Genshin Impact's Sweet and Hard Free People

With that in mind, Xinhui decided to set off immediately.

The Haiyue Pavilion is not far from here, and the various ancient buildings around it have a certain charm. The Haiyue Pavilion, of course, does not lack its grandeur.

The magnificent Moon Sea Pavilion, nestled against the mountain, is flanked by several green bamboos on its left and a rushing waterfall on its right. A path spans the cascading water, leading to the shimmering rainbow flowers and glass lilies.

Landscape trees and red-painted poles are placed on both sides of the steps. The pavilion of Yuehai Pavilion is halfway up the mountain. In the distance, there is a large wooden sign in the shape of a hollowed-out round moon hidden in the clouds. Under the eaves, an orange-yellow lantern hangs.

Huixin, the secretary of Haiyue Pavilion, is standing by the door of Haiyue Pavilion, receiving each visitor.

"The matter that needs to be discussed with Lord Gan Yu must be very important." Hui Xin seemed somewhat troubled after learning the purpose of Xin Hui's visit.

Many people need Yuehaiting's help today, and it just so happens that Lord Ganyu is not here, so Huixin cannot be distracted by anything else.

"Yes, it's something Lord Ningguang needs to prepare, and we need Lord Ganyu's help." Xinhui glanced at the many merchants and commoners in front of the Moon Sea Pavilion. Everyone seemed to have endless things to deal with, so he felt embarrassed to disturb them.

However, when Huixin learned that Xinhui was procuring fabric to make a dress for the Lantern Festival, she still gave him some advice.

"Why don't you go to the dock and try your luck? Maybe you can see Lord Gan Yu," Huixin quietly reminded Xinhui, afraid that others might see them.

"But, judging from the sky, it's about to rain. I'll go find you an umbrella." Huixin looked at the darkening sky again, where a light drizzle was already falling.

It hadn't rained when Mingxin Hui arrived...

"It's okay, the rain is still light. I'll go look for it. There's no rush." ​​Xinhui said, already running out.

Huixin was about to get him an umbrella; the wooden umbrella was already in her hand. She saw Xinhui saying he wasn't in a hurry, but then rushing out in a fluster, and she found it inexplicably amusing.

She's such an impatient person.

……

Xin Hui had only seen the girl standing on the dock, quietly enjoying her breakfast, a few times at dawn.

Gan Yu's meticulous data collection and diligent handling of affairs for Liyue, without ever complaining about the hard work, are truly admirable.

Then he gazed at the coast with an extremely lonely look in his eyes.

The loneliness of not being able to find a place to stay—for some reason, when Xin Hui saw Gan Yu suddenly show that look in the crowd, he suddenly thought of this.

The rain wasn't heavy, so Xinhui put her light coat over her head, but after a while she felt it blocked her view and made it difficult to see the dim sky and the crowds behind the rain, so she simply put it back on.

People realized they needed to use umbrellas; otherwise, they would feel very uncomfortable getting soaked in the rain when they came home at night.

So, without anyone noticing, pedestrians started opening their umbrellas. Especially on the already crowded streets, coupled with the various Liyue snacks that attracted pedestrians, Xinhui's walking experience was extremely poor.

When he finally managed to squeeze through the crowd and reach the dock, he found that only the workers loading and unloading cargo remained at the Liyue Harbor dock.

The workers, dressed in waterproof clothing, continued to work tirelessly with their strong arms, as goods in and out of Liyue needed to be transported even in the rain.

Life always moves forward.

"Brother Xu." Xin Hui greeted a square-faced man.

The person he called Brother Xu was named Xu Sheng. He usually directed a dozen people to handle the transportation of a specific type of goods.

"It's Boss Xin. Oh? It seems there are no goods from Yiyu Pavilion today. Oh dear, they're all soaked."

"What brings you here?"

At that moment, the two were standing by the dock when a merchant ship sailed by, and the workers got busy again.

"Nothing much, I just came to see someone, but she doesn't seem to be here," Xinhui said dejectedly.

"Why go through all this trouble to find someone? Look at the sky, it's about to rain heavily."

Xu Sheng first laughed. While watching the workers on the ship not far away unloading goods, he responded to Xin Hui, then turned around and beckoned someone over. After giving them some instructions, the person hurriedly ran away.

A short while later, they brought over a raincoat that was the same style as theirs.

The blue-purple cloak was made of a leather-like material and looked very lightweight. It also had a one-piece raincoat hood.

Xinhui originally wanted to say that his hair was soaked and he was already drenched, so he didn't need the raincoat. But Xusheng was a kind-hearted person and insisted on helping him put on the raincoat before letting him leave.

Xin Hui felt helpless about this. When there were many goods, he used a trolley to help them load and unload the goods. Now, they were helping him out.

Just as he was about to turn back, having given up hope of finding the person, he suddenly spotted a quiet girl standing on the steps not far away, holding an oil-paper umbrella.

The girl's long blue hair was tied back into a ponytail that hung naturally. A single ahoge (cowlick) adorned her head, and two small, black and red unicorn horns grew on either side of her head. A golden cowbell hung from her stand-up collar, and the Eye of the Ice God was located on a Chinese knot at her waist. She wore a short white cheongsam with gold embellishments, over which was a tight-fitting backless bodysuit covered by black stockings with gold embellishments on the rims. She wore white arm warmers with double-layered cuffs, the inner layer flaring outwards. Her hands were covered by long black gloves, the forearms transitioning to a gradient blue.

Xin Hui couldn't see clearly, but he felt the figure was somewhat familiar, so he moved over.

When he was only a dozen steps away from the girl, he saw again the loneliness in her eyes as she gazed at the moon and the sea.

