Genshin Impact: Awakening in the Darkness

Xuanqing looked at the people still in the tavern and said, "Why don't you go?"

“I’m wanted by the authorities right now. If I get recognized, you’ll have to come to the dungeons in Mondstadt to find me,” Wendy replied quite reasonably.

"Were what you just said true?"

"Ah."

Let's rewind 5 minutes:

Before leaving, Wendy spoke up: "Jane just said that the Fatui's goal is to obtain Dvalin's power for the Ice God... This might underestimate the Fatui's determination. Their true purpose might be to use the connection to the wind to find the Wind God, Barbatos..."

"The Wind God? The Wind God has been gone from Mondstadt for a thousand years... Why do you think their goal is to find the true god?" Diluc asked, puzzled, but Venti once again managed to evade the question, leaving him no time to delve deeper.

“Stealing the power of the wind… that’s quite an ambition, probably not just limited to that.” Xuan Qing stared at Wendy, who broke out in a cold sweat. “Alright, I won’t make things difficult for you, just be careful not to overdo it.”

"Then thank you very much, Grandpa Qingyue, for showing mercy."

The two of them waited for news in the tavern. Wendy was drinking, while Xuan Qing, bored, picked up a book from the tavern to read and kill time.

When the group returned to the tavern, Wendy immediately welcomed them: "Yo, welcome back, my loyal listeners."

Xuanqing noticed the zither; it was quite different from the one from a thousand years ago.

Wendy: "Ah, that's... the Sky Harp! Looks like you guys got it sorted out. The flowing rosewood with its wind-like patterns, the cool star iron strings, it brings back so many memories..."

Jean: "So, Wendy? Can you use it to summon Dvalin now?"

Venti: "Hmm... While it's a genuine Anemo Arcana, it's probably not enough right now. As you can see, after thousands of years, the power of 'wind' has long since dried up. In this state, perhaps it'd be suitable for singing at Diluc's tavern..."

"There are tons of singers bidding for the performance slots at the tavern, don't get your hopes up," Diluc interrupted the bard's obvious plan.

"Lord Diluc should be criticizing more important things!" Paimon couldn't hold back any longer and blurted out, "Hey, singer! Did you lend out the Skyward Harp just to play it for drunkards?"

"Hey." Wendy smiled slightly.

"What does 'Hey!' mean...?!" Paimon stomped his feet in frustration.

"In short, this is far from enough to communicate with Dvarin. However, it's not the lyre that's the problem, it's the strings. It's time for you to step in, stranger!" Wendy shifted the blame to Kong.

Empty: "Me?"

"Wendy means that the concentration of the 'wind' element in this violin is insufficient," Xuan Qing explained.

"That's right, so you've kept Dvalin's tear crystals safe, haven't you?"

“Yes,” Kong said, taking the crystal out of his person. “What should I do?”

"Dripping down the strings..."

Under Wendy's guidance, the Sky Harp emitted a faint glow, completely different from its previous appearance.

Qin: "Qin seems to have a kind of...youthful glow?"

Paimon: "The captain is praising himself."

Qin blushed at the praise: "I meant the Sky Harp!"

Wendy: "Thanks to the Traveler's Purification Crystals, the 'Wind' element in the Sky Harp hasn't continued to deplete. But it's still a ways from overflowing again. If only we could obtain more Dvalin's Tears..."

Sora: "We'll help."

Paimon: "But how do we collect the tear crystals?"

Wendy: "Even now, Dvalin must be crying. Enduring pain, in a place far from home..."

"Here, I have some more." Xuan Qing interrupted Wendy's sentimentality and took out three unpurified crystals.

"Grandpa Qingyue, has anyone ever told you that you have no sense of occasion?" Wendy was speechless. He felt that Xuanqing had been acting strangely ever since he woke up, strangely cunning.

“Yes, you’re not the first one anyway.” Xuan Qing didn’t care about his old friend’s opinion and turned to hand the crystals to Kong Dao: “See if these are enough.”

"It's crystallized! Grandpa Qingyue, are you feeling unwell anywhere? Should we have Kong purify it for you?" Paimon reminded him with some concern.

"Thank you for your kindness, but I haven't felt any discomfort yet."

Diluc: "How come Mr. Qingyue has this crystal on his body?"

Xuanqing: "Ayue took it from the ruins while she was gathering information."

Qin: "Thank you so much, sir. You've been a great help."

"However, Grandpa Qingyue is just an ordinary person, how could he not be affected by the abyss?" Paimon still loved asking questions.

Xuanqing wasn't annoyed. He took out a celestial talisman from his wide sleeve: "Liyue is a kingdom where humans and gods coexist. The Emperor has many immortals under his command. This celestial talisman can protect people from evil spirits. I guess it was this talisman that saved me from disaster."

Sora: "The immortals of Liyue...?"

Wendy: "Traveler, add these drops too."

Unfortunately, the strings of the Sky Harp only lit up slightly, with little difference.

Diluc: "Looks like I'll have to make the trip."

Sora: "Leave it to me."

Jean: "This is not just a matter for the Knight of Honor alone; we will all take immediate action."

