some super young guy! When I said Soulmate, I meant it! There was the electricity and everything!" She must have been talking about the weird zap I felt running through my body when we met eyes. Yanfei had to have gone through something similar as well.

"Oh my!" Madame Ping covered her mouth in shock. "I suppose if that's the case, you truly would not get to pick…"

Yanfei huffed. "For your information, I would never pick anyone but Sweetheart anyways." That was so sweet…! "But I didn't come here just to tell you about what happened. I was also hoping you could explain what a Soulmate is to Sweetheart, and if you could confirm that we truly are Soulmates."

Madame Ping nodded, her face becoming surprisingly serious. "I understand, please sit down with you two. Let's have some tea."

We did as she asked, and I immediately learned of something. I learned that her tea was really ridiculously good. Old ladies truly had their own specialized super powers, didn't they? Even my grandma only got better at making tea as she got older and older.

The old lady took a sip of her tea. "So, first of all, allow me to explain what a Soulmate is. Young man, I am sure you have heard fairy tales of love at first sight before…?" I nodded, I loved stories like that. "This is something similar. When two people have compatible souls, they might… connect. This is done by matching eyes with your partner, and a shock is supposed to run through the two of you."

She continued. "Once this bond is started, girls fall in love immediately. This is what happened to little old Yanfei over there." The lawyer tried hiding her face as soon as she was mentioned. "Meanwhile, men tend to take a lot longer to feel the same effect, but they gradually will. Perhaps because all men are dense."

I put a hand on my chest. "That's wrong, actually! I'm already in love with Yanfei!" I'm certain of it.

Before this, I thought my rising feelings had just been me being stupid. Yanfei was nice, pretty, and gave me money, so I thought my developing brain was tricking me into feeling infatuated. Now though!? With this soul stuff I knew it was all true love!

"Hmg…!" Yanfei almost died on the spot. I hope that was a good thing.

My comment just made Madame Ping chuckle even more though. "Is that so? Well, maybe it is, I cannot tell. This Soulmate phenomenon is far too rare for anyone to talk about its effects with certainty, after all." She put a hand on her chin. "To be honest, I never thought I would see an Adepti finding their Soulmate… I might even be jealous."

I tilted my head. "Is there something that stops Adepti from forming this bond?"

Madame Ping shrugged. "Perhaps, perhaps not. It has simply not happened before. My own theory is that it's just a numbers game. There are far more humans than there are Adepti, so this phenomenon has been seen mostly amidst your kind."

That made sense. So I had not just won the lottery. I had won the lottery.

Not that I was surprised though. After all…! "I actually might have an idea why I was able to bond to an Adepti, you see, I'm—!" A prophesied hero! Is what I wanted to say, but my recently trained anti-cringe instincts stopped me. "An adventurer! Crazy stuff happens to me all the time!"

Madame Ping snorted. "That's a good way to look at it. But assuming Adepti are immune to this phenomenon, it might be just because Yanfei has human blood in her veins." Oh, right. She's not fully an Adepti. "Still, I should warn you Yanfei, do expect some of the more nosy Adepti to come and bother you. Everyone's curiosity will be piqued by such a miracle."

Yanfei frowned. "Ugh, I guess I will have to… But it only becomes a problem if word gets out, right?"

"Indeed, but…" Madame Ping grinned. "As an old lady, expect me to gossip! I simply must!" Yep, for an old lady, gossiping was just as much of a necessity as water and air. "Besides, do you expect your father to keep quiet once he eventually returns? Or what about your mother? She will be screaming to the heavens." Ah, meeting Yanfei's parents would definitely be scary.

That aside, Madame Ping was totally an Adepti, wasn't she? I would have to be the world's greatest idiot to not notice such a thing. And if she was not an Adepti, then she was at least some legendary figure that was heavily involved with them. Perhaps an older member of the Qixing.

Yanfei let out a long groan. "Just please be careful with what you gossip about. Sweetheart is just a normal human who doesn't even have a vision. Meeting some of the Adepti might be dangerous for him." I suddenly feel ashamed.

Gods, I appreciate the girlfriend, but can you throw me a Vision too? If you don't want to, that's fine of course, but I would be really grateful!

"Don't worry, Yanfei. I'll make sure those blockheads will be sorry if they actually cause any real trouble." She seemed serious again.

