Miguel didn’t give Yixuan a straight answer.
Whether that walled-off patch of childhood memory was a closed loop in the timeline or some tangle of cause and effect he hadn’t spotted yet, now clearly wasn’t the time to dig into it.
She was standing right here either way.
There would be plenty of time to work it out later.
Besides, he had already leafed through the recent track of Yixuan’s memories, and he knew exactly why she had come tearing over to see Mayflower this morning.
She wanted to wake the sister who had slept for thirteen full years.
Yijiang.
The air in the reception hall finally eased.
Yixuan came back to herself with a start.
She let go of Miguel’s forearm at once and retreated two full steps.
This was the Lord Sect Master who always held herself with perfect composure before the disciples of Yunkui Summit, who let a playful streak slip only now and then, and her pale cheeks had gone unmistakably red.
She lowered her head, her golden eyes full of chagrin and confusion.
Yixuan herself had no idea what had possessed her.
This was the first time they had ever met, yet the moment Miguel walked into the reception hall, an urge had welled up in her that she couldn’t hold back.
She had wanted to get closer to him.
She had wanted to touch him.
Behavior like that crossed the basic boundaries of courtesy by a wide margin — never mind with a stranger she was meeting for the first time, it would have been too much even with a close friend of many years.
“My apologies.” Yixuan drew a deep breath.
She forced down the flutter of panic and lifted her head to meet his eyes again.
There was genuine remorse in her voice.
“Mr.
Miguel, what I did just now was terribly rude of me.” “I don’t know why I acted so offensively either.
But wrong is wrong.
There’s no excuse for it.” Yixuan straightened, cupped one fist in her palm, and gave Miguel a formal Yunkui Summit bow of apology.
“To make amends, if there is ever anything you need from me,” “so long as it doesn’t violate my principles, I, Yixuan, will not refuse.” Miguel looked at the earnest young Sect Master in front of him and let out a soft laugh.
He waved a hand.
“It’s not a big deal.
No need to be so tense.” “I’m a pretty easygoing guy.
I don’t stand on ceremony.” He had meant to tell her the matter was closed and she should put it out of her mind.
After all, he’d just riffled through her entire life from childhood on without asking.
Strictly speaking, that made them even.
Then he reconsidered.
Given how much Yixuan cared about rules and propriety, being too casual about it would only make her think he was brushing her off.
It might even leave a knot in her that she’d never untie.
Besides, he really did have something he needed her help with.
“Well, since Sect Master Yixuan is so sincere about it…” Miguel rubbed his chin, drawing the words out on purpose.
“Then I’ll shamelessly take you up on that favor.” “If I ever need to trouble Yunkui Summit down the road, don’t get sick of me.” Hearing him accept and let the matter slide, Yixuan visibly relaxed.
The flush faded from her face, and her calm, steady bearing returned.
“You’re too generous, Mr.
Miguel.
You need only say the word, and I will see it done.” Mayflower, who had been sitting off to the side without a word, waited for the tension to ease before he spoke.
“There, there.
Since the misunderstanding is cleared up, let’s not stand around talking.” Mayflower gestured toward the seats.
“Miguel, come sit.” “Sect Master Yixuan, please, have a seat as well.” Miguel didn’t decline.
He walked over to the sofa and sat down.
Yixuan followed and took the seat on Mayflower’s other side.
The three of them settled around the tea table again.
At some point Lycaon had slipped soundlessly into the reception hall with a fresh pot of tea in hand.
He filled the cup in front of Miguel with elegant precision, then withdrew to the door once more.
Mayflower picked up his cup, blew lightly across the steam, and turned to Yixuan.
The mayor’s smile thinned.
His tone took on an edge.
“Sect Master Yixuan, we’ve known each other a while now.
I’d call us old friends.” Mayflower set the cup down and folded his hands over his knee.
“But there are some things I need to say up front.” Yixuan sat up straight and listened closely.
“Mr.
Miguel is an honored guest I invited here personally.” Mayflower’s voice wasn’t loud, but it carried weight.
