Chapter Text
For half a year, Lihua had planned to run away from her house on the night of her grandfather’s long-anticipated ninetieth birthday celebration. It was one of the only times when their massive residence was opened to the public. Although most of the inner areas were restricted to family members and invited guests, the loyal guards would be too preoccupied with the crowd that they wouldn’t bother watching over a young woman, especially one who rarely appeared in the courtyard despite having lived there for more than two decades.
The trickiest part was getting away from the attendants who had never left her side ever since the day she was born. How could she free herself from people who were told to always keep an eye on her even when she was asleep? She mustered up an excuse about feeling uneasy with the loud gatherings and wished to visit the farthest bath from the main building to have a moment of peace. When nobody suspected her true intention, she knew it must have resulted from her constant obedience and smiling face.
Only her traveling oldest aunt, who came home once in a blue moon, would use the dim and vacant building. It was the sole reason she had hidden a woven shoulder bag inside one of the unused drawers. The medium-sized carrier was filled with several garments, cleaning supplies, a box of candles, a hefty pouch of mora that would provide her enough food for at least a month, a centuries-old Sigil of Permission, and the most accurate map she could find that would guide her to Jueyun Karst. She remembered going back and forth while keeping an object under her shirt, risking being locked in a chamber with little natural light if she would ever get caught.
After fastening the hydro vision pinned on her chest, she pulled up the bath’s elliptical window that was never tightly secured and jumped to the side garden of peach blossom trees. Slowly, she closed the window so as not to make a sound before hopping onto the sturdiest tree around. Her flowing skirt and loose sleeves were a hindrance, but she managed to climb fairly quickly and leaped down the outer brick wall, reaching a dark, vacant alley. The slippers that landed on the puddles from an earlier afternoon rain made her realize that this was her first time being completely alone outside.
Her heart raced as she walked out of the damp place and blended into Liyue Harbor’s nightlife that never lacked vivid colors and animated sightseers. It was about two weeks before summer officially began. The annual Lantern Rite had ended some time ago—another big festival that she had never thoroughly enjoyed—but red and orange lanterns were still hung high over the streets and people’s houses. She could spend days admiring the rich landscapes if she wasn’t running out of time. For sure, she couldn’t afford to be found.
Hastily, she purchased a small bamboo lantern from one of the stalls at the dock and left the city. She knew Liyue was one of the largest nations in Teyvat, but seeing the wilderness with her very own eyes instead of through paintings was a whole new and breathtaking experience. Following the gravel roadways that felt everlasting, a few kind people called her up and asked about where she was going in the dead of night. Despite looking disheveled, her expensive dress must have revealed her social status.
“I’m visiting a sick relative. I wish you a wonderful rest,” she told them all with a wide grin before rushing off, not letting a single person interrogate her any further. Soon enough, many hours passed by, and no more people were seen around to bother her.
A note on the bottom of the map she had been gripping stated that she should expect a wooden bridge across a shallow lake as an entrance to Jueyun Karst. It was where she finally found herself; at the border between worldly and transcendental realms. Before proceeding, she opened her bag, took out the Sigil of Permission, and tied it around her left upper arm. The divine residents ahead might be able to recognize the yellow paper talisman without physically seeing it, but it wouldn’t hurt her to be surer.
“Forgive me, O all the great adepti of Jueyun Karst! Please allow this lowly mortal to enter your residence in search of guidance and nothing more!” she shouted before taking a deep breath and stepping off the bridge onto the most sacred land in Liyue. For a while, she stayed in place, gazing at the darkness enveloping the pine trees that stood between the misty mountains and calm rivers. Besides her bamboo lantern, the starry sky also became the source of light that strengthened her observation.
She didn’t know if she had chosen the suitable greeting or if it was proper to utter it aloud during the small hours. While adepti wouldn’t harm innocent people on purpose, she had heard tales about a powerful gust of wind that would harshly thrust back desperate pilgrims who were deemed meritless, leading their journey back to zero. Even with permission in hand, she still thought of winning the adepti’s affection by showing courtesy and humility, two of the most favored human traits.
“If you could hear my plea, O benevolent adepti of Jueyun Karst, then please allow me to stay here until I find my answer!” she continued as she headed into the woodland. She stroked the Sigil of Permission with her thumb and prayed that it would work in protecting her. The last thing she wanted when she could barely see a thing was to face any obstacles in finding a shelter.
