Xiaolumi Fated Encounter II: Yaksha Legacy

Zhongli's Old Friend

That dawn they had gotten up bright and early to meet up with Dehya and the Ermite elder. Revealing that a divine knowledge capsule had gotten stolen and went missing. Offering advice and warnings about the group of Ermites there that were very much extremists, crying "The Scarlet King shall return '' and all that mumbo jumbo. Bidding Dehya and Dunyarzad goodbye for the time being, the trio leave the city heading south for the port town of Ormos. Xiao opted to take a boat down the river to make the trip easier on Lumine. Though poor Paimon almost became spinocrocodile food along the way and had to be fished out by the couple as poor Hermes had been scared silly. As they did Lumine noticed the sun had indeed become far more intense just like the moon last night.

The hours of the day had increased to a full twenty four hours like in her old world. But by this week the sun had stopped growing brighter and warmer than it was now. The moon days prior had caused the panic and flooding after it was reduced to dust, only to be replaced by a brand new one. "Almost like the sun and moon had been devoured or stolen away..."she thought as Xiao helped her ashore. Her mind then wandered to the old story her mother used to tell of the wolves that devoured the sun and moon. But as she entered the bustling port town her eyes turned wide in delight. The beautiful pristine azure water, the smell of salt in the air, the eager racket of the street merchants and people coming in from all over Teyvet. It was no means Liyue Harbor but already Xiao could see Lumine begin to relax.

"Huh, the port got bigger."hummed Xiao in amusement.

"Bigger!?"echoed the girls as Xiao nodded.

"Yes, it was much smaller when I was a yearling."confirmed Xiao.

"This is crazy, talk about hurley burley, guys! This place is busy!"gawked Paimon.

"This is the largest port in Sumeru, Paimon. I think it's to be expected it'd be busy as it is."Lumine hummed. Stealing a glance she could overhear the not so subtle gossip of an information broker not far off. "Seems Dehya was right, there's discord within the Ermite factions. But how much of it is true?"she thought with a serious frown. Beside her Xiao was keeping on alert as he thought of what Dehya advised him to do: not have his wings out in Port Ormos. So with particles of golden light he permitted his wings to vanish, making Xiao look like just any Sumerian nomad or sage. He had a few inklings why she advised this, one of them being to not draw attention to themselves. His wings weren't exactly subtle with how large and colorful they were.

"Something bothering you, pipsqueak?"he wondered as he looked over at Paimon.

"First, quit calling Paimon that! Second, yes but maybe it's because of what Dehya said, but Paimon can't shake the feeling that there is also danger lurking in these crowds."Paimon pointed out.

"Oh that's all? Took you long enough to notice."Xiao dismissed.

"I'm definitely more comfortable here but even i'm not lowering my guard here."chuckled Lumine as they continued on their merry way.

"Well let's just get our bearings so we can start looking for leads."suggested Paimon.

"That I can agree with."Xiao huffed. Lumine just offered a glance over her shoulder with a small nod of agreement. The couple kept in mind what Dehya and the elder had advised about Port Ormos. Paimon was still scratching her head in confusion over what Elder Asfand had told Lumine to do: Pose as a student from the Akademiya. The floating fairy had even used the Akasha to learn a bit more about Port Ormos. Lumine however, Xiao noticed, was extremely reluctant to use the device from the late archon. Which was understandable to him as Lumine had always relied on her own wits and ability to gather information. "But that too is a wisdom of itself."he thought with a small grin. Paimon though was having a field day with the Akasha system it seemed and he wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.