Mr. Xiyan

is an NPC aboard The Xianzhou Luofu, located in Central Starskiff Haven.
==Profile==
Mr. Xiyan is a storyteller for the Sleepless Earl aboard the Xianzhou Luofu and an old friend of Mengming's parents. He also assists the latter, who is the current owner of the teahouse, after the Sleepless Earl was left in her hands by her parents as a kind of a test. Mr. Xiyan was asked by Mengming's parents to help her run the business from behind the scenes, giving her a little guidance or two.
He studied at the Royal Academy on The Xianzhou Yaoqing and is a professional playwright by trade. He is also the manager of Spare Time Book Shop in Exalting Sanctum but doesn't show up very often.
Prior to the events of , he obtained a pet bird named Youci.
==Location==
==Achievements==
==Missions and Events==
==Character Mentions==
==Voice Lines==
;(Version 1)
:: "Curved wood must be bent again to reach straightness, and finding truth from exaggerations and lies takes a nap."
;(Version 2)
:: "When it's friends against Strales, the money prevails."
==Dialogue==
;(First interaction)
:Mr. Xiyan: Curved wood must be bent again to reach straightness, and finding truth from exaggerations and lies takes knack. When the real is fake, the fake is also real, and you need to toss a coin to hear my spiel.
:Mr. Xiyan: I am Xiyan, a humble storyteller at the Sleepless Earl. If you'd like to listen to a few novel-length tales, you might have to wait here for a while.
:Mr. Xiyan: ...Then again, though there is still time for the story sessions, if you were to sip some tea and listen to a few tunes, it wouldn't be a complete waste of time, would it?
: You are a storyteller, but also involved with running the tea house here?
::Mr. Xiyan: Good sir, don't talk like that. If the tea house has business, then more patrons will come to drink tea. With many patrons, I then can make friends and earn a little money for myself.
::Mr. Xiyan: Besides, the tea at the Sleepless Earl isn't too shabby. If you'd like some recommendations, I'd say order a pot of Hunter Maofeng tea. Satisfaction guaranteed.
: Great. I was just about to order some tea.
::Mr. Xiyan: Then you've come to the right place. The Sleepless Earl is the premier tea spot aboard the Xianzhou Luofu. Don't let the innkeeper's young age fool you. Her research on how to simmer tea leaves is unrivaled.
::Mr. Xiyan: If you wouldn't mind my humble opinion, order a pot of Hunter Maofeng tea. Satisfaction guaranteed.
:Mr. Xiyan: Some guests are tea aficionados, and often pontificate about all kinds of expert tea lore at the Sleepless Earl. I'm not a smart man, but I have memorized some facts and can show them off. Would you be interested?
;(Continue onto dialogue options below)
----
;(Subsequent interactions)
:Mr. Xiyan: Snobs they come and snobs they go, and good friends and manners are hard to come by. A storyteller on stage and a friend below, an acquaintance is worth more than thousands of gold.
:Mr. Xiyan: Unfortunately, you're still far too early for the show. But stick around if you don't mind listening to me chat about tea.
: Tell me something from the High-Cloud Quintet.
:;(Version 1)
::Mr. Xiyan: If the customer wishes for it, then allow me to regale you with a tale from the Imbibitor Lunae.
::Mr. Xiyan: We must first speak of the Shackling Prison. On this day, a visitor from another star was jailed for slaying seven or eight Cloud Knight Soldiers, and was thrown into the depths of the prison for this heinous crime.
::Mr. Xiyan: This prisoner's physique was shocking, standing over ten feet tall with a girth of over five feet. Everything was huge about him: his weight, visage, and facial features. His body was covered in natural golden armor, and impervious to weapons... To capture him, the Ten-Lords Commission had to dispatch its Judges to assist.
::Mr. Xiyan: "Is this the lowest depths of the prison?" This iron-skinned prisoner's voice was deep, his tone akin to a sightseer asking about the scenery. There was not a hint of desperation from one just thrown in prison.
::Mr. Xiyan: "Shut up!" A Cloud Knight transporting him barked, obviously upset. He had had two ribs broken during the capture operation, and could still feel the throbbing pain.
