Chapter Text
Chongyun came from a family of exorcists in Liyue. He was very open about that, proud of his lineage. All the knowledge of conquering evil was passed down for many generations, allowing Chongyun to be very knowledgeable in the art of exorcism, even at the age of 17. He was honored to be a part of such an esteemed and necessary group of people.
Stories of past missions and achievements of his ancestors were told to Chongyun from a very young age. Not just that, but the details of all the evil they expelled from the world. Everything from horrifying and dangerous creatures, to ones that would seem as no threat at all to the untrained eye. Such things shouldn’t be allowed to exist if they hurt people. That’s what sparked Chongyun’s desire to become an exorcist: to rid the world of all evil. He was going to be the greatest exorcist in all of Liyue, and he made sure this was known amongst his family.
Training started when Chongyun was still a child, but that was upon his own request. The thaumaturgy paired with martial arts that he’d seen his parents do was incredible, and he yearned to learn it for himself. He practically begged to be trained for months until his parents gave in.
From the moment Chongyun picked up a sword and began practicing, he knew it was what he was meant to do.
The young exorcist's parents told him he was meant for great things, especially with his pure-yang spirit. His mere presence drove away evil, an ability many exorcists would desire to have. Yet Chongyun still insisted on training as hard as he possibly could.
If he ever wanted to achieve his goals, that’s what he needed to do. Ambition was a powerful thing, but it took determination to reach greatness.
Years passed, and Chongyun began to take his training into his own hands, especially as his parents became more busy with their own work. He perfected all that he learned, and did research in hopes to learn more. More spells to cast away even the most powerful of evil beasts. More martial arts to fight such creatures if necessary. Chongyun even took the liberty to make his own moves.
As well as that, the young exorcist did all he possibly could to suppress his yang-energy. It would get in the way of his training and work; the impulses and irrational decisions. While that could be suppressed, the positive energy’s ability to drive away evil could not.
Chongyun began working as a professional exorcist as soon as he could. He had to do little work because of his constitution, but remained vigilant. Chongyun went to great lengths in hope to perform a true exorcism, rather than just show up. Alas, his efforts always seemed to prove futile, but that wouldn’t stop him.
Chongyun’s less than standard means of exorcism lead to bad reactions and skepticism in a select few clients. They often did not believe anything had been done, and would even refuse to pay. Chongyun was one to reject too large of payments for the little work he had to do. In fact, he was fully willing to work for nothing. He knew that he did what he had to, despite the lack of effort.
This led to more than a few issues with Chongyun’s parents however.
The teen was sitting in his room, working on an illustration in the Field Guide to Demons and Beasts. His work was a bit abstract, but he hoped it got the point across along with the detailed explanation of the evil spirit. Most of the information Chongyun got on evil spirits came from those who hired him, and he just filled in the blanks.
The sun had long since set, and only a dimly lit lantern illuminated Chongyun’s room so he could see what he was doing. He worked a particularly long job that day, all for the small hope that something would appear for him to exorcise. Now just came the aftermath of documenting his findings for future reference. He drew careful lines to create the humanoid creature Chongyun thought the evil spirit to be.
That’s when he heard the sound of his mothers voice from the kitchen. She must've gotten back from work.
Standing up and closing the book he was writing in, Chongyun left his room and walked down the hall to the other room. The room in question was also dimly lit, as Chongyun preferred to keep it that way when he was home alone. It kept the house cooler, therefore making his yang-energy easier to stifle.
Once in the kitchen, Chongyun was met with his parents' gazes. “Mother, father,” He greeted, “it’s good to see you made it back safely from your expedition.” They were back a bit later than expected, the teen noted. It was likely just more difficult than they anticipated. The adults were experienced exorcists, and he had the utmost faith in them.
They were standing in the middle of the kitchen, Chongyun’s father leaning against the counter, and his mother a few feet away from him, arms crossed against her chest. Chongyun meanwhile was just outside of the hall that led to his bedroom.
“Yes,” Chongyun’s father stated, then looked at his wife. They communicated something through their gaze; something Chongyun couldn’t place based on their body language or expressions alone. “Your mother and I would like to talk to you about something important.”
Now a bit worried, Chongyun contemplated if he had done anything wrong. “I see,” was all he said in reply.
“We’ll get right to the point,” the young exorcist's mother started. “On our way home, your father and I overheard something about you and your methods of work. We know your yang-energy makes your means of exorcism different from ours, but based on what he heard… well. You need to step up Chongyun.”
This puzzled the teen. Sure, there were many skeptics of his work, but surely he was expelling the evil spirits just fine. “I don’t seem to understand, all my exorcisms have been successful,” Chongyun offered.
It was his fathers turn to speak, “Yes we know that, but you told us you’d be able to get your yang-energy under wraps and start properly exorcising evil spirits.” He paused for a moment, “your reputation as well as our own is dwindling because of this.”
More confusion washed over the teen. While he wasn’t exactly fond of his own methods in work, he had a very good reputation in Liyue. Was there an issue he wasn’t aware of? “I know father, I’m still working on suppressing my pure-yang spirit. Although, the worst response I tend to get from my efforts is skepticism as far as I’m aware.”
