Chapter Text
「此心安处」
Where the heart finds rest.
I.
The first time Beidou senses trouble is when the Alcor drops anchor at Guyun Stone Forest, but the wind continues whipping sea spray into her face. She licks the salt off her lips, leaning over the ship’s railings.
The sea is quiet.
“Juza,” Beidou calls.
“Yeah, capt’n?” Her Chief Mate bounds over to her side.
“You feel that?”
The experienced sailor peers at the sea for a moment. He then turns his face to the unnatural wind, frowning. “Feels like a storm is brewing.”
The afternoon sun shines brightly on the duo, mocking them both.
“Yeah.” Beidou turns, frowning. “I’m going to look around. Tell the crew to take a break, but be ready to sail at short notice.”
Juza nods. The Captain of the Crux Fleet hops onto a boat, paddling her way to the shore. She’s always liked anchoring her fleet here, partly because the waves near this island formation — supposedly created by Morax’s stone spears in the great Archon War — are gentle and calm. It’s the perfect place for her crew to rest when the Crux Fleet doesn’t need to unload cargo at the bustling Liyue Harbour just a few nautical miles west, or when they need to make an urgent stopover.
When the Tianquan noticed this, she’d quietly left Beidou a plaustrite elevator, hidden between the rocks on the shore that faced the Alcor. And upon discovering it, Beidou would silently use it whenever she needed to.
It’s just one of the many unspoken ways they’ve fallen into rhythm for over the years, long before the Jade Chamber ascended and long after it fell. The tumultuous events that transpired since Morax’s passing only served to deepen the bond they shared, enough that the captain now has Huixing chart their paths such that the Crux Fleet sails as often as it can through Liyue waters, if only to ensure that she is alright.
The Jade Chamber no longer guides their way home, but Beidou’s precious star still shines bright.
The pirate strolls along the shore, following the wind. It blows not from the sea, but from the stone forest itself, throwing her hair towards the ocean. The captain frowns as she heads west, deeper into Guyun, stopping when she hears something impossible: the roar of a stormy sea.
There, brewing right before her eyes in between the stone formations, is a whirlpool. It is small enough that a ship as massive as the Alcor would be able to escape its grasp if she were to be caught, but its size isn’t what makes her freeze.
It’s the Hydro energy hovering above it, choking her senses.
It’s the fury simmering deep in the vortex, in the lightning crackling deep in the water’s depths.
Who are you?
Beidou whispers this in her mind, dipping her hand into the quivering water. Unlike the sea, the water in this alcove is warm, charged with hatred and power.
In her mind’s eye, the serpentine form of Osial rears its head, roaring at the Jade Chamber. Hydro beams fire from his multiple heads, smashing the summoned adepti ballistas and shattering its extended platform, sending his enemies scurrying back onto the Jade Chamber’s stone ground. He feels the pulse of Geo as the chamber moves overhead, its core intrinsically interwoven with a single elemental signature.
He is pulverised in a massive explosion.
In the depths of the ocean, a god screams in unbridled agony. This elemental signature is imprinted on that creature, as fiery blue eyes open in rage, staring at the pirate.
Cursed child of the sea. I am Beisht.
Beidou shivers. Those eyes pierce right through her, searching her very soul.
You are not the one who killed my beloved.
A pulse of Hydro. And against her will, Beisht invades her mind, seeking answers. Beidou tries to hold it back, tries to stop the memory from surfacing — but there it is, her ruby eye fixed upon the Jade Chamber as it wages war against Osial.
Beisht follows the memory, burrowing deeper, seeking that one elemental signature that the god finds in a Geo Vision hanging on a woman’s midriff as wine-red eyes watch Beidou in amusement over a game of chess.
Found you.
No!
Beidou’s scream is answered with a blast of Electro that frees her from the god’s grasp. The captain leaps to her feet, staggering back from the whirlpool, trembling at the intensity of the hatred that flowed into her veins when Beisht laid eyes on Ningguang. “Shit,” she mutters, spinning around and breaking into a run. “Shit, shit, shit!”
She scrambles back into her boat, paddling her way back to the Alcor. Her heart pounds painfully against her ribs, fear closing in around her throat.
Ningguang.
She has to warn her before it’s too late.
