The Infinite Journey of a Certain Flame

"Let's go." Ying shook the ribbons of her clothes, then turned and continued forward.

"Ah."

Kiana agreed and then slowly followed.

Continuing in the direction the sound came from, they soon met...

Several Hilichurls.

"what!"

As the Hilichurls roared, several crossbow bolts flew in.

The combat-experienced Ying quickly dodged the Hilichurl's attack, then charged forward with her sword.

A battle ensued.

Because of the rugged terrain and proximity to a stream, the Hilichurls also occupied the high ground for shooting.

This meant that even though Ying used all three elemental powers, the battle was still very difficult.

"Ugh! Tough as hell, drink up!"

With a delicate shout from Ying, the rock element on the earth was quickly mobilized, forming an indestructible barrier to protect her.

However, it is very dark here, and there are a lot of Hilichurls.

Aside from dodging thanks to her extensive combat experience, Ying's attacks on monsters are negligible.

See here.

"Ying, be careful! Let me help you."

Without a word, Kiana wielded the Flame King Sword and joined the battle.

With her around, the outcome of the battle is pretty much a foregone conclusion.

So what if a Hilichurl archer is standing on high ground? Just fly up and shoot!

Kiana flicked her cloak and swept away the Hilichurl archers wielding powerful crossbows with a simple and decisive sword strike.

Once the enemies on the high ground were cleared, she leaped and slashed, sweeping away the enemies that were closing in.

The battle is over.

Kiana sheathed the Flame King Sword and landed quite steadily in front of Luminous:

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, thank you... Kiana." Luminous moved her shoulder, which had been grazed by the Hilichurl crossbow bolt, and expressed her gratitude to her savior.

"Hehe, that's good, let's continue."

Kiana held out her hand, gesturing for Ying to come over.

Looking at the small hand wrapped in an unknown tactical glove, Ying hesitated for a moment.

Just as she was considering whether or not to accept Kiana's help, Paimon suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

"That was really scary. By the way... was there any sound over there? Listen."

"It sounds like the person who was just speaking is yelling for help..."

Realizing that her friend Hana-san might be in danger, Hotaru had no choice but to offer her hand, while Kiana continued to lead her forward.

"No...no need to hold on so tightly."

After walking a few steps, Ying muttered something a little awkwardly.

Upon hearing this, Kiana turned around and smiled, saying:

"I'm afraid you'll get lost, so don't hide anything if you're feeling unwell. Now, leave the fighting to me."

"So reliable!" Paimon couldn't help but exclaim, then stretched out his hand to look into the distance. "There seem to be a few Hilichurls in front of that statue. Let's chase them away."

Song of Flames and Lightning (Genshin Impact Inazuma Main Story): Chapter 15 Don't Worry About Me.

Hilichurls are very common creatures on the continent of Teyvat, and they are found almost everywhere on the continent, from Mondstadt to Inazuma.

They can be seen everywhere.

At that moment, several Hilichurls were swaggering in front of a statue of a strange creature, brandishing their clubs and axes, seemingly determined to challenge this talkative statue.

Although Hilichurls often do some strange things, their odd behavior at this moment was clearly getting in the way of everyone.

"What are these Hilichurls doing?" Ying, whose hand was being held, turned to the side, somewhat puzzled.

"I don't know, but it definitely can't be anything good, right?"

Paimon glanced at the raccoon statue standing on the lamppost, scratched his head in confusion, seemingly unable to understand why anyone would put a statue on a lamp.

But that's not important.

Right now, the strange voice is begging for mercy repeatedly, and it looks like it's about to cry.

Kiana knew she had to gain his trust in order to find the necessary talisman for purification, so she directly drew the Flame King Sword.

"what!"

The sudden heat felt like a raging fire was burning behind me.

Several previously aggressive Hilichurls sensed the approaching danger and turned around abruptly... only to be horrified to find a white-haired woman in strange armor raising a greatsword.

It seems it won't be long before it's beheaded...

The Hilichurls were so frightened by the sight that they started chattering incoherently in Hilichurl language, and then they scurried away like startled mice.

They scattered and fled...

Wow, the Hilichurls actually ran away in fear! Kiana is amazing!

Hilichurls are generally intellectually deficient and fierce.

Many times, even when faced with an opponent they are clearly no match for, they will fight to the bitter end.

They actually ran away, which indirectly shows how powerful Kiana is.

Just as Paimon was beaming with joy and was about to offer another round of praise...

"Wait, this smell... Eek—it's a human! Where did this human come from! Hey Celestials, don't run away, help!"

A chivalrous hero?

Ying and Paimon didn't understand what it meant at first, but they realized it when they got closer to the strange statue.

So he... regarded us as enemies?

"How rude of us! We were just trying to help you out of kindness!"

Paimon yelled at the statue of the strange creature, then crossed his arms and looked sullen.

Perhaps he was frightened by her.

The strange sculpture began to tremble as it spoke.

"Alas—I...we are indeed the Five Hundred Masters, do with me as you please!"

The statue is actually talking?

Ying peeked out and shook her little hand to get Kiana to let go of her, then walked up to the statue.

"Is that you speaking to us?"

"Exactly."

"Wow, the stone statue can actually talk! And it's so scared that it can't even speak properly!"

"Paimon, weren't you just yelling at him? I thought you knew..."

Paimon scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly upon hearing this, as if he was just realizing what was happening.

The banter between the two was so amusing that Wu Baizang grew bolder and began to retort that he was not a stone statue, but a world-renowned demon fox.

"It was just temporarily sealed away, which is why it has become like this."

Then, Gosho began to explain why he was there and his fear and disgust for human beings.

After some conversation, Ying and Paimon gradually realized how to deal with this so-called world-renowned great demon fox.

"It means you are handsome and healthy..."

"Yes, that's right! In this dark forest, it adds a lot of brilliance!"

"...Could you elaborate?"

As the saying goes, one cannot hit a smiling face. Under the combined flattery of Ying and Paimeng,

Just moments ago, Ichizo was terrified, but then he changed his tune and offered to lend them the comb so they could take a look.

But he didn't agree for nothing; he also offered to play with the little raccoons.

After the conversation ended, Ying looked at Kiana:

"Let's go find those three little fox demons. This place is huge..."

"Won't we be able to find it?"

Paimon muttered to himself.

Seeing that they seemed a little overwhelmed, Kiana smiled and encouraged them:

"Don't worry, it's easy to find. Those little raccoons are very playful."

It seems to be confirming Kiana's statement.

Before they had gone far, the group encountered a little raccoon dog dancing with joy.

Next comes the search for the tanuki.

Although it was a bit troublesome, it didn't take long for Ying and Kiana to successfully find the three little tanuki.

"Go back and see Gokuzo. Those three little guys should already be waiting for him there."

"Ah."

Ying nodded, then called over Paimon, who was clutching his belly and complaining of being hungry.