It hadn’t been five minutes when she stumbled upon an abandoned tent on dirt patches below a lopsided hill. The rumors about lunatics who spent days waiting for an adeptus to appear before them must be accurate, but who was she to judge when she was about to do the same thing? Carefully, she dropped her belongings onto the ground. The elders back at home would reprimand her for the mud sullying her attire, but it wouldn’t happen in a long time, maybe forever.
Right in front of the tent and next to ashes that hadn’t been entirely swept away by the weather, lied a cooking pot and several bowls made from clay. For someone who only packed bare minimum survival items, she must consider herself extremely lucky for finding more things than she had expected. With the remnants from the previous travelers—who hopefully had their goals fulfilled—she needed to worry less about getting too cold or not enjoying a hot serving of soup.
She spread one of the blankets she brought inside the tent and sit down to revel in the scenery around. After sunrise, she would gather firewood, herbs, and some other necessities, but her line of thought was intervened by a dash of green light that came from the forest across from her. When she viewed it as a hallucination from exhaustion, the light repeatedly flickered, being further every time. Since her drowsiness hadn’t caused her to forget that she was in Jueyun Karst, she realized that it could be an adeptus.
As if possessed by an anguished ghost, she crawled out of the tent and ran toward the blaze of color that became harder to perceive with each passing moment. She should have removed her outer coat that limited her movement, but she knew she would miss the bright streak if she halted for a split second. In all honesty, the most unfortunate thing was the pair of flat shoes she wore. Then again, it wasn’t like she could have asked her attendants to buy her leather boots without alarming the entire family.
“H-hold on!” she yelled at the vagueness. Jueyun Karst’s terrain wasn’t welcoming to commoners, and she was the worst type for never inhaling the air outside of Liyue Harbor before this predawn. Nonstop sprinting and jumping in at the deep end almost gave her a heart attack in every turn.
She slowed down when the green light hit the ground and exploded, illuminating the area and making it clear that she was encircled by a forest of golden trees. Less than five meters from where she hid behind the needle-like leaves, stood a man who was about the same height as her and held a green polearm about a head taller than both of them. He wore a dark mask with eyes that glowed the corresponding color to the force she had just witnessed. Black smoke was emitted by his body. A mystical green marking covered half of his right arm and shimmered like it had a life of its own.
What caught her attention next was the three carcasses of pyro whopperflowers next to his feet. She had never seen them so up-close but had been told of how terrifying they could be. These monsters could shoot fireballs and attack their targets from below the ground, among many factors that could confine an expert adventurer to bed for a long time. Even people with visions would struggle to eradicate them if they weren’t skillful enough. More than feeling puzzled or frightened, she was mesmerized by the adeptus’ power.
“Show yourself,” the man spoke as soon as the particles coming out of him disappeared. Without question, she was sure that he directed the demand toward her as there was nobody else around but them.
Dropping her head, she revealed herself from behind the trees. “I beg for your mercy. O gracious adeptus, I—” She lost her voice when she glanced up and saw his face. Underneath the mask, the man seemed to be younger than her. His teal medium-length hair went down the side of his handsome face. His sharp golden irises were similar to the trees around them. People said some adepti preferred to take human forms instead of animal. She never thought that one, if the man in front of him was indeed an adeptus, could be this prepossessing.
“A mortal. How could I not sense your intrusion?” His calm tone didn’t match his judgmental wording, but she wouldn’t bother defending herself. After all, she did set her foot in a place where she didn’t belong. His indifference was another proof that he couldn’t be a mere human like her.
“Is it perhaps because of this?” She unknotted the Sigil of Permission around her arm, walked forward to hand it to him, and went back to maintain the distance between them. “My family owns a few of them. Growing up, I was told that it’s a token that will allow us to traverse freely in Jueyun Karst,” she added.
He studied the paper briefly before giving her another glare. “You’re from the Wu clan.”
“Yes. Do you happen to know one of us?” she excitedly asked. She thought it was odd for him to be familiar with her background because that Sigil of Permission was identical to any other variations she found in her house and the illustrations she saw on published books. As an adeptus, he must be able to sense things that her earthly brain couldn’t grasp.
“Leave this place immediately,” he said. “Whatever it is you’re seeking, you probably won’t find it.”
“What?” She frowned. “No. Forgive me, but I’ve come this far. I can’t just leave. You said ‘probably’, so there’s a chance that I won’t walk out of this place empty-handed. Are you going to punish me if I don’t listen to you?”
