Ningguang returned to the Jade Chamber with a dark expression, gazing distractedly at the chamber she had expanded bit by bit.
To Ningguang, the Jade Chamber was more than a mere building. It was a reflection of the first half of her life. Originally, it had been only the size of a single room, and only through her continual expansions had it reached its current scale. She had even dreamed of its shadow stretching across the Seven Nations.
Yet now, someone actually wanted her Jade Chamber, demanding it as the price for returning the leverage he held over Yelan. Ningguang could not help being furious.
But someone as shrewd as Ningguang immediately realized, once her anger subsided, that there seemed to be more to what Yucheng had said earlier.
He seemed to say that any condition would do. What did that mean?
Ningguang gazed toward the distant Guyun Stone Forest, lost in thought. Beneath it lay Osial, the Overlord of the Vortex, a god defeated and sealed away by Rex Lapis all those years ago.
Ningguang had long known this. Moreover, judging by the intelligence she had gathered recently, the Fatui indeed had a plot involving it, and all the preliminary preparations were already complete. Since she could not stop it, she would use the Fatui's plot to forge supreme prestige for herself as the Tianquan.
But even if this god had been weakened by thousands of years of imprisonment, could human strength alone truly contend with it? Ningguang placed a question mark beside that thought.
"Ningguang, so here you are. I've been looking for you for ages."
"How is the aftermath of the Rite of Descension coming along?"
"How else? It's a complete mess. Rumors are flying all over the city, with people saying all sorts of things. But most of them target the Liyue Qixing, especially you, since you presided over the Rite of Descension."
"It takes one mouth to start a rumor, but you can run your legs off trying to disprove it. This is likely Snezhnaya's doing. It seems our relationship with Snezhnaya will have to change from now on."
"By the way, that little pervert apparently forced his way out of the Rite of Descension with a blonde girl and a silver-haired floating creature. Their whereabouts are currently unknown, and the Millelith have issued wanted notices. Why don't we take this opportunity to arrest him while we're at it?"
"You're rather quick to retaliate, aren't you? No wonder he couldn't rest easy without keeping some leverage over you. It seems he understands you very well. Well? Why not consider my earlier suggestion? You're not that young anymore, either. A younger man would be quite a treat."
"Pah! He wishes! Anyone but him. And speaking of age, shouldn't you be more concerned? Why don't you go yourself?"
"He doesn't have any leverage over me. Besides, what I love most is still Mora and my Jade Chamber. As for men, I won't go looking for trouble for myself.
"Enough, back to business. That blonde girl and silver-haired floating creature make a very distinctive pair. She should be the Honorary Knight from Mondstadt, the hero who dealt with Stormterror. Since someone like her has come to Liyue, we ought to have her do her part. Otherwise, I'd feel we were losing out."
"You really... when will you change that habit of yours? Show a little restraint. Don't scare her off."
"It'll be fine. Oh, once they return to Liyue, have Ganyu invite them to the Jade Chamber."
Meanwhile, after crossing mountains and rivers, Lumine and Paimon finally notified all the Three-Eyed Five-Manifestation Immortals. Just as expected, when they produced the imitation Sigil of Permission, the immortals were merely surprised. Not one questioned the talisman's authenticity.
Lumine then quickly explained what had happened in Liyue Harbor. Sure enough, the immortals immediately erupted in outrage and headed straight for Liyue to demand answers.
By the time Lumine and Paimon returned to Liyue, their wanted notices had been taken down, and they could appear openly in Liyue Harbor again.
In previous years, Liyue had held both the Rite of Descension and the Rite of Parting, but the Rite of Descension had always been the main event, with the Rite of Parting merely an accompaniment. After what had happened at this year's Rite of Descension, however, the Liyue Qixing barely wanted to hold the Rite of Parting at all. They wanted the matter to settle down as soon as possible.
If they held a Rite of Parting as well, wouldn't they have to give the people of Liyue an explanation? How were they supposed to explain it? Tell them their beloved Rex Lapis had been murdered in full view of everyone, but the Liyue Qixing could not find the real culprit? Wouldn't that undermine the people's trust in the Qixing?
But Mr. Zhongli, the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor consultant responsible for arranging the Rite of Descension and the Rite of Parting, was deeply dissatisfied with such remarks. If the Liyue Ministry of Civil Affairs did not want to fund the Rite of Parting, he would find sponsors himself.
Just then, Zhongli's other wallet, Tartaglia, made a dazzling entrance, declaring that Northland Bank would cover every expense for the Rite of Parting. The two hit it off immediately and happily joined forces.
But as a Fatui Harbinger, he had no time to accompany an ordinary Wangsheng Funeral Parlor consultant on shopping trips. That would be far too embarrassing.
Thus, Tartaglia specifically hosted a banquet at Liuli Pavilion to arrange a meeting between Lumine, Paimon, and Zhongli. He commissioned Lumine and Paimon to work with Zhongli on the Rite of Parting, while also serving as his supervisors.
"Mr. Zhongli, why is the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor working with the Fatui on this Rite of Parting?"
"Liyue is the most prosperous of the Seven Nations. In past years, it also had a god watching over it and the Qixing governing it, so many of the Fatui's diplomatic methods could not be put into practice here. Ningguang, one of the Qixing, has always maintained stringent defenses against the Fatui. Perhaps that is why Childe wishes to accomplish things through the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's connections."
"Hmm... does the Rite of Parting we're organizing benefit Childe somehow?"
"I do not know, nor do I wish to know. To me, the Fatui merely provide financial support. I only hope that Liyue's traditions will not be forgotten. Let us go. For our first step, we need to obtain the finest Noctilucous Jade, of a quality worthy of a god."
Near Chihu Rock stood a shop called Jade Mystery, which sold both rough stones for stone gambling and fully exposed stones whose contents were already visible.
Though rough stones were cheap, buying them was an enormous gamble. One could say nine out of ten bets ended in losses. Even so, that lone sliver of hope drew crowds of eager buyers. After all, the thrill of winning big with a small stake was irresistible to some.
When Lumine and Paimon reached Chihu Rock, they happened to run into Yucheng coming out of Wanmin Restaurant. Paimon enthusiastically went up to greet him. "Yucheng, over here!"
"Oh? Paimon and Lumine, you're back from Jueyun Karst. Have you eaten? How about a meal at Wanmin Restaurant?"
"No, no, we just ate at Liuli Pavilion."
"Liuli Pavilion? Wow, you went to such a fancy restaurant without inviting me? I've been in Liyue all this time, and I've only been to Xinyue Kiosk once. Someone treated me, too. Otherwise, I wouldn't have dared go."
"Hehe, someone treated us too. Oh, let me introduce you. This is Zhongli, a consultant from the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. We're currently organizing the Rite of Parting for Rex Lapis. Zhongli, this is our friend, Uchiha Yucheng. His name's pretty long, so you can just call him Yucheng."
"Organizing the Rite of Parting... for Rex Lapis?" Yucheng and Zhongli stared at each other. Yucheng struggled to control his expression, constantly holding back laughter until his features twisted, making him look rather strange. Both Lumine and Paimon found it odd.
Zhongli, on the other hand, remained expressionless despite feeling somewhat awkward. As expected of an old hand who had lived for over six thousand years, his composure was first-rate.
"Yucheng, what's wrong? Why did you suddenly laugh out loud?"
"Nothing. I just remembered something funny."
Before you continue