Rex Lapis has been murdered! Seal off the area!

At Wanmin Restaurant, Xiangling was clearly surprised and delighted by Lumine and Paimon's arrival, and immediately arranged a whole table of her specialties for them.

Over the meal, Yucheng finally saw how Paimon had earned her reputation as a glutton. She polished off a whole chicken bigger than her face in just a few bites. He had no idea what her stomach was made of to hold so much food. In short, she ate however much there was.

She certainly lived up to being someone who cost Lumine three hundred thousand Mora a month in food alone. At that level of spending, Lumine really would not have been able to support her without regularly taking commissions from the Adventurers' Guild.

Looking at the dumbfounded Yucheng beside her, then noticing the astonished looks from the other diners, Lumine felt rather embarrassed too and wanted to pretend she did not know Paimon.

This is so embarrassing!

Once they had eaten and drunk their fill, Xiangling learned that they wanted to watch the Rite of Descension held by the Liyue Qixing. Looking at the crowds filling Wanmin Restaurant, she wore a troubled expression.

Since today was the day of the Liyue Qixing's Rite of Descension, many visitors from abroad had poured into Liyue Harbor, and mealtime was approaching. For these foreign visitors, the excellent value offered by Wanmin Restaurant was certainly more appealing than the upscale, fashionable, prestigious Xinyue Kiosk and Liuli Pavilion.

Her father could no longer handle all the diners at Wanmin Restaurant alone. Leaving with her friends at a time like this would go against her principles as a chef.

Yucheng clearly saw Xiangling's predicament and generously said that he could take Lumine and Paimon himself. "We're only going to watch, so it's nothing important. You should take care of things at the restaurant first."

Lumine and Paimon agreed with Yucheng. Taking Xiangling away at the busiest time really would not be wise. Xiangling gratefully thanked Yucheng, then turned and went back to help in the kitchen.

Yucheng, Lumine, and Paimon headed toward Yujing Terrace. Somewhat curious, Yucheng asked, "Lumine, what did you come to Liyue for? Was it just to watch the Rite of Descension?"

"We came to find Rex Lapis. We heard he only appears once a year, at the Rite of Descension, so today's ceremony is our best chance."

"Rex Lapis? What do you want with him? These days, most of the power in Liyue rests with the Liyue Qixing. You'd be better off finding whichever member handles the relevant matters than looking for Rex Lapis."

"Uh, my circumstances are a little unusual. I want to ask Rex Lapis in person."

"I see. But don't get your hopes up too much. There'll definitely be a lot of people there. Whether Rex Lapis can hear your question is one thing, and whether he'll answer even if he hears it is another.

"As the God of Contracts, he's never made a losing deal in all these centuries. You might have to do plenty of things for him to get an answer."

By then, Yujing Terrace was already packed. Just as Xiangling had said, most of those who came to watch were visitors from elsewhere. The wealthy local merchants of Liyue occupied the very front rows, ready to receive Rex Lapis's new commercial oracles the moment they were delivered.

"Wow! There are way too many people here. I feel like we should've come earlier. It'll be hard to get Rex Lapis to notice us from this far back."

"It's Liyue's major annual ceremony, after all. It's only natural that there are so many people. Come on, let's squeeze as far forward as we can."

After an enormous effort, Yucheng and Lumine finally managed to see the platform for the Rite of Descension. Before the ceremonial table, Ningguang, the Tianquan, was already deep in thought with her eyes closed, waiting for the ideal moment to begin.

"Lumine, Paimon, look. That's Lady Ningguang, the Tianquan."

"Wow, she's so beautiful. She seems so mature, commanding, and elegant. You can tell at a glance that she has loads of Mora."

"Uh... you're right about that."

At that moment, as though she had sensed something, Ningguang opened her eyes and looked toward Yucheng. She spotted him in the crowd at once and smiled at him, then returned to how she had been before.

"Yucheng, look, look! She smiled at me!"

"She must have heard your compliments and thought you were cute."

"Hehe! That's kind of embarrassing."

The perceptive Lumine also noticed Ningguang's gesture, but she did not think Ningguang had been smiling at Paimon. She had a feeling that the smile had been directed at Yucheng. But how could Yucheng, a foreigner who had only just arrived in Liyue, have earned the special regard of someone as important as Ningguang?

Lumine did not ask Yucheng about it. It was only a suspicion, and she did not have enough evidence to support it. She continued waiting for the Rite of Descension.

After a little over half an hour, Ningguang finally opened her eyes from her contemplation and said, "The auspicious hour has arrived."

The Vision at her waist immediately shone with bright yellow light. Four brilliant yellow gems abruptly appeared before her, circled several times, then flew into the incense burner reserved for the ceremony. The burner instantly released a stunning beam of light that shot straight into the clouds.

Then the wind and clouds abruptly shifted, and a gigantic golden dragon plummeted straight down from above the clouds, smashing the ceremonial altar beneath it.

After crouching down to inspect it, Ningguang delivered that classic line: "Rex Lapis has been murdered! Seal off the area!"

A large force of Millelith rushed into the venue and surrounded it completely. All of Yujing Terrace descended into chaos as the Millelith singled out the foreign visitors present, questioning them one by one.

Although the murderer was not among them, Lumine clearly had her own considerations and did not want to fall into the Millelith's hands. She therefore tried to slip out of the venue, leaving Yucheng with no choice but to follow.

What followed was the familiar sequence: the Millelith spotted them on the way out and gave chase, then our "Childe," Tartaglia, came to their rescue and finally invited them to talk at Northland Bank.

Although the group now included an extra outsider in Yucheng himself, Tartaglia clearly paid him no mind, treating him as a passerby who happened to have been caught up in the affair. After all, Yucheng wore no Vision to signify his fighting strength, and Tartaglia had not the slightest interest in dull, uninteresting weaklings.

Northland Bank was a bank Snezhnaya had established in Liyue. Its location in Liyue's commercial center, where every inch of land cost a fortune, was ample proof of its immense wealth.

"Although Liyue is Teyvat's most important commercial center, our nation is very wealthy too."

"Right. A poor country couldn't afford diplomats who walk all over the Knights of Favonius like that."

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Tartaglia took out a talisman and handed it to Lumine. "Here, take this."

"What is it?"

"It's a kind of token. A token that will keep the Three-Eyed Five-Manifestation Immortals from harming you." Tartaglia had just been about to briefly explain the talisman's purpose when Yucheng, whom he had regarded as a mere passerby all this time, gave an exclamation.

"Huh? This is actually a fake Sigil of Permission? It looks so convincing. Are you sure it won't backfire when the immortals see Lumine holding this counterfeit talisman?"

Tartaglia had been all smiles a moment before, but at Yucheng's words, the false smile froze on his face, and a dangerous light flickered in his eyes.