11. Oath

"Wait, Ryūhei!" Xingqiu called out to him. Ryūhei instantly stopped when he heard that. Without changing his expression, he turned around and saw Xingqiu from his flow of energy run toward him.

"What is it?"

Xingqiu raised his index finger while smiling.

"I have an offer. How about I help you to rent a place to open your shop?"

"What? Are you serious?" Ryūhei pretended to be surprised. And Xingqiu nodded.

"Naturally. But, I have a condition."

Ryūhei stretched out his palm forward.

"Wait a minute! You're not planning to help me just because you feel sorry for me, are you?"

"Of course, not! I sincerely want to help you. It's just, I also need your help. When I finish writing my novel, I hope you can sell it in your shop."

Ryūhei held his chin and pondered over something. Then, he asked.

"Won't you regret it if I fail to sell my manga?"

Xingqiu smirked in response.

"Hehe, I doubt that. Looking at the results of your drawing, I'm confident enough that I dared to make this decision. How about it?"

"In that case, it's a deal then! But, how about this, let me finish my commissions first. Then, I'll look for you later. Where can I find you after I finish my commissions?"

"You don't need to go through the trouble of looking for me, how about I help you finish your daily commissions? Wouldn't it be faster if we both finished them?"

"Why do you intend to help me to complete the commissions?"

"Helping people in need is my principle. You said that you just arrived in Liyue. I believe you must not be familiar with the area of Liyue. That's why I intend to help you."

"Well, thanks a lot."

That way, Ryūhei's daily commissions are assisted by Xingqiu which allows Ryuhei to finish in a short time.

— — — —

The two of them had completed all the daily commissions and were on their way back to Liyue Harbor.

"Ryūhei, I didn't expect your level of swordsmanship to be so high."

"At that level, my swordsmanship is still trash when faced against the Electro Archon." Ryūhei answered in a monotone voice.

Xingqiu twitched his cheek.

"Geh, that can't be denied since your opponent is the Electro Archon. After all, she's a god in Inazuma. Besides, why are you comparing yours to the Electro Archon's?"

"Because I want to avenge the bolt of lightning she threw at me even though she didn't know what happened. I almost died from that incident. Luckily Captain Beidou helped me when I was stranded at sea." Then he recalled the time when he planned to leave Inazuma while telling Xingqiu about it.

Then, Xingqiu looked at Ryūhei.

"Gezz, you are too though, aren't you?"

"Perhaps." Ryūhei replied while shrugging his shoulders.

"No, I mean you could survive even though you were struck by lightning released by the Electro Archon."

"I was lucky, I guess."

"Hey, luck isn't enough to survive the Archon's attack, you know!"

"Hahaha, let's not think about that."

And the two of them kept their conversation throughout their way back to Liyue Harbor. While doing so, Ryūhei secretly trained to manipulate negative energy, turning it into cursed energy, before letting it flow through his body, especially his eyes.

When Ryūhei and Xingqiu stepped on the Guili Plains once again, Xingqiu suddenly declared.

"Let's stop by Jueyun Karst first!"

The Jueyun Karst is a sub-area located west of the Guili Plains. It is said to be the place where the Adepti, a group of both magical beings and gods alike, live. Normally no one dares to try to set foot there, but some brave or desperate people still try to seek the Adepti for good fortune.

"Jueyun Karst? Why?" Ryūhei wondered why Xingqiu wanted to go to that place.

"We should become sworn siblings. Let's go to the altar at Jueyun Karst."

"But–"

"No buts! You know too much about me! You know the real me, the one I normally have to hide. I simply can't let you go until you promise me you will go through with it!" Xingqiu insisted not to let Ryūhei go before he agreed to become sworn siblings.

"This… Alright then."

Ryūhei followed Xingqiu's words and followed him to Jueyun Karst. As they were about to cross the river, they saw a horde of Hilichurls, primitive humanoid monsters that can be found all across Teyvat. If Ryūhei was to compare with the monsters he knew in his previous life, then, the Hilichurl was a goblin-like monster in a fantasy world.

Xingqiu sheathed his sword. But, Ryūhei stopped him from going forward.

