Ren
Liyue Harbor was active in the early afternoon. People rushing throughout the city that never sleeps.
A woman carrying a basket of fruits turned a corner near the commercial district's lower edge, jolted when she heard a shout.
From somewhere to her left, from inside what looked like a modest warehouse wedged between a dyeing shop and a grain storage unit, someone had just shouted loud enough for her to hear.
Her eyes instinctively tried to find some kind of identification for the building.
On the front, above the door, was a wooden sign. The paint was relatively new. Clean characters, and a small emblem of an odd-looking wheel beneath them.
Shadow Courier.
She looked at the sign for a moment, then continued on her way.
Inside, the shouting continued.
All of the Shadow Courier employees can be seen sitting in foldable wooden chairs. Hengyi (technically not an employee but was invited), Daquan, and Xiaosi sat in the back, while Meifen and Shenhe sat in the front.
The atmosphere was tense as they all looked at Ren, who stood at the front. Behind him was a board with names that had numbers next to them
[DELIVERIES MADE]
Daquan — 31
Xiaosi — 38
Meifen — 52
Shenhe —
It was the end of the month, and Ren was about to reveal who made the most successful deliveries and would obtain the title of Employee of the Month.
Everybody was silent. Daquan had been holding his breath for long enough that his face was turning red.
Xiaosi and Hengyi held each other in anticipation and slight fear at the aura the two women in front of them were exuding.
Meifen had her arms crossed and her eyes fixed on that space beside Shenhe's name. Occasionally, glaring at the woman to her side.
Shenhe was looking at the board with her usual blank expression. But Ren could spot that her eyes had a glint of sharpness, and her body was tense.
'Didn't think she could get this competitive.' Ren was amused by the sight and let the silence keep going for a few more seconds.
He picked up the chalk and slowly moved his hand to the board.
Xiaosi couldn't take the anticipation. "Just write it already—!"
"Shut up!"
"Quiet."
The man shrank into his seat from the glare of the two women.
Ren chuckled out loud and decided to put them out of their misery.
Shenhe — 49
It took the room two seconds to process what was written.
"FUCK YES!" Meifen jumped from her chair and threw both fists up. The chair scraped back across the floor.
She turned to Daquan and pointed. "Eat shit, boys!" She turned to Shenhe and pointed smugly. "Looks like I win, snow princess."
It took her a moment to remember that Shenhe said she was a student of an Adeptus, and she quickly retracted her finger. But her smug gaze hadn't left Shenhe.
"Congratulations, Meifen," Shenhe said with a flat tone. But it was clear that her pride was hurt.
She stood up from her chair and walked up to Meifen, who got a little nervous but didn't back down—or more accurately, was scared to move.
They were face-to-face as Shenhe glared at her. But Meifen quickly realised it wasn't a glare of anger, but one of competitiveness.
"Enjoy this victory while it lasts." Shenhe crossed her arms, "I intend to take it from you next month. Then the month after that."
Meifen wasn't one to back down from a challenge and sized Shenhe up, getting close to her face.
She gave Shenhe a competitive grin, "You're welcome to try."
"I will."
Hengyi watched the whole exchange in both awe and fear. He didn't know why he was invited to see who the first Employee of the Month was, but he was glad. To see that his Master had grown so quickly is a testament to his ability.
Also, because he had no friends. It had been a while since he'd felt this included in anything, really.
Ren looked at the board with a sense of pride. At the five people in front of him who had, somehow, become his.
He laughed out loud, "Alright, guys, good job this first month. You all killed it. Go enjoy your weekends, you deserve it."
/ — /
Not long after that, the warehouse quickly emptied.
Xiaosi and Daquan left together, already bickering about something Ren didn't catch. Meifen walked out with a sway in her step. Still riding the high of beating Shenhe.
Hengyi stayed to chat a little. It turns out that after Ren's commission, more people had actually come to him for work.
He didn't know why, but he said that he got an offer from the Fatui to work for them long term, but he was already loyal to Ren, so he declined.
He also said something about how he made a step in reclaiming his honor, but Ren didn't really get the full picture.
It made Ren happy to see Hengyi slowly making a name for himself. He was a weird guy, but honest and loyal.
Pushing the thought to the side, Ren tidied up the board and turned to see that Shenhe was the only one who stayed after everyone had long left.
Ren wasn't surprised anymore. He'd learned by now that when Shenhe had something to say, she didn't rush toward it. She just waited until the moment suited her like a really creepy predator.
