Almond Tofu

The person before them was none other than Xiao, the Conqueror of Demons.

Lumine also studied the Adeptus before her curiously, sensing a strange aura.

It was faint to Lumine, however, because she possessed two kinds of elemental power within her.

Qiu Bai swept his divine sense over Xiao and frowned slightly.

He could see it clearly. In Xiao's current condition, he could hold on for another hundred years at most.

Then the karmic debt within him would erupt completely. But to Qiu Bai as he was now, that amount of karmic debt...

Was rather insignificant. He was confident he could purge all the karmic debt inside Xiao in one go.

"A Sigil of Permission. It seems you came prepared."

A hint of surprise appeared in Xiao's eyes.

"But this is merely a token that prevents me from harming you. It does not mean you will not get hurt."

Xiao looked at the three before him and spoke in an indifferent tone.

"Uh... I don't really understand."

Paimon scratched her head, showing that she had no idea what he meant.

Whether Paimon understood or not, Xiao continued.

"To draw too close to the world of adepti and demons is to overstep your bounds."

"Human souls are not as resilient as those of adepti, nor can their blood easily bear such a concentration of adeptal energy."

Xiao gave the three an impassive glance.

"For your own good, leave at once."

With that, he turned away.

Paimon hurriedly called out behind him, "Wait, we came here to..."

Before Paimon could finish, Xiao had already vanished from sight.

Behind her, Qiu Bai stretched lazily. Unable to withstand adeptal energy?

When Lumine fought Osial, the Overlord of the Vortex, she had carried the power of several adepti within her.

Paimon stamped her foot in irritation.

"He makes me so mad! How can he just say his piece and leave?"

"I really want to give him an ugly nickname."

"But if I offend an Adeptus, will all the treasure chests I open from now on only have cabbages inside?"

At that thought, Paimon pressed a hand to her forehead.

Bennett: "Nice."

Qiu Bai, who had been silent for some time, finally spoke.

"Let's find the innkeeper and ask her how to have a normal conversation with an Adeptus."

"Oh, right! Qiu Bai's the clever one. Let's go, Traveler."

Lumine smiled and nodded at Qiu Bai, then the three headed toward the counter at Wangshu Inn.

They stopped in front of the counter. Various ceramic wares were displayed behind it.

A little cat was sitting on the counter as well.

"Hmm... Hello. Your clothes, your faces, and your strange little fairy companion... I can't quite place you."

"Oh, right, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Verr Goldwin, and I'm the owner of Wangshu Inn."

"Just call me Godwin."

The woman at the counter smiled as she introduced herself to the three.

"Hello, Godwin. I'm Qiu Bai, this is Lumine, and this is Paimon."

Qiu Bai introduced them to Godwin with a smile.

"Are you Mr. Qiu Bai, the consultant at the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor?"

Godwin sounded a little surprised.

After all, she was an informant Ningguang had stationed at Wangshu Inn, so naturally she knew who Qiu Bai was.

Qiu Bai looked at Godwin curiously.

As far as he remembered, he had never visited Wangshu Inn since awakening.

So how did the owner of Wangshu Inn know his name?

"Oh? I never expected the owner of Wangshu Inn to know of me. I'm truly honored."

"You're too modest, Mr. Qiu Bai."

Then Verr Goldwin continued, "So, is there something you wanted to ask me?"

Lumine stepped forward. "Godwin, about that Adeptus..."

"Oh, have you already met Xiao?"

"Not bad. He must have been in a good mood to actually come out and meet people."

Godwin looked somewhat surprised.

Even though she had been here year-round for so long, she had only seen that Adeptus a handful of times.

Paimon held her head in dismay. "So that was him in a good mood?"

"Yes. Encounters with adepti are rare. Some people devote themselves to seeking them out, yet never meet one in their entire lives."

"When the Geo Archon founded Liyue, he drew on the power of the adepti. But most adepti only knew how to protect Liyue through battle."

"So, over the millennia, humans ultimately took charge of running the city of commerce, while the adepti withdrew into seclusion."

Godwin patiently explained it to the three before her.

Lumine and Paimon were rather puzzled. Were adepti really so hard to meet? Lumine had already met four in a single day.

What Lumine knew even less was that Qiu Bai, standing right beside her, was a god of Liyue.

Paimon exclaimed in surprise, "You know so much, boss lady!"

Godwin looked at Paimon with a smile. "Not the boss lady. The boss."

"In any case, since you have such an affinity with the adepti, this should be much easier."

Godwin paused, then continued, "You want my advice...? Hmm, all you really need to do is try to cheer Xiao up."

(Actually, I've never seen him smile either.)

"Cheer him up?"

"It's hard to imagine that Guardian Yaksha... It's hard to imagine what he'd look like smiling happily."

Paimon looked at the owner, feeling a headache coming on.

The last time Xiao smiled must have been five hundred years ago. Qiu Bai sighed.

"I see. We know what to do."

Qiu Bai, who had been quiet for some time, spoke up.

After all, he had played through this part of the story in the game.

Godwin froze for a moment, then looked at Qiu Bai. She had not yet told them how to make Xiao happy.

The man before her should have only met that Adeptus today. How could he have figured out Xiao's preferences at a glance?

"Huh?!"

"How does Qiu Bai know how to cheer up that Guardian Yaksha?"

Paimon looked at Qiu Bai curiously.

"It's a secret."

Qiu Bai grinned at Paimon.

Paimon said in surprise, "Is there anything you don't know?"

"Anyway, let's go find the inn's chef first."

"We'll get some Almond Tofu ready, along with a few of Lumine's specialties."

Godwin hurriedly called after them, "Just tell him I ordered the dishes."

Qiu Bai turned back and thanked the owner, then led Lumine and Paimon off to find Wangshu Inn's chef.

Lumine was thoroughly bewildered. Luckily, she had learned to cook in Mondstadt.

Still, she did not know whether the Adeptus named Xiao would like her cooking.

After all, she often traveled through the wilderness and had learned to make many dishes. She was fairly confident in her cooking.

Once the three had left, Godwin was inwardly shocked. How did Mr. Qiu Bai know?

Could he be an Adeptus just like Xiao? I should report this to the Tianquan.

Mr. Qiu Bai, the consultant at the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor?

How mysterious.

Under Godwin's gaze, the three figures gradually receded into the distance.

Qiu Bai swept his divine sense over all of Wangshu Inn. Some people were admiring the scenery, while others were discussing business.

Every one of them was among Liyue's elite, but they were not his target.

A mysterious smile curled Qiu Bai's lips. "Found him."

"Found what?"

Lumine and Paimon looked questioningly at Qiu Bai, who had suddenly stopped walking.

"Follow me."

Without saying anything more, Qiu Bai headed toward another part of the inn, and Lumine and Paimon followed behind him.