"It's not that I want to see, I'm just curious, so I asked," Yu Xie said.

"I see." Kitsune Saiguu raised one hand above her head and scratched her own head. As her hand moved, two white fox ears appeared. "I hid my ears to make myself look more ordinary."

Indeed, after using a secret technique to hide her ears, Kitsune Saiguu looked like an ordinary human. However, her aura was anything but ordinary.

"It seems like you've seen many amazing things. Now that you're facing a youkai from Inazuma, you're not afraid," Kitsune Saiguu smiled and walked up to Yu Xie.

"You won't harm me, will you?" Yu Xie also smiled.

"Well, that's hard to say. Who knows, I might just want to eat you," Kitsune Saiguu said with a mischievous grin.

Yu Xie hesitated for a moment, as if he had started to understand the current head priestess of the Narukami Shrine's personality and where it might have come from.

"My meat isn't tasty, and I haven't even bathed yet," Yu Xie walked to the window and looked outside.

The rain outside had gradually stopped, and the sound of light rain slowly disappeared.

"The rain has stopped," Kitsune Saiguu walked to the window as well. "It seems like I should be leaving."

"Do you need me to guide you?" Yu Xie asked.

"No need. I'll find my way slowly. I'll get there eventually," Kitsune Saiguu turned around and walked out the door, glancing back with a gentle smile. "Thanks for the directions. See you next time."

With that, the figure of Kitsune Saiguu gradually faded into the distance.

Yu Xie still felt a bit bewildered and puzzled.

The way the story was unfolding now seemed to be diverging much more from the original development than he had imagined.

But no matter what, at least for now, it seemed that the current developments weren't all that bad.

.....

The next day.

Yu Xie woke up early.

It had been several days since he last worked, so today he decided to visit the Adventurers' Guild and see if there were any suitable commissions.

Although money wasn't an issue right now, it wasn't good to be without an income either, as savings would eventually run out.

Even though he had noticed from Ningguang's attitude that he could stay in the Yuehai Pavilion without charge for now, it still felt a bit strange to do so.

Arriving at the Adventurers' Guild, the receptionist, Miss Katheryne, was still standing at the counter, diligently doing her work.

Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

"Katheryne, are there any commissions available recently?" Yu Xie approached.

"Ad Astra Abyssoque, Mr. Yu Xie, welcome to the Adventurers' Guild," Katheryne flashed her signature smile. "As for recent commissions… there aren't any that are particularly suitable for you. Would you like to take a look yourself?"

Saying this, Katheryne took out a commission form from beneath the counter.

Yu Xie took the form, which detailed many different commissions.

He flipped through the pages, but none of the commissions caught his eye.

However, in the end, his gaze stopped.

One commission caught Yu Xie's attention—there had been a series of eerie events in a small village in the mountains, possibly caused by some kind of malevolent entity. Some adventurers had gone to investigate, but all returned without success, with a few even coming back with symptoms of mental instability.

This commission offered a fairly high reward, and it had been posted for quite some time. Logically speaking, such a generous reward should have attracted capable individuals to take care of it by now.

But since it was still listed, it was clear that this commission was not simple.

"How about this commission?" Yu Xie pointed to the content on the commission form.

"This commission... a total of eighteen adventurers have taken it on, but none have succeeded. Among them, five adventurers returned with varying degrees of mental instability. So, Mr. Yu Xie, if you wish to take on this commission, I advise you to think carefully," Katheryne explained truthfully.

"I see the commission was issued by a small village, but the reward seems a bit too high. This doesn't seem quite right. Could it be that there's a mine in this village?"

"That's correct. Since the commission hasn't been resolved, in order to maintain the reputation of the Adventurers' Guild, the guild has decided to add extra reward money from their own funds, hoping to attract someone capable," Katheryne explained.

"I see." Yu Xie stroked his chin and pondered. "In that case, I'll take it."

"Mr. Yu Xie, are you sure? This commission might be more difficult than you expect."

"I'm sure," Yu Xie smiled.

"Alright, then I will immediately update this commission to show that it has been accepted."

After leaving the Adventurers' Guild, Yu Xie walked along the streets.

Though he had only been in Liyue for a short time, he had already walked this street countless times and was quite familiar with it.

As he was thinking about his next plan, a familiar voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Yu Xie?"

Yu Xie snapped back to attention and saw Xian Yun and Shen He walking toward him.

"Xian Yun, Shen He, what are you two up to...?"

Xian Yun and Shen He were carrying quite a bit of stuff in large and small bundles, though Yu Xie couldn't tell what they were.

"We're planning to go on a little excursion, so we're buying some things we'll need," Xian Yun explained. "If you have time sometime, how about joining us for the trip?"

"Of course, I'd love to, but I might be busy in the next few days. I just took on a commission from the Adventurers' Guild, and it seems a bit tricky."

"What commission?" Xian Yun asked, a bit curious.

"There's a small village where something possibly malevolent is going on. Many adventurers have gone to investigate, but none have succeeded, and some even came back with symptoms of mental instability."

"Evil spirits..." Xian Yun thought for a moment, then said, "I'll go with you. After all, I'm an Adeptus... ahem, in any case, exorcising evil spirits is a piece of cake for me."

"But aren't you two preparing for an excursion?"

"We've almost finished shopping for everything. We can help you solve your commission first, and then head off for the excursion afterward, right?" Xian Yun smiled slightly, as if already looking forward to the scene of the outing with Yu Xie.

As for dealing with evil spirits… for Xian Yun, that was her area of expertise, and she could handle it effortlessly.

At that moment, another voice rang out—this one was a clear, crisp female voice.

The voice called out Yu Xie's name, and Xian Yun suddenly had a bad premonition.

"Yu Xie! I didn't expect we'd meet again so soon!"

Yu Xie turned toward the voice and saw Kitsune Saiguu walking toward him from the side of the street.

"Miss Kitsune Saiguu," Yu Xie greeted her.

"Yu Xie, this is...?" Xian Yun looked at Kitsune Saiguu, suddenly feeling an inexplicable "sense of crisis" in her heart.

"Hello, I'm Kitsune Saiguu, from Inazuma," Kitsune Saiguu smiled faintly, her gaze briefly meeting Xian Yun's.

In that brief moment, Kitsune Saiguu also sensed a certain unspoken "sense of crisis."