Genshin Impact: Watch me turn the tables and kill my servants at the start!

Fanes and Little Milk found a fairly flat patch of grass at the edge of the Whispering Forest and decided to spend the night there.

Fanes pulled a roll of waterproof cloth from his backpack and laid it on the ground, while Little Milk Tablet squatted not far away, picking up dry firewood and piling up several moderately thick dead branches.

Little Black jumped off his shoulder, landing as small as a house cat. It shook its scales, stomped its paws on the grass, found a patch of soft soil covered with fallen leaves, lay down, circled its tail around itself, rested its chin on its front paws, and watched the two of them busy themselves.

After adjusting the tarpaulin, Fanes stood up, dusted off the mud from his hands, and looked around the campsite. The meadow was located on a slightly elevated, gentle slope at the edge of Whispering Forest, offering a fairly open view, and the dryness of the ground was suitable for starting a fire.

Fanes walked over to the pile of firewood that the little milk tablets had neatly arranged, squatted down, and took a lighter out of his pocket: "Do you have enough firewood over there?"

Little Milkman picked up two more dry branches from the base of a dead tree and carried them back: "These should last until the latter half of the night. If it gets windy, we might need to add some more."

Fanes lit a small handful of dry grass with a flint and steel, stuffing it at the bottom of the woodpile. The flames spread upwards along the grain of the grass, licking the tips of the thinnest twigs at the bottom. The flames leaped a few times in the wind before settling, casting a warm yellow glow on the ground.

Fanes stood up, glanced at the forest in the distance that was being shrouded in twilight, and then turned to look at the little girl squatting by the campfire rummaging through her backpack.

Fanes took a few steps toward the woods and stopped at the base of a bush.

There lay an adult wild boar, already fallen. It lay on its side in the pile of fallen leaves, its limbs outstretched, its breathing stopped. There were no obvious external injuries on its body, but there was a neat scratch on its neck.

Little Black was squatting next to the wild boar, its paws pressed against the fur on its neck. When it saw Fanes approaching, it looked up at him, then moved aside, as if to indicate that its work was done with that movement.

Fanes crouched down to examine the wild boar, then looked at Little Black: "When did you go out to hunt it?"

Little Black squatted next to the wild boar without answering, only retracting its paws and licking them.

Fanes didn't ask any further questions. He reached out, grabbed the boar by its hind legs, dragged it back to the edge of the camp, and began to process it with his dagger.

Peeling, deboning, and cutting—the movements weren't exactly swift, but every step was a step forward.

The flames were burning at their strongest, with orange-red tongues of fire climbing along the surface of the firewood, repeatedly folding light and shadow at the edges, and the firewood occasionally crackling as it burned.

Fanes skewered a prepared piece of meat onto a sharpened twig and placed it on the edge of the fire. The grease sizzled as it dripped onto the embers, sending up a wisp of white smoke.

Little Milkman sat opposite the fire, holding a twig with meat skewered on it, turning it occasionally to ensure the meat heated evenly. Little Black squatted not far from the fire, waiting quietly.

Fanes flipped the skewer of meat in his hand over, looked down at the surface that was turning dark brown, and saw the fat seeping out along the texture of the meat, with a fine sheen at the edges.

Fanes picked it up, brought it close to his nose, and then turned the branch so that the other side was also facing the fire.

Little Milk Man also removed his skewer of meat from the fire, touched the edge of the meat with his hand, and then pulled it back: "It's almost done."

Fanes also took the skewer off the fire, took a bite—the outer skin was crispy, while the inside remained tender, the flavors of salt and spices spreading on his tongue. He chewed twice, swallowed, and took another bite.

After finishing his meal, Fanes threw the branches into the fire, dusted off his hands, and lay down on the tarpaulin.

The little milk tablet lay down next to him, and the little black cat came over and curled up in a ball around Fanes' waist.

The fire was still burning, occasionally a piece of firewood would break, making a soft cracking sound, and a spark would fly to the edge of the ashes and flash before going out, spreading outwards along the edge of the sand in concentric circles, only to be swept away by the night wind and disappear into the darkness.

