[Genshin Impact] Water, Ice, and Everything Nice

The Sage of Jueyun Karst

Clang!

Chongyun's swing barely made it in time to deflect yet again another spear thrown with precision to strike through the two lad's hearts. Chongyun's back was on Xingqiu, allowing him to cover the other direction. The spears seemed to have come from no particular direction at all. And the howling wind enveloping them, sinister and eerie as it is, seemed to cover up whoever their attacker was.

"You dare defy our will?" roared the wind.

"I have an idea," whispered Xingqiu. "Follow my lead."

Chongyun nodded in silence. He wasn't sure what Xingqiu was planning, but his friend's wit and abilities in battle had never failed them yet.

"You are in the presence of Lord Chongyun," Xingqiu called out, "heir to Liyue's exorcist clan. Show respect, you scoundrel, or die in my hands!"

Chongyun was taken aback by what the other boy just said. Between the two of them, Xingqiu, being born to the ruling family of the Feiyun Commerce Guild, had nobler blood. But he decided to play along.

The winds howled louder and Chongyun could see pebbles starting to get carried up.

"I care not for the petty nobility of your kind," came the answer from the winds. "Death shall be your punishment!"

"My liege answers not to cowards who hide behind the wind," Xingqiu retorted with such eloquence befitting royalty. "Your threats mean nothing, and your spears shan't reach us."

As if angered by Xingqiu's taunts, the winds howled louder. This time, bigger rocks joined the smaller ones in the air and circled the two lads threateningly.

"Look up," Xingqiu shouted and pushed Chongyun just in time to avoid a blur of green and black hurtling from above.

Before Chongyun could even recover, Xingqiu was on his feet, body already surrounded by rainswords. Their unknown assailant darted quickly towards his friend, but Xingqiu's genius in battle was not baseless rumors. His friend was quicker, able to parry the strike deftly with his sword, quickly following it up with a series of slashes, each of which was accented with multiple rainswords that drenched their assailant with the hydro element.

Seeing his chance, Chongyun gathered his spiritual energy and performed the secret hand seals passed down from his family from generations ago.

"Spirit Blade: Cloud Parting Star!"

Xingqiu expertly summersaulted away as three gigantic hallowed swords of ice came crashing down on their assailant, effectively freezing him in place.

"Nice work!" Xingqiu said as he approached their frozen assailant.

Chongyun noticed that the howling winds have died down as he joined his friend in approaching what seems to be a statue made of ice.

"So he's an anemo-vision holder," Xingqiu announced. Chongyun followed his friend's gaze and saw their assailant's vision. It was a green crystal with the wind god's sigil at the center.

"He's from Liyue," Chongyun said, noticing the design of the vision-holder.

"What? I can't hear you?"

Chongyun turned to see Xingqiu taunting their assailant further. The blue-haired boy was exaggeratedly miming that he couldn't hear anything. Chongyun could see their assailant fuming inside his ice encasement.

Xingqui unsheathed his sword and swung it hard at their assailant's face, shattering the ice there.

"Pfft," their assailant mumbled, spitting a few shards of ice from his mouth. "You dare hold a sage of Jueyun Karst hostage?"

"Sage?" Xingqiu asked. "Jueyun Karst? Are you actually implying that you're an adeptus?"

"Indeed, filthy mortal! Release me if you know what's good for you!"

Chongyun looked closer at their assailant. He appeared to be just as old as himself and Xingqiu. And although his clothing looked very elegant for him to be a simple commoner, there were no telltale signs that he was an adeptus.

"The adepti take the form of majestic creatures," Xingqiu began. "But what I see in front of me is a poor boy trapped in ice."

"I am Xiao, once known as Alatus, the Golden-winged King," their assailant protested, face burning red despite his whole body frozen in place. "I now go by the title: Conqueror of Demons! I command you to release me this instant!"

"Not so fast, not so fast." Xingqiu said, chuckling. "You almost killed us and accused my friend over here."

Chongyun shifted uncomfortably as Xingqiu pointed at him.

"You claimed that we exorcised this girl," Xingqiu continued. "Now, what was that about?"

The other boy called Xiao took several deep breaths before he opened his mouth to speak again.

"I could no longer sense her presence in the inn," he said. "And I felt your friend's excessive energy. I also noticed his floating charms and other paraphernalia for exorcism."

"See!" Xingqiu cried in glee. "I told you this place was haunted!"

"You're wrong!" Xiao protested. "That girl did not haunt anybody. She was simply under the protection of this inn."

"I didn't feel any spiritual presence," Chongyun joined the conversation. "I've never seen spirits because of my affliction, but I can still sense them. And my congenital positivity does not affect good spirits."

Both Xingqiu and Xiao stared at Chongyun. Feeling the tension gone, Chongyun let his power dissipate and Xiao's ice encasement vanished into small puffs of icy breaths.

Xiao dusted his emerald-colored shirt and nodded with gratitude towards Chongyun. "I see your point. In that case, accept my apologies."

Xingqiu and Chongyun exchanged looks. "Are you really an adeptus?"

Xiao nodded. "Indeed. And I'm afraid I must find that girl before any harm comes to her."

And in an instant, Xiao leapt skywards and disappeared in a gust of wind.

"Ouch!" complained Chongyun as Xingqiu playfully hit his back.

"I told you there was a ghost here," Xingqiu said. "And you didn't believe me."

"Alright, alright." Chongyun said in defeat. "I'm sorry."

"No, no, no!" Xingqiu said, waving his finger in Chongyun's face. "You owe me for that!"

Chongyun scratched his head. "Okay, okay. What are we eating then?"

"To Wanmin Restaurant, of course!" Xingqui said mischievously. "We need our weekly dose of Jueyun chillies!"

"Nooo!" cried Chongyun.