Jiang Xiaofeng left.
Yes, Jiang Xiaofeng had already made a contract with Zhongli.
Jiang Xiaofeng could cause whatever trouble he liked at the Rite of Descension, as long as he did not go too far.
Once it was done, Zhongli would give Jiang Xiaofeng his Gnosis.
In exchange, Jiang Xiaofeng would take responsibility for resolving major incidents in Liyue Harbor.
And how big did an incident have to be to count as major?
Zhongli said that as long as Liyue Harbor did not disappear entirely or collapse completely, everything was within manageable bounds.
Because once this was done, if the time for human rule had not yet come, Zhongli would still be Liyue's warrior god and could still protect Liyue Harbor.
And if Liyue Harbor truly came under human rule, yet the Liyue Qixing could not properly handle these incidents, then Liyue Harbor would simply be incapable of leaving the age of divine rule behind.
At that point, the adepti would step in, help Jiang Xiaofeng resolve the major incidents, and then take full control of Liyue Harbor.
As for Jiang Xiaofeng... for now, Zhongli merely regarded him as a strange, intelligent life-form, powerful and uncontrollable.
But one that was easily satisfied with powerful energy.
That was why Zhongli had offered his Gnosis in exchange.
Whether Jiang Xiaofeng devoured the Gnosis and drew the Heavenly Principles' attention or joined the Fatui and handed it over would have little to do with Zhongli...
As for the condition of "resolving major incidents" in the contract, that was merely a reason to give the Gnosis away.
In any case, any major incident that truly required Jiang Xiaofeng to resolve would require him to take action anyway...
Precisely because of this, the Zhongli of the future kept reflecting on how Jiang Xiaofeng had grown so quickly...
In short, he could cause whatever trouble he wanted at the Rite of Descension and receive the Gnosis afterward.
Jiang Xiaofeng had no objections to this contract.
On the contrary, although he thought he had come out ahead, he could only gain a little.
After all, he could not consume all the power of the Gnosis...
Still, if he really managed to get the Gnosis, devouring a few hundred million bits of power would not be much of a problem, right!
Jiang Xiaofeng returned to the Northland Bank, but the two Harbingers were still nowhere to be seen.
So Jiang Xiaofeng left.
Jiang Xiaofeng came up to the Waypoint and pressed his palms together.
"Whoosh-"
Jiang Xiaofeng arrived at the Waypoint in Stormterror's Lair.
Yes, it was that simple.
Jiang Xiaofeng spread his dragon wings and flew toward Mondstadt.
Soon, Jiang Xiaofeng was above Mondstadt City.
It was already getting late, and the sun was about to set.
Jiang Xiaofeng slowly descended, putting his body away in midair and leaving only his flying head to drift down slowly on the Wings of the Crow.
This time, Jiang Xiaofeng had come to gather news about the Traveler's progress on her journey, wanting to see when she would meet Dainsleif.
When that happened, Jiang Xiaofeng would seize the opportunity to find Aether and have the system destroyed.
That would complete the final piece of Jiang Xiaofeng's plan.
But the biggest problem now was that he had no way to determine when Lumine would meet Dainsleif.
With no other choice, Jiang Xiaofeng could only assess the situation before considering showing himself.
Jiang Xiaofeng slowly landed on top of a building.
Jiang Xiaofeng slowly slid down, stopped beside the Adventurers' Guild, and slipped inside.
Just as he had guessed, the Traveler and Paimon had not returned to Mondstadt City yet.
After all, the two had not yet reached Liyue or met Madame Ping to have a home of their own made-the Serenitea Pot.
So the two could only stay at a hotel in Mondstadt City.
But because the hotel was far from cheap, and Lumine had to feed both herself and a particularly big eater named Paimon...
Lumine generally explored the wilderness until dusk before returning.
And there they were, walking this way.
"Miss Katheryne, we're here!"
Paimon went up first, waving.
"Ad astra abyssosque! Welcome to the Adventurers' Guild."
Katheryne spoke with a smile.
