What Must Come Will Come

"That truly was impressive archery, Sir Li Qiuzhi."

Having completed his task, Oz the Night Raven flew back after circling around and spoke with mild surprise.

"Not at all. It was mostly thanks to the boost from Bennett's elemental burst." Li Qiuzhi took no credit for it. Without Bennett, he could hardly have managed anything like that.

"Not bad. Only a little inferior to this Prinzessin der Verurteilung's own skills."

Fischl faced Li Qiuzhi, her words carrying a note of praise.

Only a little inferior? Before leveling up, Li Qiuzhi's Hunter's Archery had been at level three. If he was only a little behind her, did that mean little Amy's archery was at level four or five?

Honestly, even if Li Qiuzhi maxed out his archery and gained some "extraordinary" trait, its power probably still wouldn't compare to Fischl's.

After all, she had a Vision. Even if her archery were only at a beginner's level, the power she gained by imbuing her arrows with Elemental Power wasn't something mere technique could match.

Unless he used Quenched Arrows or other specially made arrows.

That was the advantage of having a Vision. Unfortunately, according to the original story, "beings from beyond this world do not belong to the living beings of Teyvat, and often can do no more than watch from the sidelines."

In other words, Li Qiuzhi was just like the Traveler, whose whereabouts he still didn't know.

No matter how noble his "wish" or how intense his "desire," even if the gods watched him twenty-four hours a day, a being who didn't belong to Teyvat could never obtain a Vision.

It's probably some sort of rule, Li Qiuzhi thought helplessly.

Of course, the Traveler didn't need a Vision anyway, and Li Qiuzhi had his own Character Panel, so he wasn't particularly envious.

"Hehe, I only helped a little." Bennett gave a sincere smile, then continued, "Come on. Now that the seal on the chest is gone, let's see what's inside."

With his "unlucky" disposition, obtaining a chest had never gone this smoothly before.

"Yes, let's go."

Fischl turned and leaped into the pit where the chest stood. Her body began to fall, her golden hair streaming upward. Suddenly, with a sound like an umbrella opening, a Wind Glider appeared on her back.

Using the air resistance, Fischl slowly glided toward the chest.

Bennett likewise jumped, spread his Wind Glider, and glided down. Li Qiuzhi watched with a little envy.

Unlike them, even if Li Qiuzhi bought a Wind Glider, he couldn't store it inside a Vision. He would have to carry it around, which was undeniably inconvenient, especially since he already had plenty of things to carry.

It seemed he would have to find something that made storing his belongings easier someday. The adepti of Liyue apparently had an "abode" art that could do just that.

Li Qiuzhi shook his head. He was getting ahead of himself.

He looked down into the pit. It wasn't all that deep, so with his excellent physical fitness, Li Qiuzhi simply jumped.

Under gravity's pull, the still air seemed to turn into a fierce updraft that swept across his face. A moment later, Li Qiuzhi landed on the dirt-and-gravel ground, leaving a pair of shallow footprints.

He shook out his slightly tingling feet, then joined Fischl and Bennett in front of the chest.

The Exquisite Chest looked just as he remembered: a wooden box edged with iron strips, with decorative patterns on its front.

"Let this Prinzessin der Verurteilung see what treasures lie within."

A smile appeared on Fischl's fair face as she pressed her right hand against the chest's lid. Her long, sheer black glove left all five fingers exposed.

Li Qiuzhi watched that snow-white hand, anticipation stirring in him. This was the first chest he had encountered.

A sound like cracking stone came from inside the chest-cracking stone?!

Li Qiuzhi looked at Fischl's hand, which hadn't moved yet. Suddenly, a crack opened beneath the chest's base, then rapidly widened!

"Oh no, the ground's collapsing!"

"Mein Fräulein, watch out!"

"..." Li Qiuzhi was momentarily speechless.

Everything was fine, so why would the ground collapse? Our fight didn't cause any major disturbance, either. That's Bennett for you. We really can't let our guard down until we've actually got the treasure!

The ground shattered completely, and the three of them fell along with the huge chunks of broken stone.

Like a feather suspended in the air, Li Qiuzhi had nothing to brace against to control his body. At this rate, barring any surprises, he would slam straight into the next floor, however far below it might be.

"Grab me!" In that critical moment, Bennett reached out to Li Qiuzhi.

Having experienced sudden situations like this many times, Bennett instinctively opened his Wind Glider and arrested his fall.

Li Qiuzhi reacted quickly and grabbed Bennett's hand, escaping the immediate danger at last. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the still-unopened Exquisite Chest falling beside him.

Li Qiuzhi caught it with his free right arm.

Then he hurriedly searched for Fischl, finally spotting her a little farther above his head. She had opened her Wind Glider too, and Oz was beside her. Thankfully, they both seemed fine.

In their current situation, it seemed they could only wait as they slowly descended.

Soon, the sound of stones striking the ground came from below, sending up clouds of dust. It was also too dark to make out their surroundings with the naked eye.

Judging by where the sounds came from, though, the drop probably wasn't too far.

After a long while, the dust settled, and Li Qiuzhi and the others landed on this lower floor. Broken stones from above lay beneath their feet and all around them.

"Heh-heh, so that is how it is."

Fischl planted the ornate black ankle boot on her right foot atop a large boulder, with her left foot set a little lower in a striding pose.

She covered her eyes with her right hand, then declared in her distinctive manner:

"Fate descends upon this place, a path lost amid the wandering years!"

"Mein Fräulein says this should be some sort of hidden passage," Oz interpreted with practiced ease.

Li Qiuzhi carefully examined their surroundings. They did seem to be back in a passage with the same architectural style as the one they had first entered. It was very dark, with only faint threads of light falling through the broken opening above.

"I'm sorry. I think I must have dragged you into this," Bennett said dejectedly, letting his arms droop.

He was thinking of all the accidents he had encountered on his adventures. This was probably another of the same.

"Oh?" Oz sounded slightly surprised. "Why do you say that, Sir Bennett?"

"Well, here's the thing."

Bennett explained his terrible luck, giving examples of things that had happened on his previous adventures.

"My, what a resilient young man!" Oz the Night Raven exclaimed.

"Hmph, there is no need to blame yourself!" Fischl lifted her right leg slightly and rested it against her left knee, striking another exceedingly dashing pose. "As a subject of this Prinzessin der Verurteilung, even your misfortune shall bow before my majesty!"

"As expected of Your Highness, the Prinzessin der Verurteilung!"

After that exclamation, Li Qiuzhi also said to Bennett:

"Exactly. The more perilous the road to your destination, the more brightly the will you forge along the way will shine. Everything you've experienced is probably a trial to prepare you to become a great Adventurer.

"Getting to experience all this with you might even give me something to brag about someday."

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