Gaming

Location: Teyvat is the continent, a fantasy world where the seven elements flow and converge. In the distant past, the Archons granted mortals unique elemental abilities. With the help of such powers, people formed a bountiful homeland out of the wilderness. However, 500 years ago, the collapse of an ancient civilization turned the universe upside down... Though the calamity the world suffered has ceased, peace has yet to be restored. Liyue is one of the seven regions of Teyvat. A bountiful harbor that lies in the east of Teyvat. It is the nation that worships Rex Lapis, the Geo Archon and God of Contracts. Mountains stand tall and proud alongside the stone forest, that, together with the open plains and lively rivers, make up Liyue's bountiful landscape, which shows its unique beauty through each of the four seasons. Just how many gifts from the Geo God lie in wait amongst the rocks of Liyue's mountains? Liyue Harbor is a subarea and a main city located in Sea of Clouds, Liyue. Before the Archon War, Rex Lapis brought his people south of Mt. Tianheng, to found what is now known as Liyue Harbor. They tried to expand their city to Guili Plains, but after Guizhong died during the Archon War, they moved back to Liyue Harbor. Chenyu Vale is a subregion located in Liyue. Chenyu Vale refers to the area surrounding Mt. Yaojun, a sacred mountain which was once under the dominion of an adeptus known as the "Herblord," who once took the form of a young lady. While Chenyu Vale is described as having "many mountains [and] rivers" another source mentions only a single river. Regardless, this water source is likely the reason why Chenyu Vale's climate is "relatively humid" compared to the Hills of Barsom. According to legend, the Herblord's friend, another adeptus, planted a particular tea tree here. When the tree was still a sapling, someone tied a jade ornament to it; later on, when the Herblord returned to the mountains in a changed form, she no longer had the fingers to untie this ornament, while her friend had sunk to the bottom of the ocean. Many years after, the tree's branches were grafted to the "other side of the river" by people who lived on the mountain, and its tea leaves became famous in Liyue Harbor and other areas. However, this type of tea tree is said to only grow well in Chenyu Vale because it remembers the promise between two friends. There is another legend that claims the Herblord's adeptal form turned into the branches of an ancient tea tree, and one in which the Herblord ascended to an "adeptal mountain." These legends currently cannot be verified, although the former appears to be a more fantastical interpretation of the tea tree legend mentioned in the previous paragraph. In reality, during the Archon War, an unnamed god ruled over Chenyu Vale and was at war with Morax; the Herblord and the other adeptus, known as Fujin, served under the unnamed god. The war was incredibly bloody, as the Bishui River was crimson red from all the fighting between the two factions. The people who lived there at the time did not participate in the war, so to protect them, Fujin and the Herblord created sanctuaries to protect them from the god's other followers. Near the end of the war, in a final attempt to defeat Morax, the god planned to flood the Bishui River, which would also destroy the vale. Seeing this, the Herblord and Fujin rebelled against their god. The Herblord fought the god, Lingyuan evacuated the people and Fujin threw the Votive Rainjade into the waters. The Herblord was greatly diminished after fighting the god, while Fujin lost many of her powers and "sank into the sea," losing much of her strength. Various interpretations and stories exist regarding a famous Chenyu Vale legend involving a slab of jade located on a sacred mountain, which was capable of summoning "sweet rains" and became coveted by demons, after which it was thrown into the river and sank underwater — which likely led to the name "Chenyu," meaning "Jade-Sinking." In other tales, the Herblord split the jade into several ornaments and hid them in various places, including underwater, in the mountains, and in shrines. These ornaments are believed to carry the blessings from a pact with a deity, and a particular priest inherited a jade loop which had been passed down from their ancestors who had made that pact; artisans at Yilong Port also make jade ornaments to this day because of these legends. Qiaoying Village is a subarea located in Chenyu Vale's Upper Vale, Liyue. It is a village in northwestern Liyue, bordering Fontaine, and is known for producing high-quality tea. Yilong Wharf, also called Yilong Port is a subarea located in Chenyu Vale's Upper Vale, Liyue. It is southeast of Lumidouce Harbor. If one follows the Bishui River upstream, the prosperous merchant port built next to a vast waterfall will come into view. The artisans of Yilong Wharf still make simple jade ornaments like the Symbol of Felicitation. The people of Chenyu Vale have a ceremony of going to Yilong Wharf to worship their ancestors and the dead. They also had a tradition of tossing jade into the water. This tradition continued even after the ancient god who ruled over the vale perished and Morax arrived. Yilong jade is known for its blue-green color and shine. To this day, it can still be found in ruins, mountains, and valleys of Liyue.