::Mr. Xiyan: "Is this the lowest depths of the prison?" This iron-skinned prisoner asked again, his voice lowered another notch. With this question, a youth sipping tea in the shadows had noticed this prisoner.
:: Imbibitor Lunae!
:::Mr. Xiyan: "...Forget it. It's pointless asking you a lot. I'll just have to explore down below myself." Just as this iron-skinned prisoner finished his sentence, the two Cloud Knights were instantly knocked out, their throats seemingly strangled by a pair of powerful giant hands.
:::Mr. Xiyan: Upon closer observation, the iron visors that the Cloud Knights wore were completely mangled. This iron-skinned prisoner from another star could use his will to control metal, and these two Knights were definitely not his match. And so, he once again asked the youth —
:::Mr. Xiyan: "Is this the lowest depths of the prison?"
:::Mr. Xiyan: The myriad of cuffs, shackles, chains, and spikes hanging behind the tea drinker began to rattle, for the iron-skinned prisoner had already used his iron-wielding skill to entrap the youth.
:::Mr. Xiyan: Yet this tea drinker poured himself another cup without missing a bit, then raised his cup, as if inviting the iron-skinned prisoner over. His voice was clear and cold, yet intimidating...
:::Mr. Xiyan: "It appears you're rather confident of your metal manipulation. How about I just use one cup of tea?
::: My goodness! Cloudcry magic.
::::Mr. Xiyan: The tea in the cup came alive in an instant, forming a small watery orb floating in mid-air. The prisoner reacted in kind, and a clattering cacophony, all the iron objects in the narrow corridor hurtled towards the tea-drinking youth.
::::Mr. Xiyan: The tea swirled like a serpentine dragon, batting away all the iron pieces with such inhuman speed and force that they were wedged in the walls from the powerful deflections.
::::Mr. Xiyan: Then the tea gathered and formed into a watery orb once more. The prisoner, taken aback, thought to cut his losses and retreat. But the tea made its move again, sealing the prisoner's nostrils and mouth shut.
::::Mr. Xiyan: With a "thud", the towering iron-skinned figure fell to the ground, unconscious.
::::Mr. Xiyan: The tea-drinking youth evenly muttered, "This is not the lowest depths," and disappeared into the darkness.
:::;(Dialogue ends)
::: (This story is taking too long. I'll listen to it another time.)
:::;(Dialogue ends)
:: (This story is taking too long. I'll listen to it another time.)
::;(Dialogue ends)
:;(Version 2)
::Mr. Xiyan: If the customer wishes for it, then allow me to regale you with a tale from the Transcendent Flash.
::Mr. Xiyan: We have to start off with that day of the year when Cloud Knights draft soldiers. The parade square was bustling with movement. Rows upon rows of Cloud Knights Soldiers surrounded a boxing ring in the middle of the square, forming a veritable moat.
::Mr. Xiyan: This ring towered over fifteen feet and in it stood a ringmaster, his visage scarred and brutish. This man was tempered in battle, a stark contrast to those greenhorns below the ring.
::Mr. Xiyan: "Soldiers! I am ringmaster Mou'A. I intended to come to the Xianzhou Luofu to partake in the Sword Champion summit, but I miscalculated the intergalactic time. So, I have specially built this ring, in which I hope to compare my might to you soldiers."
::Mr. Xiyan: This burly fellow had traversed the interstellar portals merely to pit his skills in a martial competition. There would always be such foreign swordmasters in past Sword Champion summits who would participate in duels, and many of them would be extremely skilled.
::Mr. Xiyan: "The blade is blind. If I were to slay any challengers before the Cloud Knights, it does not fit decorum and I would be forfeiting my life." The man pointed to the meteoric alloy dummy in the ring and proclaimed, "Therefore, I want to see whose sword skill is the better!"
::Mr. Xiyan: "If I were proven to be the better, may the Cloud Knight General confer unto me an official title!" A silvered-haired general seating beneath the ring smiled as he looked at this ringmaster, lazily proclaiming "That can be arranged."
:: General Jing Yuan!
:::Mr. Xiyan: None was a match before this target dummy forged from alien meteoric alloy, be it newbie Cloud Knight or even the most experienced veterans. The stronger soldiers could leave a mark on the dummy, but the weaker ones could leave nary a scratch.