He started stacking the chairs against the wall, and she just stared at him while he did so. This quirk of hers turns out not to be special to him, but constant across everyone she meets.
'Probably a result of being raised by an Adeptus,' Ren reasoned. 'It must be hard to pick up on social cues if the only role model you have is a giant bird.'
"How's the delivery work going?" he asked.
"More difficult than expected."
That was surprising to hear. "Specifically?"
"My strength and speed are liabilities when the cargo isn't reinforced for them." She said. Her eyes drooped down slightly in dejection.
This was something he noticed too. Slowly, Shenhe had begun to show more emotion, especially with Meifen. Those two got along well.
"And I can only store so much in my Vision's subspace. I've been… working around both problems."
"You figured it out, though."
"Eventually." She paused again. "It took time."
Ren hummed, then decided to bring up another topic. "You've been getting along well with the others."
She tilted her head, "I… suppose I am?" sounding like she didn't even know how herself.
Unbeknownst to her, her mouth turned slightly upward in a smile. "They are very pleasant to be around."
The sight of Shenhe like that, even Ren had to feel happy for her. He was still wary and slightly afraid of her killing him, but still.
"Who do you like the most?" Ren asked while pushing the board away. "If you don't mind me asking."
Shenhe took a while to think before answering, "I suppose it is Meifen. As she is the one I find myself spending time with the most."
'Oh?' Ren grinned.
"I do not like that look on your face," Shenhe glared at him.
"Sorry! Sorry." He quickly apologised, "But what do you think about her? You must like her a lot if you let her call you that snow princess."
"I suppose I do," Shenhe answered plainly.
'I see potential here.' Ren thought in amusement. Of course, he didn't voice his thoughts. Shipping his own employees was very unprofessional.
He nodded and moved on. "Then how about your curse?" He leaned against the table. "Is the Shadow Band working?"
She looked at her left bicep. The arm band sat against her skin, and he could feel the faint CE threading through it from here, but now there was a hint of Shenhe's own energy.
"I have made progress," she said, lighting her arm up with her pale energy. "I found much success in reinforcing myself and imbuing objects."
She clenched her fist, and the cold flame disappeared. "But projecting it outward in its raw form is difficult. The energy keeps scattering."
"That's the same case for Cursed Energy, so don't get too caught up with that."
She looked at him and said nothing, which he'd also learned to translate. It meant that she was going to consider his words, but not agree with it outright.
"You're doing well," Ren said.
"I know." She glared lightly at him. "I don't need your words to confirm it."
There it was. Standard Shenhe.
He thought about the decision to hire her. He'd thought about it for a while because bringing someone of Shenhe's capability into a business context required a specific kind of trust that he wasn't sure either of them had at the time.
But she was definitely going to be useful, so Ren eventually relented. The opportunity cost of passing up such a great employee was too much.
Also, he got to pay her less than his other employees. It was still a livable wage, higher than the minimum—he wasn't a monster—but it gave his wallet a breather.
He was right to assume that she was already loaded as an Adeptus, especially since she could just ask Ganyu for anything.
The strange part was what he hadn't fully accounted for. Making someone who was already terrifyingly strong, stronger.
'She was already built different before I got involved. Now she's built different and improving… Scary,'
Even with his own growth in comparison, she was just getting strong too fast. Her physical strength was getting too out of hand, so he was sure she could smash his head with her bare hands.
He shook the thought away and turned to Shenhe. Mildly surprised that she was still sticking around. She'd have usually left by now.
"Master has finished your weapon."
Ren froze.
"She's inviting you to collect it when you have time."
'When you have time.' Which, from Cloud Retainer, probably meant at his earliest convenience.
"I'll go immediately."
Shenhe nodded and walked toward the door. Ren grabbed his coat from the hook on the wall and followed, pulling it on as he went.
He'd been waiting for that weapon for over a month. He could barely hold back the grin forming on his face as he ran out to the Liyue's gates.
/ — /
Nue broke through the cloud layer, and the peak of Mt. Aocang came into view, revealing a familiar bird staring at him.
Cloud Retainer was in her bird form, perched at the edge of her abode. She tracked Ren's approach as Nue descended with her uncanny bird eyes.
'Scary,'
Nue squealed.
"No, buddy, you have really pretty eyes."
It wasn't convinced.
He landed with a soft thud and dismissed Nue.
Cloud Retainer stepped and gestured toward the path leading to the abode's entrance. He got the idea and followed.
"You came faster than expected," She said, "One expected you to postpone as long as possible."
