Genshin Impact: Awakening in the Darkness

Crossing the snowy mountains of Mondstadt, you will arrive at a realm where you "walk with the gods," named Liyue by the covenant of "Geo" and the arrival of "Order."

"Xuanqing~ I want it!" As soon as he stepped onto the border of Liyue, Xuanyue transformed into human form. After all, he couldn't very well show his inhuman side in Mondstadt, as it would raise a lot of suspicion about Xuanqing's identity. Now that he was back, he could do whatever he wanted.

Now he faced a difficult problem: he wanted to taste what Qingxin was like, because he remembered how little Ganyu used to drool over Qingxin. Unfortunately, Xuanqing kept shaking his head and refusing, so he could only resort to his almost foolproof trick (Note: learned from Barbatos, this was his first time trying it).

Xuan Qing sighed. He could almost foresee Xuan Yue's fate, but what could he do? He could only place a Qingxin flower from his space into Xuan Yue's hand: "Just pick one petal, and throw the rest away."

Xuan Yue nodded, plucked a petal, and put it in his mouth. Hmm… first came the delicate fragrance of the flower, then… a bitter, unpalatable taste…

"Ptooey! Ugh! This tastes awful..." Xuan Yue gagged and quickly spat out the flower petals. Xuan Qing then took out a jar of jam, scooped a spoonful, and fed it to Xuan Yue.

“You are a Golden Crow, and Gan Yu is a Qilin. You are not even the same species. What are you thinking?” Xuan Qing said while feeding him.

The sweetness of the jam diluted the bitterness in her mouth, and Xuan Yue's mood immediately improved: "I don't know what the Golden Crow's diet is, so I was thinking... since they are all celestial beasts, can I eat what they can eat?"

Xuan Qing: "So, what about now?"

Xuan Yue: "...Hehe, I made a stupid mistake..."

Xuanqing was amused by him: "If those old guys heard you say that ten thousand years ago, they would probably laugh at you."

Just as Xuan Yue was about to say something, she heard Xuan Qing's next sentence: "After all, how can a golden crow eat the same thing as its food?"

Xuan Yue: "Eh!...Eh-eh—!"

Xuan Qing was in a good mood and didn't mind telling him more: "In ancient times, the continent was full of celestial birds and ferocious beasts. The Golden Crow was the most ferocious of all birds, and many celestial beasts on the continent were on their menu, such as cranes, unicorns, and dragons..."

"Stop! Stop! Xuanqing, don't suddenly tell such terrifying things!" Xuanyue was terrified. This absolutely cannot be known to a third person, especially Liuyun! Yes! Absolutely not!

Xuanqing just smiled. After all, Xuanyue's thoughts were written all over her face. If he teased her any longer, his little bird would bristle and hurt him.

Xuan Qing: "Haha, alright, we're just ahead of the Dihua Isle area of ​​Guili Plain."

Xuan Yue: "Hurry, hurry! I remember Xiao is still there!"

Xuan Qing: "Slow down!"

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Hmm? A familiar scent... comes from the wind..." Xiao sat on the roof of Wangshu Inn, resting against the huge tulip tree, but suddenly a hint of heat and a hint of coldness appeared in the wind, and the tree suddenly swayed its branches, conveying a joyful emotion to him...

"Yes... Lord Heavenly Lord!" Xiao sat up and began to carefully sense the air in the wind. He heard:

(Xuanqing! I see that tree! But why is there an inn? Have we been robbed? Where's Xiao? Where's my little Golden Roc? Does he know?!)

(Xuan Yue, calm down...)

(How can I stay calm! What if Xiao gets taken over without knowing it? How will he ever go home?! No way, I'm going to blow this place up!)

(Hey! Xuan Yue... let's find Xiao first and find out the situation...)

Xiao felt a warmth in his heart; the two Heavenly Lords hadn't forgotten him. But at the same time, a chill ran down his spine… because he had a bad feeling, so he immediately left his resting place…

"Xuan Yue... calm down... ha." Xuan Qing coaxed Xuan Yue while pulling on his clothes, preventing him from firing the scorching hot arrow.

Xuanqing: "If you shoot that tree, it'll all be on fire, and Xiao won't have anywhere to live..."

Xuan Yue thought about it and it seemed to make sense, so he put away his bow and arrows. But before Xuan Qing could even breathe a sigh of relief, he picked up a small stone and said, "Then I'll smash this inn! Anyway, this tulip tree is sturdy enough. I only managed to scratch it a few times with the Shaoyang Sword before."

Xuanqing: ...

Just then, Xiao appeared in front of them, startling Xuan Yue so much that she immediately threw the stone in her hand aside.

Xiao: "...Huh? Heavenly Lord...what's going on here?"

Xuan Qing breathed a sigh of relief, while Xuan Yue went around Xiao and examined his entire body: "Xiao! You've lost weight again!"

Xiao was startled. How could someone who looked so much like him...? No, he still carries karmic burdens! He can't...

Xuanqing saw through Xiao's thoughts and sighed, "Xiao, he is Xuan Yue."

elf:"!"

Xuan Qing: "I was separated from him during the great battle 500 years ago. He is now using the original form of his soul..."

