Genshin Isekai With Homies [Ao3 Crosspost]

Chapter 4: Part IX - Welcome to Liyue

The world rushes to Gui as he and his friends zoom through space and land on the cold hard ground.

Gui clutches his head from the throbbing pain of having his body twisted in all ways though impossible a moment ago. He looks up to tell the others that he was not doing teleportation again when his eyes met the baffling scenery. All around him the sturdy stone road upholds tall red buildings that wear layers upon layers of green square roofs. Bordering these, colorful stalls of various shapes and sizes sprinkle the wooden platforms as the crowd weave through and flow like fish in the river. He hears waves crashing in the distance, and he listens, raptured, to the merchants yelling over them,

"Cheap 'n' tasty chop suey!"

"Grilled Tiger Fish, get it while it's hot!"

He watches as workers take their haul from their boats to the shops to the grandmas bartering for groceries next to couples pointing to this and that. Kids run by him, laughing without a care in the world, as a low, loud horn resonates through the docks as huge ships the size of his school sail in and out the ports above the glistening water.

A warm nostalgic feeling fills his chest and memories wind into his head. He once ran up and down these same alleyways, sit and stare out at the gentle, endless blue, and listen to gentle soundtracks bringing him back to when he was young; when he had all the time in the world; when he would be joined by Percy, who would dash this way and that, pretending to be- Focus, Gui, that's the wrong harbor . He shakes himself from one dream to another.

"Oh my, the Adeptus can handle the warp-sickness now?" Addy whistles from the back, which opens up a gate in Gui that he had forgotten. He retreats to a nearby tree.

"What's with Liyue Harbor anyways?" The girl says, patting his back a little too heavily as he heaves some more. "Shouldn't we head back to some ruins?"

"I told you," Gui pauses and covers his mouth. His Anemo vision on the glove glows.

"We can't just barge into any ruin we find," James quickly answers. Since the last one was too crazy , Gui keeps to himself.

"Right."

"And~" Felix points to a 3-story high building draped in green in the distance. "If there's something about treasures, the adventurers would bound to know something!"

A couple of steps from the teleport waypoint, they reach the Adventurer's Guild. A lady in a black and white maid costume greets them as Felix hops up to the counter.

"Hi, Katheryne!"

"Ad astra abyssos que! Welcome to the Adventurers' Guild, Bennett. For today's commissions, there are some hilichurl camps that needs taken care of. Their activities are alarmingly high these past few days."

"Haha, uh, not this time. Have you heard of some riddle that talks about 3 treasures across Teyvat and is scribbled into a stone tablet in front of Azhdaha's domain?"

"...Never heard it before, please wait a moment as I search further into the guild's database." She freezes and some machine rattles from the woman. "Sorry, none of our adventurers have encountered any information on that before. The closest quests to your inquiry are forgotten ruins in the Guili Plains and a treasure trail in Lingu Pass."

Gui shoots a look at Addy for not completing those easy world quests.

"Not really what we're looking for..." Felix scratches the back of his head.

"Alternatively, if you have a copy of the riddle, I may be able to source clues from it." Paimon hands her the paper riddle and Katheryne scans the lines, making more whirring noises in the process.