He had to suppress a groan. She had not been subtle in constantly talking about how he reacted when they first met, with him fainting and all.
Having Ganyu talk about that was so embarrassing…
"I heard the weapon was ready."
"Mm." She seemed unsurprised. "How is Ganyu?"
"She's doing well, though I haven't seen her as often. I think it's because the Rite of Descension is happening soon and she's swamped with preparation."
"Oh? One did not expect it to be so soon." She glanced at him, "So this will be your first Rite of Descension, correct?"
Ren nodded. It was both exciting and terrifying to be able to see an Archon up close soon. But he was going to be watching from afar. He wasn't risking another Xiao incident.
"Ganyu speaks well of you. You have grown much in the meager time you have been in Liyue."
Ren wasn't entirely sure what to do with that. "That's good to hear."
Cloud Retainer made a satisfied sound as they continued their walk. The path wound upward slightly, the view of Liyue Harbor visible through the mist below.
He wasn't as scared of the area now. After a few times coming and going, he was pretty sure Cloud Retainer wouldn't just kill him anymore.
"One heard from Shenhe that you hired her for your operations."
Ren had to hold himself back from flinching.
'Does she know that I pay her less? Is she going to be angry?'
"I did," he said, trying his best to sound neutral. "She was actually the one who requested the position. She reviewed and signed the contract herself, so I found no issue."
'Very important detail. She signed it of her own free will.'
Cloud Retainer was quiet for a moment.
"Did she?"
"She did for some reason."
'Now that I think of it, I never knew why she asked to become my employee.'
Cloud Retainer didn't say anything else, but Ren had the odd feeling that she was pleased for some reason. Like she was satisfied with some result.
'Why does she always act like that when I'm around…'
Not a moment later, they reached the entrance. The door, if it could be called that, opened at Cloud Retainer's approach, and she led him inside.
'What the?'
The room she brought him to was not the one he remembered last time. He was pretty sure he was on a floating island with waterfalls, the last time he was here, not a normal room.
The space was clean and uncluttered, with light coming from sources he couldn't identify. It looked like a storage room of some sort.
Ren reasoned that the abode probably had some kind of reconfiguration mechanism. It was an adeptal dwelling. Anything was possible.
A bright light appeared from his side as Cloud Retainer transformed into her human form. It was majestic in a way, how a bird could transform into an elegant woman.
Xianyun moved to a surface in the corner of the room and turned with the sword in her hands.
He could immediately sense the energy in the sword.
'That thing is cursed,' Yet it didn't seem as hostile as Shenhe's. It might have been dangerous for other people, but he's been in the Chasm already. This wasn't anything he couldn't handle.
"This is a weapon that One refined to become Adeptal-Grade," Xianyun said. "One is sure you can already sense the curse that permeates this sword."
She set it carefully across both palms and extended it toward him. "It amplifies your senses. Reaction time, perception, hearing, vision, smell."
Ren tried to ignore the smug look on Xianyun's face as she stared at his excited expression.
He couldn't help it. This was literally a weapon made by a literal demigod.
'Gimme gimme!'
Ren took the sword. The weight was perfect and balanced. Definitely something he could get used to.
The moment his hands closed around the grip, the curse activated immediately. His senses sharpened by a degree that was immediately noticeable and a little overwhelming.
The ambient sounds of the abode became much more noticeable. The light seemed slightly brighter. And he felt like he could see things in much greater detail.
'Whoa. That's trippy.' He blinked a couple of times, trying to get used to the feeling before deciding just to put the weapon on the table for now. 'It's like that one time dad accidentally gave me shrooms. Good times.'
"For most people, those abilities come at a great cost," Xianyun continued, "the curse would corrode their mind and body. The sensory amplification alone would overload their brain in mere hours."
"However," She smiled at him. "Your unique constitution should protect you from the curse's negative effects, but—"
"I need to train before the enhancements are actually useful. Or else it would just decrease my combat effectiveness."
"Correct." She seemed pleased that he'd understood without needing it spelled out. "With consistent use, over decades, your absorption will gradually draw the curse's energy from the blade. Your Cursed Energy infusion will work against it simultaneously. Eventually, what remains will be the blade itself and its benefits."
He stared at the blade in awe. Decades. That was a long-term project by any measure, but it would be so worth it. He filed it and moved on.
"How about the adeptal arts?" he said slowly. "That was my other demand."
