Little Shenhe could not argue with Ganyu's earnestness. She had no choice but to accept the commission.
When Ganyu mentioned the reward, Little Shenhe said seriously, "We already received 10,000 Mora from the last commission. We can do this one for free."
Ganyu shook her head shyly. "No—I must pay the reward." Only by paying the children would she trust them to keep this secret for the rest of their lives.
Little Li Mo spoke up. "Then make it 10,000 Mora—the same as the last commission."
For two children, earning another 10,000 Mora would be a wonderful thing.
Seeing them agree, Ganyu smiled happily. "Then it's settled. I'll give you 10,000 Mora, and you must never tell anyone what happened today."
Her smile was warm. Now, no one else would know she had been sleeping in a haystack.
Little Shenhe took the Mora. "We will never tell anyone, for the rest of our lives."
Little Li Mo nodded. "Don't worry. Li Mo keeps his word. I won't say a thing."
With both commissions complete, Little Shenhe and Little Li Mo took their Mora and returned to Liyue Harbor together. They bought medicine for Shenhe's mother, bought food, and bought spools of thread. By the end, Shenhe's 10,000 Mora was gone, and most of Li Mo's was spent too.
Little Shenhe looked apologetic. "I'm sorry. That 10,000 Mora should have been yours."
Little Li Mo smiled. "It's nothing. Mora means little to me. Tomorrow, can we do commissions together again?"
Little Shenhe blushed. "Of course."
As the sun set, it was time for Shenhe to go home. She waved to Li Mo. "See you tomorrow."
Li Mo waved back. "See you tomorrow. I'll wait for you at the notice board."
...
Now, at Wangshu Inn, Li Mo had been speaking for a long time. His throat was dry. He paused to take a sip of tea.
Below, the audience buzzed with discussion.
"The storyteller hasn't given us any tragedy yet. I don't know what I was expecting."
"It's not over yet."
"I didn't expect so many characters to appear in this story. Even Consultant Zhongli from Wangsheng Funeral Parlor showed up."
"But at that time, Consultant Zhongli hadn't joined the funeral parlor yet, had he?"
"And have you noticed? From that time to now, Consultant Zhongli hasn't aged at all."
"A mysterious man, that Consultant Zhongli."
The audience had seen Zhongli in the projections. In the story, he had called himself Zhongli too. But decades had passed, and his appearance had not changed at all. It was strange. Even his habits of playing with birds, listening to stories, and drinking tea had not changed.
But more than Zhongli, the audience was talking about Ganyu.
"Lady Ganyu finally appears."
"Did you notice? Lady Ganyu slept in a haystack. Truly worthy of being the secretary of the Liyue Qixing."
"I want to go to Tianheng Mountain and see if Ganyu is sleeping in a haystack right now."
"I have an important question. Didn't the two children swear never to tell anyone about Ganyu's embarrassing secret? How does the storyteller know?"
"Does that mean Shenhe and Li Mo broke their promise?"
"Storyteller, tell us more stories about Lady Ganyu."
Though this was supposed to be the story of Little Shenhe and Little Li Mo, many in the audience were more interested in Ganyu.
None of them knew that the storyteller before them was named Li Mo—the protagonist of every story.
In his fifth life, he and Shenhe had accepted Ganyu's commission and kept their promise for the rest of their lives. They never told anyone. They took the secret to their graves.
But now, dozens of reincarnations later, telling these stories as a storyteller shouldn't count as breaking the promise, should it?
And Li Mo had many more stories about Ganyu—about her tumbling down mountains, about her slaying terrifying gods. If he told those stories and they reached Ganyu's ears, would she come charging in with her bow and shoot him?
Li Mo did not know that while he was telling the story of his fifth life with Shenhe, some restless listeners were already spreading Ganyu's stories. Bards were composing songs about Ganyu. Editors at Yae Publishing House were turning her story into light novels. Soon, the story of Ganyu sleeping in a haystack would spread across Teyvat.
Li Mo could not worry about that. He took a sip of tea and continued.
As he spoke, the Electro projections above the stage began to move again.
The image showed Little Shenhe making her way home over the mountains. As usual, by the time she returned, the sun had nearly set. The sky was growing dark.
Carrying a small bundle, she opened the door to her house. "Mother, I'm home. Mother?"
Hearing no response, she hurried to her mother's bedside. Seeing her mother asleep, she breathed a sigh of relief.
At the sound of Shenhe's voice, her mother woke up. She smiled at her daughter. "Crane, you're back."
Little Shenhe was delighted. "Mother, look what I bought today. Medicine for you. Food for you. And lots of thread. But you must take care of yourself. Don't exhaust yourself making clothes."
She placed the food she had bought in her mother's hands. Seeing her mother smile made Shenhe's heart bloom.
Her mother smiled. "Don't worry. I won't die until I've made Crane's new clothes."
Little Shenhe nodded happily. "I'll stay with you forever, Mother."
As night fell, the mother held her daughter in her arms, and they drifted off to sleep.
But when Shenhe was asleep, her mother quietly sat up. She took out the thread and, by the light of the moon, began to imagine what Shenhe would look like when she grew up and started making her clothes.