Chapter 10
"Emperor, what's wrong? Don't be like this, I'm scared!"
"I-I-I just remembered I haven't accepted tomorrow's commission yet, gotta go, hahaha."
Before he finished speaking, Shen Xing hurriedly fled, leaving behind a soul-flown Childe and a confused Zhongli touching his face.
In a rush as if being chased by an enemy, Shen Xing skidded to a stop at the Adventurers' Guild, handed in yesterday's task, grabbed a bag full of heavy Mora, and without resting, accepted about thirty more tasks before escaping Liyue Harbor, fearing someone might come after him.
He headed towards his destination, Wangshu Inn.
Halfway there, Shen Xing finally stopped, covered his face, and let out a ghostly wail.
Damn.
What the hell was that?!
In a moment of complacency, he actually dared to tease the Geo Archon and even gave Zhongli some suggestions.
No, the key point is what?! The key point is that Zhongli actually listened! And he even smiled at him!
He's going to lose years off his life.
And why did Zhongli ask if he was happy? When Shen Xing heard that, he immediately thought it was to please him. At that moment, he was scared out of his wits. Just before, he had joked about pleasing a wife, and then Zhongli smiled and asked if he was happy.
No, this must be him overthinking, right?
Yes, it must be. Zhongli was definitely just demonstrating something to him. It's because he's written too many novels and scenes that everything sounds off to him. Can his brain go back to the factory for a reset?
Shen Xing wiped the sweat from his forehead, thinking he was just scaring himself.
The Geo Archon is over six thousand years old, descended when Teyvat was first formed, how could he possibly be interested in him? He's giving himself too much credit.
The more he thought about it, the more it seemed like a misunderstanding. With this thought, Shen Xing finally breathed a sigh of relief and sped up towards Wangshu Inn.
As usual, he ordered a serving of almond tofu and then went to the top floor.
"Xiao—"
As soon as he called out, Xiao immediately appeared in front of Shen Xing.
"You're a bit late today, did something happen?"
"Nothing much, just chatted with Mr. Zhongli a bit more. Quick, eat the tofu before it gets cold."
Shen Xing enthusiastically pushed Xiao towards a seat. Xiao did not resist his approach, obediently sitting down and picking up a spoon.
Seeing Xiao's well-behaved demeanor, Shen Xing happily sat down opposite him.
Speaking of which, when he first met Xiao, the other party had a face that screamed 'stay away'. He didn't know if it was because Zhongli brought him, so Xiao trusted him, or because Xiao discovered that Shen Xing's proximity had no effect on his karmic debt, that he let down his guard.
Ever since the Traveler left, Xiao became alone again. Shen Xing figured it was probably the latter, that his karmic debt had no effect on him.
He himself found it strange, but without figuring it out, he classified it as a golden finger of a transmigrator.
Since then, Shen Xing would often go to bother Xiao.
Xiao had a good temper and allowed his approach.
Ah, this Xiao bird is really cute. Speaking of which, he and Xiao are probably the only two Anemo guys in Liyue.
Shen Xing watched him eat, Xiao lowered his eyes, his back stiff, his movements gradually speeding up, placing the spoon down properly, and got to the point: "Give me tomorrow's commissions."
"Here they are, all of them are tasks to clear out monsters. I've accepted them all."
Xiao nodded, browsing the rolled-up slips of paper on the table.
Shen Xing scratched his cheek, feeling a bit embarrassed: "How about I go with you, we can chat along the way."
"No need."
After saying this, Xiao paused, feeling it was too stiff, so he added: "Before, I needed to find the monsters' locations myself. Now, I just need to go to the places on the slips. You've helped me a lot, saved me the trouble."
Wow, Xiao actually said a lot in one go, that's rare, and he even explained!
The commissions were completed by Xiao, so the rewards should go to him.
Shen Xing took out the Mora he just received and placed it on the table, but Xiao still shook his head and declined: "Mora is useless to me, you keep it."
"This time, no." Shen Xing said.