Fanes rolled over, smoothed the hem of his coat, and closed his eyes. All that remained were the soft crackling of burning firewood and the occasional whistling of the wind in the distance. Little Black's breathing remained steady in the night.

Phanes was awakened by a slight noise. When he opened his eyes, he saw a figure at the edge of the fire.

Ying was squatting beside the fire, holding a wooden stick with a piece of meat skewered on the end, slowly turning it over the flames. The edges of the meat had turned a charred brown, dripping oil, with a few drops occasionally landing on the embers and sizzling.

Ying took the meat skewers off the fire, pinched the surface of the meat with her fingertips to confirm that although it was not fully cooked, the outer layer was grilled to a edible state. Then she tore off a small piece of meat, put it in her mouth, chewed it a couple of times, and swallowed it. She tore off another piece, moving a little faster than before.

Fanes lay motionless on the tarpaulin, watching her through his half-closed eyelids, watching her face illuminated by the campfire and her movements as she ate quickly.

Fanes sat up: "You're grilling meat here, you should at least say hello, right?"

Ying was startled by the sound. She turned around abruptly, almost dropping the skewer of meat in her hand. She hadn't even swallowed the half-eaten piece of meat in her mouth yet, and she made a series of rapid, indistinct sounds.

Ying's gaze shifted back and forth between Fanes and the little milk piece, then looked at the little black creature curled up at Fanes' waist, as if to confirm how many other living beings were watching her besides herself.

Fanes remained seated on the tarpaulin, not standing up. "Don't be nervous, we're not Hilichurls. You can continue eating that piece of meat; if that's not enough, there are a few more prepared pieces over there."

And why is there still blood seeping from your flesh?!

Ying did not lower her sword, but her posture relaxed slightly after hearing those words.

Ying remained standing at the edge of the campfire, her gaze shifting back and forth between Fanes and the little milk piece, as if assessing the threat level posed by the two.

Ying's gaze lingered on Fanes' face for a moment before she spoke. Her tone was more even than before, but the syllable structure was still unfamiliar.

After listening, Fanes tilted his head and looked at the little toy: "Can you understand it?"

The little milk tablet also sat up, listened for a moment, and then shook its head.

Fanes glanced down at the little black dog curled up beside his waist, reached out and scooped it up, holding it at eye level: "Go translate."

Little Black was held in mid-air, its hind legs dangling. It glanced at Ying's direction, then broke free from Fanes's grasp and landed on the ground between them.

Xiao Hei's body remained stable upon landing, then it walked towards Ying, squatted down in front of her, looked up at her, and made a series of low, rhythmic sounds.

Ying looked down at the small black dragon crouching in front of her, her wary expression slowly fading. Ying hesitated for a moment, then spoke a sentence in that unfamiliar language.

After listening, Xiao Hei made a series of sounds, as if translating her meaning into some understandable form. Ying said something else, and Xiao Hei replied with a similar sound.

Fanes sat on the tarpaulin, watching the conversation between the man and the dragon go back and forth for several rounds, before finally asking, "What did she say?"

Xiao Hei squatted down and turned his head to look at Fanes: "She said she thought this place was empty."

Fanes glanced at the piece of meat beside the fire, which had been mostly eaten: "And then?"

Xiao Hei turned to Ying and exchanged a few words, then turned back to Fanes: "She said she didn't know this was someone else's camp. She said she had been walking outside for a long time and came here after smelling the scent."

Fanes sat up straighter: "Then tell her—she can continue to eat the meat, she can continue to use the fire, but if she wants to roast a second piece, she'll have to learn to speak Teyvat common language first."

After Xiao Hei relayed these words, Ying squatted by the fire, tilted her head and glanced at Fanes. Then she looked down at the half-eaten skewer of meat in her hand, as if she was estimating how much longer she could stay by the fire based on the length of the wooden stick and the distribution of the charred marks.

Ying spoke a sentence, her voice lower than before.

After listening, Xiao Hei turned to look at Fanes: "She said she's learning. She hasn't found suitable textbooks or reference books yet, so her progress is slow."

After listening, Fanes turned his head and glanced at Ying.

Are you sure what she said?

"That's probably what it should be said!"

-

Why was Xiao Hei chosen as the translator? Because Xiao Hei is very perceptive and understands human nature!