Reading poems from Teyvat

Keqing frowned her delicate eyebrows:

"What do you mean by water vapor? Mora? Or is it the inspiration you poets always like to talk about?"

Although the story sounded strange as if people were hungry and wondering why not eat meat porridge, Keqing could probably understand what the boy meant. What he meant was nothing more than a choice. If human beings were always pulling each other in the quagmire of interests, it would be like spitting out insignificant moisture to each other on a dry riverbed. If people could put aside temporary interests, they might be able to find a freer and broader world.

Of course, in his eyes, people living in the secular world will always be entangled in interests. Unless one day, everyone's Mora or survival supplies are inexhaustible, then perhaps there is no need to look for his so-called Jianghu.

However, in Keqing's eyes, what Shen Zhigui cares about should not be such a mundane item as Mora.

That's why she asked that.

But what she didn't expect was that Shen Zhigui's real answer might be much more mundane than she thought:

It is power, a power that is enough to defeat everything.

Shen Zhigui could only say it in his heart.

But this behavior was too much like that of the big devil in the story, so he turned his head, squinted his eyes in satisfaction at the oncoming sunshine, the warm breeze, and the freshness of the fragrant grass, then he considered his words in his heart and said, "It's interesting."

"interesting?"

“If people’s lives become fixed, they will soon become boring. Of course, some people may find their own poetry in the boring life. Even if they work day after day, their bodies will become tired, but it will stimulate their minds.” Shen Zhigui just said, “But I am just pursuing a certain degree of fun. Of course, I am not saying that I am willing to do anything for fun, and I will not choose to hurt others for my own fun, but between boring and fun, I should have the freedom to choose.”

The prerequisite for this freedom is power.

Keqing, however, felt a little confused by his sudden words.

Of course she could understand the boy's emphasis on not hurting others for his own personal interests.

She just didn't understand what that certain level of fun and freedom of choice meant.

Seeing her expression, Shen Zhigui couldn't help but want to end the topic. In his opinion, the Lord of Yuheng Star would not understand his casual personality. But at this moment, he suddenly remembered an allusion, so he said: "Let me tell you another story, in my hometown..."

Where in Teyvat is your hometown? Or is it outside this world?

When Keqing heard him repeat that statement, she couldn't help but say it in her heart.

But she still chose to continue listening to what the boy said:

"In history, there was a noble family, a family like yours, Lord Yuhengxing, where there were people who held high positions for generations. There was a man in this family. One day, it snowed heavily where he lived. He was awakened. He opened the door and asked the servants to warm up his wine. When he saw the white snow, he thought of an old friend. The old friend was far away from him, but he still asked someone to prepare a boat. After sitting on the boat for a whole night, he finally arrived at the door of the old friend. But at this time, he did not knock on the door of the old friend, but just turned back. Later, someone asked him why, and the man said..."

Keqing only saw that at this moment, the young man had a strange smile on his face, as if he was imitating the spirit of that historical figure. Or, in other words, at this moment, it was as if the two souls suddenly became extremely close and became the same person. Then he said word by word: "I went out for fun and returned when the fun was over. Why should I see Dai?" [1]

Thinking of the boy's casual personality, Keqing could understand why he was so envious of the characters in this "story".

Although it's very likely that he just made it up.

But even if he made it up, this sudden inspiration was enough for Keqing to understand what the boy meant by poetry, fun and freedom.

Note [1]: From Shishuo Xinyu, which refers to Wang Ziyou’s visit to Dai on a snowy night.

Chapter 60: Cave Heaven (Part 2)

Although in Shen Zhigui's opinion, Wang Ziyou - also known as Wang Huizhi - was able to do this entirely on the basis that he was a direct descendant of the Langya Wang family, and the status of the Langya Wang family at that time could be seen from the sentence "Wang and Ma, share the world", so he could act so recklessly, all thanks to his status as a noble family. If someone else did such a thing, it might not be recorded at all. Even if it was recorded, he would probably be regarded as a fool like the Chu man who carved a boat to look for a sword in "Lüshi Chunqiu".

Although Wang Huizhi is indeed quite something...

Therefore, Hölderlin’s statement “dwelling poetically on the earth” has another prerequisite, which is “remarkable achievements”.

This is why Shen Zhigui has been pursuing power unremittingly.

Although for Shen Zhigui, strength or martial arts is only a prerequisite to ensure that he can always make free choices, rather than the other way around, limiting his choices to the option of gaining strength. Of course, sometimes some of the choices he makes are not so justified, the so-called "my heart and my actions are as clear as a mirror, and everything I do is just", but he himself is not pursuing to make himself a perfect person. As he said, he is just pursuing a certain degree of fun.

"I understand."

Keqing said at this time.

