[Genshin Impact] A world where only travelers are alone

"Keqing looks so bad recently, is it because you didn't sleep well?"

When Hu Tao looked at him for a long while and finally said this, Zhong Li laughed softly: "Really?"

"Yes, yes!" Hu Tao nodded desperately, "Look, there are dark circles under my eyes! What's going on? Could it be that you have been secretly rushing to catch up on orders behind my back recently?"

She squinted her eyes suspiciously, and suddenly slapped her head after a while: "That's not right, we haven't been open for a long time, where are you going to catch the orders!"

Zhongli had long been accustomed to her startled behavior and just drank his tea quietly.

Hu Tao suddenly felt bored and snorted, "Forget it, forget it. I don't want to bother with you."

But after a while, she couldn't help but come closer and said, "Since there haven't been many customers recently, Keqing, you might as well go home and have a good rest today and get some sleep."

It was rare for her to be so considerate, and even Zhongli couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, wondering if his complexion was really that bad.

He has been dreaming a lot lately.

This is a rare situation. After all, he has a special identity and is generally not disturbed by dreams.

Zhongli thought, maybe he was really getting old and started to reminisce about the past.

However, he didn't want to waste the vacation time he had picked up. Under Hu Tao's concerned eyes, he nodded slightly: "If that's the case, I won't let the hall master down."

"That's right. Combining work and rest is the most important thing!" Walnut jumped for joy.

But sometimes things just happen to be so coincidental. Zhongli had just stood up when the door of the Hall of Rebirth was pushed open.

The two looked together and saw a young woman walking in.

The woman was wearing a veil, and the long gauze curtain almost reached her feet, covering her entire body.

Walnut could only determine her gender from her exposed slender ankles, and couldn't help wondering why she did that. However, her wonder did not stop her from greeting the visitor enthusiastically: "Welcome to the Hall of Rebirth. How can we help you -" Yours?

Before she could finish her words, the woman lifted her veil, revealing a beautiful face and almond-shaped eyes filled with tears.

"Please... help me..." she sobbed.

Hu Tao had never seen such a situation before, and she panicked on the spot. She kept comforting the woman, but the more she comforted her, the harder she cried. She could only look at the only third person present for help, but she didn't know until she looked that this guy was actually in a daze!
Hu Tao was furious, but because of the presence of a woman, he could not say anything, so he could only use lip language to silently condemn a guest official who had done nothing.

Zhongli finally came back to his senses. Following Hu Tao's constant eye contact, he walked to the woman and said in a deep voice, "Miss, crying blindly won't solve any problems. If there is anything that Wangsheng Hall can help you with, please tell me directly."

Walnut: Huh?

She was stunned. The first time she witnessed Zhongli's ability to comfort people, she was impressed.

Hu Tao glanced at him and waved her hand, asking him to go aside and not cause trouble for her.

But what she didn't expect was that this awkward comfort actually worked. The woman gradually stopped crying and looked at them with her red eyes.

Caught off guard and faced with this tearful look, Hu Tao felt as if she had been hit in the chest.

Obviously, from the outside, she looks like someone who could be her sister, but her weak and helpless herbivore temperament really makes people want to hug her!
She suppressed her restless heart with great difficulty, pretended to be serious and began to ask what had happened.

The woman lowered her eyes and began to speak: "My name is Xun Ming, and I come from Chenyu Valley. Some time ago, someone told me that my grandfather had passed away and asked me to go to the funeral. However, when I was collecting the relics, I accidentally knocked over a box inside. There seemed to be something strange in that box..."

Her voice became more and more trembling, as if she was extremely frightened, and her emotions, which had finally calmed down, were on the verge of collapse again.

Just as Hu Tao was at a loss as to what to do to comfort him, a broad and strong hand reached out from behind her and pressed on Xun Ming's shoulder.

——It’s Zhongli.

He didn't know when he left to get a cup of hot water, and now he was handing it to Xun Ming: "Miss Xun Ming, don't be anxious, talk slowly."

Xun Ming responded in a daze, and under his guidance, he drank the hot tea in the cup and stopped trembling.

Hu Tao couldn't help but glance at Zhong Li, thinking to herself that she really underestimated the guest official. Isn't this very comforting? In fact, it was because she didn't sleep well at the beginning that she didn't perform well, right?
She nodded to herself, and the more she thought about it, the more she felt that this guess was reliable.

On the other side, Xun Ming calmed down and finally continued to talk about what happened to him: "After I broke the box, I could always hear a woman's voice when I slept at night. It was not clear at first, but later it became clearer and clearer. I heard her shouting--"

She seemed to feel that it was not nice to call that name directly, and it took her a long while before she finally uttered the last sentence.

"She's yelling, Morax..."

