Recently, the art world in Liyue has been stirred up by a massive wave, and the source of this wave was nothing more than an unremarkable piece of draft paper.
It is said that the origin of this draft paper was at Wangshu Inn, but the identity of its creator has been lost to time.
However, the artistic achievement of this piece has far surpassed the understanding of current Liyue artists, reaching the legendary realm of "resembling both characters and paintings, blending the two seamlessly."
If you say it resembles characters, its continuous brushstrokes are like the sprawling grass of Dihua Marsh, where the grass and water blend into a breathtaking scene.
If you say it resembles a painting, the lines subtly hint at simple words, with wild brushwork that exudes a sense of casualness.
And this draft paper has an incredibly beautiful name.
The Dihua Grass Sketch.
The original is now stored in Wanwen Bookhouse, with only a few copies circulating outside, collected by some top-tier artists.
As the second young... master of the Feiyun Commerce Guild in Liyue Harbor, he used every connection he had to get his hands on a copy.
Unlike others, this unique piece of art held a different meaning for him.
Because he could understand it.
This draft, titled The Dihua Grass Sketch, was actually a martial arts novel called The Legend of the Condor Heroes!
At first, he read the book with a critical mindset, as the person who wrote it not only had handwriting... handwriting that was commendable!
But that was about it.
Everything else was a complete mess, even worse than his own.
However, as he delved deeper into the story, he became deeply engrossed in the plot, even reading it several times in one go.
This book's interpretation of the concept of "chivalry" surpassed all other books in Liyue today. Even though the author's writing skills were somewhat immature, the overwhelming sense of heroism in the story was undeniable.
"A true man should be like this."
"The greatest of heroes serve their country and their people."
Line after line, phrase after phrase, it filled him with excitement and kept him awake at night, itching to grab his sword and serve his nation.
But as soon as he reached the door, he turned back.
Serve what? In a world ruled by gods and adepti, what could a rich young master like him do? This was Teyvat, this was Liyue.
A land of peace and prosperity.
But that didn't dampen his admiration for the book and its author. He even spent a fortune trying to find the person who wrote it.
However, his usually foolproof money power failed him this time. No matter how much he increased the reward, aside from a few fame-seeking imposters, he couldn't find the real author.
These so-called authors could only talk about the painting, but none of them could even name the true title of the work. In the end, he had his men beat them up and throw them to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
This whole ordeal left him in a sour mood for a long time. Finally, on his elder brother's advice, he decided to take a walk to clear his mind.
As he wandered, he found himself at Wanmin Restaurant.
Seeing the sign of Wanmin Restaurant, Xingqiu's expression changed, and he turned to leave.
It wasn't that they had a bad relationship. Having grown up together, they were actually quite close. It was just that Xiangling always liked to test her new dishes on him.
At first, it was fine, but after he ate her Qingxin-Mint Salad, he couldn't leave the bathroom for three days.
After that, whenever Xiangling came looking for him, he would push his best friend Chongyun to take his place.
But today, Chongyun wasn't around, so it was better not to get involved.
"Ah—"
Xiangling's scream and the sound of dishes crashing to the ground caught Xingqiu's attention.
What is chivalry?
The meaning of chivalry varies from person to person.
To some, it's about freedom and righteousness; to others, it's about distinguishing good from evil; and to some, it's about embodying justice...
But to Xingqiu, the essence of chivalry was simply doing good deeds and being a good person.
Something was clearly happening at Wanmin Restaurant, and if he didn't step in to help, it would go against his sense of chivalry.
So, without hesitation, he turned back and entered Wanmin Restaurant.
Inside Wanmin Restaurant, Guoba was hiding behind Xiangling, and the young chef was trying to mediate between two groups to prevent a fight.
One group's attire made it clear they were Fatui from Snezhnaya. Although the Fatui had been behaving themselves in Liyue recently, the underhanded tricks they played behind the scenes were endlessly annoying.
As the second young master of the Feiyun Commerce Guild, Xingqiu was more aware than most of the dirty deeds the Fatui were up to in the shadows. So, in his mind, the Fatui were only slightly less detestable than carrots.
The other party was a foreigner, dressed like someone from Inazuma.
It was said that Inazuma was currently in a state of isolation, so no one should be coming out. The only Inazuman he had encountered recently was the young man under Captain Beidou's command.
He wondered if this Inazuman had any connection to the young man he knew.
"Gentlemen, bullying someone with superior numbers hardly seems like a fair fight, does it?"
Walking over to Xiangling and giving her a reassuring look, Xingqiu stepped forward with excitement, straightening his back and speaking loudly.
He had always wanted to try saying something so cool.
"And who are you? Little girl, stay out of Fatui business! If you're worried about property damage, we'll cover it!"
The leader of the group spoke arrogantly, even slapping a bag of Mora on the table in front of Xingqiu.
"I am Xingqiu, merely a bookworm in the sea of literature."
Xingqiu didn't even glance at the bag of Mora.
While Xingqiu's family wealth might not rival the Northland Bank, a mere bag of Mora wasn't enough to buy him off. In fact, he was starting to get annoyed by the other party's tone and the "little girl" comment.
"I don't care what sea or what worm you are! Get out of here! Don't make us get rough!"
The Fatui group grew increasingly agitated, showing signs of wanting to start a fight. Behind Xingqiu, a single-handed sword began to materialize, and his expression turned serious.
"Miss Bookworm, I appreciate your willingness to help, but this is my matter to handle."
"..."
Looking at this Inazuman with the cat-faced mask, Xingqiu really wanted to explain that "bookworm in the sea of literature" wasn't his real name.
Also, he was male.
With that, the Inazuman drew his weapon.
It was a strange reverse-blade sword, its gleaming blade sending a chill down everyone's spine. Even Xingqiu, who had seen many legendary weapons, couldn't help but think, What a fine blade.
"Form up! Capture this scoundrel who's been using Lord Tartaglia's name to freeload!"
The Fatui weren't intimidated by the weapon. Instead, they shouted with a mix of indignation, resentment, and grievance.
This statement made Xingqiu pause.
What did they mean by "using Tartaglia's name to freeload"?
He looked back at Xiangling, who wore an expression that was hard to describe.
"Earlier, the Fatui and this Inazuman were both eating here. The Inazuman said, 'Put it on Tartaglia's tab,' and the Fatui flipped the table. Apparently, this Inazuman has been all over Liyue, racking up a huge bill, all charged to Tartaglia."
"..."
After a few seconds of stunned silence, Xingqiu realized something.
He might have backed the wrong person.