Genshin Impact: Awakening in the Darkness

"The Vulcan's soul is a little stronger than that of an ordinary person, but not quite at the level of a demon god. As for how Shibarak was able to ascend to the throne, besides her own martial prowess, it was because she established a new set of rules." Xuan Yue took a sip of grape juice to moisten her throat before continuing, "Based on the characteristics of the various tribes of Nata and Nata's own culture, she established an event called the Holy Night Pilgrimage of Returning Fire. Hahaha, to be honest, it's quite fun."

"I didn't expect that even though Nata and Liyue are so far apart, the God of Order could still find out." Shibarak's words were clearly ambiguous.

"Alright, the war is over. I believe no one wants any more fighting. What I know is naturally everything that authority brings. I am the Celestial Lord of Liyue, one of the rulers of Liyue, and my authority is naturally 'Order'. Therefore, you Natas sensed it when the new rules were established. To be honest, if I didn't have so much official business in Liyue, I would really like to go and visit you... Uh, I know Morax, I was just saying." Xuan Yue was warned by a look from Morax.

"Haha, Xuan Yue's words remind me of something. A year ago, you and Feng Shen originally wanted to go to Nata's territory, but you got lost and ended up in Inazuma." Raiden Shin covered his mouth and chuckled, teasing him.

"If Xuan Yue was rude at the time, I apologize on his behalf." Morax's tone remained unchanged. After all, the past was the past, and he couldn't keep dwelling on it.

"Rock God, you flatter me. Although Xuan Yue is young, she is very proper in her manners."

“Wait, wait, wait, the God of Order doesn’t look young at all, could he be under 2000 years old?” Ergolia interjected. She couldn’t see it at all. You know, she had just been scolded by Xuan Yue a year ago.

Buyer nodded in agreement. She was currently in a loli form, a consequence of what had happened. Even now, sitting at the same table with Xuan Yue, she felt a lingering fear. A demon god possessing that kind of power was probably around the same age as Morax.

"I am indeed less than 1000 years old, so what!" Xuan Yue said angrily. He was young, but he was just a soul. Although he was less than 2000 years old including Jin Xuan, if Xuan Qing was included, all the demon gods present were younger brothers, including Morax.

Morax smiled slightly, put down his teacup, and patted Xuan Yue's head: "Although my Xuan Yue is not very old, you have all heard of her abilities, even if you have not witnessed them."

These words created an eerie and tense atmosphere at the scene.

“Morax, you have a knack for picking on people.” Barbatos put down his glass and rubbed his forehead. “Why don’t you take a look at how many of you here haven’t fought against Xuan Yue?”

Morax glanced at the list. He'd heard of Fontaine; apparently, Aegolia had been taught a lesson by Xuan Yue. Inazuma and Raiden weren't exactly powerhouses. The one who fought Xuan Yue during the Demon God War was probably Lei Dian. Sumeru was subjected to Xuan Yue's "Divine Punishment"—no wonder the Grass God had been acting strangely from the start; he was probably afraid. Barbatos was in a rather unfortunate state, completely overwhelmed by Xuan Qing. Aside from Barnabas and Hibarak, it seemed…

"Ahem, sorry. I didn't mean anything by it." Morax covered up his embarrassment with a cough.

"I'll go check on my family. After all, this is my cave, so I naturally have to take care of it. Please, everyone, make yourselves at home. I'll be leaving for a while." Xuan Yue seemed oblivious to the change in atmosphere. He was focused on seeing how Xiao was doing, mainly because that bird was too talkative; what if it spilled some bad news…

“Go.” Morax nodded.

After Xuan Yue left, the gods returned to their normal state.

"Morax, to be fair, the food in Liyue is really good." Barbatos tried to smooth things over and liven up the atmosphere.

"I'm glad you like them. These were all chosen by Xuan Yue, covering cuisines from various countries, not just Li Yue."

"Then I'll have to try them all."

"Me too."

"..." Barnabas nodded in agreement.

———Divider Line—————

Xuan Yue stepped onto the Floating Life Stone and arrived at the table of her relatives, where she saw this scene.

The little fox nestled in Fox Palace's arms, its belly round and bulging. Fox Palace held the Divine Child, and Liu Yun held Little Gan Yu, chatting animatedly. Li Shui and Xiao Yue were beside the Water Dragon King's egg, deep in thought, their conversation seemingly unrelated. Over at Yaksha's place, Fu She was clearly drunk, holding one child in each arm. Mi Nu was pushing away one arm, Ying De was trying to escape, and the drunken Fanan was asleep. Xiao seemed to have also been drinking, his whole body dazed.

"Really." Xuan Yue smiled and shook her head. First, she went to the group of Yakshas and rescued Mi Nu and Ying Yi. Then, she cast a spell to knock down Fu She. Mi Nu then took over from Fu She, and Ying Yi took over from Fanan. As for Xiao, he ran into Xuan Yue's arms again. Xuan Yue pretended not to know. Xuan Yue led them to the guest room to rest, and then sat down next to Liu Yun with Xiao in her arms. It was quite harmonious, with each person holding one.

“And Xuan Yue… wow!” Liu Yun was startled by the figure that suddenly appeared beside him.

