The Jade Chamber Easter egg

"Just call me Keqing. I'm only about your age, after all."

Keqing gave Zhong Baiye a radiant smile as she spoke.

"There's another way you can prove your innocence to the people of Liyue. You could give it a try."

Ningguang interrupted their friendly exchange from beside them.

Although Zhong Baiye still wanted to get to know Keqing better, he was a prisoner right now. Clearing his name as soon as possible mattered more.

Zhong Baiye deployed his ultimate move: an earnest gaze. He looked at Ningguang with desperate anticipation and said,

"Lady Ningguang, what method would that be? Is it something I can do?"

"Hehe. ^_^"

Seeing him like that, Ningguang couldn't help chuckling.

"As long as you uncover the truth of this incident within seven days, you'll not only prove your innocence, but also become a celebrity in Liyue Harbor."

Zhong Baiye was delighted to hear this.

He was a veteran Genshin Impact player, after all. He remembered every detail perfectly.

He knew the ins and outs of this story quest extremely well. If he could, he would tell Ningguang the truth right now.

But then he remembered that Zhongli had staged the whole thing to help the people of Liyue become self-reliant. If he revealed the truth, they might never gain independence from the adepti, so he had no intention of telling her outright just yet.

"Lady Ningguang, I'm confident I can get to the bottom of this incident."

Ningguang watched Zhong Baiye, her slender, delicate fingers tapping rhythmically. There was no telling what she was thinking.

Then she turned to look at Keqing.

Keqing wore a solemn expression, as though saying, I'll make sure I uncover the truth about what happened to Rex Lapis.

"All right, then. Keqing, go with him and investigate this incident. That way, even if he tries anything, you can apprehend him immediately."

Hearing Ningguang's words, Keqing didn't refuse outright. Instead, she looked at Zhong Baiye.

"With your protection, Keqing, I'll be able to solve this case even faster. Thank you, Lady Ningguang."

Zhong Baiye looked deeply grateful, but inwardly, he was even more delighted. This was Keqing! Although people on Blue Star jokingly called her the beef offal chef, no one could question her popularity.

Having Keqing follow him everywhere was a privilege he hadn't even enjoyed while playing Genshin Impact.

If Paimon had been with him right now, she would definitely have felt her position was threatened and immediately made some cutting remark to Zhong Baiye.

"It's already quite late today. Rest here in the Jade Chamber tonight, and Keqing can take you down tomorrow."

With that, Ningguang left.

"See you tomorrow, then. Get some rest."

Keqing said goodbye to Zhong Baiye and soon left the Jade Chamber as well.

Only now did Zhong Baiye have time to appreciate the Jade Chamber's grandeur.

The hall he was standing in alone was about as large as Notre-Dame de Paris on Blue Star in his previous life, to say nothing of the pool here, where carp occasionally leaped out of the water.

An enormous pillar stood in the center, supporting the Jade Chamber's roof, with stairways winding around it. Those stairs led to the upper floors.

Rooms of all sizes lined the stairs. Zhong Baiye only needed to pick one to rest in.

Zhong Baiye wandered aimlessly through the Jade Chamber, searching for something.

At last, he spotted a short-haired woman dressed in red.

She was exactly who he was looking for.

He immediately walked over and struck up a conversation.

"Welcome. I'm Lady Ningguang's secretary. You may call me Baixiao."

Baixiao spoke as soon as Zhong Baiye greeted her.

This was exactly like the Jade Chamber Easter egg Zhong Baiye remembered. In the game, following the conversation through would earn him thirty Primogems and some Mora.

He remembered this part particularly well because he'd actually missed these Primogems, only learning about them later by watching other streamers play.

"Do you know what Lady Ningguang is like?"

Zhong Baiye continued asking questions according to the dialogue options in the game.

"Lady Ningguang is one of the Liyue Qixing. She oversees Liyue and monitors commerce and industry..."

"How about this? Not in Lady Ningguang's name, but in my own... May this guide you to the meaning of gold, and may fortune smile upon you."

After nearly half an hour of conversation with Baixiao, she finally said the last line from the game.

Then Baixiao produced a bag from somewhere and handed it straight to Zhong Baiye.

He opened the bag and looked inside. It contained dozens of blue stones about the size of diamonds. They all had the same shape, with outlines resembling crosses.

The moment Zhong Baiye saw those stones, he understood. These were the Primogems he both loved and hated.

[Ding. Primogems detected. They can be used to top up.]

The instant Zhong Baiye touched a Primogem, the system's voice rang out in his mind.

Just as he was wondering what topping up could do, another sound echoed in his mind.

[Topping up allows you to participate in draws. Each draw costs 16 Primogems. Anything can be obtained.]

The system in his mind began explaining the draw system to Zhong Baiye.

Hearing that he could get absolutely anything from this draw system made Zhong Baiye itch to try it, but he didn't act on the impulse at all.

Of course he didn't. He was the unluckiest of the unlucky, a man who had lost the fifty-fifty seven times while pulling for a max-constellation Zhongli.

Although this draw system only cost sixteen Primogems per pull, with his luck, he was better off saving up for a ten-pull before trying.

He continued repeating the same process and obtained quite a few Primogems.

He even found other people in places he hadn't been allowed to enter in the game.

After talking with them, he learned that Primogems came from primordial crystals beyond this world, a radiance condensed from helpless dreams and hopes.

For ordinary people without Visions, Primogems were completely useless. But for those with Visions, Primogems could strengthen their control over the elements and even make their Visions evolve.

Yes, that was right: they could evolve Visions.

Only after repeatedly asking around did Zhong Baiye learn that someone who possessed a Vision was equivalent to a level-one character in the game.

Primogems were like experience cards, allowing them to level up.

As for skills, things were different from the game. There were no learning materials like Guide to Gold here. Only large quantities of Primogems could allow them to break through their limits.

That made Primogems hard currency among Vision holders across Teyvat.

After learning all this, Zhong Baiye immediately tried using his Vision to absorb Primogems as soon as he returned to his room.

But his Vision was different from everyone else's. The system had given it to him, and it had an incredibly picky appetite.

After absorbing one Primogem, it lost interest in them. No matter what Zhong Baiye tried, it wouldn't absorb a second.