After a moment of hesitation, Zhong Baiye stepped onto the path the crowd had cleared for him.
What mattered most now was not dwelling on any of this, but finding out how Lumine was doing.
To Zhong Baiye's surprise, as he passed through the crowd, people quietly thanked him.
With Rex Lapis no longer there to protect Liyue, Zhong Baiye, who had saved it, had become something of a new guardian deity to them. Of course, that was only how they saw him.
The growing chorus of thanks made Zhong Baiye quicken his pace.
But when he passed a particular group, he stopped.
No one here was standing. They were all sitting or lying down.
This was not because they enjoyed any special privileges, but because every person sitting here had been injured in the incident.
Even so, they struggled to clear a path just wide enough for Zhong Baiye to pass through. Their gesture moved him deeply.
"Go on. Lady Ningguang and the others are waiting for you."
A familiar voice reached Zhong Baiye's ears, and he looked toward its source.
It belonged to a middle-aged Millelith soldier with bandages wrapped around his head. Zhong Baiye immediately recognized him as the captain who had arrested him when he was mistakenly suspected of assassinating Rex Lapis.
The captain's words from back then resurfaced in Zhong Baiye's mind: he had told him not to be afraid and to explain everything properly to Ningguang.
After giving him a respectful look, Zhong Baiye continued toward the center of Yujing Terrace.
At last, the sea of people no longer blocked his way.
Zhong Baiye saw Ningguang and the other prominent figures of Liyue standing in orderly rows ahead, waiting for him.
Before he could approach, everyone, including Ningguang, suddenly bowed deeply to him and