"I'm going insane!" The young man in front of the computer frantically scratched his hair.
On the screen, the Traveler stood at the Liyue Harbor docks, the words "Find Yunqin" on the quest panel glaring at him.
"Three whole hours! From Mt. Aocang to Qingyun Peak, I've maxed out Liyue's exploration progress! Mihoyo, come explain yourself! Where is she?!"
His phone lit up, and the game forum had already exploded, the flood of complaints threatening to crash the server:
"Such a massive Liyue map, yet not a single clue! The only useful thing, Elemental Sight, is completely useless! How are we supposed to find her?"
"Don't even ask. The answer is always 'find Yunqin,' but you can't. At this point, I just want to uninstall the game."
"Could Yunqin have gone to Inazuma? Is there still time for the Traveler to swim over there?"
Just as players were frantically opening screen recording software to create "Yunqin's Disappearance Location Investigation Vlogs," and some had even begun drafting "Yunqin Search Proposal Letters for Mihoyo,"
A sudden update notification popped up in the game, and the screen went black.
Immediately afterward, push notifications, the game's official Weibo account, and the Bilibili homepage all lit up simultaneously.
Genshin Impact's story PV, "Shadow of the Vortex and Oath of the Crag," was released, and the cover image instantly captured everyone's attention.
The PV opened with a pitch-black abyss beneath the sea, dotted only by scattered bioluminescent jellyfish.
Suddenly, the inky vortex churned wildly, revealing the massive silhouette of Osial, Overlord of the Vortex.
His tentacles, entwined with broken chains, slammed against the seabed, unleashing torrents of silt-laden waves that shook the very ocean itself.
In the shadows beside him, another colossal demonic beast gradually materialized, circling Osial like a guardian.
Amidst this suffocating pressure, a warm, golden light abruptly pierced the darkness from above.
It was a Geo Vision, suspended at the boundary between the deep sea and the night sky. Though its radiance was faint, it shone with the immutable weight of an ancient mountain, carving a sliver of light into the oppressive darkness.
Below the Vision, a slender figure could be dimly seen walking slowly toward that abyss.
The comments section exploded into a frenzy, the earlier mockery replaced by sheer shock:
"Holy shit! Osial?! Wasn't he sealed? And what's that thing next to him? A new god?"
"It's obviously Beisht, okay? You can't see her face, but the clues make it clear that's Yunqin's mom!"
"That figure is definitely Yunqin!"
"So the reason we couldn't find her earlier was that she was facing her parents, Osial and Beisht, in the deep sea?!"
-
Back at Wangshu Inn, Yunqin was still waiting for Xiao's answer.
Seeing the young man's tightly furrowed brow, Yunqin suddenly smiled and gently patted his shoulder.
"You don't need to answer me now, I'm just giving you a heads-up," she said, turning to gaze toward Liyue Harbor. "After all, some responsibilities must be shouldered alone, right?"
After observing for a moment, Yunqin prepared to head downstairs and leave.
Xiao watched her retreating figure—slender yet radiating an undeniable resolve.
He finally spoke in a low voice, so soft it nearly vanished on the wind, yet remarkably clear: "...I understand."
"But before that, I'll try to pull you back."
He wouldn't let her reach the point of "being brought to justice," even if it meant opposing the power of a god, even if it meant defying Rex Lapis's instructions. He would extend his hand first, pulling her from the darkness.
Yunqin paused in her tracks, not turning around, merely waving her hand. The evening breeze carried her laughter back, carrying an unprecedented lightness, as if she had shed a thousand-jin burden: "Then it's settled. Don't hold back when the time comes, Conqueror of Demons."
Yunqin vanished completely from sight, leaving Xiao standing alone on the rooftop.
The cheek the girl had just pinched seemed to retain the softness of her palm, the sensation spreading along nerve endings all the way to his heart. It stirred a subtle ripple in his usually ice-like composure.
"Truly reckless," Xiao murmured under his breath, his voice betraying an undercurrent of worry.
Without hesitation, verdant Anemo energy coalesced around him, streaking through the night sky like a meteor. He had to reach Rex Lapis on Mt. Aocang.
Yunqin's phrase, "strike me down," weighed heavily. Alone, he might not be able to uphold his promise to "bring her back."
Only by joining forces with Rex Lapis and devising a preemptive strategy could he protect her—and safeguard Liyue.
After all, the deep sea harbored not only Osial, Overlord of the Vortex. If Osial and other sea deities attacked Liyue together, the nation would face an overwhelming threat.
-
Yunqin was currently walking through the desolate wilderness of Guili Plains.
The night wind swept withered grass and debris past her ankles, and the silhouette of the distant, ruined ruins looked especially bleak against the dark sky. Only a few stars clung to the inky heavens, their faint light barely piercing the darkness.
When the familiar little mud hut came into view, her shoulders, tense from the long journey, finally relaxed slightly, and even her breathing eased.
She had once stayed here with Lumine and Paimon. The memory of their first encounter remained as vivid as if it had happened just yesterday.
"Good, it hasn't been demolished," Yunqin muttered to the empty wilderness, forcing a faint smile.
Ever since returning her Geo Vision to Zhongli, her control over the Geo element had become sluggish; she couldn't even condense simple Geo constructs anymore, forcing her to seek temporary shelter here.
She walked over to the bed and sat down, intending to catch her breath in the dim moonlight, when she suddenly noticed the light outside the window abruptly darken, as if something had completely blocked it out.
A familiar, bone-chilling aura filled the air, identical to the Abyssal aura that had previously emanated from Huoqin.
"Something's wrong!" Yunqin sprang to her feet, intending to rush outside, but the moment she took a half-step out of the mud hut, she was stopped by an invisible barrier.
She pounded on the transparent "wall," but the barrier remained utterly still, without a single crack appearing.
"Stop wasting your efforts," a raspy voice came from behind her. "Do you really think you can escape with your current strength?"
Yunqin whirled around, but saw no one. Only swirling black mist gradually coalesced in the air.
"What do you want?" she demanded, clenching her fists and trying to summon her power.
But the Hydro Element felt frozen, flickering weakly at her fingertips. Not even a drop of water would materialize.
"Wouldn't it be better to consider our proposal carefully?" The voice ignored her question, continuing as if speaking to itself. "All this heart-to-heart talk searching for answers, and entrusting your affairs to the Conqueror of Demons... aren't you tired?"
"But it doesn't matter. The deviation from the plan isn't significant." The black mist gradually coalesced into a vague human figure.
As soon as the words were spoken, several streams of black energy surged from all directions, coiling around Yunqin's limbs like venomous snakes.
She tried to dodge, but found herself paralyzed, forced to watch helplessly as the dark mist burrowed into her bones and veins.