"Liyue's been quiet enough lately, nothing much going on. What made you think of inviting an idle Consultant like me out to eat?" Zhongli lifted his teacup and took a small sip.
The private room on the second floor was pleasantly still. With the folding screen drawn across, it shut out every eye outside.
Ye Xi set the screen squarely in the doorway and sighed. "There's trouble over in Fontaine."
"Fontaine?" Zhongli's hand paused on his cup, as though something had come back to him, though his tone stayed level. "Tell me the details."
"Word is that a flood is going to break out there, and it will affect all of Teyvat. Lady Alice of the Hexenzirkel came to me and asked me to lend a hand."
Ye Xi relayed the whole conversation he'd had with Alice in Mondstadt the day before.
"As things stand, the Fourth Fatui Harbinger, The Knave, is in Fontaine leading the children of the House of the Hearth in an investigation into the situation."
"The Hydro Archon Furina doesn't appear to be doing anything, and Chief Justice Neuvillette hasn't made the danger of the prophecy public either."
"So I was thinking that you, Consultant, and a few of the other Gods might step in and help."
At the name Alice, Zhongli's thoughts turned back to the witch who had once toured Liyue at his side.
"Lady Alice, and a Fatui Harbinger…" Zhongli set down his cup, a thread of curiosity in his gaze. "Someone from the Fatui? How did she find you?"
"That's a long story. She spent some time in the Serenitea Pot and told me a great deal about Fontaine." Ye Xi laid out the business with Arlecchino in brief — the Fontaine Prophecy, the disturbances in the Primordial Sea water, and the way Furina had conducted herself.
Zhongli heard him out, thought for a moment, then spoke slowly. "Fontaine's problem is not to be taken lightly. If even the Hydro Archon is doing nothing, then the situation is likely far more tangled than we imagine."
"Which is exactly why I wanted to sit down with a few of the Gods and see whether there's a way to solve it," Ye Xi said bluntly.
Zhongli shook his head. "No. We cannot intervene."
"Huh?"
Ye Xi had expected this to go smoothly. The disaster would spread across all of Teyvat, after all; to protect the people of their own nations, the Gods had no reason to refuse.
And yet at his very first stop, Zhongli had turned him down flat.
"Why!? You can't just stand there and watch Fontaine slide into catastrophe." Ye Xi turned it over and over and still couldn't make sense of it.
Zhongli hesitated a moment, then finally set his cup aside and explained. "This matter concerns a certain man — Fontaine's Chief Justice."
"You mean Neuvillette?"
"That's right."
Zhongli let out a faint sigh. "You've never met him. And even if you had, you wouldn't know the truth about him."
"He is not an ordinary human being."
"Not human?" That left Ye Xi more baffled than before.
As a rule, every nation had its God and the God's kin. If those kin weren't human, then they were Adepti, or some other creature with a very impressive pedigree.
Then it came back to him: Arlecchino had said the Hydro Archon Furina was a huge celebrity, adored across Fontaine.
But nothing in the way Furina carried herself was godlike. She came off as a timid little girl instead.
One fright from Arlecchino and she'd wept for an entire night. That wasn't a God — that was a human!
By contrast, Fontaine's Chief Justice enjoyed a sterling reputation among the people, presided over the Opera Epiclese, and held the power of judgment in his hands.
Authority on that level plainly ran far above the Hydro Archon Furina's.
Standing, prestige, power — all of it higher than Furina's.
Which planted a rather odd notion in Ye Xi's head.
"Don't tell me Neuvillette is the real God?"
"No. The God truly is that celebrity named Furina." Zhongli was still holding back the punchline.
"Then who exactly is Neuvillette?"
"He… is Fontaine's Hydro Dragon Sovereign."
"The Hydro Dragon Sovereign!?"
Ye Xi blinked. "Is he strong?"
"His power is considerable."
"Stronger than Azhdaha?"
"I don't know." That question left even Zhongli with nothing to say.
The Hydro Dragon Sovereign and the Geo Dragon Sovereign were both beings born of the elements themselves. Which of them was stronger, he genuinely had no idea.
Ye Xi gave him a flat look. "Who cares. I handled Azhdaha. You think one Hydro Dragon Sovereign is going to be a problem?"
"You could handle him. We cannot."
"Not even several Gods together?"
Zhongli shook his head. "It isn't that we couldn't defeat him. After the war between the ancient Dragon Sovereigns and The Heavenly Principles ended, the Sovereigns came to despise that invasion bitterly — and they have never recognized us, the Seven Archons who rule this mortal world."
"If he lays eyes on us Seven Archons, hostility is guaranteed, and that would only stir up conflict and trouble we don't need."
"So this task is better left to you. The Seven Archons can support you from the shadows, but we cannot meet Neuvillette out in the open."
Now Ye Xi understood.
