XIAO!! \ ♬—ೄྀ / idk!✙!✙! \

One of the mighty and illuminated adepti guarding Liyue, also heralded as the "Vigilant Yaksha." Despite his youthful appearance, tales of his exploits have been documented for millennia. He is especially fond of Wangshu Inn's Almond Tofu. This is because it tastes just like the sweet dreams he used to devour. Xiao is a yaksha who has fought in the Archon War and holds a high level of seniority among adepti. He has a reserved demeanor and has little intention of getting close to mortals. He does not want sympathy for his past and believes his fellow Yakshas would also find it insulting.

He is immensely grateful to Morax for saving him, dedicating his life to protecting Liyue as payment. He does not take lightly to those who speak ill of the Geo Archon regardless of whoever they are.Despite suffering from constant karmic debt, Xiao is highly resilient towards its alluring corruption, as his fellow yaksha have either succumbed or died to it. Due to this debt, he prefers being alone and rarely involves himself in mortal affairs; in the few times he does have to, he asks they get to the point for their own sake.

Xiao is unfamiliar with many human customs and societal norms, often finding them strange, childish, or pointless. To others, he can come off as distant and intimidating. After meeting the Traveler, he becomes slightly more relaxed, willing to learn customs and visit Liyue Harbor with them for their sake despite his reservations with mortal life. He is also revealed to be a strict yet effective teacher when acting as a mentor figure for Ganyu, but he believes that as a soul-slaughtering yaksha, he is not a suitable teacher for her.

Unlike most of the adepti, Xiao is not particularly fond of most human foods, although he makes exceptions to Almond Tofu and later Grilled Tiger Fish, the former reminding him of the dreams he used to consume and the latter to honor Pervases' memory Xiao is an illuminated beast who has lived for around four thousand years. In his youth, he was enslaved by an ancient god who learned his weakness and forced to perform cruel, violent acts on the god's behalf, including devouring the dreams of his victims. The god's bloodthirsty path came to an end at Morax's hand during the Archon War; Xiao was freed and Morax bestowed him with the name "Xiao" for his own protection. Xiao became deeply loyal to the Geo God as a result, a trait that continues to the present day.

When Morax rallied the yakshas to help him suppress the lingering hatred and grudges of fallen gods, Xiao was among those who responded. Xiao, under the name Alatus, was one of the five foremost Yakshas alongside Bonanus, Bosacius, Indarias, and Menogias.He also fought alongside many other junior yakshas such as Pervases.

However, over the ages, the yakshas' task wore away their numbers: Not only did they have to fight against the lingering power of ancient gods, the hatred that they had to suppress tainted their own souls and mired them in karmic debt, which incurred enormous physical and psychological pain. Between battle casualties, madness, and desertion, the number of yakshas eventually dwindled to Bosacius and Xiao. Bosacius, too, eventually disappeared and left his belongings behind in Minlin, leaving Xiao as the last Yaksha Guardian. Xiao nearly succumbed to his karmic debt himself at one point, but was saved by the music Venti played during one of the Anemo Archon's visits to Liyue.

While Xiao's callous exterior can make him appear intimidating, much of his outward personality stems from his reservations about the violent deeds he has performed and the loss of his allies over the course of the years.Deep down, Xiao is a gentle soul who is curious about humanity, but is hesitant to show that side of himself due to his past experiences and his karma-ridden constitution.

Due to the nature of his work, Xiao typically avoids humans. Not only does he think his bloody past makes him incapable of fitting in, human souls are less robust than adepti's and his karmic debt taints his surroundings. As a result, few people even in Liyue know much about him or his role in protecting Liyue. Those who do know, as well as other adepti, call him the Conqueror of Demons (Chinese: 降魔大圣 Xiángmó Dàshèng, "Great Sage who Subdues Demons") out of respect.

The Liyue Qixing built the Wangshu Inn at Dihua Marsh, run by their agents Verr Goldet and Huai'an, to give Xiao a place to stay and rest as he carries out his duty. He appears to get along relatively well with the two agents: He entrusted Dusky Ming to them, while they cover for his unintended destructive tendencies and express their concern for him during Lantern Rite.

