Genshin Impact: Awakening in the Darkness

During their conversation, Razer had already left them far behind, forcing Xuanqing, Kong, and Paimon to quicken their pace. When they caught up, they saw several wolves covered in wounds, and some villagers were still trying to attack them.

Just as Lei Ze was about to step forward, Xuan Qing stopped him: "I'll go, you guys stay here." Xuan Qing didn't even draw his sword; he swiftly struck the back of their necks, knocking them unconscious. The entire movement was fluid and graceful, even possessing a unique beauty.

"Thank you." Razer said briefly before rushing to check on the wolves.

Paimon: "These wolves don't even attack humans, so did they really attack the village?"

Before Kong could answer Paimon's question, Razer interrupted, unusually, to say, "It wasn't us who attacked the village! It was a stray black wolf and its pack. They wanted territory, and they broke the rules it set."

Paimon: "It?"

Xuanqing: "Let's go deeper. Lei Ze needs to take these wolves to heal their wounds. Your questions can be answered there."

Kong and Paimon exchanged a glance and nodded; they had come to help.

“What is this thing…? It’s ridiculously big.” Paimon noticed the claw marks on the cliff, clearly made by some kind of ferocious wild animal.

Paimon: "How big must that wolf be?"

“I’m afraid… it’s not a wolf.” Xuan Qing’s expression was grave; his words heightened Kong and Paimon’s alertness.

Raize placed the wolves on the ground deep within the ruins, then called to the travelers, "Kong, please do me a favor and help me collect this." He took out a purplish-blue fruit. Xuanqing knew it was a hook fruit, the only thing Xuanyue disliked eating. He said the juice was numbing and had numbed his tongue.

Paimon: "Isn't this the seed of a hook-shaped fruit?"

Razer: "It crushes the bandage to stop the bleeding, the hooks spread the seeds, and it provides anesthesia and stops the bleeding so as not to hurt. We will find it harder to detect and take it further away."

"...That's what the purple teacher told me. I'm going to stay here and take care of it." Razer added an explanation, clarifying everything Paimon wanted to ask. But then he turned to Xuanqing and said, "Also, this gentleman smells of blood."

Xuanqing: ...

Kong stared wide-eyed at Xuan Qing: "You're injured?! Was the blood on the road yours?"

Paimon also looked around at Xuanqing: "Qingyue, where are you hurt! Let us take a look! How serious is it!"

Fearing they would continue talking, Xuanqing had no choice but to remove his cloak. Only then did they notice that the color of Xuanqing's left sleeve was darker than the rest of his clothes, and there was a drop of blood about to drip from his left hand.

Xuan Qing: "It just looks scary, but it's actually just some skin and flesh injuries."

But clearly, neither of them listened to him and rushed off to pick fruit in a panic.

Xuanqing: (Why does this feel like I'm back in Liyue...)

Lei Ze: "Sir, you should take a rest."

Xuan Qing: "Aren't you afraid I'm some kind of bad guy?"

Lei Ze: "Sir, there's a similar aura about you. I... can't quite put my finger on it... but it makes me feel very safe..."

Xuan Qing was slightly surprised. This boy's sixth sense was exceptionally sharp. Was it a skill he had honed in the wild, or was he simply a gifted individual?

"We're back! Is this enough?" Kong and Paimon rushed back, carrying a huge pile of hooked fruits. Xuan Qing's lips twitched. Didn't they feel any pain?

Razer: "That's enough, thank you."

Kong: "Qingyue, do you need our help?"

Xuan Qing: "It's alright for me, give it to me first..."

"Qingyue, you've been bleeding all the way here, doesn't it hurt?" Paimon flew to Xuanqing's side, looking at his still-bleeding hand, and asked with some heartache.

Kong: "We'll help you bandage it. Don't worry, we can pick more fruit if there isn't enough."

Seeing the determined looks in Kong and Paimon's eyes, Xuan Qing could only reluctantly agree. Kong's bandaging technique was very skillful; after all, he often took on missions outside and had been injured quite a few times.

Lei Ze had already applied medicine to the wolf, and it seemed to be in much better spirits. Kong tied a knot in Xuan Qing's bandage, and he was very satisfied with his technique.

The situation was peaceful until a group of people became a nuisance: "We've circled around but haven't found any other wolves." It was the same group from before, led by Hopkins. Those who had been knocked unconscious earlier had likely separated from them, and these few had wandered around until they arrived here.

Yoton: "That's how wolves are usually. The one we just caught clearly had some intellectual problems."

A flash of anger crossed Razer's eyes, and he rushed towards them with his greatsword in hand.

"W-What are you doing?" Hopkins was clearly startled by the sudden appearance of the person.

Lei Ze: "I'm here to settle accounts with you."

"It's him, the one rumored to have been raised by wolves!" Yoton recognized Razer and revealed his origins. Xuan Qing, listening from afar, sensed something was increasingly amiss. He drew his sword, donned his cloak, and approached. Kong and Paimon exchanged a glance and followed.

Hopkins: "Oh? So it was you. I was wondering how wolves could be so smart. You've been helping those beasts scheme against humans? Whoever feeds you is your parent? Have you forgotten what you are?"

"Enough!" Xuan Qing interrupted the conversation with a sharp voice, shielding Lei Ze behind him: "Who gave you the right to be a beast in human skin making such comments here?"

Hopkins: "Who are you! Oh—I know, you're in cahoots! You're human, yet you're all on the same side as those beasts! You're the scum of humanity!"

Xuan Qing remained silent, standing with his arms crossed, eager to hear what else this man had to say. He already sensed that the remnant soul within the ruins behind him had awakened, and since this place was now under someone else's control, he couldn't presume to interfere.

"The noise... woke me up..."

