Genshin Impact: Awakening in the Darkness

The matter has come to an end, and Mondstadt is safe and sound for the time being, though only on the surface.

"Xuanqing, stop turning around, I'm dizzy..." Xuan Yue rarely transformed into human form, but his current appearance was 7% similar to Xiao. Having experienced rebirth, he was essentially living his life again, and he still had the physique of a teenager.

Xuanqing kept checking the documents on his desk against the wooden wall opposite him in the room, while Wendy and Xuanyue sat by the window, watching him busy himself.

Venti: "When are you going back to Liyue?"

Xuan Yue: "Let's wait until we rescue Dvalin. We haven't informed Morax about our return yet. As soon as we woke up, Xuan Qing and I transformed into merchants to expand trade routes."

Wendy: "It's an honor that your first stop is Mondstadt."

“That’s because Xuanqing said, cough cough!” Xuan Yue cleared her throat and imitated Xuanqing’s tone, “Now, of the first generation of gods, only Barbatos and Morax remain. Barbatos is not as strong as Morax, so let’s go to Mondstadt first to take a look.”

Wendy: ...

"Alright, we can end this small talk now." Xuan Qing closed his eyes, suppressing his raging divine power: "Barbatos, I ask, you answer."

Wendy immediately sat up straight; otherwise, she'd been called Barbatos, which was a sign he was about to get angry!

"Where are Mondstadt's main players?"

"The Grand Master of the Knights has led his elite troops to the border. They won't be back for a while."

"How did the Fools obtain such accurate information that you are the Wind God?"

"...I don't know..."

Wendy blinked innocently, Xuan Qing didn't say anything, and Xuan Yue was too frightened to make a sound.

"So, one last question...★★★★★..."

Wendy stared wide-eyed, offering no reply, while Xuan Yue's gaze was vacant; clearly, this was a conversation between the two of them, but what they discussed remained a mystery...

Kong and Paimon have been having a very fulfilling few days. They have joined the Adventurers' Guild and are earning Mora by taking on quests every day. Gradually, their fame in Mondstadt has reached the point where almost everyone knows them.

That day, they happened to be strolling around the neighborhood, and somehow ended up in the Benlang Ridge area.

Paimon: "This place is called 'Wolf's Lair,' and it's said that few Mondstadt residents venture here... Although it's near Mondstadt, the ecology here is pristine, a place where the laws of nature reign supreme. As the saying goes, the strong prey on the weak; even slimes can grow to enormous sizes!"

Paimon wanted to be a good guide, but for a moment he didn't know how to explain it to Kong. Just then, a large pack of wolves came running from afar. "Look, it's this huge!"

Kong: "Paimon! They're attacking!"

Paimon was startled and realized they were surrounded by wolves. She immediately found a place to hide to avoid being accidentally injured.

Xuan Yue, who happened to be passing by, saw this scene and wanted to go down to help. At the same time, a bolt of lightning struck, and a silver-haired, red-eyed boy helped them scare away the pack of wolves. Only then did he flap his wings and fly away to find something.

As he flew, he muttered to himself, "What did the big iceberg want again? Ice Mist Flowers, lizard tails, and crystal cores, but how do I get the Lava Flower...? Will splashing water work...?"

Paimon: "Thank you... thank you—the wolf pack from Wolfrun is coming! Run!"

“Don’t worry, wolves are friends. But, who are you?” the boy asked.

Paimon: "We're just ordinary travelers..."

"You're not ordinary. But there's a familiar scent."

Paimon: "A familiar scent?"

"The Knights, right? I have friends in the Knights."

Kong: "What's your name?"

"I am Razer," the boy replied earnestly.

Paimon: "Are you also a member of the Knights of Favonius?"

Razer: "It has nothing to do with the Knights."

The wolves howled from behind the mountain, attracting their attention. Afterwards, Paimon and Kong briefly learned about Razer's situation, helped him hunt, and handed the prey over to Razer.

"Thank you. But... but if we came by ourselves, we could only catch five or six. Some wolves will be hungry tonight..." Razer said with some concern.

"Ugh..." Paimon felt a little guilty, and Sora rubbed her head to comfort her.

"Don't worry about it, thank you. You're much more capable than that red-clad, fiery-looking girl from the Knights—friends." To prevent them from overthinking, Razer added a brief description: "If she were to make a move, the mountain would probably be on fire. Not a single pig would be caught."

"I have to go. It's not safe here lately, so be careful and take care of yourselves." With that, Razer quickly left again.

Paimon: "What a peculiar person."

