Chongyun

Throughout its long history, Liyue has never had a lack of rumors and myths regarding all manner of evil spirits and demons. And regardless of the truth of such rumors, someone has to do something about them.

Chongyun was born into a renowned family of exorcists, and has possessed a natural ability to drive away evil spirits from a young age due to his pure-yang spirit. His powers of exorcism are far beyond the norm: his mere presence is sufficient to scatter evil spirits.

However, this has proven to be an inconvenience for Chongyun himself, for though he has undertaken hundreds of successful exorcisms, he has never come face-to-face with a single ghost or demon.

Chongyun believes in his heart that a true exorcist should exorcize evil with charms and swordsmanship. This natural ability that he has... is just not orthodox.

Therefore, he has dedicated himself to the study of exorcism techniques and martial arts, as well as seeking the haunts of evil spirits to prove himself an able and professional exorcist even without his unique physical condition.

Yet, when will that condition stop being a stumbling block on his path to self-realization?

When Chongyun first ventured out as an exorcist, there had been much talk of an evil spirit lurking inside Liyue Harbor.

The victim of these hauntings was a woman from a family with a high enough stature to even have a word or two with the Liyue Qixing.

From a time she knew not when, her sleep began to be harassed by sounds that kept her awake, but every time she tried to follow the sound, it would suddenly shift behind her, and begin ringing again in her ears.

This shock caused her unspeakable distress, and she even lost weight for loss of appetite.

Her wealth was enough to hire the best exorcists from all over, but no matter what they tried, they had to retreat empty-handed. And not only did the noises persist, they even grew in boldness.

It was then, just when she had given up all hope, that Chongyun walked through her door.

"I apologize for coming just now, it has been far too sunny lately... I heard that this place houses a very stubborn ghost. Please, leave it to me."

Then Chongyun brought a chair over, and sat upon it in the middle of the house for a time.

That night, the strange sounds were no more.

The wealthy woman finally had a good night's sleep, and she came running to Chongyun the next morning with an overabundance of gold and jewelry as a reward.

But Chongyun, as was his wont, only accepted his usual fee of a few hundred Mora without an ounce of emotion on his face.

Ever since that incident, Chongyun has found that his reputation precedes him for miles around. He has become beloved in Liyue for his "style and character," and indeed scholars have given him this appellation: "a heart of clear water, and a face of ice."

However, calling his mannerisms and style "frosty" couldn't be farther from the truth.

Due to the abundance of yang energy in his constitution, he is constantly troubled by increased body temperature and sudden urges or impulses.

He has tried everything to alleviate the issues both physically and psychologically.

His methods include not drinking hot water, not eating hot or spicy food, wearing light clothes, not getting into arguments, keeping himself from being angered, staying indoors on sweltering days, and always bringing a parasol when on the job.

In short, he attempted to stay away from everything that might aggravate his condition.

Despite all this, his yang energy did not subside a whit.

A little depressed, Chongyun began to wrestle with his own body. When he heard about an evil spirit in Dragonspine, he made for the peak wearing only a shirt.

Though it was hard enough to keep himself warm, he still felt this insufficient. Digging a hole in a frozen lake, he jumped in and soaked in the icy water while waiting for the evil spirit to show itself.

After staying in the lake for half a day, he finally caught a glimpse of his target.

However, after pursuing it down to the mountainside, he discovered it was only a snow rabbit that had been frightened off by his flying swords and floating charms.

The fever that he ran afterward lasted far longer than it would in a normal person.

Chongyun's pure-yang spirit is not only a huge obstacle in his path as an exorcist, but a constant daily hassle.

He must be extra careful to stay away from "heaty" things, to which he is very sensitive, or risk his yang energy and emotions going out of control.

Chongyun's clan once held a celebration party at Wanmin Restaurant. And though he waited until all the dishes had gone cold, he did not expect the tender rice balls to be stuffed with Jueyun Chili.

After but a single bite... Chongyun had no recollection of what happened next.

However, according to the victim, chef Xiangling of Wanmin Restaurant, many unforgettable things happened.

Chongyun first jumped onto the reception desk and shouted, "Everything's on me tonight!" — never mind that he did not actually have any money on him.

He then began to chat with customers at other tables as if they were old pals, bragging to them of how incredible his clan's exorcist arts were, never forgetting to taste other people's dishes on the tables before he left.

Lastly, he claimed to have sensed an evil spirit in Wanmin Restaurant. This he did not find, but he did slap a charm on Xiangling's forehead and chase her around with his sword.

Afterwards, Chongyun scrimped and saved for an entire month to pay Wanmin Restaurant back for the mess and any damages he might have caused; he also gave Xiangling an evil-warding talisman that he carved by hand.