Wendy: "Hmm...that's wonderful. The scenes of heroes entrusting each other with their missions and embarking on their journeys hand in hand are always so captivating. Let me dedicate this song to you on your way..."

Xuanqing: (Are you now so open about slacking off?)

Wendy: (Having been away for so long, I should at least reminisce about the songs from back then.)

Xuanqing: (...)

In just a few seconds, Xuanqing was also persuaded by this bard.

Paimon: "Huh? Are you trying to slack off... just by talking?"

Wendy, seeing Paimon's flustered expression, couldn't help but tease her, "Playing the piano requires your hands."

"Ugh, I'm so angry. I've decided to give you an awful nickname." Wendy successfully earned an angry Paimon: "Hmm... I've decided, from now on I'll call you 'The Singer'!"

Xuanqing: "Then let's split up. I believe the Fools have already learned that the Sky Harp has been stolen, and they will definitely take action afterward. In the meantime, I will help you confuse them."

Wendy: "It still has to be Grandpa Qingyue, hmm, he's exceptionally reliable."

Empty: (I feel like Wendy and Qingyue are strangely familiar, is it just my imagination...?)

Operation begins—

In the manor, Xuan Yue woke up in her bird's nest and saw Xuan Qing copying several Sky Harps and instructing his subordinates on which deployment locations to take.

"Well, wake up."

"Chirp chirp chirp?" (What are you doing?)

“Wendy and the others are in trouble. Help them confuse the situation.” Xuan Qing looked at the sky; it was just dawn. “You sleep a little longer. I’m going out for a bit.”

"Chirp chirp!" (Where are you going!)

"Send a dream to that 'Lady' executor of the Fools..." Xuan Qing donned a white cloak, then leaped out of the window and vanished without a trace...

Inside the Goethe Hotel, the lady's room was a mess, with shards of porcelain scattered everywhere: "You bunch of useless idiots! You can't even take care of a broken violin!"

"My lady! Those invaders are incredibly powerful, we really..."

"These are not excuses!" The woman lashed her subordinate to the ground with her whip. "If you can't find that violin, you're all going to hell!" The subordinate immediately got up and ran outside.

"A bunch of despicable creatures!" The woman angrily flicked her sleeves, then looked out the window at the rising sun. Just then, a voice rang in her ear:

You have overstepped your bounds.

"Who!" The woman immediately looked around, but there was no one there. When she turned her gaze back to the window, she saw that the sky had turned blood red, and shouts of killing and cries for help rang in her ears...

"No...no..." Her voice began to tremble; she was afraid, in—fear.

"No!" The woman suddenly opened her eyes, breathing heavily. She found herself sitting in a chair by the window, the sun high in the sky, the sky bright, as if nothing had happened...

Kong's operation went smoothly, and along the way he learned about another side of Diluc and Jean in private. On the way back to Mondstadt, Diluc suddenly thought of something and turned to ask Jean beside him: "Is there a contract from a thousand years ago in the core documents of the Knights of Favonius?"

"There is such a document. I saw it a few months ago, but it is a top secret within the Knights Order. Only the Grand Masters of each generation can access the specific information."

"Top Secret document! What kind of document could it be?" Paimon's curiosity was piqued again.

Kong: "Paimon, I already said it's a confidential document, we can't just ask about it."

"Oh! I'm sorry, I'm just..." Paimon realized his mistake and quickly apologized.

“It’s alright, Paimon. Actually, most people in Mondstadt know the origin of that document. It was a turning point in Mondstadt’s history,” Jean patiently explained to them. “Two thousand years ago, Mondstadt abolished the aristocratic system, so it lacked resources when building new city-states. Meanwhile, neighboring Liyue had already begun to develop its commerce. The guild leader at the time was particularly troubled and wanted to establish a trade route that could connect with Liyue, but it did not alleviate Mondstadt’s progress. Instead, it made Mondstadt’s resource deficit grow larger and larger.”

Paimon: "Oh? That's serious! What happened next?"

Diluc continued, "Back then, a Liyue native came to Mondstadt and signed a contract with the Guild Master. He only needed to establish a manor in a region near the border between Mondstadt and Liyue, and all the regional taxes would be collected according to Mondstadt's system. In return, he could meet with the powerful immortals in Liyue at the time to develop trade routes between Mondstadt and Liyue. The reason why Mondstadt's wine industry is so developed is also due to the influence of that Liyue native."

Sora: "He sounds like a very powerful person, but why would Diluc ask about this contract from thousands of years ago?"

Diluc: "Some members of my family had contact with that Liyue person at the time, and the leader of the raid at the time was also from my family. I don't have much of an impression of him when I was a child, but they mentioned heterochromia."

Paimon: "Heterochromatic eyes? What are heterochromatic eyes?"

Diluc: "The only difference is that the two eyes are different."

Kong: "I remember... Mr. Qingyue's eyes were one blue and one purple."

Qin: "That's right. Three months ago, Mr. Qingyue came and produced a copy of the contract, proving that he and that Liyue person at the time were related by blood. The manor that had been separated at the border was then opened. However, it seems that you don't care about this issue."

"Hmm, there are some things I want to investigate further..."

They chatted for a while and eventually returned to Mondstadt.