Fugitive of Inazuma (Genshin Impact)

❀ V ❀

A few days later, Izanami was wandering around Tianqiu Valley in search of a lost man. She overheard a woman at Wangshu Inn wailing to Verr about how her husband had vanished. He was an archaeologist who was investigating the ruins in Tianqiu Valley. The shinigami, who had nothing else to do, decided to look for him.

The snowy-haired girl arrived at the ruins by midday. She didn't waste a second and searched high and low for the lost archaeologist. As she wandered through the ruins, she thought of Zhongli. It was the day after the Rite of Descension, marking the first day Liyue lost its archon. Zhongli had been planning his "death" for months. He couldn't bear being the Geo Archon anymore and reverted back to his status as an adeptus. All he needed was to fake his death to wrap up his plan. Now that he was officially an ex-archon, she wondered how he was feeling. She thought it would take a heavy weight off his shoulders.

Torn from her thoughts after hearing someone shouting for help, Izanami stormed off. She followed the wailing and found a man imprisoned in a wooden cage inside one of the crumbling towers. From the makeshift camp and the still burning campfire, she could tell it belonged to treasure hoarders. It was no surprise there were treasure hoarders in this area. They were notorious for lingering around ancient ruins to plunder them for any remaining artifacts they could sell for a hefty amount of mora.

Seeing the camp was vacant at the moment, Izanami approached the imprisoned man. She saw his ankle was swollen, meaning he had sprained it. "Is your name Shanyuan?"

"Have we met before?" The man asked.

"No, but your wife is worried about you. I overheard her talking to one of the innkeepers and wanted to help."

"Praise the gods!" The archaeologist chanted. He managed to get to his feet, putting all his weight on his uninjured foot. "It's only been a few days, but I miss Baozhai so much."

"Then let's get you out of here." Izanami noticed the lock and chain on the cage. She hadn't spotted a key anywhere and assumed the treasure hoarders took it with them. Seeing no point in hunting down the men, she opted to use her pyro vision to melt the lock.

In the middle of melting the lock, Izanami detected the sound of footsteps approaching. She summoned a single fan, spinning around swiftly and knocking away a bolt that was fired at her. Lowering her fan, she gazed boredly at the treasure hoarders. "You lot are so annoying..."

"We were here first," the leader of the small group hissed.

"I'm not here for treasure. I only want to take Shanyuan back to his wife." Izanami didn't want to fight against mortals. If she could avoid a battle, she would. 

"You're not taking him anywhere until he tells us where he hid the artifact!" A chubby tresure hoarder wielding a shovel yelled, glowering at her.

The shinigami sighed, eyes sliding shut. A fight was inevitable. "How frustrating..." Summoning her second fan, she stepped away from the cage to avoid Shanyuan from being drawn into the crossfire. "Let's make this quick."

The treasure hoarders surronded her, but their combined strength wasn't enough to stop her. Using the sharp metal tips of her fans, she sliced wildly and cut down a few enemies. To defeat the remaining treasure hoarders, she used her pyro vision and combined it with her fans to bellow the azure flames. One by one, the treasure hoarders were defeated. With them now out of the way, she freed Shanyuan.

Hobbling out of the cage, the archaeologist gazed admirably at her. "Are you an adeptus?"

"Oh, no." She knew why he asked. The tail and ears would lead anyone to believe she was half-human/half-adeptus. The people of Liyue were unfamiliar with shinigami. She had only chatted with a couple of people who knew what she was, but most of what they knew was incorrect. Information regarding shinigami wasn't widespread like in Inazuma and the little that was was misleading. "I'm...from Mondstadt." She didn't want to lie, but she also didn't fully trust the man to keep her secret. "Let's not dawdle for too long. Baozhai is waiting for you. I promise to get you back safe and sound. Lean on me for support."