Xin Hui recognized her at a glance; it was Gan Yu. Beneath her quiet and gentle exterior lay an unwavering determination.

"Is this... Lord Gan Yu?"

Chapter Six: The Lonely Contract

Xin Hui asked tentatively.

The girl on the steps, her calm expression as she gazed into the distance, seemed to snap out of her reverie, and lowered her head slightly. Then, Xinhui saw her beautiful eyes, as clear as autumn rain and the glow of the setting sun.

Her gentle demeanor made Xin Hui lose his composure.

"Lord Gan Yu, I'm here to see you..." He hadn't finished speaking.

Perhaps because he was momentarily distracted when his eyes met hers, Xinhui tripped on the step with his right foot. The slippery step caused his body to react reflexively.

Xinhui staggered a few steps, swaying unsteadily, trying hard to regain his balance, but the result was not satisfactory.

Xin Hui couldn't help but lunge forward and fall down. Then everything went black, as if he had hit something, but the sensation wasn't the ground.

Gan Yu's slender hand stopped him, reducing the force of his impact. Xin Hui, however, crashed into her arms.

Gan Yu's oil-paper umbrella was thrown aside and ignored, while Xin Hui's rain hat was left behind as well.

"Lord Ganyu, are you alright? It was my fault..." Xinhui touched his nose, smelled the fragrance in his breath, and said with an apologetic, simple smile.

His expression towards Gan Yu now held a hint of gratitude; clearly, he knew he had done something foolish.

How could you be so rude in front of an immortal!

"you…"

When Gan Yu uttered that word, Xin Hui immediately looked up at her. However, to Xin Hui's surprise, Gan Yu's expression as she covered her mouth was full of astonishment.

The latter shook her head and blinked her eyes cutely, as if to confirm whether she had mistaken someone for someone else.

"Traveler from another world, please, please take responsibility and abide by the contract between us," said Gan Yu, the half-immortal beast, as she took his hands.

This filled Xin Hui's mind with astonishment.

contract?

He had no recollection of having any agreement with Gan Yu.

……

That was three thousand years ago, when boundless war raged in the land where gods existed.

Before the establishment of the Seven Gods system, an unprecedented struggle was taking place on the continent of Teyvat—the War of the Demon Gods.

As the war intensified, crops, houses... nothing that could be affected was spared.

Hills were carved into plains by fierce winds, the deep sea was churned by rock spears, and islands were cleaved by katana...

Even heaven and earth cannot escape it!

In such an environment, both humans and gods, who have suffered greatly, need a way to find relief.

The immortals of Liyue followed the Geo Archon and witnessed the outcome of the Demon God War—the establishment of the Seven Archons.

Gan Yu and Xin Hui's first meeting was also at that time, during the scene where the immortals and the attendants of the three demon gods were fighting at the same time.

Gan Yu was a chubby little girl at that time, and she went to the battlefield with Liu Yun Jie Feng Zhenjun. However, the immortals were no match for the numerous demon god attendants and were about to be defeated when a young man descended from the sky, controlling a hurricane as vast as the ocean, and saved them from danger.

People initially believed the young man to be Barbatos, the god of wind, since no one else could wield such immense wind elemental power. However, the immortals knew he was not one of the demon gods.

It possesses an aura that doesn't belong to this world.

At that moment, Gan Yu blinked and memorized the image of this mysterious blue-haired youth.

That young man was Xinhui.

Their second meeting was a thousand years ago, when Gan Yu was still unable to integrate into the human world.

The fact that Gan Yu possesses the bloodline of the mythical beast "Qilin" is little known in Liyue Harbor. Whenever she passes by Scarlet Cloud Slope and unsuspecting passersby ask about the conspicuous protrusion in her long hair, she always lies and claims that it is a family heirloom headdress.

She was afraid that the people of Liyue would distance themselves from her even more, and she was also afraid that someone would reach out and touch her horn.

The feeling of moving forward with that sense of loneliness is not pleasant. After seeing so much, you feel that this turbid world is not a place for you to live.

But one day, when she passed by Feiyunpo as usual, she heard a different question than before.

"A Qilin's horn? It's beautiful. May I touch it?"

Gan Yu was taken aback by this proactive request. At that moment, she also recognized Xin Hui. However, the horn is an organ that can also feel, both psychologically and physiologically.

"Ah, I thought I had seen the legendary Qilin and wanted to observe it closely..." Xin Hui said disappointedly when he saw Gan Yu protecting the pair of black and red horns with both hands.

"The loneliness of this world is not caused by the gaze of others alone..." Xinhui sighed softly again.

Upon hearing these words, Gan Yu almost burst into tears.

Yes, this person understands and knows how I feel.

The two became friends. Gan Yu, a gentle person, showed an extraordinary level of seriousness and importance to her friends.

In particular, she struggles to find friends and finds it difficult to be understood.

Perhaps others wouldn't care about her identity as a half-immortal with the bloodline of a Qilin, and some even advised her not to care too much about other people's opinions.

But loneliness always originates from within oneself, from a feeling of having nowhere to belong. She never cares what others think of her, as long as she can diligently fulfill the contract with the Rock King Emperor.

But Gan Yu also wanted friends; she longed for and yearned for the happiness that friendship could bring.

So when Xinhui was about to leave three years later, the loneliness she had accumulated over the years surged up again. She just thought that even if she lost control and cried, she didn't want Xinhui to leave.

"Okay, I'll come back. Next time, I'll stay with you for a long, long time, and we'll make this place our home, and never be apart again..."

Xin Hui also felt a little reluctant, but he had no choice but to say these words apologetically.

However, Gan Yu took this sentence as a contract between the two of them. Once the contract was made, it had to be kept.