Amidst the snowy mountains, the number of people in Jia Changjiang’s group dwindled.
One by one, as they climbed, they slowly awoke from their dreams.
And then, they vanished into the snow, disappearing from sight.
What had once been a large, bustling group was now reduced to just a few individuals still making their way upward.
Jia Changjiang didn’t concern himself with how many people were left behind him. At least… before they disappeared into the snow, they had experienced the joy of this mountain-climbing adventure.
Adventure—it’s captivating because it brings happiness, stirs the soul, and allows one to witness things they’ve never seen before. Isn’t that what makes it so enchanting?
Perhaps everyone has their own answer to what adventure means, but…
Jia Changjiang raised his head, gazing toward the summit, which was now drawing closer.
Behind him, the remaining few were also starting to stir from their dreams.
Among them was the young girl Jia Changjiang had been looking out for—the one who had accidentally touched the meteorite.
“Uncle, are you going to the summit by yourself?” the girl asked.
“Mm-hmm.”
Jia Changjiang patted her head. “When you wake up, don’t make your family worry too much, okay? Did you enjoy this adventure?”
“I did! The snowy mountain was so much fun!” she replied, though there was already a hint of the inevitable—she, too, was about to disappear into the snow.
“Good. That’s what matters.”
Jia Changjiang brushed the snow off her shoulders before continuing his climb toward the peak.
It didn’t take long for the girl to vanish, just like the others, waking up back in the real world.
Now, Jia Changjiang was completely alone on his ascent.
“Don’t wake me up, Leonard… not yet,” he murmured to himself, gripping a handhold and pulling himself up.
“You wanted to see what the peak looked like too, didn’t you? Isn’t that right?”
A wide grin stretched across his face. “Come on! If it’s an adventure, let’s make it a happy one!”
He grabbed a rock jutting out from the cliff ahead and hauled himself up. “This is what makes adventure so exciting!”
“This snowy mountain… it’s beautiful!”
—
“So this was once Pinnacle Cap?” Lumine, Mona, and Fischl stood together at Musk Reef, surrounded by the wooden rafts and boats floating on the water.
Paimon tilted her head in curiosity. “Someone got here before us? Is this place some kind of sightseeing spot?”
“No,” Lumine said, narrowing her eyes at the figures on the boats. “Those people… they’re Fatui.”
Her tone grew sharp as she noticed the uniforms. “The Fatui found this place first?!”
When the group disembarked, they immediately spotted the meteorite core, heavily guarded by the Fatui. Standing beneath the meteorite was none other than Scaramouche—alongside a familiar figure.
“That Fatui Harbinger?! And… Jia Changjiang? What are they both doing here?” Lumine asked in disbelief.
As their shock set in, Scaramouche stirred beneath the meteorite.
“Hm… ah?”
Awakening from his slumber, Scaramouche stretched his neck, his expression shifting as his gaze landed on the stunned group. “Well, well… it’s you.”
“Did he… just wake up from the dream by himself?” Paimon asked in disbelief.
Even Mona looked astonished. “Someone actually managed to wake up on their own…”
“But why is Jax still asleep? And why is he sleeping under the meteorite with that Fatui Harbinger?!” Lumine asked, her mind full of questions. “What happened after Jax went to investigate?”
“This man? Hah…”
Scaramouche sneered as he glanced at Jia Changjiang, who remained unconscious beneath the meteorite. “Just because you couldn’t do it doesn’t mean I couldn’t.”
“You and he were too slow. He failed to wake before I completed my research, and you only arrived now.”
Scaramouche’s voice carried a hint of mockery. “My research is finished.”
“What did you do to Jia Changjiang? Answer me!” Lumine demanded, readying herself for battle. “Why is he still asleep? Is this more of the Fatui’s handiwork?”
“Relax. I’m not in the mood to play with you right now,” Scaramouche said with a smirk. “This man? Before I entered the dream, he challenged me—said he’d wake up before I finished my work.”