In a mansion connected to Yuehai Pavilion, Lady Ningguang leans back on her chair, wine-red eyes scanning her secretaries’ in-depth report on the nation’s Eight Trades. This stack of papers is extremely damning, documenting several loopholes exploited by two of the Eight Trades over the last month to undercut the Feiyun Commerce Guild’s profits.
Depending on the results of this meeting, there may yet be another edition of Liyue’s laws to release.
Three people are seated across from her: the bespectacled and soft-spoken head of Feiyun Commerce Guild, Haoyan; a prim and proper representative of Yinyuan Hall, Wanyan; and the demure Ruoyu, a representative of Shenglu Hall. Ningguang studies all of them one by one, watching them avert their gazes with some satisfaction.
“I presume you all know why you’re here,” the Tianquan finally says, setting a single weight on one end of the scale on her table. It tips to the right, catching the eyes of everyone in the room. She patiently waits until the trio nods. “Good. Then let us hear all sides. Haoyan xiānsheng, if you’ll please begin.”
Haoyan straightens, opening his mouth — and stops when there is a massive bang from somewhere in the pavilion. All three merchants spin around in alarm; Ningguang sighs. That is the irritating sound of the building’s main doors flying violently open, and she only knows one person whose life goal is to break everything when she enters.
The ensuing ruckus only confirms her assumptions. “Please — Lady Ningguang is in an important meeting—” Baishi’s shrill voice cuts through the air.
“I don’t care,” Beidou’s gruff voice booms. “This is a matter of life and death—”
Ningguang drums her clawed fingers on the table, rising to her feet. Haoyan, Wanyan and Ruoyu stare at her. “Please excuse me,” she murmurs.
The Tianquan sweeps past the three merchants, flinging the door to her office open and staring haughtily at the frozen scene before her. Beidou stands on her right, finger pointed accusingly at Baishi; her secretary stands on her left, hands on hips. Both heads slowly turn to look at her.
If Ningguang wasn't in an important meeting, she would have collapsed from laughter there and then. As it is, she only raises a sculpted eyebrow at the duo.
Baishi is the first to recover: “Lady Ningguang, please excuse the disruption, we’ll escort her—”
“It’s quite alright, dear Baishi.” The Tianquan folds her arms, turning her glare onto a sheepish captain. “What is this ‘matter of life and death’ you speak of, Beidou?”
The captain straightens, clearing her throat. “That is why we need to talk, Ningguang. Now.”
Ningguang lifts another eyebrow at the authority in her voice.
Beidou looks at her almost desperately. “Please.”
Her wine-red eyes narrow. It’s not everyday that the Captain of the Crux Fleet will beg her for an audience in front of her secretaries and three very curious merchants in her office. She holds Beidou’s gaze for a full heartbeat, searching for answers in that brilliant ruby eye and finding none. But the tension in the captain’s corded muscles doesn't miss her sharp eye. Ningguang finally gives her a curt nod. “Give me a minute.”
She closes the door, turning to see three pairs of confused gazes. “I apologise,” Ningguang sighs. “It seems that something urgent requires my attention.” She strides over to her table, lifting the weight off the scale. “We will have to reschedule this meeting. My secretaries will reach out with a convenient date.”
Haoyan opens his mouth, but Ningguang swiftly cuts him off. “I understand your concerns, Haoyan xiānsheng. Rest assured we will ensure you are compensated fairly once we have heard your dispute.”
The man closes his mouth and nods. Ningguang holds the door open for the three merchants to file out, and gestures at Beidou to enter. The captain silently does. As she passes, Ningguang’s head instinctively turns at the sudden sensation of an unfamiliar energy clinging to Beidou’s body.
“You sense it too?” Beidou asks, catching her gaze.
The Tianquan slowly closes the door, slightly unsettled. “What is this about, Beidou?” she demands.
Beidou doesn’t sit. She simply stands in the middle of her office with her hands curled into fists. Ningguang’s gaze softens at the sight of the tension in her beloved captain. “I apologise, bǎobèi,” she murmurs, letting her mask fall to reveal the exhaustion beneath. “It’s been a long week.”
