Reunited with an Old Friend, but He Was the God of the Stove?

"Keqing... that little girl from back then has grown up to become a dependable member of the Liyue Qixing."

As Mo Fan walked through the mountain ravines of Liyue, he recalled meeting Keqing during one of his reincarnations.

The circumstances had been similar. A young girl had confidently ventured into the wild, trying to prove her abilities by fighting monsters on her own.

Unfortunately, Keqing had been nowhere near as strong as she was now. She hadn't even obtained a Vision, and she was no match for ordinary Hilichurls. Before long, she had found herself in a desperate situation.

Mo Fan happened to have reincarnated in Liyue at the time, so he had saved her.

Afterward, the girl had latched onto him, trying everything she could to become his disciple.

Come to think of it, the situation back then and what had happened now weren't just similar—they were practically identical.

Was this what they called fate?

Mo Fan's thoughts were tangled, but his hands and feet never slowed. He soon gathered enough Qingxin and set off back to Liyue Harbor.

After returning to Liyue Harbor, Mo Fan somehow felt that the atmosphere in the streets had changed completely since he left.

Every passerby was eagerly discussing the Asura Yaksha.

Mo Fan couldn't make sense of it.

Normally, people would stop talking about a topic after a day or two. Although the previous video about the Asura Yaksha had caused a huge stir, hardly anyone had mentioned it after some time had passed.

So what was going on now?

Why did it feel like the whole thing was starting over?

Puzzled, Mo Fan struck up a conversation with a random passerby. "Why does it feel like everyone's started talking about the Asura Yaksha again?"

"Don't you go online?" The passerby was surprised at how out of the loop Mo Fan was. "A second video about the Asura Yaksha was just posted, and it's a story from the Archon War!"

"What?!"

When Mo Fan heard the news, his head buzzed.

How many days has it even been?

Why am I being exposed again?

Will this never end?!

His thoughts in turmoil, Mo Fan immediately borrowed the passerby's phone and watched the latest video from beginning to end.

Once he had finished, however, Mo Fan breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness, thank goodness. The most important part wasn't shown."

"The most important part? What are you talking about?"

The passerby looked at Mo Fan in confusion.

Mo Fan didn't explain further. After giving the passerby a Qingxin as thanks, he left.

As far as Mo Fan was concerned,

everything told in the Asura Yaksha's video was less a process than a result.

People now knew only that he had saved Guizhong and Liyue. No one knew just how great a price had been paid.

It had been far from as easy as the video made it look. Behind it all lay a much heavier truth.

And that truth was what Mo Fan didn't want anyone to know.

"I hope whoever's posting those videos has some decency and stops exposing the things I did."

That was Mo Fan's hope.

He immediately went to the Adventurers' Guild, turned in the Qingxin he had gathered, and collected his commission reward.

With a little money in hand, Mo Fan could finally breathe easy. He strolled back home.

But when he got back, Ronova was nowhere to be seen.

"Did she go out for a walk?"

It never occurred to Mo Fan that Ronova had gone out to work. He assumed she had simply gone out to clear her head.

He decided to go to Liyue's market to buy some ingredients and make dinner when he returned.

But he had only just arrived at the market when a familiar orange creature suddenly appeared before him.

It looked like a bear, but was as small as a cat.

The strange creature, which had no business being there, was standing motionless and staring at Mo Fan.

"Are you... Old Ma?!"

The moment Mo Fan noticed him, he recognized the little bear: Marchosius, the God of the Stove.

He was one of the gods who had taken part in the great battle at the Guili Assembly, and an old friend of Mo Fan's from his time as the Asura Yaksha.

He had exhausted all his power during the Archon War and should have fallen into slumber.

Mo Fan hadn't expected to encounter him in Liyue Harbor.

Had someone broken his seal?

Suddenly reuniting with an old friend took Mo Fan completely by surprise, and for a moment he didn't know how to react.

Liyue Harbor, the docks.

A massive warship slowly came alongside and stopped at the edge of the harbor. An enormous emblem was painted on its hull—the insignia of the Fatui.

"Click."

Two figures stepped off the warship, a man and a woman.

The man wore gray, had orange hair, and had a red mask perched atop his head.

The woman wore luxurious clothes, her long silver hair arranged behind her, and gave off an overwhelming presence.

The dockworkers looked startled at the sight of two such important-looking figures with extraordinary bearing.

And if the workers had known who the two were, they would have been even more shocked.

They were La Signora, the Eighth Fatui Harbinger, and Childe, the Eleventh.

They had come to Liyue Harbor for an important task assigned by Her Majesty the Tsaritsa of Snezhnaya, and would soon meet with the Liyue Qixing.

"Our task this time is to invite Liyue's Geo Archon to a meeting on Her Majesty's behalf, right? But will the Geo Archon really agree?" Childe asked slowly, a doubtful look on his face.

"Whether the Geo Archon agrees or not, we must at least deliver the message." La Signora looked untroubled. "I already spoke to the people in Mondstadt ahead of time. The Knights of Favonius agreed readily enough. I wonder if the Anemo Archon had already given her approval."

"This is a major undertaking against the Heavenly Principles. The gods have probably already prepared themselves for it," Childe said quietly. "What a pity. It's a chance to meet a god, and I'd really like to have a proper contest with the Geo Archon."

"Hmph. If you're looking for death, suit yourself. But make sure you don't damage our relationship with Liyue, or you could ruin Her Majesty's plans."

"Of course I know that. To oppose the Heavenly Principles, we have to unite the strength of the Seven Nations."

Childe nodded, agreeing with La Signora.

But then he asked doubtfully, "Come to think of it, when did Her Majesty become so mild? Wouldn't she have had us Fatui seize the other gods' powers outright before?"

"Her Majesty has indeed changed quite a bit..."

La Signora seemed to agree with Childe, but she, too, didn't understand why the Tsaritsa had changed.

Since neither dared speak casually about Snezhnaya's ruler, they soon entered Liyue Harbor. The Ministry of Civil Affairs, having received word of their arrival, arranged for them to go to the Jade Chamber, where the Tianquan, head of the Liyue Qixing, was.

A crucial meeting, one that might even determine Teyvat's future, was about to begin.