“And yet, here we are. I’m awake, and he’s still dreaming.”
Turning his head slightly, Scaramouche looked at the slumbering Jia Changjiang. “So, should I take care of this troublemaker while he’s still asleep?”
“No!” Paimon cried out in alarm. “Traveler, hurry and save Jax!”
“Wait… don’t rush in.” Mona held Lumine back. “Jia Changjiang… he seems…”
“I think,” a deep voice cut in from behind Scaramouche, “if you want to deal with me, you’ll have to put in a bit more effort.”
Jia Changjiang’s voice resonated through the air as he rose from his slumber.
The sound of something heavy slicing through the air followed.
A Fatui soldier, who had been moving toward Jia Changjiang, was suddenly sent flying into the sea by a swing of Jia Changjiang’s True Black Dragon Lance.
“Tsk…”
Scaramouche clicked his tongue in irritation.
Since Jia Changjiang had woken up, Scaramouche saw no point in lingering. Originally, he’d planned to deal with the trouble after concluding his research. But what he’d discovered left him eager to return and act on it immediately.
“Hey! You entered that shared snowy mountain dream, didn’t you? How much do you know about Leonard?” Mona called after Scaramouche.
“Leonard? What Leonard? My research has nothing to do with some nobody,” he replied with disdain.
“But I did uncover something far more terrifying—and far more important.”
“What is it?” Lumine asked, almost reflexively.
To her surprise, Scaramouche actually answered. “This starry sky… is a lie.”
“?!”
Mona, Fischl, and Paimon stared in shock, while Lumine could only frown, puzzled.
Is he serious? she wondered.
Did this Fatui Harbinger really just reveal critical information so casually?
Should I push him for more? Maybe I can even ask where the Fatui treasure vault is…
“The starry sky… a lie?”
Mona’s voice trembled with doubt.
“Are you trying to discredit astrology? That’s ridiculous!” Paimon exclaimed. “Just look up at the night sky! You can see the stars with your own eyes—it’s common sense!”
“Jax, you just woke up from the dream, right?” Paimon turned to him. “This guy’s spouting nonsense, isn’t he?”
Jia Changjiang didn’t say much. He simply walked back to Lumine’s group, his face calm. “I have no comment.”
“What?! Come on!” Paimon groaned.
“Ha… hahahahaha!” Scaramouche laughed loudly. “Such naive words… But you saw it too, didn’t you?”
“No,” Jia Changjiang replied bluntly. “I was busy climbing the snowy mountain. I don’t care about that sort of thing.”
“…Just now… you mean…” Mona started, sensing something.
“I don’t have time to discuss this with you.” Scaramouche’s tone grew impatient. “The Jester assigned me this mission without warning me about the potential discoveries. Was it to shock me on purpose?”
“I need to confirm the truth immediately. I’m done wasting time with you amateurs.”
With that, Scaramouche departed, leaving his subordinates to confront Lumine’s group.
“He… called us… amateurs?” Mona fumed.
“What insolence!” Fischl declared, her eyes blazing. “To address the Prinzessin der Verurteilung with such vulgar disdain…”
“Jia Changjiang! What the hell is going on?! Why did you wake up with that Fatui Harbinger?!”
Lumine grabbed Jia Changjiang’s armor, her voice sharp with suspicion. “Don’t tell me you’ve surrendered and joined the Fatui!”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Jia Changjiang replied, calmly pushing her hand away. “I’ll explain later. First, let’s deal with these Fatui goons.”
“I took a gamble,” he added simply.
Though Lumine, Mona, and Fischl were burning with curiosity, they prioritized the immediate threat, working with Jia Changjiang to drive off the Fatui soldiers.
Once the skirmish ended, the group finally approached the meteorite core.
Lumine shoved Jia Changjiang down onto the sand near the meteorite, standing over him with Mona and Fischl like interrogators. “Spill it! Be honest! Did the Fatui bribe you? How did you even get here?!”
