The moment the Everlasting Incense was obtained, all the necessary items for the Rite of Parting were finally ready.
The day all the utensils were ready, the Ganyu arrived.
Yuehai Pavilion's secretary, a demigod, found Ying at the port carrying Ningguang's invitation.
Ningguang invites Ying to ascend the Jade Chamber for a chat.
The Jade Chamber hangs in the sky, inaccessible to ordinary people.
It was Keqing who instructed them on how to ascend the pavilion.
Ying took Paimon with her.
Bai You didn't go.
She knew what that conversation was going to talk about.
But she also knew that that conversation was very important to Ying.
That was the first time the Liyue Qixing had revealed a part of the truth to an outsider.
Above the Jade Chamber, there are magnificent buildings and countless treasures.
Ningguang was already waiting in the main seat.
She dismissed everyone around her, leaving only Ying and Paimon.
" Traveler."
Ningguang poured her a cup of tea herself.
"I know you have many questions in your mind."
"I invited you here today to clarify some things."
Ying didn't touch the cup of tea.
Why is the Rex Lapis's immortal body hidden?
Why is it forbidden for anyone to pay their respects?
Why does Millelith consider me the murderer?
She asked three questions in a row.
Ningguang did not answer immediately.
She walked to the railing of the Jade Chamber and looked down at Liyue Harbor.
"You come from Mondstadt."
"You should remember what happened in Mondstadt."
Ying's pupils contracted slightly.
Mondstadt.
The Anemo Gnosis was taken away in front of everyone by a woman from the Snezhnaya in front of the cathedral.
"Beneath the statue of the wind god, that deity has lost his Gnosis."
Ningguang's voice was very soft.
"That's because Mondstadt wasn't prepared."
"Liyue Qixing must not let Liyue repeat the mistakes of Mondstadt."
" The Rex Lapis has passed away, and the whereabouts of the Gnosis are unknown."
"My first priority was to seal off the scene and hide my immortal body, firstly to stabilize the situation, and secondly—"
She paused.
"This is to prevent the Fatui from taking advantage of the chaos."
"And what about me?"
Ying asked.
Why am I being pursued?
"Because you are the most suspicious person."
Ningguang turned around, looked at her, and her gaze was open and honest.
"You didn't kneel, you were closest to the immortal body, you're an outsider of unknown origin, and you even ran away in front of the Millelith."
"If I don't pursue you, how can I deceive those who are truly staring into Liyue's eyes?"
Ying was startled.
Who have I fooled?
" The Fatui."
Ningguang returned to her seat, took a scroll from the table, and handed it to Ying.
"This is what Yuehai Pavilion's spies have found out these past few days."
Ying took the document and opened it.
After reading only a few pages, her face darkened.
It was a secret report about the Sigil of Permission".
The intelligence report states that the Fatui are conducting large-scale replication of the Sigil of Permission at a secret base outside Liyue Harbor.
Blueprints, paints, and semi-finished products filled the entire outpost.
The Sigil of Permission" is a token bestowed by the Geo Archon, granting access to celestial restrictions.
Ningguang's voice turned cold.
"That Fatui gave you the talisman and led you to seek immortality,"
"What he gave you is real."
"But secretly, he instructed you to take that talisman and contact each of the three-eyed, five-manifested immortals."
What he wanted was the immortal power imbued in the talisman.
He then copied another batch of talismans from the original, intending to use these talismans, imbued with divine power, to accomplish something significant.
Ying's hand clenched tightly.
What does he want to do?
"I don't know yet."
Ningguang shook her head.
"But Liyue Qixing vaguely sensed that the batch of counterfeit talismans was related to a seal at the bottom of the Guyun Stone Forest Pavilion."
" Guyun Stone Forest lies the Archon that the Rex Lapis himself suppressed years ago."
Ying's heart sank to the bottom.
She finally pieced all the fragments together.
The Childe gave her a talisman and guided her to seek immortality.
An immortal descended the mountain and confronted the Liyue Qixing.
He himself would take advantage of this opportunity to retrieve the Gnosis from the immortal body.
If he can't get it, he still has those counterfeit talismans, and Guyun Stone Forest's Archon.
He's using everyone.
Ying said in a low voice.
"Use me, use the immortals, use the Liyue Qixing."
"Yes."
Ningguang looked at her.
"So, Traveler, I invited you here to tell you something."
" Liyue Qixing, are not your enemy."
"In the face of a true enemy, we should be on the same side."
"I know you and Mr. Zhongli are preparing for the Rite of Parting."
"I will fully support the ceremony."
But if that Fatui really dares to release the Archon--
Ningguang's gaze sharpened.
"I'll let him know that the sky over Liyue isn't so easily fallen."
As she said this, Ying subconsciously glanced at the dazzling golden castle in the sky.
Jade Chamber.
At the time, she didn't understand the determination hidden in Ningguang's words.
She had a vague feeling that this pavilion held extraordinary significance for the woman before her.
"Did you build the Jade Chamber?"
Ying asked.
Ningguang's gaze softened for a moment.
"I started from scratch."
"In the beginning, I was just a young girl selling goods at the port."
"Every Mora I earn, I want to make into something I can see."
"And so, this building came into being."
She looked around her building, a gentle light in her eyes.
"I once said that one day, the shadow of the Jade Chamber would loom over the Seven Nations."
"It is my lifelong dream."
Looking at her, Ying suddenly realized that this woman was quite different from the legendary Tianquan, who only cared about profit.
"Thank you for telling me this."
Ying stood up.
"If the Childe really dares to do something..."
"I will stop him."
"I know."
Ningguang nodded.
"Go, Traveler."
"When the sky over Liyue is about to collapse, I hope I can hold it up with you."
Ying came down from the Jade Chamber, her face looking rather pale.
