Mu Yang rubbed his eyes.
He sat up in bed.
He had expected to feel sore all over or weak.
But he did not.
"System, how long has it been?"
System: "One minute."
Good grief, even though he had progressed through the simulation by key points,
several hundred years had still passed inside.
Yet only one minute had passed outside.
No wonder his body showed no abnormalities.
What could possibly be wrong after lying down for just one minute?
This simulation still had not mentioned that god.
It had only covered Fujin and the other two.
In the game, there were almost no records concerning that god.
So Mu Yang still had no idea what was going on.
He had thought he would get to meet her inside.
But he had not even seen her.
The simulation had already ended.
It seemed he still needed more Popularity Points.
Because his current state was far too strange.
Aside from the new memories added by the simulation,
everything after that was incredibly vague to Mu Yang.
Other than Medicine Master being struck down
and himself drawing his sword and charging toward the god,
almost all his memories afterward were blank.
"What exactly happened after that?"
Generally speaking, memories and power in Teyvat were connected.
Could it be that he had lost too much of his power?
Mu Yang suppressed those thoughts.
He would wait until he had enough Popularity Points to run a second simulation and see.
For now, he needed to prepare for the Liyue main storyline.
Mu Yang ordered an entire tableful of dishes.
After thoroughly enjoying the delicacies of Wangshu Inn,
he set off for Liyue Harbor.
On Lumine's side, after several days of working,
she had finally saved enough money for the journey.
Mostly Paimon's food expenses.
During that time, she had also gone through many adventures with the characters from Mondstadt.
At last, she arrived at Liyue Harbor.
Lumine stared blankly at the enormous Liyue Harbor.
People came and went here.
The patrolling Millelith,
the vendors' endless cries of sales,
and the sounds of shopkeepers haggling with customers
rose and fell without end.
Guinaifen's livestream.
After several days of being level-gated and doing daily commissions,
she had finally reached the level needed to continue the main storyline.
Looking at these familiar streets,
these familiar buildings,
"Now this is the real deal, everyone!"
The streamer is so hardworking, even counting chest EXP. I'm crying.
Xiao Guizi is really going all out just to play the main story.
Wow, so this is Liyue?
As a diehard Liyue native, this hits way too hard.
This background music, it's got that sound flavor.
When it came to making memes, the chat was still the best.
Guinaifen could not hold it in any longer.
"Damn, what the hell is 'sound flavor'? Hahaha."
Paimon was staring blankly too.
Then she remembered her role as a guide.
"Ahem, this is Liyue."
"If you want to find the Geo Archon, there's only one chance a year."
Lumine put her hands on her hips and looked at her.
"If Venti hadn't reminded us, we would've missed the Rite of Ascension."
Paimon looked a little embarrassed too.
"Hehe, guides forget things sometimes too..."
Lumine asked her, "Then do you know the exact time and place?"
Paimon spread her hands.
"Since even Venti had to remind me of the time, then of course... I don't know."
"Now that we're in Liyue, let's ask the locals."
This is a guide?
She can guide, all right.
You're seriously unbelievable.
People can't, and at the very least, they shouldn't.
Paimon is completely useless.
So her only purpose is being Emergency Food?
With such an unreliable guide,
Lumine could only rely on herself.
She headed into the city.
She planned to find a few friendly-looking people and ask around.
Liyue... I wonder if I'll run into Mu Yang here?
He's from Liyue, right?
But it seemed to be somewhere called Chenyu Vale. I have no idea where that is...
Paimon spoke up, interrupting Lumine's thoughts.
Maybe she wanted to make herself seem at least a little useful.
"Oh, right, about the Geo Archon, 'Morax'..."
"Did you know? The 'Mora' we use was named after that god."
"But if foreigners like us call the Geo Archon that in Liyue,"
"we'll be downgraded to 'rude foreigners.'"
This was the first time Lumine had heard such a claim.
After all, in Mondstadt, everyone directly called the Anemo Archon by name, Barbatos.
She asked Paimon, "Then what should we call him?"
Paimon said, "Like the people of Liyue, it's better to call him 'Rex Lapis.'"
Guinaifen took a sip of milk tea.
"Rex Lapis? That sounds pretty badass, doesn't it?"
It definitely sounds better than God of Rock.
He creates Mora? Isn't that a walking money printer?
What level of Rich Guy is that?! Hurry up and latch onto him!
But he's about to kick the bucket.
Fuck, I remember now. Was Mu Yang really the one who did it?
"I'll pull for villains too, everyone."
Lumine admitted that Paimon was still somewhat useful.
She remembered the title "Rex Lapis."
Then she found two people who looked fairly approachable
and asked about the Rite of Ascension.
A woman dressed as a merchant told her
that on this day every year,
Rex Lapis would bestow an oracle,
guiding the direction of Liyue's operations for the coming year.
Last year, the one who respectfully received the oracle had been the Liyue Qixing's Hengxing.
"The Liyue Qixing's Hengxing?"
It was a term Lumine had never heard before.
Paimon put her hands on her hips.
She looked very pleased with herself.
"Hehe, I know this one."
"Just as Mondstadt is a city-state of 'freedom,'"
"Liyue is a nation of 'contracts' that values commerce and trade."
"The seven great merchants representing seven commercial powers,"
"the 'Liyue Qixing,' are the ones who actually rule this nation."
So they're like the Knights of Favonius in Mondstadt?
Feels like in a place with a god, the actual ruler would still be Rex Lapis.
Exactly, he only appears once a year, yet he can guide Liyue for the entire year.
Damn, I've got a bad feeling. Could the Liyue Qixing be trying to seize power?
Hiss—you might actually be onto something.
The Qixing are the real masterminds???
The merchant reminded Paimon
that was merely how foreigners put it.
Liyue's true ruler
would always be Rex Lapis.
"The Qixing are human, while Rex Lapis is a god."
"The God of Freedom is absent from Mondstadt, but our god endures forever."
Girl, did that slap in the face have to come so fast?
Are you raising a flag right now?
Rex Lapis: Why does my back suddenly feel cold?
Afterward, Lumine asked several more people along the way.
Only then did she finally learn that the Rite of Ascension was held at Yujing Terrace.
It was the highest point in the harbor.
She only needed to keep walking upward.
Lumine followed the crowd toward higher ground.
At last, she arrived at Yujing Terrace.
She saw people lighting incense.
Paimon told her
that it was a ritual.
Making wishes during the annual Rite of Ascension was said to be especially effective.
Lumine walked over to an incense burner with fewer people around it.
An older woman had just finished making her wish.
When she saw Lumine dressed like a foreigner,
she could not help but smile.
"Are you here to bask in a little adeptal energy too?"
"Haha, you know your stuff, miss!"
"If you make a wish on this day, The Geo Archon and the adepti will protect you."
Hearing that, Lumine copied what the woman had done and lit three sticks of incense.
Then she made her wishes.
"I hope I find my brother soon..."
"I hope to get some clues from the Geo Archon..."
After she finished making her wishes, the crowd around her grew much quieter.
The Rite of Ascension seemed about to begin.
Before you continue