Xianyun didn't take offence to his directness. "Most Adeptal Techniques were not designed with mortal physiology in mind. Most are simply born with the ability. It is very rare that anyone can learn it."
She hummed, putting a hand under her cheek, "You don't exactly meet the conditions for compatibility with Adeptal Energy, quite the opposite in fact."
"But Shenhe does. While she was born with exceptional compatibility, she is also a mortal and has navigated Adeptal Energy magnificently." She put a hand on her hip, "If you need guidance, One sees Shenhe as a far more suitable teacher. She knows what techniques are suitable for mortals."
The prospect of asking Shenhe to teach him anything sent shivers down his spine. That was practically asking for a beatdown into a coma.
"And if none of them suit me?"
"Then you develop your own." She said simply, as though this was obvious. "You already work at the intersection of your… technique and Teyvat's own powers. That ground has not been explored. What emerges from it is yours to define."
'My own adeptal arts…'
Could he really do something like that?
Setting the thought aside for later, Ren put the sword into his shadow storage.
'I'll come up with a cool name later.'
"I'll take it." He straightened up. "Even if these were a repayment, thank you, Madam Xianyun. This means… a lot to me."
Xianyun inclined her head slightly, her expression taking on a softer quality he rarely saw on her.
Then he asked the most important question. His last demand.
"The teleportation. That was my last demand. Is there anything you could tell me?" He asked hopefully.
The expression on her face changed to a more solemn one.
"One has not forgotten." She was quiet for a moment. "One wishes the answer were more useful to you."
"One understands that you are looking for something specific," she said. "Not teleportation across distance. You are looking for traversal between worlds. Between realities." She looked at him and Ren nodded.
"In One's long existence, cross-world traversal exists. One can tell you that." She stopped talking for a moment. "…But it exists in cases so rare and so specific that the knowledge One holds is either bound by contract to remain unspoken, or simply has no actionable form."
"One apologises. One cannot tell you how or where to begin. One cannot even point you in any direction that would help."
The room was quiet.
'She… really has nothing?'
Obviously, he knew cross-world teleportation was a thing. He was obviously teleported somehow. But he expected her to have some clues at least, something that would point him in the right direction.
There was always the possibility that she didn't have anything to tell him. But he told himself that he'd be prepared for such an answer.
Clearly, he wasn't.
'And the information she does have is bound to secrecy by a contract… There's no way for her to tell me.'
"Okay," he said after a moment. Trying to shrug off the sad feeling in his chest. "Thank you for being honest about it."
"One is sorry it isn't more."
Ren just gave her a respectful smile, "I promise I'll make good use of the weapon. I'll give it a good name too."
Xianyun's eyes widened for some reason, but her eyes turned soft. She walked up close to him. Given that he was decently taller than her in this form, she had to look up at him, which was slightly odd.
Then, she reached up and set her hand on his head.
'…Huh?'
It was brief. Just a moment, and then her hand was back at her side.
For some reason, Ren felt himself get slightly teary-eyed at the action. But he quickly blinked them away.
"The path you're walking is not a simple one. One hopes you find yourself where you want to be." She smiled gently. "Stay safe. Ganyu is rather fond of you, and One would not enjoy delivering news that you have perished."
'Right. Ganyu.'
He nodded. "I'll stay safe."
She walked him to the entrance, and he called Nue and climbed up and let the mountain drop away beneath them as they flew toward Liyue Harbor.
The city emerged through the cloud layer slowly, the harbor spreading across the coastline in the late afternoon light.
He couldn't even enjoy the sight. His mind was still thinking of the answers Cloud Retainer gave him.
One of the oldest and most knowledgeable beings in Liyue, someone who had stood at Rex Lapis's side, had told him that she had no info to give him that would help him get home…
'Maybe what I'm looking for isn't even in Liyue…'
He didn't know when he arrived at that conclusion exactly. Somewhere between the mountain and the harbor, the thought had finally settled in his mind.
Liyue had given him many things. Stability, income, friends, and a surprising bunch of connections.
But maybe that was all it had.
If he wanted to find any chance at getting home, maybe he needed to search elsewhere.
That was a logical conclusion anyone would come to. He had always intended to go home after all. Staying in Teyvat wouldn't let him achieve what he needed to.
But the thought of leaving everything left him with an odd feeling of emptiness.
***
Author Notes: Sorry for the chapter taking so long. I was busy planning the future arcs and got sick midway (I hate the cold). Anyway, enjoy this chapter. At the end of this arc, I will show a teaser drawing of a certain shikigami's first summoning.