Morax is the taboo name of Yan. As the god who built the country of Liyue and led his people to develop Liyue to its current prosperity, Morax has a high prestige in Liyue. Everyone admires him and affectionately calls him "Lord Yan". No one has ever dared to call him by his name.

"I thought it was a prank at first, but once I heard what she was saying, the sound never stopped and it even kept me awake."

It is a terrible thing for humans to be without sleep. Hu Tao, who occasionally stays up late to work overtime to catch ghosts, has a deep understanding of this. During that period, she completely lost her usual energy. Even when she finally had some free time and went to Wanmin Hall for dinner, Xiangling said that if this happened again, she would join the group of guys she caught.

It seems that Miss Xun Ming does look very haggard, even her lips are pale... So pitiful, she must be very scared.

Hu Tao looked at her with pity, walked around behind Zhong Li and pushed him.

Zhongli:?
He glanced at this guy whose thinking was so out of control that he could never catch up with, and gave him a puzzled look.

Hu Tao smiled evilly and curled her lips, wanting the omnipotent guest official to once again demonstrate his superb comforting ability and give poor Miss Xun Ming the warmth of home on behalf of Wangsheng Hall.

However, her performance was too abstract, or perhaps Zhongli just didn't want to pay attention to her strange behavior, so someone stood there indifferent.

Hu Tao had no choice but to take action herself, and patted her chest in front of Xun Ming to promise that he would help her handle the matter.

She was an impatient person who loved action. She was ready to start as soon as she spoke and hurried into the house to grab her weapons.

In sharp contrast to her was Zhongli, who stood aside and watched with a stern look on his face.

Xun Ming raised his eyes to look at him and asked timidly in a low voice: "Sir, aren't you going with us?"

Before Zhongli could say anything, Hu Tao took over the conversation first: "Oh, the guest official - he was not feeling well today, and was about to go back to rest when you came. Don't worry, even if I am the only one, I can handle it!"

“Sir… aren’t you feeling well…” Xun Ming hesitated, looking a little surprised.

She was tugging at the corner of her clothes and kneading them, as if she was hesitating.

Only when the soft fabric was wrinkled by her did Xun Ming finally make up his mind and said, "In fact, I chose to come to Wangsheng Hall for help because I heard of Mr. Zhongli's reputation. Everyone says that Mr. Zhongli is well-read and knowledgeable about ancient and modern times. I think that since that strange woman dares to call Prince Yan by his name, her background may not be simple..."

What she said made sense, at least it successfully convinced Hu Tao, who subconsciously looked at Zhongli.

You won’t know the result until you see it. You’ll be shocked when you see it. The man who used to be able to handle everything with ease is now frowning.

Is it really that serious?

Her heart skipped a beat, and she immediately said, "In that case, you can come with us, Keqing. After this is over, I'll give you a week's leave so you can get enough sleep!"

Not sure if it was because of the vacation she mentioned or because he figured out something else, Zhongli's eyes flickered and he suddenly smiled: "Since the hall master has said so, I naturally can't refuse anymore."

No one cared. Xun Ming, who had his head down, also laughed after he said this.

*
The distance between Chenyu Valley and Liyue Harbor was not close, and the location given by Xun Ming was a bit remote, so it took them quite some time to finally reach Xun's grandfather's house.

The typical Chenyu Valley-style architecture is completely different from the houses in Liyue Harbor. It has flying eaves and pointed corners, and has a classic and simple beauty. Coupled with the fact that Grandfather Xun’s family is well-off, the house would look like a miniature garden, if it weren’t so dirty and messy that it was starting to accumulate dust.

It was late at night and there was not enough light to see it at first, until Hu Tao walked forward, pushed open the door, and felt a handful of dust.

"Ahem!" She couldn't help coughing because of the flying dust. "How long has it been since anyone cleaned this place?"

Xun Ming quickly apologized, "I'm sorry Miss Hu Tao! Actually, I haven't been back for many years. Although he is my only relative, my relationship with my grandfather is not good. I moved out many years ago. I don't know what happened. I came back in a hurry this time and encountered that kind of thing, so I forgot to clean up."

Hu Tao was just complaining, but she never expected that she would apologize so seriously. She waved her hands in embarrassment and said, "It's okay, it's okay. I've seen a lot of things. This is nothing. Let's go in and take a look first."

Xun Ming nodded obediently and followed her in.

Worried that there might be ghosts inside, the three of them formed a formation like this: Hu Tao led the way, Zhongli followed behind, and Xun Ming, the only ordinary person, was protected by the two in the middle.

Just as Zhongli, who was one step behind everyone else, stepped into the house, the wooden door behind him creaked and closed quietly, completely blocking out the light from outside. Only the torch in Hu Tao's hand was left swaying in the darkness.

Zhongli did not look back. Xun Ming's slender figure was reflected in his eyes, which were as bright as amber in the mountains.

Nothing else.

(End of this chapter)