“Ah—” Beidou shakes her head, clearly realising she’s sent the wrong message. “No, Ning, I just — I’m just thinking about how to tell you this.” The captain steps forward, holding her hands gently. “Ning, bǎobèi… you are in danger.”
“I am in danger all the time, Beidou,” she replies, raising an eyebrow again. “If this is about the Fatui—”
The captain’s grip tightens on her hands, so much that she stops and winces. She looks at her beloved, at the fear clouding that normally-bright ruby eye. “Osial wasn’t alone,” Beidou finally says, the words tumbling out of her in a rush. “He has a wife. Beisht. And she is seeking vengeance.”
Vengeance for her lover.
Ningguang opens her mouth, but Beidou barrels on: “Ning, I came from Guyun Stone Forest. Something was wrong there. I went to see what was happening. She… she sensed me. She used me. She knows who you are.”
She’s looking for you.
Her blood runs cold.
Silently, Ningguang leads Beidou to the guest table, her head spinning at the revelation. She takes a seat opposite the captain, their hands still tightly intertwined. “Beisht,” she repeats slowly. She only vaguely recalls the name. Beisht, too, was an ancient serpentine god, one of many that Morax defeated in the war to claim Liyue as his nation.
Beidou nods, squeezing her hand, patiently waiting for her to think.
“How much time do we have?”
“I… I’m not sure.” The captain frowns. “She knows you now, but she doesn’t know where you are because she only recognises the Jade Chamber. So, as long as you’re staying hidden in the harbour, we should have time.” She scratches her head. “Maybe a few months?”
Ningguang absorbs this information thoughtfully. “And if I stay well-hidden, perhaps longer?”
“Perhaps,” Beidou concedes.
Months. That’s barely enough time to rally all of Liyue’s defences, to mount an attack against another god. And without the Jade Chamber, there is no last resort left. Not to mention that it would be devastating for the Qixing to now plead for the assistance of the adepti once again, after they’ve finally secured their trust. Besides, the adepti weren’t much help against Osial.
In the end, even with their assistance, Ningguang had to sacrifice her life’s work.
“What are you thinking, bǎobèi?” Beidou’s voice, soft and gentle, interrupts her thoughts.
The Tianquan looks at her, at the woman she has come to love so very dearly after the loss of her home. With Beidou, she can be honest. “Time is tight,” Ningguang admits. “I will need to convene the Qixing immediately.” She pauses. “And we should engage the Crux Fleet in official capacity for this. When are you leaving, Beidou?”
The captain shakes her head. “I’m cancelling our next voyage. The fleet will stay docked at Liyue Harbour until we strike. Whether the Qixing engages us or not, we need to make preparations, Ningguang. Vengeance is fuelling Beisht’s power, and I don’t think my fleet can handle her alone, to be honest.”
“I never said you’d have to,” the Tianquan scolds lightly. “Just because you defeated Haishan doesn’t mean you have to fight this war by yourself.”
Beidou had lost an eye for her Vision. Ningguang wants her to lose nothing else, ever again.
“Hah?” The captain scratches her head.
Ningguang sighs at her lover’s antics. “If we are to defend Liyue Harbour from Beisht, we will need all our resources and all our power.” The Tianquan gets to her feet. “This isn’t a threat any of us can combat alone.”
And I won’t put you in the face of danger like this.
She remembers the fear and the horror of facing Osial only too vividly. Though time has softened the blow, there are nights where she still dreams of the horrific moment Osial destroyed the ballistas and sent everyone back to the Jade Chamber, of the despair that had permeated the group then.
“Alright,” Beidou concedes. “Call for me when you’re ready, bǎobèi, and we’ll talk business. In the meantime, my fleet will prepare for war. And you…” She pulls the Tianquan close, pressing a kiss to her cheek. “Be careful, Ning.”
A deep flush spreads across Ningguang’s cheeks. Months later, and she still flushes every time Beidou’s warm lips touch her cheek. The captain wears a smug smirk on her face, clearly enjoying the moment. With a huff, the Tianquan walks to the door, holding it open for Beidou to leave.
As the captain passes her, she instinctively grabs Beidou’s wrist. The brunette pauses, ruby eye watching her tenderly.
“Thank you, bǎobèi,” Ningguang murmurs, “For telling me.”
And Beidou flashes her a tender smile. “Anything for you, my star.”