But Xiangling, for her part, didn't mind Chongyun's "transgressions" at all. Instead, she felt that the crazy Chongyun was the real Chongyun, without any personal walls up.

Chongyun has had the privilege of meeting a true friend in his long journey as an exorcist: Xingqiu.

In contrast to the hard-working Chongyun, Xingqiu was naturally gifted, and had a more flexible way of looking at problems.

After learning about Chongyun's troubles, Xingqiu came up with a possible solution.

"If you can't reduce the effects of your yang energy, what if you sought out an evil spirit that is immune to it?"

This was a eureka moment for Chongyun. Since then, Chongyun has no longer sought to alleviate his condition. Instead, he now tries to get Xingqiu to come with him to find such a spirit.

"What? Sightings of the legendary Aoyin near the Sea of Clouds? Leave it to me!"

"The old house at Feiyun Slope has been taken over by an evil spirit? My bad. I'll attend to it right away."

"A master exorcist is staying over at Wangshu Inn? I could learn a lot from him... Hmm, better go with a gift."

Xingqiu usually just makes these "leads" up as he goes, and thanks to his "advice," Chongyun often comes back empty-handed, blaming his bad luck.

"I tried my best to look for it, and even spent quite a sum purchasing more intelligence on that evil spirit — but I wound up missing it by a hair anyway," Chongyun says, abashed.

If Xingqiu has time to spare when such an occasion arises, he will encourage Chongyun, treat him to some new cold dishes he has found and then set off to get Chongyun's swindled money back.

A warm and reliable companion, indeed! — So Chongyun thinks at such moments. Who could he possibly trust, if not his fine friend Xingqiu?

In truth, Chongyun wishes that he could fit in more, but he is often forced to reject the invitations of others on account of his need to control his abundance of yang energy.

Of these practices, he finds one particularly incomprehensible: hot springs.

Bathing and "relaxing" in steaming-hot water? Even the sound of that scares him a hundred times more than freezing in a lake on Dragonspine.

However, he has also heard everyone sing yearning praises of these hot springs, praising their comfort, and asserting that they become more so the hotter they are, and that one is filled with energy for a whole week afterward.

Chongyun still doesn't know if this is true or if people are just teasing him.

And he would have dared to try it out, if not for the ever-present problem of his pure-yang spirit.

Xingqiu once asked him this:

"If you were able to master your yang energy and rid the world of all evil spirits someday...what would you do after that?"

This seemingly off-the-cuff remark troubled Chongyun deeply.

Perhaps he had indeed missed out on a lot in life on account of his condition.

But he doesn't regret spending time. If one way of living doesn't work, he just needs to find himself another — and in any case, he already has his answer.

If that day comes, well, he'll go to the hot springs then.

The tomes that Chongyun's family has passed down from generation to generation detail every evil spirit they have ever subdued.

From little critters to the monstrous demons found in tall tales of horror, their varieties are almost dazzling.

It was one such terrifying story that inspired Chongyun's vow to rid the world of evil spirits.

But as far as he is concerned, inheriting these books has... also proved inconvenient.

Other than textual descriptions, the books also contain illustrations of said evil spirits that carefully detail their unique characteristics — even if the artist may not have been the greatest talent.

But Chongyun has never seen an evil spirit in his life. Unwilling to break with this artistic tradition, he was at a loss.

Ultimately, he would attempt to use his imagination to draw some suitably strange images.

—Thus did the Field Guide to Demons and Beasts grow ever more exotic. Best not to think too deeply about that seven-winged, five-legged chicken-beast or that half-fish, half-hilichurl demon.

"Those other exorcists at least have the courtesy to wave their swords or tack on some talismans. You just sat here for a while, and now you say you're done, and that I should pay you? Who are you trying to fool?"

Chongyun faced a great deal of suspicion when he first took up the role of an exorcist.

He immediately faced one big hurdle: it was a lot easier to prove that "evil spirits are present" than not.

Of course he would seem a charlatan even compared to "exorcists" who just went through the motions.

With all the ability in the world but no place to use it, looked on with suspicion, and needing to suppress any passionate impulses...

Those who eventually apologized to him were also few.

But even so, Chongyun would not go with the flow, and use some fancy act to cover for his real method of conducting exorcism.

Even with his unique composition posing countless obstacles for him, Chongyun has never once considered giving up.

One day, he will become the greatest exorcist in Liyue, control his abundance of yang energy, and rid the world of evil spirits.

Perhaps it was this resolve that earned him the gods' favor — that said, the Vision granted to Chongyun was one of "Cryo" rather than "Pyro."

As to which of his goals it was that the Vision responded to, that is also a mystery.