Hah… Meeting some Adepti would be scary— Or maybe it would be an opportunity, one that a prophesied hero could not waste. After all, I was supposed to join all the nations and gather legendary heroes to face off against the shadow… What am I even thinking!? Forget about it already, damn it!

Unless I suddenly bump into another Soulmate, I'm just gonna assume I'm a normal guy who got lucky once! That is my verdict!

Madame Ping looked at me. "So young man, before I test whether you two are Soulmates or not, do you perhaps have any more questions? Because if so, this is the time. Though I might not be able to answer them clearly. As I said, very little is known about Soulmates."

It really was that rare, huh? I kind of wish some love god or whatever had showed up to tell me all about it, but I would just have to figure out what I was doing as I went along. I did have one question I needed to ask though.

I hope she could answer it, because it was insanely important. "I just gotta know one thing, is there a way to break the Soulmate bond?" I really hope there wasn't!

But in case there was, I needed to know for safety reasons! Like, what if touching copper during Thursdays broke the bond!? Then I would need to eliminate all copper from this world! And also Thursdays!

Yanfei turned to me, her expression being a mix of a ghost, a demon, and a soon to be crying girl. "There's no way to break the Soulmate bond. There's no way. No way. No way." I think she might be telling me that there was no way of breaking the Soulmate bond.

I held back my desire to ask her whether she was sure of that, since that was my inner grandma speaking. Instead, I tried my best to fix the obvious mistake I made. "Sorry Yanfei, I wasn't asking because I want to destroy this bond, I was asking because I want to protect it! Like I said, I'm already in love!"

And just like that, Yanfei returned to not being a weird eldritch entity of hate and sadness. "Oh…! That's truly sweet to hear, but don't worry. This bond will never break! At least as far we know."

Madame Ping confirmed her words. "Yes, at least I have never seen such a thing happening. Not even the great Rex Lapis could do such a feat." Well, it was hard to do that as a dead guy, but I understand what she meant. "Now, let's get to what Yanfei wanted, confirming the bond between you two."

It would be a real kick to the balls if she said we weren't connected after all that. In a way, it might have been a great cosmic joke, and that actually made me feel quite scared.

I wasn't about to run from it though. "Okay, Madame Ping, how do we do it?"

The old woman looked me right in the eye. "First of all, tell me this young man… Do you believe Yanfei is your Soulmate?" I nodded without hesitation. "And Yanfei, do you believe this adventurer to be your Soulmate?" And then Yanfei did the same as me.

After it, Madame Ping clapped her hands. "Then you two must be Soulmates! Congratulations!"

Yanfei's jaw hit the floor. "That's it?" I felt the same as her, I was kind of expecting some super special magical ceremony.

But that really was it. "Of course, Yanfei. Do you expect a married couple to do anything more than swear their vows? There's no need!" The old woman laughed for a bit. "Your heart tells you he is your Soulmate, and he has accepted that. Any more work is unneeded."

Yanfei put a hand on her chin. "I do understand what you mean, but I would still like some physical proof. Just in case Sweetheart tries to leave me or something of that nature." Those were some insane words she just dropped right there.

I say insane because there is 0% chance I'll ever leave her, of course!

Madame Ping sighed. "Hah… you never change, Yanfei. If you do want some physical proof of the bond between you two, then just get married once he becomes of age and sign a document or whatever."

Yanfei excitedly got up from her chair. "That is a great idea! An amazing idea, even!" Well, marriage was to be expected.

Wasn't it kind of foolish that I was thinking of marrying a girl I had met literally today? I mean, it was fine, right? She's my Soulmate, so this is normal behavior!

Madame Ping rolled her eyes. "Yes, yes, sit down Yanfei." The lawyer embarrassingly did as asked. "Just keep in mind that this young man is indeed… well, young. I, and any other being with the knowledge I possess will accept this of course, but the Millelith will be of a different mind. As the older one, be responsible."

She then shifted her gaze towards me. "And young man, first let me say I appreciate your attitude. I do not know how I would have handled someone who makes Yanfei cry, even if I could not blame anyone for feeling fear in this situation. However, if that ever changes, if you, as a human being, become afraid of some facet of Yanfei… please remember that Yanfei is just as human as she is Adepti. She is undoubtedly your ally in this life."

I smiled, trying to alleviate the old lady's worries. "Of course. I'll put my trust in her." She had given me money, that had possibly made a stronger bond than this Soulmate stuff.