"Wait a minute! Let me try my new technique."

At that moment, those Hilichurls noticed Ryūhei and Xingqiu. And one of them spoke a language that Ryūhei and Xingqiu couldn't understand.

"Ye…ye… Ika, kundala."

After one of the Hilichurls said that, every one of them started to attack Ryūhei and Xingqiu.

"Kundala."

"Kundala."

Ryūhei lifted his blindfold.

"Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue!"

He increased the output of the cursed energy, amplifying the Limitless and bringing the conceptual impossibility of negative distance into reality, producing a large blue orb as the center of attraction around those Hilichurls. The blue orb instantly pulled everything around it, as it generated a strong force of attraction, similar to a powerful magnet, and crushed them all together.

"W-What was that?" Xingqiu was stunned by Ryūhei's technique.

Without paying attention to Xingqiu's reaction, Ryūhei just nodded while muttering.

"This technique seems to consume a lot of energy, but thanks to my eyes, the expense is kept to a minimum." Ryūhei turned to Xingqiu. "Let's go!"

"Hey, you haven't answered my question!"

"Huh? What question?"

Xingqiu crossed his hands in annoyance.

"I asked you, what technique was that? You don't have a Vision, but you can do things like Adepti can do."

"Adepti?"

"Yeah, Adepti are illuminated beasts and deities, especially in Liyue. They are able to use some mystical arts, encompassing various forms of magic, rituals, or otherwise supernatural abilities."

Now, Ryūhei understood what Xingqiu meant. Ryūhei nodded.

"That's right. It's sort of a mystic art by manipulating my negative emotions."

Xingqiu didn't know that Ryūhei was just making it up because Ryūhei's power does look like mystic art. On the other hand, Xingqiu already talked a lot about himself, including his real personality, and he insisted on making Ryūhei his sworn sibling to prevent Ryūhei from talking a lot about his real personality to other people.

Because of that, Ryūhei also decided to tell Xingqiu about his technique, even though what he said wasn't completely true.

"Incredible. I didn't think you could execute mystic arts. Do you think I can learn that?"

Facing Xingqiu's question, Ryūhei shrugged his shoulders.

"Dunno. Everyone has talent in their respective fields. I have the ability to manipulate negative energy. But other people may not necessarily be able to do it."

"Well, you're right. Anyway, let's get going."

The two continued on foot to their destination. If there were monsters, they immediately eradicate them. It just so happened that the monsters they met weren't too strong, so they finished off the monsters along the way with ease.

Arriving at Jueyun Karst, Ryūhei could see that there was a lake, and in the middle, there was a kind of altar-shaped building.

Ryūhei and Xingqiu set foot on the altar. Ryūhei had no idea what the sworn siblings ceremony was like. So he had to ask.

"Make a small cut on your finger. I'll do it as well. Then, the two cuts are pressed together and bound."

Ryūhei followed Xingqiu's lead by making a small cut in his finger that made the blood flow out. Then he pressed the cut onto Xingqiu who did the same.

"We, Xingqiu from the Guhua clan and Niwa Ryūhei from the Niwa clan. Although our surnames are different, from this day onward, we have come together as brothers. We shall help each other regardless of the circumstances. May the Geo Archon attest to what is in our hearts. If we should ever do anything to betray our friendship, may Geo Archon and the Adepti both strike us dead."

Xingqiu recited the oath for his brotherhood. And from that day onward, the two of them are brothers.

"We're done. Let's go back!"

"Okay. This is the first time I experienced the brotherhood thingy."

Xingqiu chuckled as he wrapped his arm around Ryūhei's shoulder while saying,

"Hehe. Since we are brothers, you won't do anything to bring me down, right?"

Ryūhei took a glance at Xingqiu.

"Bring you down? I don't understand what you are talking about." Ryūhei played dumb. He knew exactly what Xingqiu meant.

"Hey, come on! You can't say anything about my real personality, okay? I'll be in trouble if you do that."

"That would be interesting, don't you think?"

Before Xingqiu wrapped his arms around him even tighter, Ryūhei had already slipped away from him as he ran away.