The Golden House

At the gates of Liyue Harbor, Qiu Xue transformed into Qiu Bai.

Only then did Qiu Bai look at the stockings in his system space.

They were white all over, with golden patterns etched into them, one on each side.

"Why do these look so much like white thigh-highs?"

The corner of Qiu Bai's mouth twitched. After taking a closer look, he could no longer keep a straight face.

Still, to be fair, they would probably look great on his female body.

"Oh, well."

"I'll wear them the next time I turn into Qiu Xue. If that doesn't work out, I can always give them to my little sister."

Qiu Bai rubbed his chin and murmured to himself.

After all, those stockings could also nourish divine power.

He then strolled toward the gates of Liyue Harbor and heard Zhongli, Lumine, and Paimon talking.

Looking closely, he saw them speaking with a masked member of the Fatui.

"You're Mr. Zhongli, the consultant from the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, correct?"

"The Millelith are keeping us under strict surveillance right now. These are exceptional times, so please don't do anything rash."

Felix of the Fatui spoke slowly to Zhongli.

After all, the Fatui and the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor were far too closely connected.

"Hey, little Paimon, Lumine, Zhongli!"

"What are you doing?"

Seeing them in the middle of a conversation, Qiu Bai walked over.

"Mr. Qiu Bai, the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's consultant."

Felix sounded a little surprised to see him.

"It's been a while, old friend."

Zhongli turned around and greeted him with a smile.

"Qiu Bai! You're here too!"

Paimon waved at Qiu Bai.

Qiu Bai walked up to the three of them and patted Paimon's head.

"Long time no see, Qiu Bai."

Lumine looked up at Qiu Bai and smiled.

"What were you talking about just now?"

Qiu Bai looked at the three of them, then at the Fatui member before them, and asked with a puzzled expression.

"Mr. Qiu Bai, we were just discussing these exceptional times."

Hearing Qiu Bai's question, Felix began to explain.

"Exceptional times?"

Qiu Bai played dumb despite knowing perfectly well. Of course he knew these were exceptional times.

The adepti were probably already facing off against the Liyue Qixing.

"The adepti of Jueyun Karst are already on the move."

"I'm afraid they aren't coming with friendly intentions."

Seeing Qiu Bai's puzzled expression, Felix explained.

"Are they coming to demand an explanation?"

Zhongli folded his arms and questioned the Fatui member before him.

"Most likely. I heard several members of the Liyue Qixing took people out to greet them early on."

"Heh... rather than greeting them, I'd say they're trying to keep the adepti outside the city."

Felix gave a chuckle, sounding somewhat derisive toward both the adepti and the Liyue Qixing.

Then he folded his arms and said, "But neither side is willing to budge, so they've reached a stalemate."

Zhongli rubbed his chin, looking thoughtful.

Then he said slowly, "It was inevitable that matters would reach this point."

"The adepti do not recognize the Liyue Qixing's authority, only their contract with the Geo Archon."

"But if they decide to attack, I'm afraid Liyue Harbor won't be able to hold them off."

Zhongli lowered his hand and looked at Felix.

"Still, the Liyue Qixing will not simply sit back and await their fate."

Qiu Bai smiled to himself. It seemed Zhongli was quite satisfied with the current Liyue Qixing.

"Hmph, everyone knows how uncompromising they are."

"But that's exactly why the conflict between humans and adepti is on the verge of erupting!"

Felix snorted. Those members of the Liyue Qixing were just as uncompromising in their treatment of the Fatui.

Zhongli waved a hand.

"And then? How did the Fatui end up becoming everyone's target instead?"

He addressed Felix as he looked at him.

"Hmph, it's all because of that Ningguang."

"She said that, with a storm brewing, the Millelith must keep the Fatui's movements completely under control."

Felix looked at the three before him with some disdain.

"Hmph, only now do they think to control the Fatui's movements. The Liyue Qixing aren't all that impressive."