An embarrassed Yanfei spoke up. "And I'm super duper grateful for that!" She then bowed to the old lady. "And about our ages, I'll definitely be careful! We haven't done anything… lewd yet, so I'll keep trying to keep our relationship pure and honest." Hey, that's not true! I touched one of your amazing tits—!

No lewd stuff? I… I feel like my ally in this life is already betraying me. Surely we can talk about this limitation?

Madame Ping saw my face, and almost started laughing again. "I wouldn't say anything so early, Yanfei. Still, I must say that I'm truly grateful the first Adepti to find their Soulmate was someone so new to this world. If any of the old guard had gone through the same, they would have undoubtedly…" She stopped out of nowhere. "Well, it's best to not talk about such dark subject matter."

She waved us off. "Now go away you two! Go plan dates or whatever! I have lazying to do!" Old women were so strong!

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"So, you pretty much have as much free time as you want, right?"

I pouted, feeling a bit embarrassed about the way she said it. "Yeah, technically." It's not like an Adventurer still had set hours. "But I do need to work, Mora doesn't grow on trees." I was already not making a lot as it was, so…

Yanfei waved me off. "More may not grow on trees, but I have more than I know what to do with it. So never ever worry about it, okay?" She truly was the perfect woman! "Let's just keep planning our vacation. I'll take a few days off, and we can go explore Liyue… or Mondstadt. Or anywhere you want really, though I think Natlan and Snezhaya are a bit too far…"

She really was amazing. I had expected us to plan some sort of normal date where we would hang out, but no, she had jumped straight into vacation plans! And so, we were wandering around Liyue Harbor and just talking about it until night had fallen.

I hummed for a bit. "Any of these countries work for me. I'm new to pretty much anything, so pretty much anything sounds fun."

She tilted her head. "Hm? Actually, now that I think about it, where exactly do you come from anyways? You definitely don't look at all from Liyue, and your name is pretty foreign to here too."

I nod. "Yep. I come from a small village. One that doesn't really belong to any nation specifically. We just kind of do our own thing." It was a nice and quiet place. Well, I say quiet but it was a place full of troublemakers.

Yanfei raised an eyebrow. "Not affiliated with any nations? That's not really possible, is it? Do you guys live in space or something like that?"

I laugh a bit. "Nothing of the sort, but we—"

And before I could finish, someone dropped from the skies. From the skies, because they had just jumped from the damn roof!

Seeing as it was night, I got prepared for someone to try and rob us, and put a hand on the hilt of my sword. Crime wasn't common in Liyue, but it did occasionally occur. And I, due to my experiences this past few months, had actually gotten quite good at dealing with it. So it was time to protect Yanfei!

Except Yanfei did not seem scared, or even surprised, instead she just seemed happy. "Ganyu! There's no way you already heard the news, have you?" Huh?

Now that I took a look at this stranger, this Ganyu didn't seem all too scary… and she had horns. She must have been an Adepti too! Though I could have sworn I had seen her running around here and there in the past…

Ganyu nodded, a sad look on her face. "Yes, I've heard the news! It's horrible—"

Yanfei immediately cut her off. "Are you trying to make me mad?" Yes, defend me!

Ganyu took a step back, and worriedly waved her hands around. "N-no. I'm just bringing it up because… Lady Ningguang let me know you had to cancel work for today because of a family emergency, and then asked me to check on you, but it took me a long time to find you in the first place." She lowered her head. "Was the emergency so awful that even talking about it makes you feel bad? Is your mother okay?"

"..." A blush was slowly spreading across Yanfei's cheeks.

Right, I had almost forgotten she lied to skip work today.

Trying to be a good boyfriend, I stepped up to the plate. "No, you see… the thing is…" How did I explain this now!?

"Hm?" Ganyu looked at my eyes.

A shock ran through my body. I would like to call it familiar, but the truth is that I could barely remember the first time it had happened. Back then I hadn't registered as an important event after all. Now though, now I knew exactly what this was.

Ganyu covered her mouth, and let out a silent gasp. "This…! No…!" A weird reaction, but I ignored it.

Instead, I just raised my arms to the sky and shouted. "I am a prophesied hero after all!" I should have never doubted grandma. She would never lie, I know that because she told me she wouldn't do it.

I am undoubtedly a prophesied hero. One Soulmate Adepti can be chalked up to luck. Two? Two must mean grandma was right! That type of stuff didn't just happen!