According to the “Thrice Annotated Version of the Full Record of Pristine Pavilion,” a roaming adeptus travels with the “Spirit of Eight Pure and Mighty Rose-Clouds,” dancing through the air as though “riding light and striding lightning.” Their lives, too, are long beyond mortal reckoning. What humans call a millennium is but time for a short rest for the adeptus in their abode. As the saying goes, “Night and day belong not in paradise.”
As for where the adepti dwell, the “Full Record of Pristine Pavilion” asserts that the sky is their pillow and the earth their mat, and that they may dwell in the mountains, rivers, lakes, and seas — and this indeed seems to explain the countless adeptal encounters recorded in the annals of Liyue’s history. This is one school of thought.
Another can be found in the classic treatise on metal and stone, “Void-Pacing Stone Catalog.” While showering praise upon the weird and wonderful rock formations of Jueyun Karst, “Stone Catalog” also proffers a warning: “The peaks of Jueyun tower up to lofty heights, striving to outdo one another… each belonging to a different master — Qingyun Peak to Moon Carver, Mt. Hulao to Mountain Shaper, Mt. Aocang to Cloud Retainer. The wise climb not a mastered mountain, nor quarry its rocks.”
Out of a similar veneration, descriptions of what the adepti actually look like are few and far between. Based on a handful of allusions to Cloud Retainer’s appearance in the historian Zichang’s “Stone Tablet Compilations,” as well as scattered references in ancient songs, we can know that the adepti are ever-changing in form. To take Cloud Retainer as an example, when in human form, she is said to be “of elegant countenance, dressed in purpled robes and made up like a flower in full bloom”; whereas in bestial form, she “flies with grace, soaring among the clouds and crying out to the moon.”
Interestingly, one particular tale recounted in “Full Record of Pristine Pavilion” gives a further idea of the sublime character of the adepti. Once upon a time, a traveler happened upon Cloud Retainer while passing through Jueyun Karst. Taking out a self-made timepiece which he proudly dubbed a “Jade Bottle Float-Type Water Clock,” he sought to impress his ingenuity upon the adeptus. But to his surprise, she instead summarily pointed out the flaws of using a float-type water clock to record the passing of time. Hearing this, the traveler begged for her guidance, which he eventually received before being sent back down the mountain.
Such tales are apt to make mortals lament — it is only after meeting an adeptus, free and unfettered by the material world, that one can truly realize how insignificant our lives are.
Every second of every day, Liyue Harbor bustles with throngs of people coming and going. Local businessman weighed down by sacks of gold, outlanders garbed in strange attire, shrewd and canny public servants, warm-hearted guards… People from all walks of life with all sorts of personalities mingle, to the extent that no one looks out of place.
When someone new suddenly appears in a city like this, people don’t bat an eyelid.
This particular newcomer to Liyue Harbor is a woman who goes by the name of Xianyun. Tall and slender, she wears a pair of red-rimmed spectacles and exudes an aura that makes her stand out from the crowd.
To the Fontainian merchants who sell their mechanical creations on the streets of Liyue, she’s already a familiar figure. When passing by, she invariably stops to discuss mechanical design with them — and once such discussions get started, entire afternoons fly by before anyone notices. She seems well acquainted with Chef Mao and Xiangling from Wanmin Restaurant as well, and is often to be seen sitting at a table opposite Guoba, waiting for a bowl of piping hot Dragon Beard Noodles. And she’s also made an impression on the waiters of both Xinyue Kiosk and Liuli Pavilion, where she sometimes dines as the guest of Mr. Zhongli from the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
Granny Shan, the toy seller, remembers her too. If memory serves, she’d tell you, Xianyun’s the one who often brings along a young woman with long, white hair to look at her kites and other trinkets. The young woman, whose name she now recalls is Shenhe, never seems to find anything that takes her fancy — yet Xianyun always brings her back nonetheless.
Just like many other residents of Liyue Harbor, it seems that Xianyun not only has hobbies of her own, but also travels widely and has many friends.
So when people see her chatting with Madame Ping by the fish pond nearby Yujing Terrace, they think nothing of it.
“I haven’t seen much of Mountain Shaper lately. And Moon Carver still hasn’t returned that Multi-Purpose Abode Cleaning Talisman I lent him, to this day…”
“Is that so? What might that be then, some sort of new sigil contraption you’ve come up with?”
“Yes, let me tell you all about it…”
Each day, there comes a time when the lights of thousands of homes finally go out, and Liyue Harbor falls silent for a brief while. With nothing more to see before morning, Xianyun takes this opportunity to take a stroll along the narrow path that winds up Mt. Tianheng.
Jagged outcrops pose little obstacle for Xianyun. With a quick jump up and a gust of wind below, she’s already at the top in the blink of an eye.
Gazing down upon the murky streets far below, the human known as Xianyun transforms into a crane, and with a flap of her wings lifts herself up toward the firmament.
But of course, there’s really nothing strange about any of this. Liyue Harbor is a city that embraces all — so it’s only natural that some adepti would end up living here too.
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