The scene shifts to the depths of Benlang Ridge, where Xuan Qing, cloaked, traverses the forest. He periodically probes the nearby ley lines and continuously repairs them. However, after so much time, he has finally discovered something different, such as the reason for the wolves' rage.

"The Abyss Order is a non-human entity yet possesses human consciousness... Tsk, I almost got caught up in it. Not all non-human entities are non-human..." Xuan Qing finished repairing this ley line, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and staggered as he stood up, having to lean against a nearby tree to steady himself.

“…Are we nearing our limit…? Hmm?” A commotion came from not far away. Xuan Qing parted the grass that was blocking his view and saw Kong and Paimon, as well as the scout knight who had been next to them when they first met. He remembered that his name was Amber.

Amber: "The remaining fur indicates that the wolves live in Wolfrun Territory. Other than that, it's not very clear. But don't worry, I'll go to Wolfrun Territory immediately to investigate the matter."

Amber: "The Knights will absolutely not allow such a dangerous thing to continue to happen."

Hopkins: "Okay. Better late than never than no action at all."

Paimon: "Wow, this person is so rude."

Kong agreed with Paimon's words. They had come to investigate after hearing that the village had been attacked by wolves, but this villager named Hopkins acted as if it were a matter of course for the knights to come and help, as if he were the leader.

Hopkins: "We need to get to work now." Seeing the villagers he led looking like they wanted to fight the wolves, Amber stopped them: "Hey, don't do anything stupid."

Hopkins: "What a joke! We're not like the Knights. This grudge needs to be settled. Let's go!"

Amber and Kong's attempts to persuade them failed, and the villagers had already taken their hoes and machetes and headed into the deep mountains.

Xuan Qing watched everything unfold quietly, then vanished and headed towards the Wolf King's territory. Paimon, Kong, and Amber also felt uneasy about what they were doing, and after a brief discussion, decided to follow them into the depths of the forest.

The three of them had been walking for a short while when they encountered Razer, who was searching for a pack of wolves.

"Who is it?!" Their sudden approach made Razer instantly alert.

Paimon: "Don't be nervous, Razz, it's us!"

"You are...you are also a member of the Knights?" Razer looked at Amber with eyes full of doubt.

Paimon: "What? You don't know each other?!"

Sora: "Isn't that the girl who's wearing red and is very hot?"

Lei Ze: "I don't know him. Although he's also red, he's not as hot as that person."

"Ah, I see. Is this the wolf boy you were talking about earlier?" Amber had been stopped by the traveler earlier and asked if she knew a boy. Turns out, this was the boy in front of her.

Paimon: "That's right, his name is Razer."

Lei Ze: "Do me a favor."

"Hmm?" Amber tilted her head, as if asking a question.

Rezer: "There was no time to explain. I told Lupica to disperse. Because that group of people came. They have no good intentions."

"Those were the guys from earlier, right?" Razer said, and Paimon understood. The group had come for the wolf pack, and they quickened their pace to go deeper into the area.

"There's a smell of blood. We need to hurry."

Amber: "Could it be that those idiots were attacked by wolves?!"

Sora: (You didn't have to be so blunt, even though they really are a bunch of idiots...)

When they arrived, they saw a man standing in the middle of the road with a sword in his hand, and nearby were the villagers lying on the ground. The wolves nearby only looked wary, but showed no intention of attacking him.

Paimon exclaimed in surprise upon recognizing the person: "It's Qingyue! Qingyue—!"

Xuan Qing took a deep breath before turning around and putting his hands behind his back: "You're looking for them, aren't you?"

Empty: "How did you know?"

Amber looked at Qingyue and asked, "Why is that Mr. Qingyue at Benlang Ridge?"

Xuanqing said expressionlessly, "My bird is lost. Come out and look for it."

Paimon: "Ah?! Xuan Yue has disappeared!"

Xuan Qing: "I don't know. I overheard your conversation while looking for him. However, I only had time to knock out a few of them; the others ran deeper into the area..."

Razer: "Damn it, they'll alert it."

Amber: "...Who is it talking about?"

Razer: "The lord of this land."

Paimon: "Shouldn't Barbatos be Mondstadt's master?"

"Hurry up, or the wolf pack will suffer heavy losses." Xuan Qing's words reminded Lei Ze, and he immediately ran forward.

“Hey, Traveler!” Amber called out to Sora: “I’ll take these villagers back first, you guys go after the rest.”

Paimon: "You should be careful too."

Amber: "Of course, I am the scout knight Amber!"