Xiao looked at him with a puzzled expression.
Shen Xing pushed the bag of Mora towards him, "I plan to stay here with you for a few days, I'm not going back to Liyue Harbor for now."
Xiao: "Why?"
The young man showed a strange expression, why else? Not only is there the battle maniac Childe, but he also feels like the other might pester him for a fight. He even feels a bit weird facing Zhongli now, hopefully, it's just his imagination.
He said to Xiao with lingering fear: "Anyway, I'm staying with you."
"You can't kick me out."
"I paid!"
Afraid Xiao wouldn't accept, Shen Xing picked up the money bag and stuffed it into his arms.
With a weight on his leg, Xiao stared blankly at the money bag on his thigh, then looked up and said: "Then, I'll book you a room."
"No need to waste—alright, thank you." He changed his words halfway.
Almost forgot why he came to Wangshu Inn, he planned to take the opportunity to plot the storyline for his next novel here.
Staying with Xiao, no way, that would definitely be seen.
Once in his room, Shen Xing's expression turned indulgent, smiling as he took out the paper and ink he had prepared earlier.
In the quiet of the night.
Such a precious moment, perfect for inspiration to flow and for writing.
First, he needed to confirm what to write, whose CP to write.
He had already messed with Childe and the Doctor, the next one... Faces flashed in Shen Xing's mind, actually, many could be written, he could even write Zhongli and Xiao as a CP, but after what just happened, Shen Xing didn't want to target those around him for now.
He pondered hard, finding it difficult to decide.
Suddenly, he thought of something, Shen Xing's eyes lit up, right! Why hadn't he thought of it first, he could write about Venti!
Hehehe.
This lazy god is such a good-natured person, even if Venti found out he wrote about him, he wouldn't get angry, his temper is top-notch.
Let me think, the title... Got it, "The Bard and the Wine Fairy."
Considering he just helped him cover up, Shen Xing decided not to reveal his identity this time, just write a simple story.
As for the roles, let's tentatively set Venti as the top, and the wine fairy as the bottom.
After confirming the CP, it was time to plot the story.
Shen Xing found it a bit difficult, this time he wasn't just writing a romance line, it also involved some NPC names and events, which he hadn't paid much attention to while playing the game, having forgotten most of it.
Maybe he should go to Mondstadt in a few days?
Gather material on-site.
After all, he didn't have any major matters.
Shen Xing stayed with Xiao for two days before returning to Liyue Harbor, heading straight to Zhongli's room at Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
"Mr. Zhongli, I'm going to Mondstadt to play!"
That was the first thing he said upon entering.
Zhongli didn't ask where Shen Xing had been for the past two days, "Why the sudden interest in Mondstadt?"
"Didn't Childe mention the Anemo Archon is in Mondstadt? I want to see him, after all, I'm his believer!"
Shen Xing said with a straight face, touching the Vision at his waist, "I heard the Anemo Archon has big wings, I wonder if it's true..."
Zhongli: "..."
"Gods are not easy to meet." Zhongli said calmly.
"I know, but I still want to go." Shen Xing had a face full of Anemo Archon fanaticism.
Hiss, Zhongli's words were wrong, no god is easy to meet, but the Anemo Archon is definitely the easiest to meet.
Zhongli: "...Fine, if you want to go, then go."
"Yay!" Shen Xing smiled, "Then I'll go pack my things."
With that, he slipped away.
The room became empty again, and after a long while, a sigh was heard. Zhongli stood by the window with his hands behind his back, the tip of his hair suddenly glowing.
Far away in Mondstadt, Venti paused, filled with confusion and curiosity after hearing Zhongli's message. The old man told him to properly entertain a young man coming from Liyue, named Shen Xing?
Never heard of him, who is Shen Xing?
Strange, the old man actually cares about someone so much, even specifically telling him to entertain him well and not to neglect him. Receiving such a notice for the first time, Venti was full of curiosity about this Shen Xing.
