Chenyu Vale.
Early in the morning, Fujin heard someone calling her from the shore.
Rubbing her eyes, she surfaced from the water and saw Lingyuan standing there with her hands on her hips, staring at her.
"Hey, didn't you say we were going to Liyue Harbor? Why are you still not up?"
"Why get up so early?"
"It's not that hot in the morning! If we travel in the afternoon, we'll roast to death!"
"…"
"Hurry up!"
"I know."
Fujin sank back into the water, a little helpless.
Yesterday, Lingyuan still looked like she was forcing herself to go out. Today, she was this excited.
After being cooped up for so long, she clearly wanted to go out and have some fun too.
After quickly tidying herself up, Fujin set a restriction on her abode and emerged from the water.
"Let's go."
"Mm."
"Change already."
"Change into what?"
Fujin said seriously, "Your true form. I'll ride on you. That way we'll get there faster."
"…No way!"
Lingyuan shot her a glare and simply raised her hand, using wind Adeptal Energy.
Their figures vanished.
She was not as fast as Venti or Xiao, but she was still quick.
Before long, they passed Wangshu Inn, where the scene below was bustling with people.
Fujin quickly had Lingyuan stop and excitedly dragged her inside.
As a transit hub for merchants, the area was full of small eateries and inns.
It was morning market time, and the air was thick with the aroma of food.
Neither of them had eaten breakfast, and hunger hit them immediately.
Lingyuan looked around, swallowing quietly. With no Mora on her, she tried hard to look indifferent. "You've been staring for ages. Are you buying something or not?"
Fujin smiled. "Wait a bit."
"How long?"
Fujin looked at her. "Are you in a hurry?"
Lingyuan's face flushed as she argued, "I'm not in a hurry."
Fujin nodded. "That's good. Huh?"
She seemed to sense something and suddenly looked in a certain direction.
At the same time, Lingyuan felt it too and turned her gaze that way.
A light breeze passed, and a figure silently appeared among the crowd. No one around noticed him.
Lingyuan looked at him, suspicion on her face.
Fujin, meanwhile, greeted him cheerfully. "Long time no see, Conqueror of Demons!"
Xiao nodded. "Greetings."
Lingyuan stared in disbelief.
Wait, that's Xiao?
Wasn't he shorter than me back then?
How is he this tall now?
Then she watched Fujin casually chat with him. "This is your territory, right?"
"By the order of the Geo Archon, I have guarded this place for hundreds of years."
"That's hard work."
"It's fine."
"Any good food around here?"
"Yanxiao at Wangshu Inn, trained by Mr. Xia. His cooking is decent and worth trying."
"Then let's go!"
"I'll take you there."
"Thank you, Conqueror of Demons!"
Xiao walked ahead, with Fujin pulling Lingyuan along behind him.
Lingyuan still felt a bit dazed.
It was not until dishes fragrant enough to make one's mouth water were set on the table that she snapped back to her senses.
"Please enjoy."
"Alright!"
Only after Fujin started eating did Lingyuan pick up her chopsticks.
Wow… it's good!
Are human chefs this good now?
I really want to come back and eat here more often!
But this whole table of food must cost a lot of Mora, right?
That thought made Lingyuan uneasy. She had not been out in a long time and had no sense of prices.
And she knew Fujin's situation. Since the Archon War, Fujin had been submerged underwater.
Back then, Morax had not even started minting Mora yet. Did Fujin really have any money on her?
While eating, Fujin kept chatting with Xiao.
Though Xiao was quiet by nature, he answered every question, telling them about many things that had happened in Liyue over the years.
When they were nearly done, Xiao stood up and paid.
Fujin smiled. "Thanks for the treat. Next time you come to Qiaoying Village, we'll treat you to tea."
Xiao nodded. "Alright."
After saying goodbye to Xiao, Fujin and Lingyuan left Wangshu Inn and continued toward Liyue Harbor.
On the road, Lingyuan could not help asking, "Fujin, how much money did you actually bring?"
"I don't have any," Fujin admitted.
Lingyuan froze. "What? You have no money and you dragged me out sightseeing?"
Fujin looked confused. "We're just sightseeing. Looking around doesn't cost anything."
Lingyuan fell silent. You have a point, but…
"If the Conqueror of Demons hadn't treated us just now, what would we have done? Dine and dash?"
That would have been a huge embarrassment for Chenyu Vale.
Fujin waved her hand. "Of course not. I already talked to him last night. He agreed to treat us."
Lingyuan blinked. "Huh?"
"Phone, duh," Fujin said with a grin. "He's in the group chat too. Didn't I tell you? The medicine Cloud Retainer gave me was sent over by him."
"Oh…" Lingyuan suddenly realized. "Wait, that's not the point! The problem is you have no money! If we're broke, what are we doing in Liyue Harbor? You even said you'd treat me to Rainbow Juice. How are you paying for that?"
Fujin smiled mysteriously. "Relax. I may not have money, but I have connections."
"What connections? You're not going to borrow money from Herblord, are you?"
"Herblord? What money does she have? The one I know is Liyue's top-tier rich lady. She's loaded."
"???"
"Don't overthink it. Just follow your big sister. I'll make sure you eat well."
"…"
Lingyuan felt this was extremely unreliable.
But since they were already on the way, they could not just turn back.
At the very least, she wanted to see Herblord.
---
Yanshang Teahouse.
Yelan was now Liyue Qixing.
Even so, there were still matters she handled personally.
For example, a special watchlist. There were not many names on it, but every one of them was a formidable individual.
And then there was another list, with an even higher level of confidentiality, containing people who truly posed a threat to Liyue.
Yelan stretched lazily and checked her phone.
On the screen was a post from Fujin. "Almost at Liyue Harbor!"
Attached was a selfie of her and Lingyuan.
Looking at the two young women on the screen, Yelan murmured to herself, "Adeptus Fujin and a Solitary Suanni. Both of them qualify for that list."
She took out a ledger and wrote a few notes.
"They're strong, but since they're friends of Mr. Xia, there's no need for excessive surveillance."
After another moment of thought, she smiled softly.
"I hear Adeptus Fujin once planted tea trees in Qiaoying Village and taught people how to pick and process tea. A tea adeptus, indeed. Perhaps I should invite her to Yanshang Teahouse and learn a bit about tea culture."
---
Jade Chamber.
Ningguang was handling official matters.
Baixiao approached quietly. "Lady Ningguang."
"Yes?"
"The Adeptus Fujin you asked me to keep an eye on just posted that she's about to arrive in Liyue Harbor."
"They're quite fast."
"After all, they are adepti."
"Mm. Go receive them first. Show them around the city properly. For dinner, arrange a gathering at Liuli Pavilion. I'll head over later."
"Yes, Lady Ningguang."
"Oh, right. Remember to set up two cards for them at Liyue Bank."
"What limit should I set?"
"Ten million Mora. Charge it to my personal account."
"Yes, Lady Ningguang."
"They've only just entered the mortal world, like Mr. Xia back then. They likely lack proper identification. Ask them what kind of identity they want and help arrange it. That will make it easier for them to travel to other nations later."
"Yes, Lady Ningguang."
"That's all. Go ahead. Call me if anything comes up."
"Yes."
The secretary bowed and withdrew.
Ningguang opened her phone and looked at the photo of Fujin and Lingyuan again.
She had investigated them before but found little.
Only that Adeptus Fujin was on good terms with other adepti, and Lingyuan had some childhood connection with Ganyu.
"Even though Liyue today is governed by humans, maintaining good relations with the adepti will always be useful."
After a brief thought, Ningguang sent Yelan a message.
"Dinner tonight?"
----
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