The Embers of King's Teyvat Journey

"This... is it really safe to walk on?" Yu Jin came to the riverbank and tested the driftwood floating on the water with his foot.

It's alright, it's tied quite tightly.

Ember hopped and skipped among the driftwood. Soon, he reached the other side of the river.

Watching the water droplets dripping from his leg armor, Ember pulled out a huge insect-jaw-shaped weapon.

Star Beast Jaw—A large, hard jawbone emanating a dark light from a fallen star beast. An item that transforms the jawbone into a weapon. An extra-large weapon with a sharp tip that pierces through enemies.

The curved, ferocious jaws form the blade of this weapon, while its glossy black gums serve as its handle.

The entire weapon looked like half of a giant ant's mandible. And that was indeed the case; Ember had initially thought the Fallen Star Beast's teeth were quite impressive, so he simply ripped off its mandibles and kept them as a collectible.

With one hand, Yu Jin raised the half-jaw of the Star Beast high, and with a flick of his wrist, pale purple lightning shot out from the half-jaw, striking the river.

Exclusive Combat Skill - Gravity Lightning: This skill allows the Star Beast's jaw to contain gravity lightning, thereby summoning lightning strikes from afar.

The pale purple lightning didn't bring an explosion, but rather sharp stalagmites that rose from the earth.

The stalagmite stretches out as a stone line, spanning across the river.

As Yu Jin looked at the intercepted water flow, he knew that these stalagmites would need his carving to become a bridge.

However, before he could even make a move, someone had already come to his aid.

"boom!"

Explosions rang out, and the stalagmites that Ember had casually summoned were blasted with large holes.

Looking at the Hilichurls dancing and gesturing behind the large hole, he finally understood why no one had built a bridge.

Chapter 240 Changes in Liyue

2023-10-19

"boom!"

A roar even more deafening than the explosion of the fire slime rang out, and a hill camp on the shore of Guili Plain was instantly sent flying into the sky.

Ember emerged from the firelight, hands in his pockets, looking rather somber. Well, actually, his hands weren't in his pockets, because his armor didn't have any pockets at all.

Feeling the weakened soul flowing into his body from the sky, Yu Jin shook his head.

The Hilichurls are a rather tragic race in every respect.

However, the Hilichurls here are not just those transformed from Kanriyans. Many more Hilichurls, upon death, have their essence seep into the earth.

Those are Hilichurls born from ley lines. After they die, they return to the ley lines and then awaken again in some unknown corner. It's a kind of reincarnation.

So Ember abandoned his plan to build the bridge. Firstly, this godforsaken place was full of ruins and rarely visited by people; secondly, the demons were impossible to eradicate, so building it would be a waste of time.

There is actually a way to prevent monsters from appearing on this land: burn the ley lines beneath the earth.

However, by then, it's hard to say whether the advantages will outweigh the disadvantages.

With that in mind, Yu Jin stopped thinking about it.

He looked up at the golden meadows and ruins scattered around him, a landscape completely different from Mondstadt.

Liyue seems to have experienced some major migration, and Guili Plain is the former site where the people of Liyue used to live.

But those are all things of the past, and have absolutely nothing to do with the present Ember. At most, he might reminisce about the place's former glory.

Guili Plains is almost the only road from Mondstadt to Liyue, so the road here is naturally much wider, and you can see pedestrians on the road.

Because Ember passed through Guili Plains on his way to rescue Catherine, he was somewhat familiar with the place.

After rounding a mountain peak, the scenery suddenly opened up before us. The gentle breeze that had previously brushed past our ears was now accompanied by the sounds of many work chants.

This is my second time visiting Liyue.

Ember looked down at the massive port city below, which was far more prosperous than Mondstadt. His gaze traveled from near to far, from low to high.

A bridge adorned with dragons and phoenixes, a dazzling array of stalls, pavilions with soaring eaves, and... a huge, flesh-colored flower.

"Hasn't Hua Liyue been eliminated yet?" Yu Jin complained, seeing the large flower that was a head taller than the other buildings.

How long has this thing been here? Why hasn't Liyue dealt with it yet?

Is it because the power of corruption is too strong? Or is it simply because the flower is beautiful?

Yu Jin glanced at the enormous, blooming flower bud and thought, "So be it. Anyway, it's just a big fleshy flower. Since there's no sign of decay, Yu Jin decided to ignore it."

It's said that this flower once caused rumors about ladies and rich people; I wonder what those two guys thought about it.

However, they probably didn't dare to think too much about it; the rich man was probably practicing eating with his left hand. As for the lady, if Yu Jin just stood there, she would tremble three times.

"Liyue, I'm here again!"

After letting out a ghostly scream, Ember rushed towards the bustling Liyue Harbor.

……

After passing through the magnificent Scarlet Cloud Slope and crossing the bridge, Ember arrived at Tiger-Eating Rock, where he stopped.