With his luggage packed, Shen Xing set off on the road to Mondstadt.
In fact, there wasn't much in his bag, just a change of clothes and some food for the road.
With the blessing of an Anemo Vision, Shen Xing only spent a little over a day on the road, if he only focused on traveling, a day would be enough. At the fastest, he could reach Mondstadt City by night, not having to camp outside.
But Shen Xing took a detour to look at Dragonspine, which is why it took longer.
Standing opposite Mondstadt City, Shen Xing sneakily approached the bridge. Today, Timmy wasn't around, he eyed the pigeons strolling on the bridge with a grin, and like an arrow leaving the string, he swiftly approached the unsuspecting birds.
"Cluck cluck cluck—"
A large flock was scared away.
Shen Xing laughed as he held the panicked and struggling pigeon in his arms. This isn't a game, even if he hit them, they wouldn't drop in-game bird legs, only end up as corpses on the bridge.
Even if it's just a bird, it's not good to kill for no reason as soon as he arrives in Mondstadt. What if Venti notices?
Shen Xing's plan was to come quietly and leave quietly.
Even though Venti seems active in the city, he doesn't appear in front of people every day.
Shen Xing thought as long as he was sneaky, he shouldn't be discovered.
Rubbing the head of the pigeon with a sullen expression in his arms, he let it go after playing enough. The two Knights of Favonius guarding the city gate watched the whole process.
"…"
Lawrence: "Welcome to Mondstadt."
"Hello, Lawrence and Swan, you both really are handsome."
Shen Xing generously praised them, taking out two uneaten chicken legs from his bag and stuffing them into their hands, "A meeting gift, working must be tiring, right? You guys eat, I'm heading in."
The two stared at the fragrant, still warm chicken legs in their hands, their brains short-circuiting: "?"
So strange, how did that young man know their names?
Never mind, it smells so good, sob sob sob, that unknown traveler is such a good person, they hadn't had time for breakfast before starting work.
—Damn, so spicy!
Swan and Lawrence's expressions twisted.
Having entered the city, Shen Xing looked around, choosing a perfect spot before climbing onto a rooftop.
Sitting on the edge of the highest roof, looking down, he could take in a large part of Mondstadt's streets. Satisfied, Shen Xing took out a pen and notebook, drawing a map of Mondstadt, then marking the locations of some important NPCs.
For the NPCs whose names he forgot, Shen Xing planned to ask them in person after finishing his drawing.
"Here… and the alchemy table here… damn, what's the name again?" Shen Xing frowned at the large blank space on his map. When he played the game, he hadn't specifically remembered their names. Who remembers all the NPC names when playing a game? Well, he didn't.
Just remembering the important characters from the main story was enough.
Giving up on recalling, Shen Xing planned to ask them all later, continuing to draw the map behind the church.
At this moment, suddenly a head popped up over his shoulder, the person even extended a finger to point at two blank spots: "She's Blanche, and this one's Timaeus. Why are you drawing this?"
The voice suddenly exploded next to his ear, full of curiosity and wonder.
Shen Xing was so startled he jumped, anyone would be shocked if a head suddenly appeared while they were focused on something, especially since he was gathering material for his novel and drawing a map of Mondstadt, and Venti had discovered him!
Venti, damn, why did he come out?
Shen Xing immediately closed his notebook and put away his pen, in his panic, he didn't even put them in his pocket, dropping everything. Sitting on the edge of the roof, in his panic, he leaned forward along with the paper and pen.
His eyes widened, his feet slipped.
"WC—ahhhh—"
Venti was taken aback by his intense reaction, not expecting him to be scared off, quickly reaching out to grab his arm.
The old man said to entertain him well, he better not let him get hurt, how would he explain it if asked later?
Thankfully, he caught him.
Holding the young man's arm, Venti breathed a sigh of relief, his whole body following the direction of the young man's fall into mid-air.
He was just about to use the Anemo element to create an updraft when, in the midst of flying hair, Venti saw Shen Xing's face.
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