"In any case, Mr. Qiu Bai, Mr. Zhongli, you are Lord Childe's associates. Your stance reflects ours to some extent, so don't give anyone anything they can use against us."

Felix looked at Qiu Bai and Zhongli as he warned them.

Qiu Bai and Zhongli exchanged a glance.

"Old friend, if this disaster reaches a point where it can no longer be contained..."

"I'm sorry for the trouble, but I will have to ask you to intervene."

Zhongli conveyed his words directly to Qiu Bai.

"Oh, there's no need to be so formal with me."

"Don't worry, Morax. Leave it to me."

Qiu Bai replied in the same manner. After all, Rex Lapis was dead.

But he, the Adeptus of Yin-Yang and the Two Principles, was merely missing!

"It looks like all the tensions in Liyue Harbor..."

"Have already reached their limit!"

Paimon spoke to the Traveler beside her.

Lumine looked at Zhongli and Qiu Bai, her gaze growing a little firmer.

"I don't want to stand by and do nothing."

Lumine addressed Qiu Bai and Zhongli.

After spending the past few days with all sorts of people in Liyue, she did not want to see something like this happen.

Besides, she still needed to find clues about the Geo Archon.

"Do you mean to use your unique position as a neutral party to mediate?"

"Or do you intend to use your own strength to shift the balance?"

"Neither path will be particularly easy, I'm afraid."

Zhongli spoke slowly to Lumine and Paimon.

"By the way, Mr. Zhongli, I heard that your Wangsheng Funeral Parlor has also been caught up in the conflict."

"They're facing off against the soldiers who came to their door."

Felix looked at Zhongli as he spoke.

Zhongli rubbed his chin, the corner of his mouth twitching. There was no telling what that child Hu Tao might do.

"That is troubling."

He then looked at Lumine, Paimon, and Qiu Bai.

"I must take my leave and check on the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor."

"I hope Director Hu can manage for the time being without causing any serious trouble."

Zhongli looked at Qiu Bai and nodded.

Qiu Bai felt like laughing. He wondered how Zhongli would react when he saw his little sister.

Zhongli continued, addressing Lumine and Paimon, "Traveler, you should give this some thought as well."

"In my view, rather than trying to stop an imminent explosion, it would be better to first consider where the fuse lies."

Then Zhongli headed into Liyue Harbor, leaving Lumine and Paimon utterly confused.

Paimon looked at Qiu Bai in puzzlement.

"Aren't you going, Qiu Bai?"

"You're a consultant at the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor too, after all."

Paimon scratched her head as she looked at Qiu Bai, unable to understand why he wasn't going back.

Qiu Bai did not answer Paimon's question.

"Do you remember who the sucker footing all your bills along the way was?"

Qiu Bai spoke casually to Paimon and Lumine.

Tartaglia: ?

That single remark from Qiu Bai brought Paimon and Lumine to their senses.

"Oh, I see! I... I think I get it now too."

"Yeah, if you ask who most wants the whole city to fall into chaos, he's the first person who comes to mind!"

Paimon held out a finger and pointed at the air, laying out her reasoning with confidence.

"That guy must have taken advantage of all the chaos in the city to do something bad!"

"But where should we go to find him now?"

Paimon spread her hands and asked in confusion.

"When all the chaos gets... chaotic, where would he go?"

Paimon held her forehead, unable to come up with an answer.

After all, Liyue was so large. Who knew where that guy had gone?

"There's only one place he would go."

"Are you coming, Qiu Bai?"

Lumine seemed to have figured out where Tartaglia had gone. She turned back to Qiu Bai and asked him.

After all, having another person along would make things easier.

Lumine and Paimon still remembered Qiu Bai's full-power punch, which had left a fist-shaped impression in solid rock!

"Sure, I'll go with you."

"I'm pretty strong, you know."

Qiu Bai patted little Paimon's head, not caring whether she got angry.

Then he said to Lumine, "Let's go to the Golden House."