The Hydro Dragon wasn't worth fearing, and for Fontaine's disaster, the Gods could back him quietly from behind the curtain. All he had to do was go to Fontaine, gather intelligence, bring it back, and then everyone could work out a plan together.
"Then I'm counting on all of you," Ye Xi said gratefully.
Just then Xiangling came over with a platter of Boiled Fish and a plate of Golden Shrimp Balls, setting them down in front of the two of them.
"Food's up! Everything's fresh out of the kitchen today," Xiangling said with a smile.
"Many thanks, Miss Xiangling," Zhongli answered politely.
Ye Xi didn't wait a second. He plucked up a piece of the fish, put it in his mouth, and praised it. "That's the flavor I know. Delicious — I love it!"
"Hehe." Xiangling's face lit with a gratified smile. "As long as the two of you approve, I'm perfectly content."
Over the meal the two of them ate and talked, and the subject drifted from Fontaine's crisis to daily life in Liyue. The bustle of Liyue Harbor, the food at the Wanmin Restaurant, the small stories from the streets and alleys — all of it surfaced, one piece at a time, in their conversation.
"I'll go listen to a few tunes this afternoon." Zhongli sighed lightly. "Fontaine is in your hands, great hero."
"Must be nice, being this free every single day. Really burns me up," Ye Xi grumbled.
Then a burst of hurried footsteps shattered the calm.
Keqing came running into the Wanmin Restaurant and made straight for Ye Xi.
"Ye Xi, Arlecchino sent a carrier pigeon. Here's the letter," Keqing said, breathing hard.
Ye Xi took it, unfolded it, and his brow drew tight.
"What is it?" Zhongli asked, watching him.
"A message from Arlecchino. The Primordial Sea water in Fontaine has surged even more violently — the Fortress of Meropide has activated its emergency response." Ye Xi's expression had gone grave.
"It seems matters are more pressing than I expected." Zhongli rose to his feet. "You must move quickly."
"Agreed." Ye Xi nodded. "I'm setting out for Fontaine right now."
He returned to the Serenitea Pot and asked Raiden Ei for help.
One stroke of her blade split open a rift in space and time. Ye Xi had only to step through it, and he was standing at Fontaine's largest harbor.
At Fontaine's harbor the morning mist had just burned away. Sunlight poured over the sapphire sea, and the water glittered as though countless flecks of gold were leaping along the crests of the waves.
Enormous wooden piers stretched out into the water. Masts rose thick as a forest, sails threw their drifting shadows, and ships came and went — some unloading cargo, some already raising canvas to depart.
The air held the salt tang of seawater, the raw smell of the fish market, and the sweetness floating over from a bakery further off, all woven into one scent that belonged to harbors and nowhere else.
On the docks, porters carried heavy freight on their shoulders and in their hands, moving with sure steps between the ships and the warehouses.
Sweat beaded on their brows and the sea wind had baked their skin dark, but honest grins sat on their faces, and now and then they traded jokes in loud, open voices.
The fishermen stood at their bows, tipping netful after netful of fresh fish and shrimp into wooden barrels. Silver scales flashed dazzlingly in the sun, and the traders around them bid against one another for the catch.
In the harbor market, the vendors had long since laid out their stalls, goods of every kind arrayed in a feast for the eyes. There were spices and silks hauled in from across distant oceans, and local wine and cheese besides.
The stallkeepers cried out their wares, one voice rising as another fell, like a rowdy symphony of the streets. Travelers wound between the stands, some stopping to browse, some haggling, and every so often a phrase of some foreign tongue would surface amid Fontaine's own dialect — an oddly charming sound.
Further off, buildings with white walls and blue roofs climbed the hillside, scattered in pleasing disorder around the port.
Vines covered their outer walls, and here and there a few open blossoms punctuated the green leaves, lending the harbor a touch of life and romance.
In the streets, carriages and pedestrians came and went without pause. Wheels creaked over the flagstones, mingling with the clop of hooves into a picture of order inside all that motion.
In the plaza beside the docks, a group of street performers had drawn a crowd. A violinist played with his eyes shut, a soaring melody flowing out from under his fingers; beside him a dancer turned with the music, her skirt cutting graceful arcs through the air. Applause and cheering burst from the onlookers again and again, the mood bright and warm.
Ye Xi stood at the edge of the pier and let his eyes travel over all that flourishing life, and a hundred thoughts stirred at once. Fontaine's harbor was every bit as busy and full of vitality as the rumors claimed.
He drew a deep breath. Sea wind and the smell of fresh bread mixed in the air, as though the place itself were welcoming him.
He stepped into the crowd. The flagstones under his feet were warm from the sun, and every stride felt like walking along the veins of history.
The shop windows on both sides of the street were crowded with exquisite goods, from jewelry to fine handicrafts, every one of them proclaiming Fontaine's wealth and prosperity.
Now and then a few gulls swept overhead with crisp cries, as if adding a strain of natural rhythm to the port.
