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"So you can leave the water." Shenhe spoke, watching as you stepped onto the lake's shore next to her. You nodded, smiling at her.

"Sure can. Plus, if I get hurt the water will heal me when I touch it again." You bent down, gently petting a Medaka fish that swam over, "That's why I don't usually go far from the lake." She nodded, taking a seat on a nearby rock as she watched you.

She'd never seen someone interact with the creatures of Luhua Pool the way you did, and it fascinated her. You treated them just like a human would their friends.

Finally you stood and took a seat next to her, eyeing her expectantly. When she didn't say anything, you spoke up instead.

"So, is there a reason you came back?" You questioned, "You seem like you have something on your mind." Shenhe was stunned for a moment, not expecting you to pick up on what she was feeling.

"Oh, yes, there is," she admitted finally, trying to come up with a way to word it without seeming odd. Would it be off-putting for you if she told you how she'd seen you dancing the night before? "I've been thinking, and I would like to help you move on, if that's alright." She said instead, failing to notice how your face fell.

"Oh, I see." You put on a smile, "That would be great, thank you." You hadn't realized she wanted you gone that badly, but as you looked back at her pretty grey eyes you decided to go along with it. It would probably make things easier for her if you were to move on, after all. Her mouth curved upward into what almost seemed like a smile.

"Of course," she replied, "I want to help the people of Liyue, including you." You smiled back, feeling your heart melt a little. For someone you'd only caused problems for since you met her, she was so kind to you. You almost felt like you didn't deserve it, but you realized that was just how Shenhe was.

"Then where do we start?"

..........

"Do you remember anything about your previous life?" Shenhe asked carefully, ready to take notes with the papers and quill she'd gotten out.

You frowned, pacing on and off the water's surface as you tried to come up with an answer.

"No," You admitted finally, "aside from my first name, that is." She nodded, having anticipated that answer.

"Actually, I barely have any memories, even since becoming a spirit," You continued, trying to think back to how you'd ended up in Liyue.

"What's the earliest even you can remember?" The white-haired woman next to you questioned softly, waiting patiently for you to answer.

"I don't know," you admitted, frustrated, "I remember feeling drawn to Luhua Pool a few months ago, but I have no idea where I was before that...Or what it was that brought me here."

Shenhe wrote this down, already having had a good idea of what had drawn you to this specific area. After all, there had been a large number of spirits gathering there around that time for the same reason. Still, that didn't help her decipher anything about who you were, or at least who you used to be.

"Is that everything?" She looked up at you, secretly hoping for the answer to be no. If she was going to help you, she'd need a little more to go off of than that. Luckily, you shook your head.

"A few times, people have come by the lake," You explained, thinking back to the adventurers you'd scared, "They sometimes leave items behind. When I scared those brothers, for example, they left behind their bag. It had a blue pendant on the front."

"Did that have some significance to you?" Shenhe asked. You only shrugged.

"I don't know. It had a symbol on the front that looked like it could represent one of the seven nations of Teyvat."

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