Collei

"Books for learning to read?"

Xingsu glanced at Introduction to Recognizing Characters and Introduction to the Teyvat Common Language spread out on the table. They were the literacy primers he had finished reading last night.

He gently closed the two books and gathered both primers into his arms.

After a moment's thought, he also picked up the notes he had made yesterday. The faint handwriting recording unfamiliar characters was still there, with clear, easy-to-understand annotations.

He gently gathered the scattered pages, held the booklets in his arms, and slowly walked over to the two of them.

The little girl behind Tighnari instinctively shrank back half a step, her hands nervously clasped together against her chest.

Xingsu offered the books in his arms to Tighnari and said, "I just finished these two literacy primers. The content is easy to understand, and the sentence structures are simple. They're very suitable for someone just starting to learn the language."

Tighnari accepted the books and asked in surprise, "Are you the new assistant librarian? I've never seen you at the Akademiya before. You're certainly dedicated-you've even read children's literacy primers."

Xingsu waved a hand, his expression slightly awkward as he said, "You flatter me. This is indeed my first day on the job, but it's only a coincidence that I could help. After all, I only learned to read from those books yesterday."

Tighnari: "???"

What do you mean, you only learned to read yesterday?

Taking it as a joke, Tighnari laughed it off and said goodbye. Holding the little girl's hand, he turned to leave.

Xingsu's gaze also fell on the girl behind him.

In that brief instant, he clearly glimpsed the roiling black mist entwined around her frail body.

Was that...?

After much hesitation, Xingsu called out to stop them.

"Sir, please wait a moment."

Tighnari turned back to Xingsu in confusion. "Is there something else?"

After considering his words, Xingsu asked, "May I ask... is the girl behind you being haunted by something bad?"

The girl shuddered all over, nearly dropping the literacy primers Tighnari had just placed in her arms. Her eyes instantly filled with fear and wariness, and her back went rigid. She instinctively shrank behind Tighnari, clutching the Forest Ranger's sleeve tightly with both hands, her shoulders trembling uncontrollably.

Noticing the girl beside him trembling violently, Tighnari's fluffy fox ears instantly stiffened. He instinctively turned to shield her, his gaze gaining a measure of scrutiny and suspicion as he looked at Xingsu. The warm atmosphere shattered completely.

"What are you trying to do?"

Xingsu stopped where he stood, his outstretched hand freezing in midair as the light in his eyes dimmed.

The black mist of memories entwined around the girl still churned in his vision, yet even asking about it had frightened her.

Looking at the girl hiding behind Tighnari, her entire body rigid and trembling, Xingsu slowly withdrew his hand from midair.

He looked at Tighnari, who stood in front of the girl with his fox ears stiff and his expression guarded, and began to explain.

"Sorry, I mean no harm. My eyes can see certain... things other people can't. I wasn't deliberately prying, either. I just noticed that she was entangled in a black mist. Would you allow me to examine it? I promise I won't make any physical contact with her."

Black mist?

Collei did have Eleazar, but it certainly wasn't severe enough to produce black mist. She had only just arrived, yet he had noticed something wrong with her at a glance. Perhaps...

Tighnari lowered his eyes to glance at Collei, who was trembling beside him, her fingertips clutching his hem tightly. Herbs could only ease the surface pain, not eradicate the source of the illness hidden in her soul. He pondered in silence for a long time, his fluffy fox ears slowly drooping. Deep down, he knew he had to grasp even the faintest hope.

After a moment, he shifted sideways to leave a narrow gap, though he still did not move even half a step away from Collei. His gaze remained thoroughly wary as he looked at Xingsu. "I'll trust you this once. But if Collei shows even the slightest sign of discomfort, you must stop immediately. You mustn't come any closer to her."

Then he lowered his head and gently reassured Collei, resting his palm lightly on her trembling back. "Don't be afraid. I'll stay right beside you. I won't let him hurt you. If you feel uncomfortable, we'll leave immediately."

Collei timidly looked up, her gaze darting over Xingsu before she hurriedly buried her face against Tighnari's shoulder again. She gave a faint nod and timidly held out her hand, but her taut body did not relax in the slightest.

Xingsu slowly stepped forward, deliberately keeping a moderate distance from Collei. He gradually raised his hand, carefully reaching toward the black mist entwined around her.

The instant his fingertips lightly touched that cold, viscous layer of black mist, overwhelming pain, despair, and fear surged up his arm and plunged straight into his consciousness.

Those boundless, agonizing emotions continued to batter his consciousness, filling his mind with pain that did not belong to him.

"Aagh!" Xingsu staggered several steps backward.

Tighnari was still watching Collei's condition nearby, but when his gaze shifted to Xingsu, his heart clenched.

The boy's face was so pale it was almost translucent. He leaned against the wall, his shoulders trembling slightly, while the hand that had touched the black mist hung limply at his side.

"How are you feeling?" Tighnari wanted to go over and support him, but Xingsu waved a hand to indicate that he was all right.

Collei felt the burning pain that had long lingered in her limbs ebb away little by little. Much of the oppressive tightness that had weighed on her chest faded, and her rigid, trembling limbs unconsciously relaxed.

Her frightened, shrinking figure went still for a moment. Bewildered, she lowered her head to look at her arms. The stabbing pain that tormented her constantly had truly lessened.

Tighnari pulled back Collei's sleeve and discovered, to his surprise, that the patches resembling black scales had faded considerably.

Tighnari hurried to Xingsu's side. His fox ears were no longer stiff with wariness; instead, he was filled with shock and deeply moved. He had studied herbs and tried to treat Eleazar for a long time, but every medicine could only slightly suppress the surface pain. None had ever produced such immediate results.

He took Xingsu's hand and asked excitedly, "May I ask how you did that?"

"Hah, hah, hah..." Xingsu shook his head, one hand resting on his chest as he continued taking deep breaths to recover.

Seemingly realizing that his actions were inappropriate, Tighnari hurriedly brought over a chair from nearby and motioned for Xingsu to sit down. Somewhat apologetically, he said, "Ah... sorry, sorry. I got too excited. Please sit down and rest first."

"Let me introduce myself first. My name is Tighnari, and I'm a Forest Watcher. Her name is Collei. She's my student."

Nearby, Collei shuffled back behind Tighnari, peeking out with a pair of eyes that curiously examined the boy before her.

Xingsu smiled at Collei. "My name is Xingsu. I'm a trainee librarian."