He grunted as if it speaking with her would only reduce his immortality. “I won’t concern myself with that.”
“What do you mean?” she asked again.
He didn’t answer, but his piercing gaze became more unbearable to handle.
“Uh, so… If you won’t concern yourself with me, then it means I’m allowed to be here. May I know about—” If earlier she couldn’t finish her sentence because of how dazzling the adeptus’ appearance was, now it happened again because he vanished without a trace, unless if she included the Sigil of Permission he dropped on the ground. With a sigh, she picked up the talisman and retied it around her upper arm. The only reason she hadn’t been embittered by the treatment she received was the common knowledge about adepti’s aversion to having their peace disturbed. Clearly, the one she met wasn’t an exception.
As an adeptus, he should have the ability to sense dangers miles away from him. If he had departed from this forest, it should mean that everything was under control. She walked closer to one of the dead whopperflower that was slashed in several pieces and kneeled beside it. Although she had only seen flowers around in her family’s gardens, she knew that the deep yellow substance dripping from the whopperflower’s neck wasn’t blood. It was nectar. Since it was produced by a monster, there should be a high chance of it being harmful. Would it really kill her if she tried a little?
Curiosity got the better of her. She stretched out her forefinger, intending to grab a small blob of the nectar, but before she could do it, the whopperflower spasmed and arose, startling her until she landed on her bottom with a scream. A black silhouette emerged next to her and turned into the adeptus from before, who swiftly pricked the whopperflower’s head with his polearm. This time for sure, there was no chance for the monster to survive the rupture.
“You.” The adeptus drew the weapon away and shot her a grim look. “What were you about to do?”
She couldn’t respond on time because her brain went into processing their second meeting—if it could even be called that way since he might have only hidden somewhere around, thus never actually left. Or, was it his main duty to oversee all things in Jueyun Karst? Closer, she could see how youthful he truly looked. His age should be thousands of years old, but people who didn’t know his identity wouldn’t doubt it if she called him a younger brother.
“I’m sorry,” she said after a while as she stood from the ground. The adeptus could have offered his hands, but it must have been too much to wish for. “I just wanted to taste the nectar.”
He looked stupefied. “Huh?”
“Maybe they would taste like sweet flowers!”
“Yes, and then you would die minutes later.” His menacing tone sent a shiver down her spine, and his follow-up groan made her feel worse about herself. “Aren’t you an adult? How could you not think that any liquid coming out of monsters might be deadly?”
She clutched the vision on her chest that was stained by the dirt on her palm. “I did think of the consequences, but I wanted to check them out myself. I won’t die that easily because I can always heal myself. It’s nearly impossible for me to get sick because of something I consume.”
“Really? Aren’t you one of the Four?” His sudden question caused her to wince. The twitch on his eyelids showed that he acknowledged the line he had crossed. One of the Four. If he had lived for so long and knew about the Wu clan, then he should have been aware of a few things.
“Um, Adeptus, where can I find some firewood?” After an uncomfortable pause, she began again with a different subject. Her phrasing was less polite because she wasn’t as afraid of him as a moment ago. They had spoken casually, and his form was of a normal human that shouldn’t elicit fear from her.
“Around us are larches. You can use them,” he answered. Although his sight was elsewhere, he definitely sounded calmer than usual. “If you see blackberries, they’re also poisonous. The yellow berries are good. Brown-colored mushrooms are edible, while the red and white ones are not. Waters from the rivers and lakes are drinkable.”
She furrowed her brows. “Why are you helping me? Are you telling me that I can stay here?”
“Not at all. I just don’t want to see another mortal die here because of their ignorance,” he said, implying that some of the people who managed to enter Jueyun Karst had lost their lives from eating the bad things he had listed, and maybe some more.
“I understand. Thank you. I really appreciate it,” she replied with a soft smile.
“Leave. Come back here during the daytime.” As if there was an arbitrary switch inside him, he went back to scowling at her.
“All right! Once again, thank you. I’ll see you around, Adeptus.” She bowed her head and left. Just under twenty steps later, she glanced over her shoulder to find him staring back at her while still standing in the same place. Was he making sure that she got out of the forest safely? The possibility made her smile. Adepti’s aversion to having their peace disturbed was common knowledge, just like how none of them was mean-spirited. The next time they met, she should ask for his name so she could address him adequately.