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

When Fanes returned to the Goethe Hotel, it was already the afternoon of the next day. He had ridden the wolf king around the Wolf Territory for most of the day, and it was only after Water Fatty and two advance team members coaxed and persuaded him to get off the wolf's back and appease the wolf king with a piece of fine raw meat that they were able to safely lead the twelfth seat lord back to the city.

Along the way, Fanes continued to describe to Water Fatty how beautiful the waterfall was, "The sound of the water is as loud as thunder. The Wolf King said it was formed by meltwater flowing down from the snow-capped mountains."

Shui Pang responded with "uh-huh" and "ah-ah," his mind only on applying to his superiors to equip this little darling with a personal tracking device when he got back.

The first thing Fanes did after returning to his room was to rummage through drawers and cabinets looking for Xiao Hei.

As expected, the young dragon wasn't in its little nest by the pillow. He lifted the covers, searched the wardrobe, and even crawled under the bed to take a look. Finally, he found the little black dragon curled up and dozing in a crevice of a low cabinet behind the curtains.

When the young dragon was shaken awake, it yawned sleepily, its amber round eyes misty. When it saw that it was Fanes, it rubbed against his palm, making a gurgling sound in its throat.

Fanes squatted down, cradling Xiao Hei's head in his hands, and interrogated him in a low voice, "What exactly happened last night? Who took me out? Did you see it?"

Little Black tilted its head, blinked its amber eyes, and seemed to be trying to recall what happened last night. It whimpered twice, then gestured the outline of a hat with its paws, pointed towards the windowsill, and finally shrank its neck in a "guilty retreat" gesture—it paced back and forth on its four paws, tucked its head into its body, and tucked its tail between its legs, pretending that nothing had happened as it moved towards the door.

Fanes stared at the demonstration for a couple of seconds, then slapped his knee and stood up: "It really was that hat-wearing one! Alice! She dragged me out of bed and threw me into Wolf's Lair, and she even kidnapped you too! Damn it!"

He paced back and forth in the room twice, his fists clenched tightly: "If Commander Qin weren't still in office, I would have locked you up in solitary confinement for three days and three nights! It's a pity the Knights of Favonius aren't perfect yet!"

Fanes stood by the window, hands on his hips, staring at the windmills outside for a long time, fuming. Finally, like a deflated balloon, he slumped back into his chair, slumped over the table, and sighed.

When Yakoda pushed open the door, she saw Fanes lying on the table, with Little Black squatting beside his head, gently patting his hair with its paw. She walked over, pulled out the chair opposite her, and sat down, her eyes sparkling.

"Boss, I heard you rode the Wolf King around Wolf Territory for most of the day yesterday? Lots of people saw it, even Sister Sarah from the Deer Hunter Restaurant is talking about it."

Fanes, who had been lying on the table, looked up and rested his chin on his arm: "...It was quite fun. But I don't want to stay in Mondstadt anymore. That woman, Iris, is too terrifying. She managed to break into the Fatui stronghold in the middle of the night and carry me away, and she even got the Wolf King to carry me around for most of the day. If I stay any longer, I'm afraid she'll stuff me into the cellar of the Wind Dragon Ruins next time."

Yakoda's eyes lit up even more: "Where are we going?"

Fanes sat up straight from the table and reached out to rub the chin of the little black figure beside him: "Back to Liyue. This time we're not going to Liyue Harbor, we're going to Jueyun Karst. I'm going to find a hermit to learn magic. After I learn magic, I won't be afraid of Iris coming to move me in the middle of the night. If she gets within three meters of me, I'll unleash a powerful attack and scare her so much that she'll never dare to come again."

Yakoda considered the feasibility of the plan: "Boss, will the immortals accept you? You're only six and a half years old, and you're with a dragon and a little follower. It looks more like you're going to visit relatives for the New Year."

Fanes waved his hand dismissively, "We'll find out when we get there. If they don't accept us, we'll just go a few more times. Anyway, the Queen said that as long as we're alive, that's all that matters. My mission in Liyue is to survive. Going to Jueyun Karst to learn something from the immortals will not only make me stronger and broaden my horizons, but also allow me to avoid dangerous figures like Iris. It's a win-win-win situation."