But it wasn't about paying tribute to the "North Wind"...

You...not only harm my people, but also distort the truth...

That's really bold—!

Boreas, the Wolf King of the North Wind, appeared. Xuan Qing lowered the brim of his hat, after all, he remembered that he seemed to have had an unpleasant encounter with him in the past. He would be grateful if the Wolf King would not reveal his identity.

Those who had been making a fuss earlier had all run away out of fear.

"Please... calm down," Razer pleaded under the Wolf King's oppressive presence.

“To protect outsiders, Razer? My anger… has not yet subsided. Then use your sword to atone for their sins—use the skills you learned from humans… show me your steel claws.”

Razer glanced at his knife, then picked it up and swung it at the Wolf King, but he was clearly no match for him.

Xuanqing: "Go and help. Wolves are social animals, and their companions are also part of their strength, just like humans."

Kong: "Alright, Paimon, you stay here, I'll go help."

Paimon: "You should watch out too!"

With the addition of the available players, Razer's pressure was significantly reduced. After all, they were still his own protégés, and Boreas hadn't gone all out yet, stopping after a short while.

Razer: "Please, calm down."

"Hmph, fine." Boreas wasn't as angry as before. He calmed down and knew their intentions all along, so there was nothing he couldn't say: "Just like this kid said before. The outside wolf pack has broken the rules here. They will definitely be punished."

“But you—Raze, you are not allowed to participate in the extermination, because this is a matter for wolves.” Boreas turned to Raze and warned him, “You use steel instead of claws, you wield lightning instead of fangs…you belong to humanity.”

“I’m not like them! I don’t belong to them!” Razer instantly looked like an abandoned cub, his expression aggrieved. He didn’t know what he had done wrong to be excluded.

“You… are not a wolf, this is a matter between wolves.”

Boreas: "As for you, Lupica of Razer among humans, you are a noble and special person. If you are willing, you can come to me for a trial."

"That's all I have to say. Until we meet again, Razer, and the strange human, and... um..." Boreas noticed Xuan Qing not far away.

Xuanqing: (You don't have to be so perceptive...)

Before Boreas could speak, Xuan Qing spoke first: "Traveler, Paimon, you two take Razer away first. I have important matters to discuss with this Wolf King."

Paimon: "Huh?...Oh...Then we'll wait for you up ahead. Razz, don't be sad..."

Kong and Paimon accompanied Razer as they walked away, and Xuanqing stepped forward and took off the brim of his hat: "It's been a long time, Wolf King."

Boreas: "What do you want to talk to me about this time, Liyue's Demon God?"

Xuan Qing: "If I said it was an accident, would you believe me...?"

Boreas: ... (Do you think I'd believe that?)

Xuan Qing looked at the wolf king, who was already in a fighting stance, and was speechless. He had said it was an accident, so why didn't anyone believe him? Was his word really that unreliable?

If Wendy were here, she would probably tell him the reason, but unfortunately, Wendy is currently enjoying a good drink at her manor...

Xuan Qing sighed and could only say, "While I was repairing the ley lines around here, I discovered that those foreign 'black wolves' you mentioned are actually monsters from Kanria 500 years ago. They can tear through space and drift anywhere."

How can I trust you?

“It doesn’t matter. I don’t actually have the strength to fight you anymore. Mondstadt’s ley lines appear intact on the surface, but once you go deeper, you’ll find they’re full of holes. I’m almost exhausted from repairing them. You should be able to notice a series of changes. I’m not lying.”

Xuan Qing's words silenced Boreas. As the remnant soul of the demon god Andrius, he naturally sensed the disordered ley lines, but he had been asleep and could not resolve the issue even if he awoke.

“Boreas, the war is over, we don’t need to be so tense.”

"Foreign demon god, I agree to your proposal." The wolf king finally lowered his claws. The scene of Xuan Qing protecting Lei Ze was still vivid in his mind. He was willing to trust this demon god in front of him this once.

"Now let's get down to business..."

Paimon, Kong, and Amber, who had caught up and heard everything, all surrounded Razor, but the little wolf cub's expression was so desolate it was almost broken.

Amber: "Um... Razer, don't make that face. By the way! How about we stay in the city for a few days?"

Paimon: "Yeah, you have a friend in Mondstadt too, don't you? That 'red, hot, girl'..."

Amber: "Right now, pedestrians in the wild are also dangerous for you. I know you don't want to hurt them."

Razer: "I'm fine, you guys, don't worry. But I don't belong in the city... I don't belong here either..."

Empty: "Raize..."

"Thank you. Wen Yuan, Paimon, and... the other girl in red." Razer thought for a long time but still couldn't remember Amber's name.

"I've talked to you for so long, and you don't even remember my name is Amber?!" Clearly, Amber was breaking down.

"Well then, goodbye." Razer turned and said goodbye to them, showing that he was not ready to return to human society.

Paimon looked dejected, and Sora could only pat her head to ease her disappointment: "Want to go get something good to eat?"

Paimon's eyes lit up at the mention of going to eat. But she had sharp eyes and immediately spotted Crescent Moon perched in a tree watching the commotion. There was no way around it; you probably couldn't find a golden bird with a tail in all of Mondstadt.

"It's Xuan Yue!" Paimon flew up immediately: "Xuan Yue, Qing Yue couldn't find you for ages, saying you were lost and came out to look for you. After searching for so long, it turns out you're here!"

Xuan Yue: (I'm lost?! Didn't Xuan Qing send me out to look for something? How did I get lost?!)

——That evening——

Xuan Yue transformed into human form, sat on the sofa, and looked at the person who had just returned, saying, "Come on, explain to me how I got lost."

Xuanqing: ...

Wendy was already asleep on the table, completely unaware of the chaotic scene unfolding in the living room just a wall away from him.