nefelibata [xingqiu x y/n x chongyun]

a ruin and lock under key

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ ∞༺♥༻∞ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

as the group arrived at sal terrae , y/n looked around the area. crystal clear waters and piles of snow-like salt sat in various areas of the marsh. the sun was perfectly warm as it hit her s/c skin.

"i heard that sal terrae was once home of the god of salt's people." she said. kilmet perked up at her comment and smirked. "therefore... there are sure to be loads of valuable items nearby..." he replied. y/n rolled her eyes.

"according to legend , the people of the god of salt , havria , enjoyed prosperous lives under her protection." zhongli started. "but this legend has been around for ages. with the countless scrap collectors and treasure hoarders in the area , there probably isn't much around here."

the man frowned. "gah , that's just great. if i knew it was picked this clean i wouldn't have come."

wanyan placed a hand on her chin. "actually , i know there's a deep ruin under this cave. it's related to the god of salt , which is actually how the area originally got its name of sal terrae." she said. "however , the ruin entrance has been sealed off by some power and nobody has been able to break the seal."

"i found a mechanism that seemed to be related to the seal , but when i undid it , it wasn't affected at all. so at the moment , the seal's origin and how to break it is very important for my research." wanyan finished off.

this woman talks so much... just say what you need to say already. y/n thought as she looked at her lavender painted nails , small rings adorning her fingers.

"is it related to the god of salt's people ?" lumine asked. she shrugged. "i'm not sure , there's no exact evidence. but i'm pretty sure the seal was made to hide some kind of truth. the god of salt was adored by the people , and powerful as well. she wouldn't have anything to hide."

wanyan slightly frowned , a sense of anger clouding her eyes.

"so... the one who wants to hide some truth must be her killer , morax."

at the sound of her words , y/n , paimon , and lumine spared a split-second glance at zhongli.

paimon spoke up. "t-that doesn't sound like something the lord of geo would do though...."

kilmet interrupted the serious conversation and groaned dramatically. "who cares about all that ? it sounds like countless treasures are inside just waiting for someone to get them right ?!"

the archaeologist rolled her eyes. "you weren't listening at all , were you ? ugh... even if there's something inside no one can get it because of the seal !"

the 'fatui' member crossed his arms and smiled. "ah ah ah , but we have illustrious mr.zhongli here !! he looks like he knows just about everything- a seal wouldn't be much trouble for him. although he might not know about it."

the geo user smiled , arms crossed and eyes narrowed. "i may know something about it."

what.

"wh-what ?!" wanyan exclaimed. surprise was written all over her face.

"over the years , i've heard rumors of this seal. let's go take a look at the mechanisms miss.wanyan just mentioned." he suggested. everyone nodded.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ ∞༺♥༻∞ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

sorry i havent been updating , im officially off hiatus but updates will be slow. i recently got a job as a summer school teacher for kinder-3rd graders , (ironic how a freshman is teaching some kids how to read) so i haven't had much time to write. i also volunteered to be a group leader for a church event im in and schools starting soon , including this other program that takes a lot of my time