“I heard about this place from Venti,” Jia Changjiang said, rubbing his chin. “After that, I came straight here. As for the Fatui, I guessed they’d show up eventually, so I left Scaramouche a note.”
“A… note?”
“I teased him a little,” Jia Changjiang explained, grinning. “I challenged him to see who could wake up from the dream first. Honestly, I wasn’t sure I’d win, which is why I wore my armor.”
He patted his armor. “If he attacked me, the armor would’ve taken the hit, and I’d wake up. Simple as that.”
“…You’re kidding, right?” Lumine stared at him, exasperated.
Jia Changjiang just smiled, saying nothing.
Though the matter was temporarily dropped, Lumine pressed on. “And what about what Scaramouche said—that the starry sky is a lie? What did he mean by that?”
Jia Changjiang shook his head. “I have no idea. I wasn’t looking into the stars while I was dreaming. I was climbing that snowy mountain.”
“The peak Leonard never reached in the final days of his life… I took him with me and climbed it.”
Jia Changjiang’s grin widened. “And then, I woke up.”
“That’s it?” Lumine blinked, incredulous.
“Isn’t that enough?” Jia Changjiang countered, turning her question back on her.
The others were momentarily stunned into silence by his response.
Their gazes shifted to the meteorite core, which floated gently above the sand.
“This core… it’s different from the others! It’s so… shiny!” Paimon said, wracking her brain for a better description but coming up short.
“So, this is the source of the curse?” Fischl murmured, her tone tinged with awe. “This power… it must be the root of the nightmares.”
“The immense elemental energy and willpower it contains… there’s no doubt this is the core,” Mona confirmed. “Unless we remove it, this won’t end.”
“Is that so?”
Lumine stepped forward, ready to purify the meteorite core. But she hesitated, glancing back at Jia Changjiang.
“Hey, Jia Changjiang, are you sure all you did in the dream was climb the mountain?”
Jia Changjiang scratched his nose and replied, “Yeah, just climbing… though, at the peak…”
He trailed off, lost in thought as he recalled the final moments before waking up.
Above the clouds and snowy expanse, a sliver of sunlight pierced the horizon.
Standing at the summit, feet firmly planted on the highest point, the breathtaking view had left him deeply moved.
That sight alone was proof of countless truths…
It was also in that moment that Jia Changjiang had awoken from the mountain dream.
He couldn’t be sure if Leonard’s lingering will had been present in that scene. But now, as he looked at the meteorite core, he felt that its obsessive energy had dissipated.
“It was… beautiful,” Jia Changjiang said softly. “Lumine, go ahead and finish this. Don’t keep everyone waiting.”
“…Okay.”
Lumine began purifying the meteorite core.
As she worked, the final traces of the core’s will emerged—Leonard’s last words.
Before the age of forty, Leonard had traveled the world, exploring every secret realm.
After forty, he had been thwarted by the snowy mountain, overcome with fear and doubt, losing his courage… but even then, Leonard dreamed of going higher, reaching farther.
“Humans create tools to conquer nature, and when nature pushes back, they craft even better tools.”
“When legs fail to carry us, we turn to tools. When tools fall short… we turn to wings.”
In its final moments, the meteorite glowed brightly, radiating Leonard’s last message—a testament to his spirit, carried forward across two thousand years to the present day.
“Dear friends, I leave you the design for the unfinished wings… Humanity stands united before the unknown. As long as we live, we will reach every place our eyes can see.”
“My time is almost up, and my wind has yet to come. But among us, or perhaps among your children, your students… or your friends…”
“Someone will reach the peak.”
—
T/N: FRIG U GUYS IM GOING BACK TO THE ALTERNATING JIA AND JAX IT MEANS SOMETHING TO ME
This is a fan translation of 武器大师在原神绝不死于徒手 by 徐人双 All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!
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