"Go on, what happened to me? Oh, are you talking about Liu Yun, about how your seclusion was interrupted last time, the mechanism exploded, your fur got stained black, and you had to stay indoors for almost three months?"

"no!"

"Huh? Could it be that the time before last, when you descended to the mortal realm and were teased by children for being a big bird?"

"No, wait... how did you know!"

"Oh, could it be that you were talking about the time before last... Waaaaah!" Liu Yun immediately used her hands to shut up and seal Xuan Yue's mouth, otherwise, she didn't know how many more embarrassing stories her Heavenly Lord wanted to reveal.

"Alright, alright, I won't say anymore," Xuan Yue immediately transmitted her voice. It was clear from this that she had angered Liu Yun, who was now disregarding all manners.

"Um... Heavenly Lord... My Lord." Xiao mumbled, his vision blurry from being drunk, and he wasn't sure what he was saying.

"Liu Yun, let go, Xiao is awake!" Xuan Yue immediately removed Liu Yun's hand, extended her wings from behind, and encircled Xiao. This was something Xuan Yue had seen in the past—a large bird spreading its wings to protect its young. Even though Xiao was now a general under Morax, it was undeniable that at his age, Xiao was still a fledgling among the Golden Rocs. Xuan Yue actually had a selfish motive behind organizing this gathering; he wanted the Yakshas to take this time to rest.

Xuan Yue's method worked; Xiao fell asleep in no time, leaving Liu Yun and Hu Zhai Gong somewhat dumbfounded.

"Xuan Yue, so you had this trick up your sleeve. Wait, let me try." Liu Yun transformed back into his beast form and pulled the bewildered Gan Yu under his wings. After a while, Gan Yu started yawning from sleepiness.

"Mmm...so sleepy, so soft and cozy, so comfortable...sigh~" Little Gan Yu fell asleep before she could even finish her sentence.

"It really works!" Seeing this, Fox Palace was instantly envious. It was a pity that she was a fox and didn't have wings like a bird.

"Then I'll take Gan Yu to the guest room first. She's been helping the Emperor organize documents lately, staying up all night every day. She must be exhausted." Liu Yun said softly, then flew away with Gan Yu.

"Sigh~ I'd love to play with him a little longer, but unfortunately my little bird hasn't had a good night's sleep in years. It's a rare opportunity, so I'll leave for a while." Chaohuzhai Palace inside Xuanyue called out loudly, then left with Xiao in his arms.

"They're all other people's kids. Little Shinji, you need to step up your game too." Looking at Yae Shinji, who was sleeping soundly on his lap, Kitsuri-miya laughed. For a moment, he felt that it was probably better if his little fox never grew up; the adult world was cruel.

Whether it was because of the alcohol or Xuan Yue, Xiao showed no signs of waking up even after being placed on the bed.

"It's still such a well-behaved little bird." Xuan Yue chuckled. There were still many guests outside, so they couldn't stay any longer.

After he closed the door, Xiao seemed to be muttering something in his sleep, which appeared to be a beautiful dream.

When Xuan Yue returned, she saw Morax holding the Rainbow Spear, Barbatos holding the Lament of the End, and Balzeb holding the Dream of One Heart. The three of them stood in a three-way standoff, while the rest of the gods...

From left to right: Agoria eating a cream puff, Buyer sitting obediently in her seat (just turned around), Raiden Shin leaning against the table with his arms crossed, Shibarak holding a plate and eating grapes, and Barnabas watching the scene while drinking a cold drink. We're just saying, what did he miss? Why wasn't he included in this juicy gossip?

"Oh, Ruoyavis is here, we were just missing you." Shibarak waved to Xuan Yue while chewing on grapes.

"So, is there some kind of contradiction?"

"No, it's just that Aying wanted to spar with the Rock God, and the Rock God proposed a free-for-all. The Wind God was the first to sign up and is eager to try it out." Raiden Shin said, "I'll pass. I'm not good at fighting, so I had Aying take my place."

"I'll give up. In this state, I wouldn't stand a chance against them even in a melee," Buyer explained.

Xuan Yue turned to Ergolia and asked, "And you?"

"Me? I'm the water god. There aren't many water elements here that I can control, so I guess I'll just have to give up."

"I'll pass, everything here is so delicious, I want to eat more. Let's skip the fight this time." Hibarak popped another grape into his mouth.

"Wait until you finish this," Barnabas said succinctly. It must be said that Xuan Yue, trained by Xuan Qing, automatically interpreted these words as, "This drink is delicious; I'll serve you more after you finish this one."

“Alright, but your elemental power can’t withstand fighting here. I’ve arranged a place for you. If you want to fight, go outside.”

"That's exactly what I was thinking," Morax nodded.

"Aren't you coming?" Lei Yingdong asked Xuan Yue.

"You guys go first, I'll go inform Li Shui and Xiao Yue. Ya Cha and Xiao Gan Yu are asleep, I still need to draw a few formations later."

"can."

"Little Xuan Yue, don't keep us waiting too long."

"Let's go to the front row to watch the show... no, let's watch the battle from the front row."

"Um... wait for me..."

"I hope it's okay if I take this plate of grapes..."

"Glug glug..." (sound of drinking water)

—To be continued—