Meeting the Poor Little Thing for the First Time-Beautiful as a Porcelain Doll

Fang Xun got up and set off to find Ningguang.

Normally, Ningguang would be at the Jade Chamber,

so if he wanted to find her, the Jade Chamber was the obvious place to go.

Fang Xun looked up at the sky. The Jade Chamber blocked out the heavens, so it should be easy to spot.

But when he looked up, he found that there was no Jade Chamber in the sky at all.

This left Fang Xun utterly confused.

Had the Jade Chamber moved somewhere else?

Since he had just arrived and didn't know his way around, Fang Xun could only ask someone for directions.

He headed to Wanmin Restaurant, planning to ask Master Mao for help.

When he saw Master Mao cooking at the wok, Fang Xun felt that something was a little off.

Master Mao seemed a bit different from the middle-aged man in the game.

Why did he look so much younger??

At that moment, Master Mao noticed Fang Xun and warmly asked, "Young man, what would you like to order?"

Fang Xun came back to his senses and gently shook his head. "Master Mao, I'm not in a hurry to eat. I came to ask you for directions."

"Could you tell me how to get to the Jade Chamber?"

At that, Master Mao paused his cooking, looking somewhat confused.

"Young man, I've never heard of a place called the Jade Chamber."

"Is it somewhere in Mondstadt or Inazuma?"

"Sorry, I only know Liyue well. I don't know much about the other nations, so I can't give you directions."

Master Mao shook his head helplessly, making it clear he didn't know.

The speaker might have meant nothing by it, but the listener took it to heart.

Fang Xun felt his head start to spin.

Master Mao didn't know about the Jade Chamber?

Was he joking??

Tell me, who in all of Liyue Harbor hadn't heard of the Jade Chamber?

That enormous thing blocked out the sky, floating above all of Liyue!

Why would Master Mao say he'd never heard of the Jade Chamber?

It was just so strange!

Wanting to get to the bottom of it, Fang Xun asked again, "Master Mao, do you know where Ningguang is?"

This time, Master Mao didn't look confused like before.

Instead, he wore a look of sudden realization. "So you're looking for that little girl."

"I think I saw her when I went shopping for ingredients today. She was selling things over by the harbor."

"If you want to find her, you can go take a look there."

Fang Xun was momentarily stunned as he tried to process this information.

In the game, the people of Liyue addressed Ningguang as "Lady Ningguang" or "Tianquan Adult."

He hadn't expected Master Mao to call her a little girl.

More importantly, Ningguang was selling goods by the harbor?

Wasn't that from before Ningguang made her fortune?

A guess formed in Fang Xun's mind.

He had traveled to a point in time twenty years before the events of the game!

That explained why Ningguang's Genshin's Eye had seemed ownerless.

Ningguang was still very young then and hadn't obtained her Genshin's Eye yet.

It also explained why Master Mao had never heard of the Jade Chamber.

Ningguang hadn't made her fortune yet, and the Jade Chamber was only an aspiration of hers. Naturally, outsiders wouldn't know about it.

To confirm his guess, Fang Xun decided to look for Ningguang at the harbor.

Chapter 2: Meeting the Poor Little Thing for the First Time—Beautiful as a Porcelain Doll

In the game, Liyue Harbor looked like a tiny place that you could run across in just a few minutes.

But after traveling to the Teyvat Continent, Fang Xun realized the real Liyue Harbor was several times larger than its in-game counterpart.

In truth, the game only showed a small part of Liyue!

The real Liyue

was like a giant dragon sprawled across the land.

Even from its highest point, you couldn't see where it ended.

If you were new to the area, it was easy to get lost if you weren't careful. Getting turned around was a common occurrence.

Fang Xun had only managed to find the harbor by asking for directions again and again.

The harbor was mainly responsible for transporting goods and hosting merchants from different nations.

It was an extremely bustling place.

From a distance, ships of every size and color could be seen moored at the harbor.

Quite a few cargo ships were also coming and going across the sea.

Their horns rang out,

long and unceasing.

As soon as Fang Xun arrived at the harbor, his eyes were drawn to a little girl without him having to search.

The little girl had a head of white hair that fell softly over her shoulders.

Her lovely little face was pure and delicate, just like a porcelain doll.

Her beautiful red eyes were clear and bright, like sparkling gemstones that glimmered with a gorgeous light.

And yet, this pretty, adorable little girl wore nothing but rough cloth.

It was the same kind of fabric used to make the sacks people normally used for carrying goods.

In truth,

this kind of fabric wasn't suitable for making clothes, because it was terribly uncomfortable to wear and chafed against the skin.

But who would put up with that if they weren't truly desperate?

The girl looked very frail.

The rough clothes, which should have been made to fit her, hung especially loosely on her.

The summer evening breeze blew in, making her clothes billow. It seemed as if a stronger gust might carry her away.

But the thing that caught Fang Xun's attention most was the girl's feet.

The harbor was full of people coming and going, after all.

Many merchants were dressed in fine clothes and wore all kinds of expensive, comfortable shoes.

The little girl alone was barefoot, stepping on the still-warm paving stones.

The moment Fang Xun saw her, he recognized her as Ningguang when she was little.

Her family had been desperately poor, so the sensible little Ningguang had started earning money at a very young age.

She often went barefoot, carrying a basket and trying to sell her wares to passersby.

Before long,

Ningguang had come right up to Fang Xun.

She tilted her head up and blinked her watery eyes. In a still-childish voice, she asked, "Big brother, would you like to buy some starconches?"

"I have lots and lots of starconches. I picked them out of the river myself, and I promise they're clean!"

"They'd make lovely decorations for your home or a nice gift for someone."

"I have lots of different kinds, so you can pick whichever ones you like."

Looking at Ningguang, who acted like a little grown-up, Fang Xun couldn't help smiling.

Who would have thought that Ningguang, the Tianquan Star, had been so adorable as a child?

"Little girl, how much are you selling your starconches for?" Fang Xun crouched down and gently ruffled Ningguang's hair before asking.

Ningguang hadn't expected much. She'd instinctively assumed Fang Xun would turn her down.

After all, the merchants around the harbor always seemed to be in a hurry.

Some of them wouldn't even wait for her to finish speaking before rushing off.

She hadn't expected Fang Xun to stop for her and patiently listen to what she had to say,

or to crouch down so he could speak with her face-to-face.

A little warmth bloomed in Little Ningguang's heart.

She felt that Fang Xun was different from the merchants she usually met.

This big brother was so gentle.

That was Little Ningguang's first impression of Fang Xun.

Ningguang came back to her senses and looked at Fang Xun with innocent, guileless eyes. "Big brother, one starconch costs five hundred Mora. If you buy two, I'll give you one for free!"