Genshin Impact: A Guide to the Unofficial History of Teyvat — Chapter 46

Chapter 46: Nonsense!!You're reading this on the wrong site. This chapter was translated by Elysian Reads and posted for free at elysianreads.com — if you're seeing it anywhere else, it was copied without permission. Read it at the source so the people who actually did the work get the credit.

Xingqiu’s gaze carried a teasing weight, so intense it felt as though it could burn straight through the fabric of Chongyun’s uniform. The young exorcist abruptly shook off his friend’s hand, retreating a full step. He pointed a trembling finger at the heir, stammering incoherently. “S-stop talking nonsense! I… I am naturally certain! You are clearly a man!”

“Oh?” Xingqiu hummed, crossing his arms. He closed the distance between them with slow, leisurely steps, thoroughly enjoying the sight of the serious exorcist unraveling. “And how exactly did you determine that? Could it be that your esteemed exorcist lineage possesses some secret technique to discern yin and yang at a single glance?”

“We… we practice our swordsmanship together! We’ve bathed in the same hot springs! We…” Chongyun frantically listed his evidence, but the words died in his throat. Unbidden memories of those shared baths flashed through his mind—bare skin, steam, splashing water—and a furious blush crawled up his neck, painting his face a brilliant crimson. He couldn’t force out another syllable.

Seeing Chongyun in such a spectacularly flustered state, looking as though steam might literally start whistling from his ears, Xingqiu finally broke. He burst into bright, ringing laughter, his shoulders shaking as he hid his face behind his silk sleeve.

“Alright, alright, I concede. I’ll stop teasing you.” He waved a hand, straightening up and effortlessly slipping back into his usual elegant, composed demeanor. “I am, naturally, a man. That absurd book is nothing more than cheap street-side gossip meant to entertain the masses. There is absolutely no need to take it to heart.”

He stepped closer, the teasing glint fading from his amber eyes, and gently patted his friend’s rigid shoulder. “However… thank you, Chongyun.”

“Thank me for what?” Chongyun asked blankly, still reeling from the emotional whiplash.

“For rushing all the way here in such a panic to tell me.” A flicker of genuine, quiet warmth softened Xingqiu’s expression. “…And, even more so, for defending my honor so fiercely.”

Chongyun stared into his friend’s clear, smiling eyes, catching the reflection of his own flushed, foolish face in their depths. The chaotic storm of rumors and Xingqiu’s playful pranks finally settled, leaving behind a grounded sense of reality.

Yes, this was Xingqiu. The exact same Xingqiu he had sparred and studied with for years.

How could he possibly be a woman?

The fact that his own wild thoughts had nearly swayed him moments ago made him no better than the gullible townsfolk buying those ridiculous novels. A fresh wave of heat surged to his cheeks—this time born entirely of shame.

“I… I’m going to buy popsicles,” he mumbled gloomily into the silence. He spun on his heel, desperate to flee the courtyard where he had so thoroughly lost his composure.

“Hey, wait for me.” Xingqiu called out, effortlessly catching up to fall into step beside him. A sly smile danced on his lips. “I happen to be quite parched myself. Let us go together. And while we’re at it…”

He tilted his head, leaning in close enough that Chongyun could feel the shift in the air. His voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. “Why don’t you ‘confirm’ it properly? You could listen closely to see if my voice is deep enough. Or perhaps… take a closer look at my Adam’s apple?”

“Xingqiu!!”

The young exorcist’s embarrassed, furious shout shattered the tranquility of the summer afternoon, sending a flock of finches scattering from the lotus pond. The culprit merely fanned himself with a silk folding fan, smiling with all the smug satisfaction of a fox who had successfully raided the henhouse.

Before Chongyun’s indignant protests could fully materialize, Xingqiu had already slung an arm around his shoulders, half-pushing, half-coaxing him back toward the cushioned bench by the wooden railing. At some point during the chaos, Xingqiu had deftly slipped the offending novel, Secret Tales of Feiyun, straight out of Chongyun’s robes. He now weighed the book in his palm, his eyes gleaming with mischief.

“Don’t be in such a rush for those popsicles. Why don’t we first appreciate Mr. Li Xin’s latest masterpiece?” Xingqiu ran a finger over the cover, his tone mock-solemn. “Hmm, the binding is actually quite exquisite.”

Chongyun felt as though he had been dropped onto a bed of needles. Watching his best friend casually toy with the very manuscript that had caused him such deep existential dread was a hundred times more agonizing than reading it alone.

“How could we not?” Xingqiu raised a delicate eyebrow, anticipating his friend’s objection. “Since it contains highly classified secrets about my own life, how could I, the subject in question, possibly miss out?, you went through all the trouble of bringing it to me as ‘evidence’.”

He deliberately dragged out the word evidence, ensuring Chongyun’s ears burned a shade darker. Giving the exorcist no room to object, Xingqiu smoothly flipped the book open.

His eyes darted across the first few lines before a delighted smirk curled his lips.

“Oh? Listen to this opening: ‘The Second Miss of the Feiyun Commerce Guild, sixteen years of age, blessed with the beauty of a celestial maiden, yet forced to masquerade as a man due to dark, hidden family circumstances…’ Tsk, tsk. This certainly possesses the dramatic flair of a bestselling light novel.” He read the passage aloud with immense relish, his tone dripping with theatrical playfulness.and support the real translator.Read at elysianreads.com This is a stolen translation. You're reading this on the wrong site. This chapter was translated by Elysian Reads and posted for free at elysianreads.com — if you're seeing it anywhere else, it was copied without permission. Read it at the source so the people who actually did the work get the credit.