Although at the moment, for Keqing, the more she understands Shen Zhigui's intentions and the more she understands this young man, the more she understands that the distance between them can even be said to be out of reach, because this young man is just pursuing fun, and fun to him is perhaps like water to fish, an indispensable thing and phenomenon, so he will definitely not fix his life in a certain place, so he will definitely set off again, go to the next journey, and continue to look for the rivers and lakes of his dreams, the poetic world.

But at this time, she couldn't help but think:

Am I always boring to that boy?

Or is it that in his eyes, I am changing from interesting to boring?

After all, at that time, he wrote that poem for himself.

Although he later presented the poem "Qingyu'an" to Ningguang, which made her feel that the young man's poetic talent was indescribably brilliant.

So even if it was someone else that day, the boy should have been able to write that kind of poem, right?

Maybe it’s not the song “Peerless”, but it should be of the same level——

Of course, if Keqing really asked this question in person, Shen Zhigui probably couldn't imagine a second person saving him, nor could he imagine himself reciting that poem to that second person, because this Lady Yuheng Star was indeed a peerless beauty, and only this person could make Shen Zhigui remember the poem at that time, and if it was someone else, there would definitely be no such effect.

So, from this perspective, Keqing is indeed irreplaceable for someone like Shen Zhigui who is hopelessly obsessed with looks.

Keqing was not aware of this, so she just thought about the question silently, thinking that if she thought she was becoming a boring person, then sooner or later she would choose to leave her boring self and choose the next distant place.

But for this young man, what does the so-called fun look like?

In the topic of change, he clearly chooses to maintain the status quo.

Keqing glared at him.

When Keqing brought up the past, Shen Zhigui was stunned for a moment, and then said, "I've said it before, the fun I pursue is based on the premise of not causing harm to others."

"Do you think that a Liyue ruled by humans will definitely suffer more than a Liyue ruled by gods?"

Shen Zhigui thought about it and thought that this comparison might not produce any results, because the god who now maintains Liyue may have been worn out and tortured to the point of being riddled with holes. Compared with the pain that the people in the future may suffer, he couldn't say which one was more serious. Although Shen Zhigui would most likely choose to kill one and save ten when faced with a choice, then again, if Zhongli chose to give up, based on what he had done to Liyue before, he couldn't be tied to that position by moral kidnapping, so he just shook his head and brought up what he had said to Ganyu that night.

When Keqing heard him talking about the concentration of power and wealth, she felt that he was blatantly accusing her, a Yuheng Star from a noble family, and she couldn't help but retort:

“What’s wrong with letting better people control power and wealth?”

Shen Zhigui nodded: "There's nothing wrong."

"That……"

“But that’s on the premise of equal opportunity.”

“Equal opportunity?”

Shen Zhigui just sighed. He really didn't want to have an unpleasant experience with the person in front of him, but now that he had said that, he couldn't choose to succumb to Keqing's point of view. He just said, "I know that you are extremely talented, Yuhengxing, and I also know that you are selfless, but what if in the future, one of your descendants has a person who is as talented as you but has strong selfish desires? That person was born in the same family as you, received a similar education as you, and had a similar starting point as you. If it were your so-called rule of man, then there is no doubt that he is a better person. If such a person can always occupy the position of the Seven Stars of Liyue and eventually monopolize the power of the upper class, and then in order to make his descendants do the same as himself, that person will block the ladder of power step by step. At that time, if there is a person with a talent similar to yours in the lower class, but he has never received an education and his starting point is terribly low, not to mention having the same opportunity as you to show his extraordinary talent, at that time, will people choose your descendants or the person at the bottom?"

Keqing imagined the scene and couldn't help but tremble, but still said:

"As long as you are prepared..."

"When you say precautions, do you mean in terms of system?"

"Yes."

"It is always people who can enforce the system, and as long as people enforce the system, they can always create loopholes, modify the system, or even deceive those who elected them. Not to mention, I have said that for thousands of years, people with God's Eyes have always been protecting ordinary people without God's Eyes. In this case, if people with God's Eyes are persuaded to modify the system you left behind, what will you do then?"

Shen Zhigui just spoke with a dull tone.

He didn't want to continue the same topic, so he held the girl's hand again and wanted to send her out.

But the girl also held the boy's hand tightly at this time.

Chapter 61: Relationship (Part 1)

At this moment, Keqing could clearly feel the warmth from Shen Zhigui's hands, and the boy's dark pupils were so close, so her heartbeat quickened and her mind became a little panicked, but she quickly calmed down, although her voice was still trembling slightly:

"You have your ideas, I have mine..."