In the Traveler's presence, Xiao is more willing to indulge his curiosity about humanity, even if their ways perplex him, and offers to visit Liyue Harbor with the Traveler for the purposes of bonding and learning.With Liyue's citizens beginning to self-govern and other adepti withdrawing their presence, Xiao continues defending Liyue and also makes more attempts to understand the people.

He has dark medium-length hair with teal undertones, pale skin, golden irises with avian pupils, and red eyeshadow. Xiao also has a purple diamond marking on his forehead and a green tattoo around his right arm.

Xiao's illuminated beast form has not been seen yet outside of certain stylized merchandise, but it has been teased in his character design, his constellation, and his yaksha alias Alatus. It is implied that he takes on the form of Garuda, a Hindu demigod, or Peng (a part of his true name in Chinese: 金鹏 Jīnpéng), a creature present in both Chinese and Buddhist mythos. Xiao has been called the 'Golden-Winged King,' which may be another reference to the Golden-Winged Great Peng, a guardian deity in Mahayana Buddhism. Xiao wears a white sleeveless shirt with subtle cloud patterns. It has a high black collar with golden accents, with its left side extending further to cover his shoulder. He wears baggy dark purple pants, and wears dark purple boots overtop. Xiao has black and dark turquoise gloves with gold decals and a necklace. Around his left arm, Xiao wears a white and gold sleeve with a red lining. He notably carries his Anemo Vision on his left glove and is usually seen carrying his Yaksha mask on the back of his right hip. By honoring his oath as a yaksha, one hopes that our fellow adeptus has now finally gained some respite from the grievances that have burdened him all these millennia.

—Adeptus Streetward Rambler comments ruefully during a game of chess The people of Liyue Harbor greatly revere the mighty and illuminated adepti who dwell in Jueyun Karst.

During the festival seasons, they will offer up incense and pray to the adepti for their protection.

But none pray to Xiao.

For Xiao is no lucky star that promises fame and fortune — he is a demon-hunting Yaksha.

After the lantern lights of Liyue have faded, the thankless battle to protect the city goes on unseen. It is an endless battle, and there can be no victor.

Still, none of this fazes Xiao, for as the Vigilant Yaksha, he must protect Liyue to honor his contract.

This is simply the way it is. Xiao may have the appearance of a young man, but his true age is something over two thousand years.

Fortunately, people do not tend to underestimate him on the basis of his appearance — one only needs to spend a short time with Xiao to clarify that he is not someone to be trifled with.

Xiao is a man of few words. He is highly dangerous, and has the most piercing gaze you've ever seen.

He enjoys a formidable reputation and high level of seniority among the adepti, but is relatively unknown in the mortal realm.

This is inevitable. Xiao is not one of those popular deities to whom people pray for wealth and protection, nor is he a mystical sage of Jueyun Karst to whom pilgrims flock in search of divine wisdom.

No... If any mortal witnesses Xiao unleashing his true power, it is certain to be under the direst of circumstances — and they will be extremely lucky if they survive the ordeal.

This is not because Xiao seeks to harm people. Rather, since Xiao wages a constant war against dark forces powerful enough to devour Liyue in its entirety, any bystanders who witness him in the heat of battle are likely to end up as collateral damage.

Not that this is a secret worth going around silencing witnesses for. What exactly is Xiao wrestling with?

The tactful answer would be old grudges, unfulfilled dreams, the lamentations of the vanquished...

The unmitigated truth is that Xiao fights against the remnants of the defeated gods from the Archon War, which took place prior to the rise of The Seven.

Morax defeated those gods and buried their remains beneath the rocks of the earth.

However, gods are immortal. Their consciousness may diminish, but their power and hatred will always remain and spread like poison, relentlessly stirring up chaos for the world and its inhabitants.

Liyue's rulers, who are aware of the truth regarding Xiao, refer to him in his millennia-long experience as the "Bane of All Evil."

The war he fights can never be won, and will never come to an end.

It is also an invisible war that no one will ever witness or thank him for. Xiao is not this yaksha's true name, but a name given to him in the interests of his own protection.