Rosalind did not object to Fanes' decision after hearing about it. She simply took a money bag from the cabinet and handed it to him. Inside was a stack of Mora notes with a considerable value.

"I'll reimburse your travel expenses. The mountain roads in Jueyun Pass are difficult to travel. Once you arrive, find a place to settle down first. Don't come up and immediately tell the immortals that you want to learn immortal techniques. Let's build a good relationship first."

He bent down to straighten Fanes' coat collar, his icy blue eyes carrying a sense of helplessness and indulgence that said, "No matter what I say, it's no use; you've already made up your mind." "If anything happens, write back first. Don't try to tough it out on your own."

Fanes took the money pouch and put it in his pocket, then looked up at Rosalin and grinned, "Don't worry, Rosalin, I'm a man who values ​​his life above all else. If I can't beat someone, I run; if I can't outrun someone, I admit defeat. I'll never fight head-on."

So the next morning, Fanes, Akoda, and the little black cat who was dozing on Fanes's shoulder set off on their journey back to Liyue from Mondstadt.

This time, instead of taking the official road, they turned onto a mountain path leading to Jueyun Karst on the outskirts of Liyue Harbor. The further they went into the mountains, the more serene the scenery became. Layer upon layer of mountains were shrouded in mist, and streams flowed through the cracks in the rocks. Occasionally, they could see a few ancient trees with red ribbons hanging from their branches in the forest. When the mountain breeze blew, the ribbons swayed gently, as if someone was beckoning to them from an unseen place.

As evening approached, they stopped on a wide, open hillside. The view was excellent; they could see the highest peaks hidden in the sea of ​​clouds in the distance, and the sunset painted the clouds with layers of warm colors, like a huge piece of silk spread out on the horizon.

Fanes found a flat grassy area on the hillside, took out the dry food and a small can of oil he had bought on the way from his backpack, and picked up a few dry branches to build a simple grill.

Yakoda helped by placing the skewered meat slices on the fire. The oil dripped onto the charcoal and sizzled, and the aroma carried far on the wind.

Little Black squatted beside the fire, its amber-colored round eyes fixed on the skewers of meat changing color on the grill. Its little paws would occasionally stretch forward and then retract, and its tail would sweep back and forth on the ground in a hurry.

Fanes flipped the meat skewers, mumbling, "If we stay here a few more days, the immortals will most likely appear in the vicinity. Think about it, a place like this is quiet and comfortable; the immortals will eventually come out for a stroll, right? Usually, immortals or immortal chickens randomly spawn in these deep forests..."

Before the words were finished, a white shadow suddenly fell from an old pine tree beside the hillside.

The shadow floated lightly down onto a blue stone a few steps away from them, folded its wings, and tilted its head. It was a pure white crane with a long neck that turned slightly, and a pair of black bean-like eyes staring intently at the sizzling, oily skewer of meat in Fanes' hand.

Yakoda turned her head following Fanes's gaze, and stopped what she was doing when she saw the white crane: "Boss... that bird is looking at you."

Fanes noticed it too. He stared at the crane for two seconds and thought it was quite beautiful, with shiny white feathers and an elegant, otherworldly air about it as it stood on the blue stone.

Holding up the skewer of freshly grilled chicken wings, Fanes waved it towards the crane: "Want one?"

The crane tilted its head, its black bean-like eyes darting back and forth between Chicken Wing and Fanes. Then it raised its neck and cried out twice toward the sky, its clear and long voice echoing through the valley several times before gradually fading away.

After calling out, it spread its wings and flapped them twice, then gracefully flew away from the bluestone. Its white figure quickly blended into the twilight and drifted away towards the higher mountain peaks.

Fanes' hand, still holding the chicken wing, hovered in mid-air. He stared blankly in the direction the crane had disappeared, then silently took the wing back and took a bite: "...Looks like this one doesn't like roasted food. I'll try boiling it next time."

Yakoda, resting her chin thoughtfully beside him, asked, "Boss, did that crane go back to call for help?"

Fanes chewed on a chicken wing and thought for a moment: "Probably not. That one just looked like an ordinary crane. Its feathers were white, but there was no elemental energy fluctuation. The sound of its wings flapping was also very ordinary. It probably just happened to be passing by and came over out of curiosity to take a look at the campfire."