:::Mr. Xiyan: This burly fellow kept shaking his head at the Cloud Knights Soldier's swordsmanship, and spoke again: "Thus ends the hundred-men sword trial. To think none could harm this meager dummy... Watch my blade!"
:::Mr. Xiyan: 'twas a sight to behold. This scarred man took up a Cloud Knight's blunt sword, and with a silvery flash, this meteoric alloy dummy was instantly cleaved in two. The parade square roared with cheers, for it was the first time many recruits had seen such a feat.
:::Mr. Xiyan: "If there are no more skilled challengers in this parade square, I would ask for not just an official title, but to be wreathed in flowers and paraded through the streets for all to see! Hahaha..."
:::Mr. Xiyan: A Cloud Knights captain eyed the ring, and before the scarred swordsman could finish his sentence, the captain pushed himself off the ground with his feet, sprang up to the ring, and flashed his swords at the broken dummy, turning the dummy into pieces.
:::Mr. Xiyan: The scarred swordsman's face paled at that single strike. He had not expected such talent among the Cloud Knights, but he feigned composure: "This captain does have some skills..."
:::Mr. Xiyan: "But I can't leave this ring without having learned a thing or two from the Transcendent Flash. Who among you is the Transcendent Flash? Hurry up and let yours truly witness your strength."
:::Mr. Xiyan: The soldiers murmured among themselves. No one confronted him. The recruits were unhappy about this man's shamelessness, but they also wished to know the power of the Transcendent Flash.
:::Mr. Xiyan: Right then, a silvered haired soldier steadily climbed onto the ring, and the entire parade square immediately fell silent — as if beholding a lofty moonlight streak whisking past, everyone held their breaths.
:::Mr. Xiyan: "Those who wish to see my sword, come and see it."
::: The Transcendent Flash!
::::Mr. Xiyan: But this dummy has been shredded into pieces. How would one be able to judge the strength of a blade? The ivory-haired soldier unsheathed the prized sword gifted by a friend and swung it at the air.
::::Mr. Xiyan: In an instant, it was as if day turned into night over the parade square, and time itself had reverted. When everyone came to their senses, the Transcendent Flash had already sheathed the blade, but the dizzy feeling of vertigo persisted.
::::Mr. Xiyan: Everyone in the parade square was thinking of the exact same thing — this strike had sliced through time itself.
::::Mr. Xiyan: Time, flowing slowly and silently, is supposed to trickle steadily like water, and it should have been impossible to deliver a "Water-Severing Strike"... but this slash had indeed pierced time itself.
::::Mr. Xiyan: With this decisive strike, the result in the ring had become inconsequential.
:::;(Dialogue ends)
::: (This story is taking too long. I'll listen to it another time.)
:::;(Dialogue ends)
:: (This story is taking too long. I'll listen to it another time.)
::;(Dialogue ends)
: Don't just tell me about tea. Tell me one of your stories.
::Mr. Xiyan: ... You put me in a difficult spot. Storystellers don't have much except a few books stored in our heads. I'll become a pauper if I ever told them all.
::Mr. Xiyan: If you're willing to listen to a bit of gossip, then I can certainly fill you in.
:: Tell me more about tea, then.
:::Mr. Xiyan: Let me tell you about the Whale-Tide Spring tea, then. They say "one cup of Whale-Tide Spring invigorates the sense and brings the beauty of cloud." Lay back, imbibe, and watch the starry seas.
:::Mr. Xiyan: It's said that the Vidyadhara high elder roiled the ancient seas like thunder, and submerged the Scalegorge Waterscape delve. Dozens of years later, the Vidyadhara descendants found a flourishing tea tree on a floating isle — its sturdy branches were beautiful, and its leaves lush like jade.
:::Mr. Xiyan: Ahh... thinking over such half-truths and legends really lends the tea some extra texture. Don't you think?
:: I want to hear about the legends of Xianzhou.
:::Mr. Xiyan: I could tell you of the Cloud Knight Sword Champion known as the Transcendent Flash... but it's far too long. Just the chapter about the Roaming Star Rahu destroying the Xianzhou Cangcheng takes three whole days and three whole nights.
:::Mr. Xiyan: The Xianzhou natives don't mind this story at all... but seeing as you are an Outworlder, I don't want to waste your precious time — so I will spare you from it.