Ye Xi's gaze was caught by a tall clock tower in the distance. Its spire drove straight into the clouds, and golden patterns were inlaid across the clock face, throwing back a blinding glare under the sun.
Below the tower a band of children chased one another about, their laughter clear and sweet, as if it were telling of a city both happy and free of worry.
Not a single person here spared a thought for the disaster in the prophecy.
They didn't seem to know a catastrophe was coming at all!
It made no sense.
While Ye Xi was still scanning the street with no particular destination in mind, a greeting came from behind him.
"Excuse me — are you Mister Ye Xi?"
Ye Xi turned at the voice and found himself caught off guard.
He knew these two!
Back when Genshin Impact had just launched, the pair standing in front of him had appeared in that "Footprints" PV.
The two of them seemed to be brother and sister. Magicians.
What were their names again…
"Hello. My name is Lyney, and this is my sister, Lynette."
Lyney stood at the corner of the street, tall and slender in a well-tailored dark blue formal coat, gold embroidery worked along the lapels, elegant without losing a boy's liveliness.
His hair was pale gold and lightly curled, glowing softly in the sunlight, as though a summer morning's dew had gently soaked through it.
His features were fine, with a trace of boyish greenness about the brow, yet those deep blue eyes carried a steadiness and wisdom beyond his years, the kind that seemed able to see straight through a person.
A faint smile hovered at the corner of his mouth — courteous, and at the same time touched with something elusive and mysterious.
Lynette stood beside him, small and slight in a pale violet dress, tiny silver sequins scattered along the hem that caught the light with every movement, like stars flickering in a night sky.
Her hair was a soft chestnut, tied into two impish tails that swayed lightly as she moved, giving her a quick, spirited air.
Her eyes were a clear green, exactly like new leaves in spring, brimming with life and innocence. Her features were delicate, her nose small and neat, the corners of her mouth tilted up in a faint, permanent smile, as though everything around her filled her with curiosity and anticipation.
White lace gloves covered her hands, dainty and a little childish all at once. The whole of her was like a little princess who had walked out of a fairy tale, guileless yet carrying a spark of vitality impossible to overlook.
"Take me to Arlecchino."
Ye Xi confirmed who he was. Part of him still wanted to wander the Court of Fontaine — the setting here was so novel, with clockwork mechanisms built into the roads and gears actually mounted on the surrounding buildings. It really was a marvel.
But the main purpose of this trip was to resolve the crisis bearing down on Fontaine. The sightseeing could wait for another day.
The House of the Hearth stood in a quiet corner of the city of Fontaine, far from the clamor of the harbor and the noise of the market. The building looked plain and graceful, its cream-white walls smothered in emerald vines, small blossoms opening here and there among them, giving the place an air of life and nature.
The dark blue roof glowed softly in the sun, and a copper weathervane stood on its peak, turning gently with the wind and giving off the faintest ring of metal.
Push open the heavy oak door and a spacious hall opened up before the eyes.
The hall's floor was laid in dark timber, polished smooth as a mirror, reflecting the sunlight that spilled in through the windows.
Several oil paintings hung on the walls, their landscapes hushed and lovely, as though Fontaine's natural scenery had been fixed on canvas for all time.
A hearth occupied one side of the hall, a warm fire burning in the grate; as the flames leapt they gave off a faint scent of pinewood, comfortable and reassuring beyond words.
At the center of the hall stood a long table of beautiful carving, spread with a snow-white cloth whose edges were embroidered in gold, refined and stately at once.
Silver candlesticks stood on the table, their flames swaying, lending the whole hall a note of warmth. High-backed chairs were arranged around it, intricate patterns cut into their backs, dignified without sacrificing grace.
Beyond the hall ran a corridor lined with red carpet, closed rooms on either side, brass knockers set into their doors with fine, delicate patterns carved into the metal.
At the end of the corridor was an enormous floor-to-ceiling window, and beyond it a carefully tended garden planted with flowers of every color. Their fragrance drifted indoors on the breeze until standing there felt like being cradled in nature's own arms.
Aside from all those tasteful furnishings, there were the traces of children living here.
The house was warm and homelike, photographs of the children everywhere — though Ye Xi noticed that Arlecchino appeared in almost none of them.
And when she did appear, it was only her back.
There was a single family portrait, and in it Arlecchino sat squarely at the center, her face all stern authority.
At last Lyney stopped in front of a wooden door that opened from both sides.
Knock, knock, knock—
Lyney rapped lightly and said in a low voice, "Father, Mister Ye Xi is here."
____
Gift for Everyone: Once we hit 50 Powerstones, I'll release +1 bonus chapter
________________________________________
If you want more chapters, please consider supporting my page on (P). with 50 advanced chapters available on (P)
👻 Join the crew by searching Leanzin on (P). You know the spot! 😉