"so……"

Shen Zhigui originally wanted to say that the two of them were destined to be unable to convince each other, but he saw a bright light flashing in the girl's wine-red eyes. The flashing light at that moment made him a little stunned, so he didn't say anything, and the girl just continued: "So you feel pessimistic about the future development of mankind, and feel that mankind will never be able to cross that vicious circle and jump out of the cycle of history on its own. So you want to pin this matter on species like Emperor or Ganyu who are immortal and have special kindness towards mankind, and try to let them end this history. But, what if mankind always relies on the wings of those people and can never move forward?"

Shen Zhigui thought about it and was about to speak, but he noticed that the girl's hand had used some strength again. Her voice became clearer and her eyes became particularly bright, like a ruby ​​sparkling in the sun:

"Perhaps we are destined to fail to convince each other. I cannot guarantee that if Liyue is ruled by humans, the situations you mentioned will be avoided. But I believe that you do not want to see humans sink into this disaster-ridden land, right? So, whether Liyue is ruled by humans or gods, humans must always strive for self-improvement, right?"

So I hope you can stay.

Keqing said in her heart.

However, she couldn't bring herself to say this.

Because the boy had done enough for her.

The fact that he taught me the martial arts and was willing to let himself become like that in order to clear the karma of that Yaksha was enough to repay me for saving him.

Not to mention that he also made a contract with himself to clean up the remains of the demon god in Liyue.

Although I didn't do it for the sake of his reward when I took action at the beginning.

However, after he had done so much, and after he had clearly expressed that he disagreed with my ideas, what kind of arguments should I use to keep this young man and let him work with me to build Liyue into his ideal country, rather than letting him continue to pursue his so-called poetic world?

For him, this kind of thing is actually quite boring, right?

Although he said poetry does not mean isolation from the world.

But the boy was silent for a moment, and finally just smiled at her.

To be fair, in Keqing's opinion, Shen Zhigui's appearance can indeed be called handsome, not to mention that the two are about the same age. So when she saw the serious but gentle look on the boy's face, which was often absent-minded and therefore particularly unfocused, and the light in his pupils was so clear, and she was holding his hand, Keqing's heartbeat could only get faster and faster. Then she heard the boy say:

"I agree with your opinion."

"That……"

Keqing wanted to say something, but her mind was blank at the moment, so she just opened her mouth but couldn't utter any meaningful words.

"So I promise you that after my journey is over, I will come back here to witness your struggle, Master Yuhengxing."

Although Keqing could clearly feel that there seemed to be some strange and evil taste hidden in the boy's words "your struggle", when she heard the boy say such words, it was as if a huge stone had finally fallen to the ground in her heart.

Admittedly, she didn't actually know how long the boy's journey would take.

She didn't even know what consequences her struggle would bring.

However, when these words came out of the young man's mouth, they seemed to carry a strange magic, as if after he had received this promise, even if his struggle failed, he would still have a place to return to.

But she quickly shook her head vigorously:

Absolutely not the case!

She glared at the boy again.

When Shen Zhigui saw her like this, he just said casually: "Okay, let's put it another way. I will help you, although I don't think I can help you in any way other than cleaning up the remains of the demon."

Keqing was about to say something when she saw the scene in front of her suddenly change. She and the boy returned to the familiar world. The silence away from the world disappeared in an instant, and the hustle and bustle of the world once again poured into her ears. What she could smell at this moment was no longer just the boy's breath, but also the fragrance of flowers lingering in the yard. The warmth of the boy's hand disappeared in an instant. When she came to her senses, Keqing just saw the boy's figure turn around easily and walk into his room, as if he was going to sort out his personal belongings.

Keqing couldn't help feeling a little lost.

Because the boy acted as if nothing had happened.

Is it because he is used to making such words and promises to others?

The girl turned her gaze to the face of the silver-haired woman sitting next to her.

Shen He tilted her head. When she saw the look in Keqing's eyes, she thought that Keqing wanted to pick a fight with her. But when she thought of the young man's instructions recently, she temporarily suppressed the impulse and just said, "Master Yuhengxing?"

"You don't have to call me that."

Keqing just said.

Of course, if we really want to talk about it, there are countless people in the entire Liyue Harbor who call her that.

However, Keqing could always sense a subtle sense of distance when the boy called her that, and the boy never had any intention of narrowing the distance. So even though she felt that the boy didn't really respect her at all, and that he was just calling her that way as a joke, no matter what she said, he had no intention of changing the name. Over time, she began to get annoyed with it.

"Then what should I call you?"

Shen He didn't understand the ways of the world, so when he heard the girl say that, he just followed suit and asked directly.

"Just call me Keqing."

The girl just said.

"So, Keqing, what can I do for you?"

Shen He just said.

"You and him..."

Keqing subconsciously wanted to ask what their relationship was, but she was sure that the answer from this woman would not be surprising, that it was the so-called "senior sister and disciple relationship", so she changed the way she asked:

"What do you think of him?"

Chapter 62: Relationship (Part 2)