“I would prefer today was the last time anything like this happened.” “If there’s a repeat of this sort of thing, then even though Yunkui Summit is an indispensable fighting force for New Eridu,” “our cooperation would have to be reassessed.” It was a warning, and a heavy one.
Mayflower was a pragmatist through and through.
He understood Yixuan’s value perfectly well.
Combat strength at the Void Hunter tier was critical to New Eridu’s stability.
But set beside Miguel, none of it was worth mentioning.
Miguel was New Eridu’s last trump card, and Mayflower’s greatest source of confidence in this world.
Anything that might make Miguel unhappy had to be strangled in the cradle.
Yixuan didn’t argue.
She understood what Mayflower was really saying, and she knew she had no ground to stand on after what she’d done.
“Rest assured, Mister Mayor.” Yixuan turned to Miguel, her voice solemn.
“Allow me to apologize to Mr.
Miguel once more for today.” “I give you my word it will never happen again.” Miguel lifted his cup, took a sip, and waved the whole thing away.
“That’s enough, Mayflower.
Who throws his mayoral weight around this early in the morning?
Sect Master Yixuan didn’t do it on purpose.” He set the cup down and cut straight to the point.
“So talk.
What did you call me over here for today?” Seeing Miguel drop the subject on his own, Mayflower switched back to a smile at once.
He turned to Yixuan.
“Sect Master Yixuan, I think this is something you should explain to Mr.
Miguel yourself.” Yixuan drew a deep breath and rested her hands on her knees.
Her fingers closed restlessly around the hem of her robe.
“Mr.
Miguel.” Her voice dropped lower.
“The mayor told me earlier that you have a way to save my sister.” Miguel leaned back against the sofa and didn’t answer right away.
Yixuan went on.
“Thirteen years ago, during the Fall of Old Eridu, my sister forced the Azure Empyrean Sword into use to save people.” “She barely held on to her life in the end, but her memories and her soul were all but devoured.” As she said this, her voice trembled despite her.
“For thirteen years she has lain in bed like a living corpse.” “I’ve tried countless methods.
I’ve sought out countless doctors.
I’ve even gone into the Hollows hunting for lost ancient texts…” Yixuan raised her head, her golden eyes brimming with entreaty.
“Mr.
Miguel, if you can truly wake her,” “then whatever the price, my own life included, I am yours to command.” Miguel studied her.
He could feel the pain and the hope she had kept pressed down for thirteen years.
Yijiang — the woman with a crippling soft spot for her little sister, who had gone to her death without hesitation for that sister and for the greater good of New Eridu — was worth saving.
And wasn’t making up for regrets like that exactly why he had come to this Zenless Zone Zero world?
Miguel sat up and folded his hands over his knee.
“Forget the price.” He looked at Yixuan, his tone easy.
“I don’t like taking people’s lives.
And besides, one person’s life isn’t much use to me anyway.” Yixuan froze.
She had been prepared to empty her coffers, even to sell herself into a lifetime of unpaid service to the government.
However harsh his terms had been, she wouldn’t have so much as frowned.
And this man had just waved away a debt that enormous like it was nothing?
“That said, I’m taking the job.” Miguel stood and smoothed the hem of his coat.
“I happen to be free today.” “Come on.
Take me to see your sister.” Yixuan shot to her feet.
The hem of her Daoist robe swept the edge of the tea table and knocked over an empty glass beside it.
“N-Now?” She had assumed a treatment on that scale would need vast quantities of rare materials, maybe even a specific date chosen for it.
She had been ready to travel the world gathering medicinal ingredients.
“Sure, right now.” Miguel raised an eyebrow as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“What, you’re not in a hurry?” “I am!
Of course I am!” Yixuan nodded quickly, not even sparing a thought for her rumpled robe.
“Then let’s go.” Miguel turned to Mayflower.
“Old man, I’m heading out with Sect Master Yixuan for a bit.” Mayflower nodded immediately and shot a glance at Lycaon by the door.
Lycaon took the cue, pushed the doors open, and gestured them through.
“The car is ready, Mr.
Miguel.”