Xuan Yue: "Oh dear, I'll explain those things later! Xuan Qing, bring out the pieces of pork and fish we hunted earlier. I still remember the Golden Roc clan's recipes; they prefer fish and meat, and they like fresh meat! Quickly give this little bird some to eat. I really don't know what Morax is thinking; does he even know how to raise a child?"

Xuan Qing sighed helplessly and tossed his spatial bag to Xuan Yue, telling him to find it himself. Xiao stared blankly at what was happening, too shocked to utter a word.

While Xuan Yue was cooking, Xuan Qing secretly grabbed the dazed Xiao and hugged him to comfort him, just like a thousand years ago: "Take a good rest now, we're back."

We're back...

These words struck a nerve with Xiao, and tears streamed down his face uncontrollably. Mo Lian appeared, and Xuan Qing sat on it, embracing him once again after a thousand years: "Take a nap now, Xuan Yue's cooking will take a long time."

Xiao snapped out of his daze, realizing he was in Lord Xuanqing's arms, and even having Lord Xuanyue cook for him. His body stiffened, but he still mustered his courage and spoke, "Um... Your Excellencies, there are still quite a few demons around here... Xiao..."

Xuan Yue looked up and said, "We're all here, so don't worry. I'll help you clear out the demons nearby later. My flames can burn away those karmic obstacles in one go, so you'll have less work to do."

Xiao: "Um... Lord Xuan Yue, those karmic burdens were overflowing from me..."

Xuanqing: "It's alright, these karmic obstacles can't harm us. I just purified some of them for you, now see if you feel any better."

Xiao examined his body and found that most of his karmic burdens had been reduced. The remaining burdens were not a threat, and he would not lose his mind for at least a while.

"Thank you... both Heavenly Lords..." Xiao was still quite concerned about his relationship with Xuan Qing, after all, the last time this happened was a thousand years ago.

By this time, it had already gotten dark.

Xuan Yue set up a pot, simmering fish in the broth. The broth was made by first stewing pork, then removing the pork and adding sliced ​​fish. This was an ancient way of eating, and few people eat it this way nowadays. It lacks both seasoning and skill, but it is a rare delicacy for raptors that love meat.

Xuan Yue: "Xiao, come and have a taste."

Looking at the bowl handed to him, Xiao hesitated for a moment. Over the years, he had only ever eaten almond tofu because it tasted like a dream. But this was a dish made by the Heavenly Lord. Would it be inappropriate for him not to eat it...?

Xuanqing: "If you don't want to eat, then don't... Don't worry about it. Since you want to eat almond tofu, we'll accompany you to that inn to eat it later."

Xiao: (My Lord...do you know what I'm thinking?)

Xuan Yue: "Sigh~, so Xiao likes almond tofu. Oh well, never mind then... Eh!"

Xiao silently downed the soup in the bowl. It wasn't as hard to swallow as he had expected; on the contrary... it seemed to suit his taste perfectly...

Seeing Xiao's somewhat shocked expression, Xuan Yue knew he hadn't misremembered. After all, Xiao was still a little Golden Roc, how could he possibly forget what the Golden Roc clan liked to eat?

"Wait, I almost forgot to ask, Xiao, what's the deal with that inn?" Xuan Yue realized, looking at the inn not far away, his fists behind his back cracking. If Xiao said he didn't know, he'd smash it...

"...It's still quite a distance from Liyue Harbor. Xiao... was worried that some people might be traveling without a place to rest, so he agreed to let... someone who claims to be one of the Seven Stars of Liyue build an inn here..." Xiao lowered his head again after speaking, a little afraid that the two Grandmasters would blame him for acting on his own initiative.

"Oh, then it's alright." Xuan Yue's anger instantly dissipated when she heard that it was Xiao's idea.

At this moment, Xuanqing suddenly thought of a question: "Xiao, did they say anything to you when they built this inn?"

Xiao looked bewildered. He was an immortal, so why would he accept things from mortals? But since Xuanqing had asked, Xiao honestly shook his head.

Xuanqing placed Xiao on the black lotus and said, "Xiao, you should rest well today... get a good night's sleep..."

Xiao felt sleepy for some reason while listening to Xuan Qing's voice, and before he knew it, he had fallen asleep...

Looking at the sleeping Xiao in the black lotus, Xuan Yue immediately realized that Xuan Qing had activated his dream manipulation abilities. Meanwhile, Xuan Qing had already pulled out a stack of reports and started flipping through them, as if searching for something…

Xuan Yue: "You've already started working before we even reached Liyue Harbor?"

Xuan Qing smiled gently and said, "Hmm, I want to see which guy actually wants to take my little bird's nest and use it for himself without paying a price."

Xuan Yue shivered when she saw Xuan Qing emanating a chill from his body. She silently pulled Mo Lian away from Xuan Qing, saying, "Um... Xuan Qing, calm down! Calm down..."

But Xuan Qing was visibly ignoring Xuan Yue's advice, frantically flipping through a series of reports, his blue and purple eyes flashing, and frost forming on the grass beside him...

Xuan Yue silently burned incense for the shopkeeper behind the inn in her heart...