"Hey, Boss! The name's Gaming — I'm a guard from the Communications Office. So, all this needs shipping, right? No, no, you grab a seat and have some tea — I'll get these packed up for you, no problem. It'll only take me a minute, then we can get the delivery scheduled. Oh! And if you ever wanna book a Wushou Dance, me and my crew are available in a heartbeat! The troupe's called the Mighty Mythical Beasts, and I'm the head, hehe, not to brag or anything."

"Whether it takes me uphill, downhill, or out to the sticks, I get the goods from A to B — I'll even take 'em across the sea if needed. So don't worry, you're in safe hands. They don't call me the Gold-Standard Guard for nothing!"

"A pot of tea with a couple of nibbles, some seasonal greens, and a piping-hot bowl of fresh congee... Ahh, that's a dope breakfast right there! The perfect way to start your day."

"Rain! Oh man, I hope I brought the laundry in!"

"Hey, you hear that? Someone just got wrecked! If you're gonna swear on high heaven, don't make an oath you can't keep."

"Great, sun's out! 'Bout time we had some dry heat. It's been so muggy lately."

"I managed to book this cool place for dinner! They only do evening service, and it's invite-only. Since you're here with me, wanna come with? Use it or snooze it. C'mon, let's go!"

"Ever been to Qiaoying Village? I grew up there. It's a big tea-growing region — Sunglo and Single-Origin Yauwan both come from there. You know what, no time like the present — I got a box of totally dope Single-Origin here, let's get to a teahouse and brew us a pot right now! I'll get some nibbles too, my treat!"

"The fact that I'm able to put food on my plate, and still have the time and energy to focus on my Wushou Dancing, in this day and age... it's all thanks to the folks who've supported me along the way. So I owe it to them to put a hundred and ten percent into this job. Of course, no one's complaining if I still manage to find time to do them the occasional favor and take them for dim sum, haha!"

"When I'm not on a delivery run, I do wushou dancing on the streets of Liyue Harbor. Do you think you could come along and watch sometime to support me? No, no, it's completely free. As long as people are entertained, I'm a happy guy."

"Always remember that you can rely on your friends. When the going gets tough, don't soldier on alone — just get in touch and I'll be there! Oh — but hopefully it won't come to that, knock on wood! Here's hoping that next time you get in touch, everything's peaches and cream, and you just need a dim sum buddy!"

"Some martial arts novels say that the key to becoming a kung-fu master is tapping into the body's yin-yang energy reserves, hidden in the governor and conception vessels. Well, that's what getting a Vision felt like! ...Haha, just kidding. I'm no kung-fu master — just a good neighbor, thanks to the extra energy it gives me. But that's just me — now imagine if you had a Vision... I mean, looking at everything you can already do without one... Man, that'd be something."

"Man Chai's such a little rascal! I gave him the name 'cause it means "well-behaved," hoping it would rub off on him. Heh... whole lot of good that did! But it's no biggie, all that hyperactive energy makes for a more exciting wushou dance. Also, I feel like watching Man Chai has helped me get a better handle on how suanni look in action. Soon as I put my Wushou head on, I'm right in the zone, roar!"

"With a lot of herbs, flowers, and even the twigs and bark of certain trees, if you dry them out then boil them in water, it makes a really refreshing drink with a ton of health benefits! Cools you down, calms the mind, and so on. My granny and aunty tell me that drinking one of these herbal teas before and after eating fried foods helps clear your system and reduce heatiness."

"Pretty much everything Chef Xiangling cooks is a winner, but my favorite has to be her Black-Back Perch Stew. I always try to rinse off the molten lava sauce before each bite, but I'm still like "ss, ah, ss, ah" trying to cool my mouth down, hahaha! Worth every bite though, and they do generous portions — you can see why it's Wanmin's signature dish. I'll be back for my next fix soon!"

"The Feiyun Commerce Guild's a longtime client of the Secure Transport Agency. The older brother's the one who usually takes care of business with us, but there was one time when Xingqiu piped up with a question for me. So I start rambling away, giving him all the routes and delivery dates for all their recent orders... Turns out all he wanted to know was when the Wanwen Bookhouse is getting their next delivery in, hahaha..."

"It's all thanks to the Yuheng that we don't get so many bandits on the road between Liyue Harbor and Yilong Wharf anymore. She's the one who spearheaded the crackdown on all that. ...You think my job's at risk, huh? Haha, they ain't gonna get rid of me that easily. Sure, maybe there's no more bandits to fight, but you're always gonna need a strong pair of arms to lug the cargo around."

