It was only by chance that she got caught up in the Immortal-Demon War,
as the saying went, when immortals fought, mortals suffered.
Qiqi was caught in the crossfire and left on the brink of death.
As she teetered on the edge of death, she feared dying, yearned for her family, and desperately wanted to survive.
Her powerful wish earned her a Genshin's Eye, and she unleashed tremendous power that brought the Immortal-Demon War to an end.
After the war was over, the immortals all felt sorry for Qiqi.
So each of them sealed a wisp of their power inside her, hoping to bring her back to life.
Qiqi did come back to life—but not entirely.
She became a zombie.
What was more,
Qiqi's small, frail body simply couldn't withstand the immortals' power.
She lost control and went berserk.
With no other choice, the immortal True Lord of Water and Mountains could only seal Qiqi inside amber.
And there she remained for several centuries.
By the looks of it,
the girl the villagers had found was almost certainly Qiqi.
But for now, this was only Fang Xun's guess.
He would have to go and investigate to find out what had really happened.
Fang Xun looked at the blacksmith, then politely asked, "May I ask where you found the amber? Would you be able to take me there?"
Upon hearing that an immortal had asked, the blacksmith wouldn't have dared say no.
"Of course! No problem at all!"
"You see, Immortal, none of us dares go into that cave to investigate. It feels freezing in there!"
"Even the strongest young men can't last more than a few minutes before they're shivering and ready to give up!"
"That's why we came here—we were hoping you'd lead us into the cave to see what's going on."
As for the blacksmith's claim that something was strange about the cave,
Fang Xun guessed it was caused by the cold emanating from Qiqi.
After all, once Qiqi became a zombie, her body had turned stiff and cold.
Over time, the cave had grown exceptionally frigid.
It was understandable that ordinary people couldn't endure such bitter cold.
Fang Xun said nothing more, simply gesturing for the blacksmith to lead the way.
Little Ningguang stayed close behind Fang Xun, never leaving his side.
These days, wherever Fang Xun went, she followed.
Like a little shadow.
Many of the villagers came along too.
They'd heard that a girl was trapped inside the amber and found it hard to believe.
So they followed, eager to see for themselves.
The blacksmith led Fang Xun along a mountain path.
At last, the group stopped at the foot of the mountain.
The blacksmith pointed to the cave entrance ahead, then respectfully said to Fang Xun, "Immortal, this is the cave we found. The amber with the girl inside is in there."
Fang Xun nodded and prepared to enter the cave.
The cave was well hidden, almost blending into the surroundings.
If the villagers hadn't cut down some trees, they would never have found it.
Many of the villagers stopped at the entrance, not daring to take another step.
Even standing at the mouth of the cave, they could feel the icy air rushing toward them.
The slightest touch of that cold against their skin made them shiver.
And the temperature deeper inside was bound to be even lower.
Faced with the blast of cold,
Little Ningguang shivered instinctively.
But when she saw Fang Xun heading into the cave, the little girl gritted her teeth and prepared to follow.
Wherever Fang Xun went, she wanted to go too.
Fang Xun noticed and turned to remind Ningguang, "Little girl, it's very cold in the cave. You could catch a chill, so don't go in."
Ningguang pouted, looking disappointed.
But since Fang Xun had told her to stay, she would obediently listen.
Soon, Fang Xun entered the cave alone.
It was far colder inside than outside—
it was no exaggeration to say that it was summer outside and winter inside.
Even Fang Xun couldn't withstand the chill.
He crossed his arms over his chest and used the skill 'Earth Core.'
Solidify!
With a low shout, a stone stele rose inside the cave.
At the same time, jade shields encircled Fang Xun.
Normally, a shield skill couldn't protect someone from the cold.
But the skills Fang Xun had obtained worked far beyond the limits of the game.
His Jade Shield could not only ward off the cold in this cave—
even if he went to Snow Mountain in the future, he wouldn't need to hunt around for a source of fire as long as his Jade Shield was up.
Once the shield surrounded him, Fang Xun immediately felt the cold ease considerably.
He looked toward the amber the villagers had mentioned.
At once, he spotted a girl inside, eyes closed as she lay asleep.
She wore a hat on her head and a purple dress.
A long string of jade beads hung at her chest, and bandages wrapped around her right leg.
What drew Fang Xun's attention most was the large number of paper charms stuck to her body.
Just as he'd suspected.
The one sealed inside the amber was the little zombie, Qiqi.
Fang Xun also noticed a seal bearing an immortal's mark on top of the amber.
But centuries of Erosion had left the sealing magic faded and dull, its original power long gone.
Fang Xun strode forward and used 'Earth Core' again.
The amber sealing Qiqi shattered at once.
As the amber broke apart,
Fang Xun finally got a clear look at Qiqi.
The little zombie still had her eyes closed, lying on her side.
Her face was peaceful; she looked as if she had only just fallen asleep.
After a while, Qiqi sensed the world outside and slowly opened her eyes.
Her beautiful pink eyes, like peach blossoms, took in the world around her like those of a newborn child.
"Where... am I?"
"Who... am I?"
"Ah... I can't remember anything..."
Everything around the little zombie felt unfamiliar.
She couldn't make any expression with her face,
but her beautiful eyes were full of fear and helplessness.
Even though she had slept for centuries, her mind was still that of a little girl of just a few years old.
Now that she was in an unfamiliar place, her first instinct was to feel afraid.
Seeing this, Fang Xun immediately crouched down and spoke gently to Qiqi. "This is Liyue, on the Guili Plains."
"And your name is Qiqi."
At the sound of his voice, Qiqi slowly lifted her head and looked at Fang Xun with clear, bright eyes.
She felt as if she'd had a very, very long dream.
There had been nothing in it, only endless darkness.
Qiqi hated the dark and wanted the dream to end as soon as possible,
but no matter what she did, she couldn't wake up.
Before you continue