Deep within Jueyun Karst.
"Pfft, hahaha!"
"You came all the way into Jueyun Karst on your own to gather herbs just because you didn't have any Mora?"
Lumine covered her mouth, stifling a laugh too.
"Qiu Bai, taking a few commissions from the Adventurers' Guild would be much easier than walking all this way."
Lumine offered him a friendly reminder.
After all, that was what she did. It was the only way she could afford to feed little Paimon.
Qiu Bai gave an awkward chuckle.
Right, why hadn't he thought of earning money by taking commissions from the Adventurers' Guild?
These past few centuries had worn away his sense of money, but surely he was still better than certain useless freeloaders.
"Anyway, don't worry about those details."
"What are you two here for, then?"
Qiu Bai asked, feigning curiosity.
"We're here to find the Adepti, the legendary Adepti."
Paimon and Lumine told Qiu Bai what had happened.
"So you were mistaken for an assassin, and now you want to prove your innocence?"
"I'll come with you. After all, this is my first time in Jueyun Karst in, oh, a hundred million visits."
With that said.
Lumine, Paimon, and Qiu Bai set off to find the Adepti.
As they made their way up the mountain, an unfamiliar voice suddenly rang out.
"Who are you, and why have you trespassed into Jueyun Karst?"
Qiu Bai smiled faintly at the voice, but the moment he turned around, his smile vanished.
What the hell?
There was a large brown crane, a deer-like creature, and a white-and-blue crane.
Mountain Shaper, Moon Carver, and Cloud Retainer. Why were all three of them together?
This wasn't how the story was supposed to go, was it?
The one who had spoken was Moon Carver.
Lumine looked at the three Adepti before her, took out a talisman, and spoke softly.
"Please take a look at this."
Moon Carver stepped closer.
"A Sigil of Permission. It has been many years since I last saw one. So some still remain in mortal hands."
"I am Moon Carver, a Three-Eyed Five-Manifestation Immortal."
"Traveler, state your purpose."
Meanwhile, Cloud Retainer kept staring at Qiu Bai.
Strange. Why did he feel so familiar?
Had she met this mortal somewhere before?
Under Cloud Retainer's stare, Qiu Bai turned his head away guiltily. Seriously? She could recognize me even like this?
I've suppressed my aura as much as possible.
Unless they're a Demon God on my level, they shouldn't be able to detect me.
"Why do you keep staring at me, Adeptus?"
Unable to bear Cloud Retainer's scrutiny any longer, Qiu Bai spoke up.
"One merely finds you somewhat familiar."
"Such a fuss. Very well, one shall stop looking at you!"
Cloud Retainer turned her head away haughtily.
Qiu Bai nodded awkwardly.
"The assassins! They actually fled all the way here!"
Just then, a group of Millelith emerged along the path Qiu Bai and the others had taken, led by their instructor.
One soldier turned to the instructor.
"Chief, we've gone too deep into Jueyun Karst."
The instructor looked at the three Adepti before him, then at Lumine.
"Well... we have no choice. Apprehending the assassins takes priority. We have to go in, whether we like it or not!"
With that, the instructor charged forward first, with the other Millelith following behind him.
"They disturb the peace."
"Send them away. Do not take their lives."
Moon Carver spoke calmly.
Lumine was about to charge forward when Qiu Bai stopped her with one hand.
Lumine looked at Qiu Bai in confusion, not understanding why he had stopped her.
"Leave this to me."
Qiu Bai turned to Lumine with a faint smile, then looked back at the Millelith.
He waved a hand forward, and every last Millelith vanished.
Behind him, Lumine and Paimon stared at Qiu Bai, their mouths hanging open and their eyes wide with shock.
Paimon flew over to where the Millelith had stood and circled around.
Only then did she fly back to Qiu Bai, her starry eyes wide as she asked in astonishment.
"Y-you, what did you do? What happened to those Millelith?"
"How did they all disappear just like that?"
Qiu Bai felt a surge of satisfaction. He had finally gotten to show off in front of Lumine.
It was only a minor trick, but it was more than enough to deal with these Millelith.
"I just sent them out of Jueyun Karst."
"I didn't harm them."
"As for how I sent them away, just think of it as a little spell."
Qiu Bai explained to Paimon.
Behind him, Lumine was left just as bewildered by Qiu Bai's explanation.
What little spell could send people straight to somewhere so far away?
They were deep within Jueyun Karst. She and Paimon had walked for an entire day to get here.
And he had sent them outside with a single wave of his hand?
"You really do know some amazing tricks!"
"When it's time for us to go back, you can just wave your hand and send us out too!"
The more Paimon thought about it, the happier she became, kicking her little feet. Finally, they wouldn't have to keep traveling back and forth.
Lumine stood beside her with her hands on her hips.
"Paimon, you're missing the point."
"And you fly, you don't run. I'm the one who gets tired!"
The Adepti behind them were no less astonished than Paimon and Lumine.
They regarded Qiu Bai with curiosity.
"Adeptal arts? And an art that even we have never seen."
"Why does a mere mortal like you know the arts of the Adepti?"
The three Adepti looked at Qiu Bai curiously.
Qiu Bai felt a little awkward under their stares. He had nearly forgotten there were three Adepti here as well.
"Uh, it's a spell passed down from my ancestors."
"I didn't know it was an adeptal art either."
That was the only explanation Qiu Bai could give, since he couldn't reveal his identity yet.
Cloud Retainer, however, seemed to have noticed something and kept staring at Qiu Bai.
Qiu Bai could only avoid Cloud Retainer's gaze.
"Adepti, we have something important to tell you!"
Lumine stepped forward from behind Qiu Bai and spoke.
"Oh? What is it?"
Mountain Shaper stood on a piece of amber with both his crane feet, looking at Lumine.
Lumine gave the three Adepti a detailed account of what had happened.
"What did you say?!"
"Rex Lapis was assassinated!"
The three Adepti were furious.
Mountain Shaper spread his wings in anger.
"How many powers in this world could possibly assassinate Rex Lapis?!"
Beside him, Moon Carver wore a look of disbelief.
"Outrageous! Utterly outrageous!"
"How could anyone assassinate Rex Lapis at the rite of descension? And after his assassination..."
"How could they shift suspicion onto the mortals attending the ceremony?!"
"The Liyue Qixing have truly disappointed us."
"To think someone would dare commit such a heinous crime!"
Then Moon Carver looked ahead at Lumine.
"Traveler, we now know of the injustice you suffered in being falsely accused as an assassin."
"We have already reached our own judgment on this matter."
Moon Carver closed his eyes slightly. So much information had come at once.
Even these Adepti, who had protected Liyue for thousands of years, found it difficult to bear.
"May I ask if any of you have news of the Immortal Lord?"
Lumine ventured to ask.
"The Immortal Lord..."
The Adepti exchanged glances.
First the Immortal Lord, and now Rex Lapis. What was Liyue to do?
"The Immortal Lord went missing some time ago."
"We flew across all of Liyue, yet found no trace of him."
A faint sorrow crept into Cloud Retainer's voice before it gave way to fury.
"The Liyue Qixing!"
"Perhaps one should go and subdue Liyue Harbor first!"
Before you continue