"Working as a guard and doing Wushou Dancing means I have a pretty injury-prone lifestyle. Good thing is, Dr. Baizhu's medicine is always there to save the day. Seriously, it's like the one thing people should pack before going on a long journey or family vacation. My workmates at the Secure Transport Agency always get me to bring some back for them when I come to Liyue Harbor."

"Ah, Qiqi, the lovable munchkin. She's convinced that all my accidents are due to stiff joints, so whenever I'm at Bubu Pharmacy stocking up on medicine, she makes me do some stretches with her to limber me up, haha. It's easy, wanna try? Ok, after me: One, two three, four; two, two, three, four..."

"Yun Jin's a huge inspiration to me! Everyone agrees that she's a fantastic singer, from the experts to the casual listener. Incredible. If the Mighty Mythical Beasts ever get half as successful as the Yun-Han Opera Troupe... don't pinch me, 'cause I won't wanna wake up!"

"Xinyan's music is fire! No pun intended. Man Chai goes crazy for it — always gets him moshing away like a mad gremlin. I'd love to do a joint show together one day. "Roaring Beasts: A Rock 'N' Roll Wushou Dance." Whaddya think, has it got legs?"

"Aunty Xianyun always has my back. Once, she saw that my Wushou head was looking a little worse for wear, and instantly said she could make, like, ten more for me, all twice my size. She was pretty insistent — it took me forever to talk her down to just remodeling the one I already had... And boy, is this an improvement! It looks way more impressive, it's much lighter, and the lion blanket constantly rustles in the air like there's an adeptal wind making it dance. I couldn't be happier with it!"

"Mr. Zhongli seems like the kind of guy who had an expensive education. Seems like whenever I make a delivery to a teahouse or opera house, he's always there drinking tea, listening to the storyteller, and looking like the smartest guy in the room. Dude, I once overheard him talking to someone about tea — I was like, man, if he ever got talking to my dad, that conversation would go on all night..."

"Oh, yeah, yeah, the journalist, I know who you mean! All the Fontainians in Yilong Wharf read The Steambird, and sometimes I take a peekski too. Seems like all the best articles have her name on them. Wait! And you were on the front page once! That was you, right?"

"I'm the best wushou-dancer in the Secure Transport Agency, and the busiest guard in the wushou-dancing community, how 'bout that? That do anything for ya?"

"You can tell if someone's a pushover just by looking at their basic kung fu skills: horse stance, kicks, splits, jumps, tumbling... If you can't even hack those, hoo boy. Best-case scenario, you might fall off a high pole during a wushou dance and be bedridden for a couple of weeks. Worst-case scenario, you run into bandits on a delivery run and you can't fight 'em off. Definitely lose the cargo, probably your life too... Scary thought, huh? Yeah, I thought so too — that's why I said it to the other guys in the agency to persuade them to train with me! Hahaha."

"They're delicate y'know — the wushou head and blanket, the drums, the cymbals — and I practice a lot, so they deteriorate pretty quickly. You gotta be diligent about maintaining that stuff, and it costs a lot of Mora. Then there's the meals out with friends, gift-shopping for birthdays and festivals, spotting my buddies a few Mora when they're strapped for cash... It all adds up. And that's how I blow through pretty much my whole salary every month."

"My dad keeps hoping I'll come 'round to the idea of him teaching me how to do business one day. He doesn't seem to realize that the whole reason I left my hometown in the first place is 'cause I've already figured out what's best for me. Firstly, I wanna show him that my wushou dancing isn't just a phase — I'm gonna make a name for myself or die trying! Secondly... I'm done clashing with him all the time. I don't hate the guy, I mean, he's still my dad and everything, it's just... every time he opens his mouth, it's a verbal assault, and I'd rather stay out of his line of fire!"

"This bruise here's a fresh one, got it when I was practicing my kicks the other day... And this bump showed up after I took a knock during a somersault. That was last month, and it's almost healed now. This scar right here, though, that was a doozie and a half. I had a bad fall the first time I was practicing on the high pole — cut myself up pretty bad. There was so much blood, I thought my wushou dancing career was over before it began... I've had some near misses since then, but thankfully nothing serious. I'm still up to it... Just gotta keep at it..."

"When you go for tea but stay for the dim sum, we call that "yum cha." What you wanna do is get some sweet dim sum and some savory dim sum — gotta make it a balanced meal — and order a mix of ready-made dim sum and made-to-order dim sum, so that you can snack on dim sum while you're waiting on your other dim sum... Funnily enough, I never need lunch on a dim sum day. Lemme know when you're free, I'll take you some time! And don't be afraid to order a bit of everything, you can always pack up the leftovers and take them home."