Chapter 25
After resting for a few minutes until the pain had subsided, I decided it was time to get to work on my part of the upcoming joint venture—namely, obtaining Morax's approval.
"Yuan Li, come here!" I called for the maid, who, as I sensed, was now standing in the corridor with a couple of others, ready to come at the first summons.
"Did you need something, Master Yun?" asked the maid as she entered.
"I need you to go to the 'People's Choice' restaurant and arrange with the owner for a private room rental," I said, taking two pouches of mora of different sizes out of my inventory. "Here is 500,000 mora; it's important that Mr. Mao understands that crucial negotiations between Adepti will take place, so complete privacy must be ensured. If needed, I'll pay extra."
"I understand. I'll handle it," the girl nodded seriously when I pushed the larger pouch closer to her.
"Good, and here…"—this time I pushed the smaller pouch toward her—"as my apology for my recent rudeness, you can buy some sweets and share them among yourselves."
"Thank you very much!" Yuan Li's eyes sparkled with joy at the word "sweets," and her body shook with anticipation.
"That's all, off you go," I waved her away.
Sensing her eagerness to share the news with her waiting colleagues, I smiled lightly and got up, deciding it was time for me to head out as well. However, I quickly realized one thing: the only clothing that fit me now was what I'd received upon transforming, which didn't really suit Liyue's culture—everything else I owned was simply too small.
"Well, they'll need some time to prepare anyway, so I'll go buy myself an outfit for today and order a couple more sets for home delivery," I decided and headed to the nearest tailor shop.
Naturally, as soon as I stepped outside, I immediately drew a lot of attention. Even setting aside the eye-catching clothing, my very conspicuous horns remained, and anyone smart enough could easily match my appearance to yesterday's qilin in the sky. Honestly, it didn't feel comfortable to be the focus of all those looks. But after about ten minutes, I finally found the right shop, where I was met by an old woman who, upon seeing me, started flattering me, apparently hoping that, like the other Adepti, I could bless her. It's just that I had no idea how to do anything like that, but luckily, she picked out an outfit for me quite quickly and accepted my order for several sets sewn from the finest fabric. So, dressed in my new clothes—though I still stood out with my horns—I was far less conspicuous, and the number of stares noticeably decreased, as most people had enough business of their own. Thus, I made my way more comfortably to the funeral parlor.
Upon arrival, I came across a scene where Hu Tao was enthusiastically explaining something to her manager.
"…we'll offer them a 60 percent discount if they order ten coffins at once. I'm sure the Adventurers' Guild won't refuse this time; then we'll open a branch in Mondstadt. The Dragonspine expedition is coming up, so while I'm negotiating, I'll leave the parlor in your hands," she said, which was rather amusing to watch from the side. Still, I had a clear purpose in coming, so I walked straight toward the pair, who hadn't yet noticed me.
"Lady Hu, I doubt the Guild will agree..." said the man helplessly, clearly used to his boss's eccentricity.
"Do you think my offer isn't generous enough?" the girl asked, before noticing my approach.
"Good day, did you come to order a funeral ceremony?" she immediately addressed me and, catching sight of my horns, added, "If you need to send an Adeptus off, we have an expert who can prepare everything in accordance with the oldest traditions. Of course, you should know such a ceremony is more costly."
"No, fortunately, that's not necessary. In fact, I came looking for Mr. Zhongli to discuss a very important matter."
"Oh, I see," she replied with a slight note of disappointment. "He's probably listening to stories in the harbor right now."
After thanking her, I hurried in the indicated direction, but as I left the funeral parlor, I caught Hu Tao's thoughtful comment: "Should we introduce a new paid service—consultations from Zhongli? Far too many people have been seeking him out lately…"
Finding out exactly where he was listening to stories wasn't difficult. Even from the game, I remembered the world quest where the Traveler and Paimon find him listening to stories; so I went straight there and soon saw him sitting alone at a small table, listening intently to the storyteller.