"hiss……"

Beside the rock-top teahouse, Yu Jin's face was almost inside the counter, leaving Chu Yi with nowhere to retreat.

“Miss, why do you look so familiar?” Yu Jin pulled his head back and took a few steps back, looking at the big characters “Yanshang Tea House” on the signboard.

It seems the enemy is inside the Seven Stars.

Does this mean that on his very first day in Liyue, Ember is going to become a champion of justice?

Chu Yi looked at the embers before her, who seemed to have stepped out of a Mondstadt storybook, and felt as if she wanted to cry but had no tears.

She had a very deep impression of this guy. Of course, how could she not? He stripped her former boss naked and hung him by the door, and the evidence was even pasted on his butt.

Chu Yi was terrified of this kind of guy.

"Big...Big Brother. We're doing serious business now." Chu Yi forced a dry laugh, afraid that Yu Jin might impulsively hang her outside too.

If that were the case, Chu Yi felt she might as well just die.

"A legitimate business?" Yu Jin glanced at the man and woman who slowly walked out from behind the door, and was very skeptical.

The calluses on those two people's hands are not something ordinary people can have.

“Yes…yes! It’s legitimate business.” Chu Yi winked at the two men with halberds, signaling them not to make any rash moves.

Chu Yi knew that a group of men in black robes were always hiding around Yu Jin!

“Okay, I believe you.” Yu Jin nodded, though he didn’t really believe it at all.

This is just to lull these people into a false sense of security. Once I find something to use against them, I'll send them straight to jail.

This time, he'd see who was secretly protecting them! For the sake of Liyue's peace, Yu Jin felt it was necessary to find that black sheep!

Thinking of this, Yu Jin couldn't help but sigh. If the Black Blade were still here, would all this trouble have been necessary?

With a flick of a finger, the person and all the evidence are brought to him. If he still tries to deny it, just shove the evidence into his mouth.

"Phew! Thank you, sir..."

"ember."

"You can rest assured about Mr. Yu Jin's trust; we are definitely conducting legitimate business." Chu Yi nodded, relieved.

If Yu Jin really pursues the matter to the end, she probably really won't know how to explain it.

Since the new owner bought the place, everything inside the Iwakami Tea House has become mysterious.

Her new boss was also incredibly mysterious; Chu Yi had barely seen him since she started working there.

Moreover, everything at the Iwakami Tea House has become much more sensitive.

[The new boss's intelligence center!] Chu Yi sighed as she thought about it. Was she now practically a part-time intelligence agent for Liyue?

When Chu Yi came to her senses, she found that the embers had already disappeared.

The two men with halberds behind the gate also came to Chu Yi's side.

"Hmph! Who is that guy?" Ji's voice was as rough as his large hands.

"Huh? Yeah, you're so afraid of him, doesn't that mean you don't trust our strength?" Ya also chimed in.

Although she and Ji did not possess the Eye of God, their strength was not to be underestimated, as they were chosen by Yelan to be bodyguards here.

"You don't understand." Chu Yi looked at the two henchmen in front of her, suppressing the urge to criticize their verbal tics, and waved her hand, saying, "Do you know about the incident where someone was hung up at the Yanshang Tea House?"

"Hmm, I've heard a little about it." The two men nodded. The fact that the former owner and thug of the Rock Tea House was hung on the lintel of the gate is still a topic of conversation among the people of Liyue.

"That's what he did." Chu Yi's tone was somewhat helpless. She had seen strong people before, but she had never seen a strong person with such "distinctive characteristics" before.

"Hmph! Is that so?"

"Huh? It seems it really is very strong."

Looking in the direction where the embers had disappeared, the two men with halberds felt a little relieved that they hadn't acted impulsively.

……

"Catherine, I'm back in Liyue!"

Inside the Liyue Adventurers' Guild, Catherine was smiling as she watched the passersby.

In a daze, a familiar iron hand appeared in front of the counter, which surprised Catherine.

Although Mondstadt himself had said that the Embers might come to Liyue soon, Katherine did not expect it to happen so quickly!

"Mr. Ember, so fast!" Catherine's lips curled up even more, and her face showed a hint of surprise.

"Don't you know my strength?" Yu Jin gestured with his muscles, speaking with great confidence.

“Yes, Mr. Ember is a great adventurer.” Catherine asked curiously, recalling the notice that came from the association headquarters a while ago.

"Sigh~, just an empty title." Yu Jin waved his hand, the title of Great Adventurer was already beyond his expectations.

Moreover, if we're being serious about his title, "Great Adventurer" is probably one of the least noticeable ones.

"So, Mr. Ember, are you here to accept a commission?" After a few brief pleasantries, Catherine got down to business.

“Of course, I’ll accept a quest called ‘The Body That Has Passed Away for a Long Time’,” Yu Jin nodded, speaking with a hint of anticipation.