Inazuma, Grand Narukami Shrine.
Cherry blossoms fell silently, and the moonlight was as clear as water. Atop the mountain peak, all was silent.
Yet, beneath the sacred branches of the Sacred Sakura, the air hung heavy and humid. Within a veil of misty vapor, a pink figure sat, her voice carrying a silver, coquettish laugh.
"Who would have thought someone actually liked nine-tailed foxes this much..."
"And white stockings? People like these? Surely not."
"Oh so they are meant to be torn. How interesting."
She murmured to herself as she turned a page in the picture book she held. Seeing the contents within, she let out occasional bursts of laughter. As she chuckled, a single pink tail floated atop the surface of the hot spring water.
After a moment, the woman set the book aside, speaking to herself with a hint of dissatisfaction. "That fellow stopped updating at the critical part again. What a wicked man."
No sooner had the words left her lips than a voice echoed from nearby.
"I'd rather not be discussed behind my back by a stinky fox who sneaks into other people's bathrooms without permission."
Ye Xi set down the dinner he had ordered from Uyuu Restaurant, looking helpless. This place was a little pocket dimension he had carved out using the power of the Sacred Sakura. Though it was technically located within the Grand Narukami Shrine, he had paid for the usage rights with his own manuscript fees!
Therefore, this was his home!
Yet, the Lady Guuji was forever using her fox magic to pick the lock and break in, commandeering the hot spring in his front courtyard. While he didn't mind catching a glimpse of her smooth, porcelain back, still!
Who wouldn't be angry at such a blatant home invasion?
Hearing Ye Xi's voice, Yae Miko turned around with a delighted smile. "It can't be helped. While the springs at Aisa Bathhouse are quite nice, I tend to shed far too much fox fur after soaking there..."
"Speaking of which, Master Ye Xi, when will your new work be released?"
As the Editor-in-Chief of the Yae Publishing House, the responsibility of chasing deadlines was one she took very seriously. Of course, her main reason for being here was...
She looked at Ye Xi, who was standing in the pavilion. Seeing him shift his gaze away, she gave a flirtatious smirk. "Why so shy? Are you going to pull up your long johns and pretend nothing happened?"
Ye Xi's face darkened, and he felt like he was about to have a breakdown.
[When the hell did I ever take off my long johns!]
[This woman... why does she only learn the bad habits and never the good ones? I'm certain I never wrote that line in my novels!]
[Where did she even learn that vocabulary? Does this world even have a 'long johns' setting?]
[Wait, that's not right! Even if there was such a setting, it should be in Liyue!]
[This sly fox! She gets the better of me every single time!]
Yae Miko crossed her arms, pressing a hand to her cherry-red lips to hide a faint smile.
Indeed, she could hear this man's inner thoughts!
She remembered it well. Three years ago, she had discovered a man in the forest dressed in very strange attire. To use the vocabulary she had since learned, he wore a white shirt, suit pants, and a genuine leather belt.
Such an outfit appearing in Inazuma was conspicuous to say the least. One had to understand that the people of Inazuma City mostly wore kimonos crafted by Ogura Textiles & Kimonos. Ye Xi's clothes were of a style that was virtually unprecedented.
Even after living for five hundred years, she couldn't recognize the fabric. It didn't feel like the high-end silk made from Silk Flowers, though it was incredibly soft to the touch.
Furthermore, when she had awakened Ye Xi, she had been shocked to hear a voice talking to itself! Having lived for five centuries, she was no longer the little fox who used to crawl onto people's shoulders. She quickly surmised that she was hearing the man's heart-voice.
Immediately after, she heard words that utterly overturned her worldview!
[Holy crap!]
[I transmigrated!? And into the Genshin Impact world I helped create!?]
[Damn it! Didn't the company just register the Metaverse trademark? Besides, current technology isn't even close to achieving Full Dive tech!]
[Where is the logout button? Where's the operation panel?]
[Son of a... playing dirty, are we? There isn't even a logout button!?]
[I'm just a low-level artist, don't do this to me!]
At the time, Ye Xi's internal monologue had left her in a state of profound shock. Later, she came to understand that Ye Xi did not belong to this world. In his original world, he had been an employee of a company called miHoYo. He usually worked on scripts and original character designs. It seemed he had arrived here after his body collapsed from overwork.
The most shocking realization of all was that the world she lived in was actually a game world! How was she supposed to accept that?
It was all fake. Everything in this world was a lie.
She was fake, Ei was fake, and even Lady Kitsune Saiguu was fake. In an instant, her entire world had crumbled.
But then, a single thought from Ye Xi's heart had calmed her down.
[The world of Genshin Impact? I suppose that isn't unacceptable... At least it's more relaxed and happy than the world outside. I just feel bad for the cat in my apartment. I hope it doesn't starve...]
Was the real world truly filled with such misfortune? This question lingered in her mind, piquing her curiosity. And because this man, despite facing such a life-altering catastrophe, still worried about his cat at home, she assumed he must be a gentle person.
And so, she made her decision. From that day forward, she brought Ye Xi back to the Grand Narukami Shrine.
Slowly, through Ye Xi, she learned a great deal. From nine-year compulsory education to cram schools, from the 996 work schedule to sudden deaths from overwork, from mortgages and car loans to miHoYo's "salary reclamation plan"... only then did she realize how difficult it was to be an adult.
However, she also gained a lot of interesting knowledge. For instance, she learned about files labeled "study materials" found on a thing called a computer, including things that left even a nine-tailed fox like her too embarrassed to keep listening.
Because he had touched upon such "knowledge," she stopped exploring his thoughts regarding his original world. Instead, she focused more on Ye Xi's thoughts regarding the continent of Teyvat.
For example, the concept of "leveling up." It was her first time learning such things. It turned out her body possessed something called an "EXP bar." By constantly slaying monsters eroded by filth, she could accumulate experience. Once the bar was full, she could break through.
This reminded her of her five hundred years of cultivation.
Without specific items, the level cap was 40. To go any further, everyone required different materials. For her specifically, she needed an item called a Dragonheir's False Fin to achieve a breakthrough.
Think about it how many people in this world had the patience to cultivate until they reached the bottleneck of level 40? And even if they did, how were they supposed to break through?
Ye Xi was different!
Within Ye Xi's body was something called Original Resin. Only with this resin could one harvest Ley Line rewards!
Over the past three years, Ye Xi seemed to have secretly challenged many monsters, and a great deal of the materials he gathered were kept in a chest!
As the prestigious Guuji of the Grand Narukami Shrine, how could she possibly commit the act of theft by taking things without the owner's permission?
And so, she understood. She had to find a way to keep Ye Xi by her side! Then, she would slowly win his consent!
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