The Vigilant Yaksha

Chapter 7

Over the next few days, Vena and her friends traversed the many mountains, slowly but surely tracking down all of the other Adepti, letting them all know the horrible news and seeing their various reactions.

"We should head back to Liyue and meet up with Childe, see if he's made any progress with that person he'd said might know more."Aether spoke as they were headed back on the path to Wangshu Inn.

A pit formed in Vena's stomach immediately, quickly taking note of the fact that it happened as soon as the Inn came to her mind.

Xiao.

She'd get to see Xiao again, and get her phone back too.

"We're stopping at the Inn on the way back to Liyue, right? That chef makes some amazing Almond Tofu that you guys really should try." Vena tried to quickly come up with a decent excuse.

"Yes please," Chongyun agreed, resting a hand on his stomach.

"I'm starving."

"Sounds like a great idea."Aether piped up.

Oddly enough, Vena noticed that both Diluc and Chongyun were now walking on either side of her while Aether took the front and lead the others back towards Wangshu Inn.

Quickly looking around at her surroundings, she noticed that they were dangerously close to the part of the road that she'd been attacked on before.

As her mind wandered to darker places, she picked up the pace of her steps, to which both males also followed, being sure to stay perfectly aligned with her.

They remember too, and they're protecting me.

Vena felt horrible all over again, realizing how much trouble and stress she had put her friends through because she decided to wander behind and get distracted.

I need to get stronger and keep practicing. I need to be able to protect them too as well as myself.

Vena put on a stern face as her shoulder began to twinge ever so slightly in pain, clearly reacting to the anxiety she was now feeling because she'd started thinking about it all again.

Reaching up to rest a hand on her collar bone as they walked past the exact spot it all happened, Vena delicately ran the tips of her fingers across the light scar that now went across her collar bone and ever so slightly over her shoulder into her sleeve.

A constant reminder of that pain.

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Hmph. Empty.

Vena mused to herself, bringing a cup of hot tea up to her lips as the warm and comforting taste filled her tastebuds, having finally made it up to the rooftop of the Wangshu Inn.

Although the sun had just begun to set, there wasn't a soul to be seen even on the first and second floors beside Verr, who had greeted her warmly, mentioning that the chef had just made some of everyone's favorite tea.

Who would Vena be to pass up a recommendation like that?

She'd also always be an advent lover of tea most of her life, and was never afraid to try a new blend.

"Mmmmm." The purple haired girl hummed softly, closing shut her eyes in bliss as she felt the cool breeze wash over her again, just like it always seemed to do up here on the rooftop.

Aether and the others were all downstairs on the bottom floor rough housing, all sparing and practicing and having fun even though she'd decided to turn in early, wanting to simply relax, do some stretches and shower before bed.