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It was true, there were far too many Fatui in Liyue than usual. But not only that, there was one thing that stuck out in your thoughts, one that you had forgotten. It was when you first returned to Liyue.
You were out strolling through the vast terrain of Jeuyun Karst, gathering materials and just enjoying a bright blue day in Liyue. You were walking along the path that crossed through Qinyun Peak, one commonly used by merchants travelling to and from Liyue and other nations in Teyvat.
You remembered the atmosphere feeling tense and although the day was warm and humid a chill ran down your spine. Feeling on edge your senses were on high alert and you noticed rhythmic thuds coming closer to you. The sound produced an abundance of frightened birds fleeing the trees around. Before you had a chance to think you hid in some shrubs, listening closer when you recognised the sound, horses.
The clomping became louder before long, horses were a rare sight in Liyue, only wealthy merchants or people of high status owned horses. As you peered from the scrub expecting to see some merchants or maybe some mysterious rich group of kith but what you saw instead was much different to what you had ever seen before.
Just like a twisted fairytale a horse-drawn carriage led by two black Clydesdale horses, stepping in perfect symmetry while being held by a figure. They were covered by a large black coat with thick fur lining hiding every detail of their face, they sat tall at the front of the carriage facing straight ahead. As the group came closer you noticed the figure having a small chain around their waist displaying a Lieutenants fatui insignia.
The carriage itself would have been straight out of a folktale if it wasn't for its intimidating exterior, the carriage was structured with dark mahogany wood and the detailing was a long vine of amazingly carved thorns wrapping the carriage like armour. As you looked closer you questioned if the vine was real or not. The windows of the carriage were pulled shut and was hiding the interior with detailed black curtains.
Although at that point you were still under the contract of the Qixing you never reported the occurrence to them and you still didn't know why you did. You just had a feeling not to, whether that was the right decision or not was far past for you to worry about. But now, you had a feeling the only way to know what's going is to face the problem head-on.
The breeze upon Wuwang Hill was cool but the heat from the bright sun compensated for the slight chill. The breeze pushed your hair out of your face. Your feet were bare on the soft, mossy ground and you rocked back and forward slowly. You had told Xiao your plan, he wasn't too fond of it, especially since it wasn't much of a plan but more of a whim.
Your plan was to find one of your old acquaintances, who happened just to be a Fatui harbinger. Honestly, you didn't even know if Tartaglia was still in Liyue, maybe he had gone home to see his brother. Teucer, that babysitting gig was the last time you had seen Tartaglia, he owed you big time and this was your opportunity. It seemed logical that he would be in Liyue, he always seems to be disposed of somewhere in the nation. Your best bet was responding to one of his sparring requests.
