"Old Mu!"
"Have you heard?"
"Heard what?"
"What are you talking about?"
"I heard the Geo Archon was attacked. They say the Archon has already passed away!!"
"!!"
"What?"
"That can't be!"
"You're making that up!"
"Why couldn't it be true?"
"I'm telling you, my nephew serves with the Millelith. And the Ministry of Civil Affairs has already sent out an internal notice to everyone. How could it be fake?"
"But—!"
"I, I don't believe it!"
"Someone like the Lord of Geo, an immortal who's lived for thousands of years—how could he just die so easily?"
"That's impossible!"
"Whatever!"
"I'm not buying it!"
"Lots of people saw it that day. The Geo Archon's body fell from the sky. How could that be fake?"
"I don't care!"
"Even if I saw it with my own eyes, I still wouldn't believe it!"
"If you ask me, the Lord of Geo is just like those retired immortals. He doesn't want to deal with Liyue anymore, so he made up an excuse, faked his death, and moved to the Celestial Island in the sky to live it up."
"I heard there are plenty of other old immortals living in a place like that."
"He's with the other immortals now. That's definitely what happened!"
"Sigh..."
"Believe what you want. Here, go look at the wanted notices yourself!"
"No, thanks!"
"They say a little girl attacked the Lord of Geo. You think I'd believe that kind of fairy tale meant to fool children?"
"But..."
In front of the notice board in Chihu Rock, beneath the roots of the enormous Cuihua Tree, a large crowd of Liyue locals had gathered in twos and threes. They stood before the board—which was usually used for neighborhood news, store advertisements, and the odd message—pointing at it and arguing over what