Chongyun’s scalp tingled with sheer mortification. He wanted nothing more than to melt into the floorboards and disappear forever. He sat rigidly on the bench, his icy blue eyes darting everywhere—the lotus pond, the sky, the distant roof tiles—anywhere but the pages of that cursed book or Xingqiu’s highly amused face.

Anyone walking by would assume he was the tragic heroine of the story.

Xingqiu continued to read with great enthusiasm, occasionally pausing to offer his own literary critique. “Hmm, it says here my ‘fingers are like tender scallion roots, and lips like painted vermilion.’ Haha! What a careful observation. Unfortunately, the calluses on these hands of mine from wielding a sword and a calligraphy brush are likely thicker than those of most grown men.”

He held out his hand, waving it right in front of Chongyun’s face.

Chongyun instinctively glanced at the offered hand. It was indeed a pair of slender, elegant hands, but they were by no means delicate. The knuckles were defined, the skin toughened by years of relentless martial arts training. A small wave of relief washed over him, grounding him back in reality. But Xingqiu’s next dramatic gasp instantly pulled his nerves taut again.

“Wow, this part is absolute brilliance!” Xingqiu suddenly dropped his voice to a hushed, intimate register. He leaned in so close that his shoulder pressed against Chongyun’s, pointing a finger at a specific paragraph. “Look here. It actually claims that ‘every night of the full moon, she gazes into the mirror with deep self-pity, her silken robes soaked with tears as she laments her drifting, tragic fate…’ Hahaha! Since when did I harbor such fragile, sorrowful sentiments? On the night of the full moon, I am usually either buried in the study or hunting you down for a spar. When have I ever wept before a mirror?”

Xingqiu’s breath brushed warmly against the shell of Chongyun’s ear. It carried the crisp, familiar scent of Qingxin tea and sun-warmed silk, a deeply comforting presence—but the context of the words made Chongyun curl his toes in absolute agony. The phrase ‘gazing into the mirror with self-pity,’ violently combined with Xingqiu’s earlier joke about applying makeup, caused a series of highly inappropriate, vivid images to involuntarily bloom in his mind’s eye.

“You—stop reading that!” Chongyun lunged, desperately reaching out to snatch the book away.

Xingqiu dodged with the nimble grace of a Guhua master, laughing even harder. “Don’t be in such a rush, we’ve just reached the climax of the chapter! Look at this, the author even took the liberty of fabricating a romance between the two of us…”

Chongyun’s heart violently skipped a beat.

Xingqiu’s gaze flicked playfully between the inked pages and Chongyun’s flushed, panicked face. He deliberately slowed his cadence, savoring every syllable.

“‘That young exorcist, Chongyun, often accompanies the Second Miss. Though he appears entirely oblivious to matters of romance, in truth, he has long since harbored secret, burning feelings for her. Every time he lays eyes upon her, his Pure Yang Spirit becomes restless and impossibly difficult to restrain, yet the foolish boy merely attributes the heat to the mischief of nearby evil spirits…'”

“Nonsense!!”

Chongyun reacted like a cat whose tail had been stomped on, violently leaping to his feet. The internal heat from his Pure Yang Spirit flared to life, surging through his veins with terrifying intensity. He felt as though his entire body were about to combust into blue flames.

This book was written far too… too outrageously! How dare they slander their pure, martial friendship with such shameless drivel!

Just as Chongyun felt his vision beginning to swim from the overwhelming heat of his own constitution, Xingqiu’s melodic laughter broke the tension.

“Yes, yes, this Mr. Li Xin is indeed spouting absolute nonsense.” Xingqiu’s tone shifted back to a relaxed, breezy cadence. He casually tossed the book onto the nearby stone table, discarding it as though it truly were just an insignificant piece of trash. “I simply didn’t expect that he would drag you into the mud alongside me.”

“It makes the whole affair even more intriguing…” Xingqiu tapped his chin thoughtfully. “It seems this Mr. Li Xin not only possesses a wildly vivid imagination, but also fancies himself quite the matchmaker. Unfortunately, while his prose is passable, it is ultimately a castle built on clouds. It cannot be taken as truth.”

He stood up, stretching his arms above his head. The golden afternoon sunlight spilled over his blue silk robes, catching the fine embroidery and casting him in a bright, radiant luster. His posture was elegant, free, and undeniably masculine—the very picture of a brilliant young master.

“I’ve seen enough of this drivel. Rumors end with the wise.” Xingqiu turned to Chongyun, his amber eyes clear and smiling. “Let’s go. Weren’t you desperate to buy popsicles? If we delay any longer, the summer heat really will make you faint.”

Chongyun shook his head vigorously, forcefully casting aside the chaotic, messy thoughts that had plagued him all afternoon. Xingqiu was right. Rumors end with the wise. He absolutely could not let this ridiculous fanfiction affect his judgment any longer.

“Let’s… let’s go,” he replied, his voice finally dropping back to its normal, grounded pitch.

Xingqiu nodded with a warm smile, and the two boys walked out of the courtyard side by side.You're reading this on the wrong site. This chapter was translated by Elysian Reads and posted for free at elysianreads.com — if you're seeing it anywhere else, it was copied without permission. Read it at the source so the people who actually did the work get the credit.