"We've finished today's commissions."
Lumine turned to the commissions page in her Adventurer Handbook and handed it to Katheryne.
"Thank you for completing today's commissions. Here is your reward."
Watching this familiar exchange, Jiang Xiaofeng yawned.
Of course, that was merely how Jiang Xiaofeng felt. In reality, the little puddle did not move at all.
The Traveler and Paimon left the Adventurers' Guild.
Soon, night fell.
The Adventurers' Guild closed its doors as well, and Katheryne went into the back room.
Although I'd really like to take a look at what Katheryne really is... never mind.
She's just a bionic puppet. Nothing much to see...
Jiang Xiaofeng thought as he slowly crawled out of the Adventurers' Guild.
At the same time, he crawled toward Master Diluc's tavern.
Jiang Xiaofeng hoped that Master Diluc was at the tavern right now.
Otherwise, he could only wait until tomorrow and look for him at the Dawn Winery.
After all, compared with Jean treating him as a tool for Mondstadt City with meticulous attention to every little detail, Master Diluc's hopes for Mondstadt clearly aligned better with Jiang Xiaofeng's interests.
After all, Jiang Xiaofeng had done nothing wrong while he was with the team on that operation involving Dvalin.
But when Master Diluc woke up, he found that Jiang Xiaofeng was gone.
And after learning what Venti did and how things ended, even if he didn't speak up for me, he must have felt some dissatisfaction!
Besides, he must be wary of me too, while becoming even more determined to follow his own path for Mondstadt City.
Jiang Xiaofeng arrived at the Angel's Share, crawled up to the second-floor door, and slipped inside.
As soon as Jiang Xiaofeng slipped inside, he spotted a figure ahead.
He raised his "head" and saw Master Diluc.
"..."
"Your senses really are sharp, Master Diluc."
Jiang Xiaofeng released his body, slipped into it, and stood up.
Master Diluc watched all of this calmly.
As for what he was thinking, that remained unknown...
"Shall we talk outside, Master Diluc?"
Jiang Xiaofeng kicked the door open and stepped aside invitingly.
Diluc: "..."
Did you have to kick the door open instead of pressing the handle?
With that thought, Diluc walked out, and Jiang Xiaofeng followed.
On the second-floor balcony, the two looked at each other for a while.
Master Diluc spoke first. "Are you involved with this so-called Abyss?"
Jiang Xiaofeng spread his hands. "That depends on how you see it."
"I commissioned them to help resolve the problem with my body. In exchange... I don't know what they want either."
"..."
Diluc frowned in thought.
After a long while, Diluc raised his head.
"I'll believe you for now."
Jiang Xiaofeng shrugged.
If Jiang Xiaofeng had not liked Diluc so much in his previous life, he would never have spoken to him so calmly. They would already have started fighting.
As for Venti... does wanting to unlock his constellations have anything to do with liking him? No!
Jiang Xiaofeng stopped thinking about that and asked, "Where has Venti been lately?"
Diluc gave Jiang Xiaofeng an odd look.
"As far as I know, you seem to have offended Mondstadt's Anemo Archon. Why are you still so calm?"
Jiang Xiaofeng laughed.
"Even if the Anemo Archon is angry, he wouldn't dare take it out on me when I have the Geo Archon backing me."
"It's his own fault for kicking me while I was down back then instead of helping me."
"When the time comes, whether I'm with the Abyss or not, he'll be in the wrong."
"After all, apart from Snezhnaya, only a handful of people in Teyvat who actually suffer harm from the Abyss can also be taught about it. No matter how much Venti wanted me out of the picture, he'd inevitably draw disapproval for acting on some inexplicable reason."
"Besides..."
"That bastard. Sooner or later, I'll settle the score with him..."
Jiang Xiaofeng swayed his head.
Of course, if Venti manifested his divine form and announced the matter, the outcome would be entirely different.
After all, he was still the god of all Mondstadt, and quite a few people firmly believed that Barbatos was a kind and benevolent god...