Genshin Impact: The Sharpshooter of Teyvat

Shao Yun felt a sinking weight in his heart as he finished listening to those words.

'So, when I found the pagan skull's mask back then… there was only the mask, no head. Turns out it was here all along…'

He could already envision the Man with a Top Hat handing over the skull of that pagan—one cursed by an Indian hex—to Nianhua. Suddenly, everything became clear.

It was precisely by relying on that power, something not of the land of Teyvat, that Nianhua had been able to recover so quickly from her injuries… and even grow stronger than before.

At this thought, Shao Yun let out a bitter chuckle and said helplessly, "Damn, if I had known, I wouldn't have meddled in this mess!"

He then took a deep breath and voiced the question that had been gnawing at his mind.

"I've got a question. I already took down the Pearl Galley—what grudge do you still have?"

Hu Tao had said that Nianhua had jumped into a well and died, and he had naturally assumed it was suicide. So where did this grudge come from?

Nianhua's eyes shimmered with a ghostly light. Her face was pale, but in her gaze burned a resolute fire.

She hesitated for a moment, then spoke with a trace of sorrow in her voice.

["I was murdered. The culprits still roam free. I want you to help me!"]

Shao Yun furrowed his brows. He could feel the bitterness and indignation in her words—he was ready to interrogate.

Kaifeng has Judge Bao; Liyue has Judge Shao. The former strikes the gavel; the latter wields a six-shooter!

"Then what exactly happened? Can you tell me in detail?"

Nianhua gritted her teeth, forcing the words through clenched jaws. Her voice was low and seething with rage. ["It was that damned Jianqiu, and the second daughter of Minghua Bank—Huachu. They're the ones who killed me!"]

Shao Yun's eyes flickered with a glimmer of insight. He decided to test her—Hu Tao had warned that one shouldn't trust a wrathful spirit too easily. Who knew if he was being used?

He took out his notebook, flipped to a blank page, and casually sketched a generic face before showing it to Nianhua.

"Was it this one?"

Nianhua stared at the drawing for a moment, then shook her head, her tone uncertain.

["Not this one. Who's that? I don't know him."]

Shao Yun quickly sketched another generic face and handed it over.

"This guy, maybe?"

Nianhua studied it closely once more, then firmly shook her head and began describing Jianqiu's features.

["Definitely not. Jianqiu wears glasses and gives off a very refined vibe. These two men you drew aren't even close!"]

Hearing how vividly she described Jianqiu, Shao Yun became more convinced that she wasn't lying.

He flipped to the sketch in his notebook that he had drawn back in Stone Gate—it featured the faces of Huachu and Jianqiu—and showed it to her.

["It's—"]

Before he could finish, Nianhua had already lunged forward, trying to snatch the notebook from his hands. Tears shimmered in her eyes, and her voice trembled.

["Yes! Those two bastards! I'll never forget their faces!"]

Shao Yun recalled the events at Stone Gate—Jianqiu had told Huachu they were going to elope. Could it be… that in order to cover their tracks for the elopement, they used Nianhua as a scapegoat?

"Tell me everything in detail! What really happened?!"

Nianhua took a deep breath, memories dragging her back to a painful past.

["Half a year ago, I wasn't just expelled from the Pearl Galley… I was left with an imaginary debt of eight million Mora. Since I was a child, I'd only ever studied instruments like the plucked zither—they were my only pride, the only thing I knew. So, I had no choice but to busk in the streets, playing to feed my child and slowly repay that fictitious debt."]

["Three months ago,"] she continued, ["Jianqiu from the Minghua Commerce Guild found me while I was performing in the streets. He said he wanted me to perform at Minghua Bank for the second daughter. The payment he promised was a full hundred thousand Mora. For someone like me, who earns just a few hundred Mora a day singing under the sun and rain, it was a fortune beyond comprehension."]

Shao Yun frowned. "Only a hundred thousand? The Minghua Commerce Guild is that stingy?"

Nianhua let out a bitter laugh and shook her head. ["To me, a hundred thousand Mora was unimaginable wealth. There were days when I'd perform all day and still only make enough to buy some steamed buns and vegetables—barely enough to survive. So, when I heard that number, I was truly tempted, and I took the offer."]

Shao Yun cleared his throat lightly. 'Guess I've gotten used to living too comfortably… forgotten what life's like for regular folks.'

Nianhua continued her story.

["After I played the plucked zither, I saw that mountain of a hundred thousand Mora laid before me—I was stunned. In my days at the Pearl Galley, I'd seen merchants throw money around like dirt, but what actually landed in our hands? Not even a tenth of that. ]

["I accepted the money without hesitation,"] Nianhua said. ["Miss Huachu smiled at me and said she loved my music. She hoped to hear more in the future. Her appreciation and warmth made me feel so honored."]

Then Nianhua drifted again into her memories.

["For the following month, Miss Huachu would send Jianqiu to fetch me every few days to play for her. Each time, they paid no less than a hundred thousand Mora. I honestly thought I had met a benefactor—someone sent by fate to save me."]

Her voice was filled with gratitude and joy, as if that time had been the brightest chapter of her life.

["I thought they were noble and generous people—ones who reached out when I was at my lowest. But I was wrong. So wrong. They were monsters wearing human skin. Their hearts… colder than ice."]

Nianhua's voice trembled, every word dragged from the depths of her soul.

She recalled the night that had changed her life forever.

["Two months ago, that night, I had just coaxed my child to sleep when Jianqiu showed up unexpectedly. He said Miss Huachu was hosting a banquet and needed a musician. If I played well, I'd get five million Mora. I hesitated, but the lure was too great."]

She took another deep breath before continuing.

["Right before I left, Jianqiu handed me a mask. He said it was to protect me—to prevent those greedy guests from noticing me. I was grateful then… thought they really had my best interest at heart. But I was wrong. It was a trap—one that plunged me into a bottomless abyss."]

She clenched her fists, fury radiating from her small frame.

["He took me to a remote spot where a rickshaw was waiting. Just as I was about to get in, he struck me with a rock. In that moment, I felt a fear and despair unlike anything I'd known. He smashed that rock into my face again and again. My world spun, everything went black."]

Her voice grew quieter, tinged with sorrow.

["Just before I lost consciousness, I heard Huachu's voice. She said, 'I brought my clothes. Hurry and put them on her!'"]

["Following Liyue's old traditions, on the seventh day after my death, my soul drifted back to Liyue Harbor. That's when I discovered that Miss Huachu had also 'died'. Later, the 'demon' you mentioned told me the truth—I was nothing but a scapegoat for these two beasts to fake their deaths and flee. I had been ruthlessly used."]