Teacher

"Hello, please give me a beef patty, a plate of fried noodles, a serving of chicken, and a yogurt."

After it was her turn in line, Taliyah quickly spoke to the kind-looking woman.

She noticed that the clothes the other person was wearing were very simple, but despite their simplicity, they were anything but ordinary.

Because there's a pattern on the chest of that shirt, and that pattern is used to distinguish it; it's only worn by staff members of the Zaun organization.

Smelling the aroma of the food, Taliyah instinctively swallowed, outwardly looking respectfully at the woman in front of her, but in reality, her eyes kept glancing at the food shelf beside her.

There was no other way. Taliyah was truly terrified of hunger. During the time she was taken away by the Noxians, Taliyah would work hard all day on the ship before receiving a little food, but that little food was not enough to fill her stomach and could only barely keep her Taliyah.

In addition, as Shurima Sandman, this was Taliyah's first time at sea. For the first month, she was so seasick that she was unable to take care of herself. Because she didn't get much food, she could only vomit water.

I couldn't even sleep at night. Every time, I would faint after my body reached its limit, and then wake up to start the cycle all over again.

Looking back on that period of her life, and then thinking about how she was forced to drift at sea and later came to Zaun, Taliyah felt like crying.

She knew, of course, that her behavior of getting something for free was wrong, after all, she had "smuggled" herself in, unlike the others who had invitations.

She wasn't a guest invited by Zaun, but there was nothing she could do about it.

Faced with a choice between upholding moral principles and surviving, Taliyah chose the latter.

The auntie in charge of serving the food didn't ask Taliyah too many questions. On the contrary, she seemed to like Taliyah. Seeing Taliyah's well-behaved appearance, she smiled and took an extra beef patty, put it on a plate, and handed it to Taliyah.

Taliyah happily accepted the food, bowed, and then left the group with the lunchbox. A moment later, she returned to her house with a box of food—a small but well-equipped and comfortable house.

After placing the food on the table, Taliyah prepared to wash her hands first before returning to enjoy her meal.

But after washing her hands, Taliyah froze in place when she opened the bathroom door and went into the living room.

She saw a group of people rush into her house. The leader was a black-haired young man who looked somewhat familiar to Taliyah. He was also curiously looking her up and down. Behind him was a group of tall, fierce-looking men.

Especially some of them, whose faces were covered in tattoos. Although Taliyah didn't approve of judging people by their appearance, she had to say that these guys didn't look like good people at all; they looked menacing!

When Taliyah became even more nervous.

Those are the uniforms of Zaun's law enforcement officers, clothes only Zaun's law enforcement personnel can wear, and now, they're here. Wait, has it been revealed that I didn't have an invitation?

"Taliyah, right?" the black-haired youth in the lead spoke, his voice gentle and pleasant.

After hearing his voice, Taliyah blinked and recognized who it was.

This man is the lord of Zaun, named Li Ke?

He was the groom at yesterday's wedding.

Wait, no, that's not right!

Even if I came here illegally, even if I ate a little too much... just a little bit!

Because she was terrified of hunger, Taliyah always asked for extra food to store up, but surely the Lord of Zaun wouldn't come looking for her himself?

The thought of being arrested, breaking Zaun laws, and being sent to prison intensified Taliyah's anxiety. She nervously lowered her head, Taliyah body trembling.

Looking at the nervous and uneasy Taliyah, Li Ke was somewhat puzzled.

It's not that Li Ke is narcissistic, but after obtaining Ahri's abilities, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call Li Ke a succubus among humans.

But why is Taliyah so afraid of me?

Li Ke felt curious, but that was all he felt.

Now that he has improved his own strength, Li Ke no longer rushes to curry favor with every hero he sees, as he used to. His romanticized view of heroes has completely disappeared. To Li Ke now, those so-called heroes are just ordinary people.

Taliyah is indeed a rather special talent because of her strong abilities. If Lux is a Tier 0 mage in Runeterra, then Taliyah is a Tier 1 mage.

Taliyah's potential may not reach that of Demigod, but her skill floor is extremely high. There are very few mages in Runeterra who can control the earth at will like Taliyah.