When she met Bai You at the Northland Bank, her first words were...
" The Liyue Qixing say that you Fatui are counterfeiting the Sigil of Permission'."
Ningguang said they found a hideout filled with counterfeit talismans.
Bai You's heart sank.
She said that the blueprints for those talismans were very likely copied from the one you gave me.
Ying looked at Bai You.
"You're also Harbinger, are you aware of this?"
Bai You was silent for a moment.
I don't know the specifics.
What she said was indeed the truth; the Childe had not told her these things.
"But I can roughly guess what he's planning to do."
What are you doing?
Bai You looked at her but didn't answer immediately.
She knew that the Childe intended to use those counterfeit talismans, borrowing the residual power belonging to the Geo Archon within them, along with the power bestowed upon the Harbinger by the Tsaritsa, to break a seal.
Guyun Stone Forest, a demon Archon is suppressed.
"Fluorescent."
She only said one sentence in the end.
"For the next few days, no matter what happens, be careful of one person."
Who?
" Childe."
Ying's pupils contracted slightly.
"He really will help you."
Bai You's voice was very soft.
"But he helped you, never for your sake."
"He wants you to lure the immortal down the mountain, to create a tug-of-war between the immortal and the Liyue Qixing, so he can take advantage of the chaos to obtain what he truly desires."
"The moment he gets it," Bai You paused, "He will stand opposite you."
Ying remained silent for a long time.
She had actually sensed it long ago.
The Childe's help was so thoughtful and perfectly timed; every step seemed meticulously calculated.
What does he want?
" The Gnosis within the Rex Lapis's Immortal Body."
Bai You said.
But he couldn't get it.
What happens if you can't get it?
Bai You looked at her but did not answer.
Because she knew that the real disaster would come if she couldn't get it.
She could only look at Ying and silently say "I'm sorry" in her heart.
Paimon, standing to the side, glanced at Ying, then at Bai You, and asked in a low voice.
"So... what do we do next?"
Ying gripped her sword tightly.
"First, finish the Rite of Parting."
She looked out the window.
"If he really dares to do anything, I will stop him."
Bai You looked at her determined profile and didn't reply or say anything more.
That night, Bai You lay on the bed in the private room of the Northland Bank, her eyes open, staring at the beams above her head.
Outside the window, the night in Liyue Harbor was very quiet.
It was so quiet, as if it were laying the final groundwork for tomorrow's storm.
Bai You went over what was going to happen next in her mind, over and over again.
Tomorrow, the immortals and the Liyue Qixing will confront each other at Yujing Terrace.
Tomorrow, the Childe will go to the Golden House, only to find it empty-handed, enraged, and then the seal will be lifted.
Tomorrow, Osial will rise from the seabed, half the port will be submerged, and countless people will cry out and flee.
Tomorrow, the Guizhong Ballista will be destroyed, and Ningguang will personally set fire to the Jade Chamber.
The scenes she had seen in the game were no longer just plot points on a screen.
Tomorrow, they will be vividly staged before her eyes.
"Still awake?"
In the darkness, Varesa's voice came from beside me.
She hadn't slept.
Bai You turned over and looked at her.
Moonlight streamed in through the window, falling on Varesa's profile. Her dark hair lay spread out on the pillow, and all was quiet.
"Hmm."
"Thinking about tomorrow?"
Bai You remained silent, which was taken as tacit agreement.
Varesa did not immediately try to dissuade her.
She simply reached out and pulled Bai You closer to her, letting her rest against her shoulder.
" Little Bai You."
"Hmm?"
"Do you know, from Mondstadt to Liyue, you were always like this."
Varesa's voice was soft and gentle.
"Others watch a play, but you only see the ending."
"When others hear a story, you hear a farewell."
"Clearly, you're the one among us who knows best what tomorrow will bring."
"But I feel that you are the one who can't let go the most."
Bai You's nose felt a little sore.
Am I really that useless?
"I know everything, yet it seems like I can't change anything."
(Two more chapters until we reach Osial, where the protagonist will finally make his move, and there will be some fighting scenes, hehe.)
"I could only watch helplessly as things, one by one, headed towards the ending I had long known."
"It can't change anything."
Varesa interrupted her.
"Then change what little bit you can change."
"It's not useless."
"This is the biggest difference between you and that bystander who just watches."
Bai You looked up at her.
In the darkness, Varesa's eyes shone with an astonishing light.
"I always feel like you're someone who traveled to this world from another era."
"You're afraid you're just a passerby, afraid you'll fall in love and still have to leave in the end."
"But have you ever thought about it?"
Varesa's fingertips gently brushed across her face.
"To me, you are not a passerby, absolutely not."
"Whatever the outcome, we can't control it."
"But before the end comes, how do you treat the journey, how do you treat the people around you?"
She paused, her voice low.
"It's none of your business."
Bai You's eyes welled up with tears.
She snuggled closer to Varesa, burying her face in her chest.
There, she could feel the familiar warmth.
Varesa."
She let out a muffled cry.
"Hmm."
"If one day, I too will end up like those people, facing an ending I myself don't even know."
You will...
"I will follow you."
Varesa didn't wait for her to finish speaking.
She tightened her arms, holding the person in her embrace tightly.
"Wherever you go, I'll go."
"If you go into the sea, I'll turn back into a fishtail and swim with you."
"If you're climbing a mountain of knives, I'll hold your hand and climb with you."
"If you want to see a play that's destined to end, I'll go with you and watch it from beginning to end."
"The show's over, and I'll hold your hand as we walk out together."
Bai You's tears silently seeped into her clothes.
"Why are you so good to me?"
"Because I love you, you silly boy."
Varesa's answer was without the slightest hesitation.
"You are also the only song I want to sing in this world."