The older man grimaced, “While that may be true, we don’t want our son to be known the way you are. ‘A heart of clear water, and a face of ice?’ That’s not the reputation we’re supposed to have as exorcists, Chongyun.”
Before he was able to answer, Chongyun’s mother chimed in affirmative, but not aggressive, “Even if you can’t truly exorcise things the normal way, try to at least make it seem like you’ve done something more than just be there.”
“I don’t want to get credit for things I’m not doing.” Chongyun stated, sure of himself. It was the same with payment. If all Chongyun did was enter someone's home, then that’s all he did.
“Well, you’re exorcising evil spirits, you should make it look like you are,” Chongyun’s mother criticized. The young exorcist faltered at that, and his mom didn’t fail to notice. “Listen Chongyun, we know you want to be an exorcist. You were built to go into such a field. But, until you can change things, we’re going to have to suspend you from work.”
That made Chongyun freeze, which was a rare occurrence due to his natural warmth. He couldn’t just stop being an exorcist. Even if it was for a short time. It was what he was meant to do, and what he needed to continue doing if he wanted to achieve any of his goals. His parents couldn’t just stop that, surely.
In a mix between disbelief and fear, Chongyun turned to his father. Desperate for some kind of punchline to this cruel joke, but alas, it never came. All that he got from his father was the same look on his mothers face. It wasn’t a pleasant look by any means. It was one of disappointment, sternness, and pity.
Not wanting to make this situation any worse, Chongyun gave in. “I understand.”
And like that, he turned and walked back to his room.
When Chongyun sat on his bed, he felt like crying. If he wasn’t a master of repressing his emotions after years of dealing with his yang-energy, he probably would have. To be the best exorcist in Liyue and riding the world of evil spirits were Chongyun’s greatest goals. If he didn’t have that, there was only one other thing he could focus on. His other goal: controlling his yang energy.
Chongyun taught himself a long time ago that he could always work a little harder to get what he wanted; improve a bit more, and train a little harder. He’d gone through great lengths to contain his yang-energy before, so he just had to keep working. Chongyun had to get stronger on all fronts if he wanted to continue exorcism.
At the end of the day, he did want to get to the point where he could exorcise an evil spirit the true way. He would continue to drive them off regardless, but that wasn’t the point. Whether he was working as an exorcist or not, he would vanquish all evil spirits from the world.
After calming down a bit, Chongyun sat up and looked at the Field Guide to Demons and Beasts laying on his desk. If he encountered anything, he would still be sure to document it. On the same desk was Chongyun’s vision. He remembered hearing that a vision was gifted because of someone's ambition. If that truly was so, Chongyun surely had to keep training.
He had the gods in his favor, and nothing could excuse taking that for granted.
Speaking of training, Chongyun had to figure out his next course of action. His parents wanted him to work on controlling his yang energy to the point where he could properly perform an exorcism. It would be a task to simply figure out a way to do that. Chongyun had at one point gone to the lengths of sitting in an icy lake on the top of Dragonspine for half a day, and even that did nothing.
More than likely, that wasn’t all that had to be done, for the teen felt he had to improve on all fronts if he were to truly make progress. What more could he possibly put into his training? Well, with the extra time Chongyun would have from not working, he could train more. Simply increasing the time duration wouldn’t be effective though. No, Chongyun had to figure out a whole new way to improve if he wanted to move forwards.
Then an idea popped into Chongyun’s head. An idea so crazy, it just might work.
Now, the teen had plenty of impulsive thoughts due to his abundance of yang energy, but this seemed to have potential. He could only imagine Xingqiu’s reaction. Chongyun figured he would either be proud or call him crazy, perhaps a mix of both.
If Chongyun wanted to improve, what better way was there then to find someone who would train him? He had been improving alone for years, but the most significant progress was made when Chongyun was still under the apprenticeship of his father. But who would Chongyun try to train under this time?
That was the part that made this idea crazy, for Chongyun wanted none other than the Conqueror of Demons himself, Adeptus Xiao, to train him.
According to the stories, Xiao had worked alongside the exorcists of Liyue for decades. He was strong, and a master at vanquishing evil. Chongyun had nothing but respect towards the adeptus.
For the longest time however, he couldn’t stand the way Xiao spoke so little of exorcists. Their supposedly power lacking compared to his own. With Chongyun’s new predicament, that perspective seemed to be necessary in training.
Being the greatest exorcist in Liyue would require exceptional power, and so would controlling Chongyun’s positive energy. An apprenticeship under someone as powerful as an adeptus with the reputation of Xiao would be perfect.
Now all Chongyun needed to do was find him. Almost nobody ever saw so much as a glimpse of the adeptus, and rumor has it, very few who did lived to tell the tale. However, Chongyun was determined. He would not let rumors and apparent absences halt his ambition.
Standing up, Chongyun crossed his room to the small bookshelf on the wall. He traced the spines of the objects until he found the one on gods and other divine beings in his possession. He had some research to do.