However, for Li Ke now, Taliyah's combat strength is indeed insignificant, because Li Ke's social circle is now filled with too many powerful individuals.

Yi and Jax, who had just met and were on good terms with each other, were much stronger Taliyah. However, there was one thing about Taliyah that Yi and Jax couldn't match at all.

That is Taliyah's magical ability, which is perfectly suited to the current Twin Cities, and even in the future, Taliyah's ability can play a crucial role.

After all, Taliyah is worth a thousand-person construction team. She can easily turn over rocks and gravel. She is the best civil engineer in Runeterra!

Thinking of this, Li Ke suddenly pictured Taliyah wearing a hard hat and standing at the construction site, a scene that Li Ke found somewhat amusing.

He said gently, "Don't be so nervous, Taliyah. My name is Li Ke, I'm the lord of Zaun. I've come to see you."

"I'm sorry! I apologize!"

Taliyah seemed to have made a decision. She bowed and said quickly, "I shouldn't have smuggled myself into Zaun, and I shouldn't have eaten so much food. I... I left some food for you. I'll give it back to you. I'll work to pay back what I ate. Please don't arrest me."

"Sorry!"

"???"

Li Ke was completely bewildered as he watched Taliyah apologize three times in quick succession.

What on earth is all this about?

Taliyah timidly raised her head, and Li Ke, coming back to his senses, shook his head and said:

"Twin Cities have sent out invitations to the whole world; all who come are guests. Besides, not having an invitation doesn't mean you've smuggled yourself in. You seem to have misunderstood. As for the food you ate, what kind of host invites guests and then complains that the guests have eaten too much?"

"We're not that petty." Li Ke understood what was causing Taliyah's nervousness.

But is Taliyah really like that?

Li Ke knows Azir's story, and to understand Azir's story, one cannot avoid the character Taliyah, who also plays a crucial role in Shurima.

On the land of Shurima, there are many crucial figures: Azir, the Emperor of the Desert; Xerath, the arcane energy being; Xerath, the suspected successor to Setaka Kai'Sa Sivir, who rebelled against the Void; and Taliyah, who traveled to Ionia to save her homeland.

In the eyes of Azir, the supreme Ascended, Taliyah was the leader who rebelled against his rule over Shurima.

Azir even has a line specifically for Taliyah, which roughly means that the little sparrow tries to defeat the eagle, give freedom to the Shurima; he is blindly arrogant and a stubborn rock.

Therefore, Taliyah must be a gentle and kind person, yet tenacious, brave and fearless.

But apart from meeting Li Ke's expectations in appearance, Li Ke really couldn't see any resemblance to Taliyah in the person in front of him.

She seems really timid.

"Really?" Hearing Li Ke say that, Taliyah breathed a sigh of relief.

"Really." Li Ke nodded, then asked, "I have a question for you, Taliyah, have you ever been to Ionia?"

Upon hearing Li Ke's question, Taliyah's expression visibly faltered for a moment. Then, after hesitating for a while, she honestly replied:

"I've never been to Ionia, but I want to go Ionia because I can't control my powers. Staying in my hometown will only bring danger and trouble to everyone, so I've been searching for a way to control my powers."

Then, I was misled by the Noxians. They said Noxus had a mage order, and that I would learn how to control my abilities there. But when I arrived, I was deceived by a Noxus officer and taken to live at sea for a while. He made me use my abilities to dig graves for him to bury corpses, but I didn't want to participate in the war of aggression. So he forced me to work, made me do other hard labor, imprisoned me, and gave me only a little food and water each day."

"Then, Noxus's war failed, and that officer rebelled against the Noxus Grand Commander and was killed by the officer in charge of capturing him. That officer said Noxus had changed, but I had been to Noxus and knew what that place was like. That's why I didn't want to go back with him. I jumped off the warship in front of him, escaped them, drifted at sea for a while, and then inexplicably ended up here."

Taliyah recounted her past in a rambling manner, and Li Ke gradually understood why she was the way she was.

Because Taliyah hasn't fully matured yet.

In the original lore, Taliyah, unable to control her powers, chose to become a wandering mage. She traveled to many places in Runeterra, such as Mount Targon, Noxus, Ionia, and Freljord, until she heard the news of Azir's resurgence. Only then did she resolutely return to her homeland and choose to lead her people in rebellion against the tyrant's return.