:::Mr. Xiyan: Ahhh, but... if you would flatter me by coming to my show, then that's another matter entirely.
:: Tell me more about your connection to the owner here.
:::Mr. Xiyan: Well well well! You have a keen eye. I can't hide that from you.
:::Mr. Xiyan: Her parents are old friends of mine, and they left her this teahouse here as a kind of a test.
:::Mr. Xiyan: Most Foxian traders learn their skills this way. I was asked by her parents to help her run the business from behind the scenes, offering a little guidance or two.
:::Mr. Xiyan: But she is incredibly talented and intelligent. Soon enough, she'll be able to take charge of everything by herself.
:: There are storytellers aboard Xianzhou?
:::Mr. Xiyan: Hahaha, I hear this from Outworlders all the time: "Xianzhou is so technologically advanced. Why do you still have storytellers?"
:::Mr. Xiyan: I know what the question's really asking though. They want to say "there's so much to do on Xianzhou, yet there's something as old-fashioned as this?" Some even consider my presence tacky, that I'm out of place on Starskiff Haven.
:::Mr. Xiyan: Storytelling is indeed a declining art. Few wishes to carry on this tradition, which is a problem. Far more serious is the lack of a stage — be it storytelling or crosstalk, there are art forms that require an audience.
:::Mr. Xiyan: I know of artistes who rely on their performance for a living. The theater is a thing of the past, and there's nowhere to sing opera... An art form meeting its demise just like that... a true pity.
:::Mr. Xiyan: And so you see me and ask: What's a storyteller doing, manning a teahouse? If it weren't for the little owner providing me with a venue and food, us artistes wouldn't be able to feed ourselves.
: I don't have any more questions.
::Mr. Xiyan: Okay, let's chat again when you have the time.
:;(Dialogue ends.)
----
;(Included in subsequent interactions, upon completing )
: It's time for you to update your story, isn't it?
::Mr. Xiyan: Yes, many of my stories have to be updated soon... I have to amend those parts that talk about how the Ambrosial Arbor has never resurrected for millennia.
::Mr. Xiyan: Alas... it's a very tedious process to spot and rectify all those errors in the stories... If I say anything wrong, my audience seriously wont tip me!
::Mr. Xiyan: Who would have thought the Ambrosial Arbor would significantly affect my work in this way... I bet even the Plagues Author couldn't have expected this, haha.
: I've met your pet already.
::Mr. Xiyan: Ah, you met my little Youci~ How about it? Isn't it fascinating? 
:: Really, quite fascinating.
:::Mr. Xiyan: Indeed! I knew you'd take a liking to it.
:: Not at all...
:::Mr. Xiyan: Not at all? *sigh* That's no surprise... The Nameless is vastly experienced. Nothing I have in my humble possession could hope to satisfy you~
:: Actually, it was pretty weird.
:::Mr. Xiyan: Hahaha, indeed! I actually think this "weirdness" is what's most fascinating about it.
::Mr. Xiyan: So then, have you encountered any... special circumstances?
:: It chatted with me.
::Mr. Xiyan: Ah? It chatted with you? ...This... looks like she wasn't lying. This bird can actually... Don't mind me. I'm just talking to myself.
::Mr. Xiyan: Was there anything else? Such as... Did it give you anything?
:: It gave me a feather.
::Mr. Xiyan: Aha, I knew it'd gift a feather to you! They're really good, and you should take good care of it.
:: What's the feather for?
::Mr. Xiyan: Just look at how light and transparent it is, like some small object sculpted from gemstone. Go sell it for money~ One feather is worth all you can earn across several days of storytelling!
::Mr. Xiyan: When you have the time, spare some time and chat with it more... I often find myself busy with work, and I fear it grows lonely. Seeing as it only chats with you, perhaps it has taken a liking to you?
::Mr. Xiyan: And besides, those feathers most assuredly are REALLY good~
==Gallery==
===Videos===
Gamescom Exhibition — "Tales of the Luofu- A New Chapter" - Honkai- Star Rail
==Trivia==
* , also known as or , is a traditional Chinese performing art of storytelling with no musical accompaniment.
===Etymology===
* may be a pun on .
==Other Languages==
==Change History==
==References==