At Wangshu Inn, on stage, as Li Mo told his story, the Electro energy above coalesced into vivid projections, allowing the audience to see everything clearly.
But when they saw the little girl's face, many were astonished.
She looked familiar.
The girl's features seemed to resemble someone important in Liyue.
They thought for a moment, then shook their heads. They could not remember exactly who she resembled.
Now, in a corner of the inn, Shenhe, Keqing, Hu Tao, and Qiqi listened intently like everyone else, watching the projections above the stage.
And like the others, when they saw the little girl's face, they felt a strange sense of familiarity.
Hu Tao's eyes lit up. She looked at the girl in the story, then at Shenhe beside her.
"I know who she looks like!"
"Don't you see? The little girl named Crane in the story looks just like Shenhe. Apart from the hair color, they could be twins."
"Could this little girl be Shenhe?"
At Hu Tao's words, Keqing and Qiqi turned to look at Shenhe, their eyes wide in surprise.
Now they saw it too. The girl in the story had a face very similar to Shenhe's.
It was hard not to suspect a connection.
Could it be that the little girl was Shenhe herself?
But the girl in the story had beautiful black hair, while Shenhe's hair was white as snow—a stark difference.
Keqing said seriously, "Though both have the character 'He' in their names, if Shenhe were that little girl, wouldn't she remember it herself?"
"Right, Shenhe?"
She turned to Shenhe.
But from the moment she saw the little girl, Shenhe's expression had been blank. She tried to recall her childhood but could not remember anything.
Her expression returned to calm.
"I don't remember."
"My master said I suffered a serious injury as a child. After that, I forgot everything from before."
Since that injury, Shenhe had lost all memory of her mortal life, severing her ties to the human world entirely, becoming a true disciple of the adepti.
Hu Tao exclaimed, "So that means the little girl really could be Shenhe!"
Keqing disagreed. "I don't think so. Their hair colors are completely different."
Hu Tao waved a hand dismissively. "What does that matter? Hair can be dyed easily. My grandfather used to do it."
"Though he dyed his hair black, not white."
Mentioning hair dye brought back memories of her grandfather.
Keqing was firm. "Shenhe's hair has always been white. It's natural, not dyed."
Both had valid points. Neither could convince the other.
...
Now, on stage, Li Mo took a sip of bitter tea after finishing that section and continued the story of his fifth life.
As he spoke, the Electro projections shifted once more.
The images showed the little girl named Crane and her mother.
It was a dark night. The girl and her mother lay on a worn bed, covered by an old blanket.
The blanket was too small and too thin to keep them warm.
The girl held her mother tightly, sharing her warmth with her sick mother.
The mother understood her daughter's intent. She looked at the girl's worn clothes, her heart aching. She managed a faint smile.
"Since I've been taking the medicine you bought, I've been feeling much better these past few days."
"Tomorrow, when you go to the city, buy some thread. Let Mother make you some pretty new clothes."
The mother knew her time was short. She wanted to use whatever time she had left to make her daughter beautiful clothes so she could play with other children dressed nicely.
Hearing that her mother was getting better, the girl was overjoyed.
"Really? I'll definitely remember tomorrow."
"I'll take on three jobs tomorrow and earn more money for your medicine."
The girl cared little for pretty clothes. She only wanted her mother to get better—wanted her father to return soon with medicine so their family could be together again.
The mother's eyes grew wet. She did not want her young daughter to work in the city, to suffer hardship, but there was nothing she could do.
"Crane, don't worry. Father will be home soon."
The girl nodded happily.
And so, in that dark, cold room, mother and daughter held each other tightly, sharing each other's warmth.
The next morning came. Before dawn, the girl slipped out of her mother's warm embrace, prepared food for her, then carefully left the house.
Alone, she set out for the city.
The village was far from Liyue Harbor. She had to cross forests, avoiding wild animals, and climb hills, dodging hilichurls. Those hilichurls were troublesome—if they spotted her, she had to run and run until she lost them.
After nearly two hours of anxious travel, the girl finally reached the city, breathless.
On the busy streets, she found the notice board where jobs, commissions, and news were posted.
She ran over, but she was so small and short she could not see over the crowd.
She tried to push her way in, but the adults shoved her back.
With a thud, she fell hard to the ground.
It hurt.
But the girl was strong. She bit her lip to keep from crying, got up quickly, and pushed her way into the crowd again, scrambling for the day's jobs.