The journey, the experiences, the people she met, and the events that happened all helped Taliyah grow. But the Taliyah standing before Li Ke now was just a naive young girl who had barely stepped out of Shurima when she was deceived and nearly died at sea.

But Taliyah is kind at heart. She would rather endure torment and risk death than betray her beliefs. She traveled far and wide out of Shurima to pursue the ability to control her own magic, not to participate in wars that kill others.

The little sparrow is indeed timid, but deep down it also has its own pride.

Do you remember the woman who sat next to you yesterday?

"You mean Jinx?" Taliyah blinked. Of course she remembered; it was the first time she'd ever seen someone so fair-skinned and beautiful. How could she forget?

Li Ke smiled and said, "Yes, it's Jinx."

"I came to see you because of Jinx, Taliyah. I'm going to Shurima soon to take care of some business, and I need a guide who is fluent in the Shurima language and knows Shurima. Jinx thinks you're perfect for the job."

"So I'm here to introduce you to a job. I wonder if you'd be willing to take it?"

"But there are many Shurima people here, they are older than me, they know more than me, why me?" Taliyah said hesitantly.

There's something about Taliyah's upbringing that's hard to call good or bad—unguarded trust and excessive tolerance.

However, after being deceived by the Noxians once, Taliyah is now wary, though not much.

"Because Jinx likes you a lot," Li Ke said after thinking for a moment.

Well, Jinx didn't say that at all. What Jinx said was, "She's so dark-skinned, she must be a seasoned Shurima. Choosing her is definitely the right decision."

Jinx's main strength is her intuition. If we're talking about who's the darkest, Ekko is definitely darker than Taliyah, so why not have Ekko be Rek's Shurima guide?

That's prejudice, okay?! It's a stereotype! Who says Shurima people are all black?

If we're talking about who's the most ruthless, then who can be more ruthless than Lucian? But Lucian is still an upper-class nobleman of Demacia!

But these words obviously cannot be said to Taliyah.

Taliyah hesitated even more, but after thinking for a while, she made a decision. Mustering her courage, she looked up at Li Ke and said, "In that case, may I ask you for a favor?"

"Please speak," Li Ke nodded.

Looking at Taliyah, Li Ke could already see a line of words on her head. "Zaun Taliyah!"

"Can you teach me how to control my powers?" Taliyah asked tentatively, whispering, "This is my only request; I don't need the tour guide's salary."

"Of course, there's no problem at all." Li Ke readily agreed, but also felt a little strange.

Taliyah must have received instruction from Yasuo, thus mastering the art of elemental manipulation, but now, is she to take on that teacher's role herself?

I became the Taliyah's teacher?

Li Ke's expression was strange.

"Then, I agree. I'll go to Shurima with you and be your guide." Taliyah was very happy, and her tone was involuntarily filled with joy.

"Then come with me, Taliyah. We'll leave in a few days. You'll move from the New City to Black Alley today; someone there will take care of your living arrangements."

"Besides, being closer to me makes it easier for me to know how to teach you."

"Okay," Taliyah hesitated before uttering the next words, "Teacher."

"."

At the same time, on a street in the New City, a man dressed as a wanderer, looking travel-worn, stood on the street. Suddenly, he frowned and realized that he felt a little uneasy, as if he had lost something.

Then, he looked up and gazed into the distance, across the mountains, at the Black Alley of Zaun.

He came to track down the culprit who killed Elder Souma.

On his very first day in Zaun, he was beaten up by a mysterious purple-skinned cube-shaped man. His supposedly superior swordsmanship and wind manipulation abilities were nothing more than child's toys in the man's eyes.

This greatly frustrated him, because he was an arrogant and even somewhat blindly confident person, but what happened that day, being beaten up, left him with psychological trauma.

What's even more frustrating is that the mysterious purple-skinned cube-shaped figure seems to be in cahoots with the criminal they're chasing.

"Tui!"

Spitting out the grass root from his mouth, the man lowered his eyes and then left the spot.

He needed a plan, a plan that would get him close to the Lord of Zaun.

Therefore, he will have to stay in Zaun for the time being.