"At the age of nine, she longed, just like the Geo Archon, to slay the sea monster…" the storyteller, Tian Iron Tongue, was narrating as I approached Zhongli. Before I could say anything, though, he gestured for me to stay silent and pointed to the chair beside him. The hint was clear, so I took the offered seat and began to listen.
In brief, it was an expanded tale about how Beidou received her Vision. Unsurprisingly, her feat was immortalized in this way. On that day, she managed to defeat the sea monster that could easily make ten-meter waves without even having a Vision—if the story was to be believed, it was something like a sea dragon, already a legendary creature with songs sung about it, and Beidou herself grew up on those very songs.
"That very day, she faced the enemy, now a familiar one. Despite previous failures, she was radiating confidence—this time, things were different: she had the best claymore in hand and a crew of first-class sailors behind her.
"For four days and nights, they fought. Cannons, harpoons, arrows, and ropes—all were used against the beast. Everyone stayed alert, not daring to close their eyes. Time and again, she clashed with the beast, which had no way to escape.
"Then, suddenly, at dawn of the next day, standing at the prow, she listened to the wind. One blow—she would need just one blow. She stood motionless, icy wind lashing her face, hunger and thirst gnawing at her, and Beidou heard a change in the sound of the waves. She struck—a blow so mighty it seemed fit to shatter a comet, and with this strike she severed the sea monster's head down to its very base!
"The heavens shook with rolling thunder, and right before Beidou, drenched in blood, a violet lightning struck. Thus, shimmering in brilliant purple arcs, the gods sent Beidou a Vision—a gift more precious than dragon's blood. A gift worthy of one who conquered mountains and seas."
"As always, a fine story," Zhongli praised lightly, smiling. "But I'm afraid I'll have to reserve my comments for another time."
"Ah, Zhongli, you have quite the interesting friend—why not introduce us?" the storyteller Tian asked, not hiding his curiosity.
"I think that would be appropriate," Zhongli nodded. "This is Yun Che. I believe you must have heard of the husband of 'the Jade Balance' Keqing."
"It's a bit awkward to be recognized solely for being someone's husband," I said with a wry smile. Still, if anyone ever suggested I should divorce for such a trivial reason, I'd beat them up first and then put them on the 'not to be trusted' list.
"I believe that will change soon enough," Zhongli nodded benignly before introducing the storyteller. "This is Tian Iron Tongue. He comes here every day to tell stories, and he's quite pleasant to chat with over a cup of tea."
"Nice to meet you," I said, reaching out to shake hands, and he responded enthusiastically.
"The pleasure's mine, Master Yun. Surely, a remarkable woman like Miss Keqing could not possibly have a mediocre husband. But could you satisfy my curiosity—those horns…"
"They're real," I answered before he could even finish the question.
"Then, could it be that you…"
"Just a student, for now," I responded again to the predictable question.
"I see, I see. Well, I won't keep you, then," Tian said, nodding at my answers before giving Zhongli a look full of curiosity and departing.
"To be honest, until you learn to hide your essence, it's a bit troublesome for you to approach me in public like this," Zhongli sighed heavily.
"My apologies, but I have a pressing matter to discuss with you, and by contract I have no right to disclose your identity," I replied with a guilty expression.
"No need to make excuses. I can see your ascension to a new level was even more effective than expected—congratulations."
"Thank you."
"So, what exactly did you want to discuss?"
"This isn't the best place for it. I've arranged for us to have a private table at the 'People's Choice.' "
"All right, let's go," Zhongli said, rising from his seat.
The restaurant was just a few minutes' walk away, so we got there quickly. The owner and his daughter Xiangling met us at the entrance. It was clear that my maids may have gone a bit overboard when stressing the importance of the negotiations. Judging by how they looked at us, it was obvious they were thinking of nothing less than adepts, and they respectfully led us to a private room where a table was already set.
After we placed our order and were left alone, Zhongli gave a somewhat helpless sigh and said, "I think from now on, it's best you don't try to contact me until you learn to conceal yourself."