Teyvat.
In front of Leaning Rock Hall on Liyue's Yujing Terrace.
The annual rite of descension was underway!
Ningguang, the Tianquan of the Liyue Qixing, stood before the ceremonial offering table.
Her gaze was solemn, her expression commanding. She pointed into the air with her right hand. The immense Geo energy behind her instantly surged into the enormous incense burner before her, which erupted with a column of yellow light that pierced the sky.
Descend, divine one!
The people of Liyue attending the ceremony watched the soaring light, their hearts brimming with excitement.
"The adeptus is about to appear!"
"We finally get to see Rex Lapis in person again!"
"I remember my father taking me to see Rex Lapis's true form when I was little. That dragon's body..."
As everyone chattered and craned their necks in anticipation...
More than ten thousand meters above them...
The corpse of a massive black-and-gold dragon was plummeting toward the ground.
Beside the dragon's corpse, a tiny human body was in free fall, like a Hilichurl tumbling off a cliff.
"Zhong... li! My... my guaranteed pull!"
Barely conscious, Lin Yi kept muttering about his guaranteed pull, completely unaware that he was ten thousand meters up in the sky.
The wind howled in Lin Yi's ears. In a daze, he opened his eyes.
An endless blue sky, white clouds rushing past, and the occasional bird flying beneath him.
He instantly panicked.
"Holy shit, what the hell is this?!"
"Wasn't I pulling for Zhongli in my dorm? Where the hell am I?!"
"Help! I don't want to die! I already lost my guaranteed pull! Isn't that miserable enough? Why do I have to die too?!"
Panicking, Lin Yi clawed wildly at the air. Suddenly, his right hand seemed to touch something hard.
Then he felt something strange enter his body through his right hand.
Turning his head, Lin Yi saw only a thick yellow pillar jutting out from deep within the clouds.
He had no time to think about whatever had entered his body.
At the sight of that yellow pillar, he flailed desperately toward it as though it were his last lifeline.
Whoosh!
After an enormous struggle, Lin Yi finally managed to hug the pillar. Before he could enjoy even a moment of relief, he faintly heard panicked shouts from below.
By the time he came to his senses and looked down, the yellow pillar had already collided with the paving stones of Leaning Rock Hall.
Bang!
Lin Yi's body slammed into the paving stones, and excruciating pain followed.
His eyes rolled back again. After hearing someone shout, "Rex Lapis has been assassinated!" he passed out.
The enormous dragon corpse and the strangely dressed human who had fallen alongside it threw the entire rite of descension into chaos in an instant.
Ningguang stared gravely at Rex Lapis's dragon body, then immediately ordered the Millelith to seal off the scene.
"At the rite of descension, Rex Lapis has been assassinated. Such is fate!"
After making that baffling declaration, Ningguang approached Lin Yi, her graceful figure swaying with each step.
"Guards, bind this strangely dressed man! He cannot be unconnected to Rex Lapis's assassination. Take him into custody first. Once we have dealt with the ceremony, I will interrogate him thoroughly."
With that, Ningguang turned to Keqing, the Yuheng standing beside her.
"Yuheng, investigate Liyue Harbor regarding Rex Lapis's assassination. Anyone suspicious may be arrested immediately!"
"Understood, Lady Ningguang!"
Keqing's expression was just as grave.
Such a horrifying incident at the all-important rite of descension weighed heavily on her heart.
Especially when she thought of the adepti in Minlin finding out. The whole of Liyue Harbor would likely know no peace!
No! We have to find the murderer as quickly as possible!
With her orders received, Keqing wasted no time. She led the Millelith in questioning everyone at the ceremony, one by one.
All of Liyue was soon plunged into panic and grief. Everyone had learned of Rex Lapis's assassination.
Outside the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
Hu Tao, dressed in brown and wearing her hat adorned with the Cosmic Hexagram, had a peculiar expression on her face.
She turned toward the slender figure beside her.
"Zhongli, we've got business! Big business, too! Sending off Rex Lapis-this job couldn't possibly be bigger!"
Zhongli froze for a moment at her words.
I'm sending myself off? Why does that feel so strange?
Never mind. Since I've already placed the Gnosis on that man, why should I concern myself with this?
Then he said with calm composure, "I shall go prepare the supplies for the rite of parting now!"
Seeing that Zhongli had completely failed to realize she was joking, Hu Tao muttered speechlessly.
"Old fossil!"
Then she broke into a smile again. "I'm so happy we've got business! But now that Rex Lapis is gone, shouldn't I feel at least a little sad?"
Inside Wanmin Restaurant, Xiangling stood at the stove, scooping her newly developed dish-Slime with slippery mushrooms-out of the wok.
Suddenly, she heard the diners behind her discussing Rex Lapis's assassination and froze.
Guoba, who was beside her, looked puzzled upon hearing the name Rex Lapis, then grew thoughtful.
As though Guoba had some faint memory of Rex Lapis.
Now, upon hearing that he had actually died, a hint of sadness appeared in Guoba's little eyes.
While the people of Liyue were immersed in grief, the unconscious Lin Yi had already been taken under guard to the Jade Chamber.
He was now fully awake. Looking at surroundings that seemed both familiar and unfamiliar, he was utterly bewildered.
He carefully recalled what had just happened. The enormous dragon's body he had glimpsed, and that cry of "Rex Lapis has been assassinated," left him feeling dazed.
"Rex Lapis has been assassinated? Isn't that part of Genshin Impact's main Liyue quest?"
Lin Yi recalled playing through that quest, and the more he thought about it, the stranger it seemed.
"Don't tell me I've transmigrated into the game?"
He had barely finished speaking when a long, snow-white leg came into view, approaching with elegant steps.
Lin Yi looked up and saw a generous bust and long, platinum-white hair. He instantly froze.
"Ningguang, my wife?"
Before you continue