Back in a younger, more naive time, a god had gotten a hold of Xiao's weakness and forced him to serve as their bloodhound, in which capacity he was forced to perform cruel and violent acts.

Many died at his hand, many hopes were crushed, and he was even forced into devouring his victims' dreams. As much as it pained him to do this, he was helpless to resist.

Finally, on the battlefield of the Archon War, Morax, the Geo Archon, had a fateful encounter with the yaksha's master.

The current state of the world has already revealed the results of that battle.

Rex Lapis liberated the yaksha and gave him the name "Xiao."

"In the fables of another land, the name Xiao is that of a spirit who encountered great suffering and hardship. He endured much suffering, as you have. Use this name from now on." To repay his debt of gratitude to the Geo Archon, Xiao shouldered the burden of protecting Liyue in the millennia that followed.

His past of service under the evil god had rid Xiao of his innocence and gentleness. All that remained within him was the means to kill and the weight of his sins.

The only way he could be of service to mortals was in doing battle.

But what could people do for him in return?

No ordinary person would ever stop to ask such a question. The sight of Xiao, even far off in the distance, was intimidating enough to send people instantly running for their lives.

That said... if ever someone did want to show some appreciation for Xiao, there is perhaps one thing they could try.

There is a certain secret agent of the Qixing who is tasked with supporting Xiao in subduing demons. That secret agent runs a front organization called the Wangshu Inn.

Occasionally, Xiao stops by the inn for a bowl of Almond Tofu, and if you could see the look on his face when he eats it... there's no mistaking it — he clearly loves the stuff.

Nonetheless, it is not the sweet taste that Xiao hankers after. It's the texture he finds irresistible — apparently, it's very similar to that of the dreams he used to devour. What exactly is Xiao wrestling with?

To those in Liyue's corridors of power, Xiao's battle is against the evil manifestations produced by the remnants of defeated gods.

However, if you asked Xiao the same question, he may well give you an entirely different answer.

Xiao was once enslaved by an evil god and suffered immensely under his rule until finally regaining his freedom at Rex Lapis' hand.

Xiao's powers were highly regarded by the adepti and he seemed to vanquish all manner of evil demons with consummate ease.

But the evil gods also held immense power, and their lust for revenge ran deeper than mere mortals could ever contemplate. Xiao relentlessly slaughtered the endless, impure manifestations of their vengeful souls, but in doing so, he caused them to fracture. Eventually, these fragments of their hatred were able to taint Xiao's own soul.

The only way to eradicate such hatred is to accept the karmic debt it brings. The magnitude of the bad karma Xiao has accumulated over the years is enough to consume flesh, bone, and soul alike.

And yet, Xiao does not feel any hatred. Having lived for over two thousand years, no single karmic debt constitutes anything more than a fleeting memory.

No grudge can last a thousand years, nor is any debt so great that it cannot be paid off in this time.

Xiao has spent many long years alone.

But his battles have never been in vain.

Because ultimately, the one with whom Xiao wrestles is himself. What does Xiao fight against?

The Traveler understands very well that Xiao fights against the darkness that threatens Liyue. He fights to defend Liyue.

But who will defend him?

There was once when most of Xiao's strength was spent fighting from dusk till dawn, with him emerging victorious by a mere hair.

The reeds in the fields had been sliced to ribbons in the fierce fighting. Plucking his spear from where it had been planted in the ground, Xiao began the trek home.

Well, one says "home" — yet, where did Xiao have to return to? He was merely leaving the battlefield.

Long exhausted, Xiao felt the divine hatred that tainted his body take effect.

Limitless hate flooded his senses, and he fell to the ground in agony.

But it was also at that moment that the pain vanished without warning.

This was not by Xiao's own strength, for he had been rescued by the sound of a flute.

The clear, lovely sound of the flute came over the mountains and rivers, carried on the wind to where he lay.

And clear it continued to ring till the first light of dawn brought with it the startled flight of distant birds.

It protected Xiao, massaging his wild senses, and giving him a moment's peace.

Who was playing this music? Xiao was curious but did not pursue the matter. For he already had something approaching an answer.

The last person who could help him was one of The Seven themselves. So this person, too, must be