That's why Venti assumed Sam Li had come to this world to escape the wear and tear of Teyvat.
Sam Li paused briefly. "How did you get here?"
Venti explained, "Of course, I entered the ley lines through the base of the Dragon-Queller Tree, then used the teleport function of the Seven Statues of The Seven to arrive here. If it hadn't been for the help of the Geo Archon's statue, I might've gotten lost in the ley lines. Hehe, I owe you one for that…"
He took another swig from his bottle. "Didn't you come the same way?"
Sam Li was silent for a moment. "Yeah…"
He hid the truth.
In reality, he had come straight from Earth. Aside from the game on Earth, he had never actually set foot in Teyvat.
Nearby, Venti grinned. "Classic you—always thinking of clever ways to dodge wear and tear. If Nahida knew, she'd probably call you the God of Wisdom."
Sam Li: "…"
Venti had come looking for Sam Li because of those strange elemental traces.
Now, it seemed those odd energies must have drifted over to Teyvat from this world.
However...
According to Venti's findings, that strange power wasn't a new element but rather a completely different kind of energy—separate from the elemental system altogether.
Sam Li said lightly, "That energy you're talking about—it's Ether."
As he spoke, he reached out, drawing a faint strand of Ether from the surrounding space.
Seeing it, Venti immediately nodded. "That's it! So, it's called Ether."
After another sip of wine, he set the bottle down and smiled.
"There's something else too. Your old friend's gone missing. The whole of Liyue Harbor is buzzing about it. Miss Keqing even asked me to look into it…"
Sam Li furrowed his brow. "Old friend? You mean Azhdaha?"
Venti nodded. "Yep, that big guy. Last time I saw him, he was full of himself—wanted to fight me too. But this time, when I went to find him, he was gone…"
Originally, Venti had planned to hand off the search to the Traveler and Paimon. Those two were great at this kind of thing.
But in his rush to get into the ley lines, he hadn't had time to let the Traveler know.
Now that he'd met up with Sam Li, it was the perfect opportunity to ask. Sam Li should know something.
As Venti expected, Sam Li nodded slowly.
"No need to worry about Azhdaha. He got here before you. Right now, he's in a small town outside the city... playing house with a group of Bangboos."
Venti froze. "Azhdaha? Playing house? Wasn't he after you for revenge?"
Sam Li explained, "After arriving here, the damage eating away at him was suppressed. He gained a moment of clarity. Now he's formed a Bangboo gang in the outer ring—and he's their boss."
Hearing that, even Venti couldn't hold back his laughter.
There was no way anyone in Liyue Harbor—let alone the Traveler and Paimon—would expect Azhdaha to be out here, leading a gang.
Next time the Traveler came to Liyue, they'd probably realize he was missing.
Maybe they'd follow Venti and Azhdaha's lead—traveling here through the ley lines, or teleporting straight in via the Statues of The Seven.
"This place... is really something."
Venti smiled and finished the last of his wine.
Sam Li also emptied his coffee cup.
"Master Tingman, check please."
At his voice, Master Tingman quickly came over.
He glanced between Sam Li and Venti and smiled politely. "Including that bottle of liquor earlier, the total comes to exactly 10,000 Dennies. Will you be paying cash or card?"
As usual, whenever someone shared coffee with Sam Li, they would pick up the tab—whether it was Zhu Yuan from the Public Security Bureau, Belle from the video store, Soldier 11 from the Defense Forces, or clients from Hare's House...
So Master Tingman naturally assumed Venti was footing the bill.
The assumption caught Venti completely off guard.
"Eh? You want me to pay?"
He'd visited Liyue countless times, treated the old man to plenty of drinks—but never once had he paid the bill.
Of course, he never let Sam Li pay either.
Usually, he just stuck it on Tartaglia's tab—or Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's...
But now? Tartaglia and Wangsheng were nowhere to be found. No way to use their names here.
Venti glanced at Sam Li, silently urging him to find a solution. Maybe show off his wallet or flex his finances a little.
Sam Li was just about to tell Master Tingman to charge it to Hare's House when—
A voice called from nearby.
"Mr. Sam Li! Mr. Venti! I'm here!"
It was Belle, running over.
Venti blinked. "Who's she?"
Sam Li smiled. "That's Eous—the Bangboo who came back with us."
Venti looked stunned. "Wait, she's human? No wonder she can speak!"
Soon, Belle arrived, panting from the run. Seeing the two standing, and the empty bottle and cups on the table, she caught on immediately.
"You're heading out already?"
Sam Li nodded. "Yeah. Nicole and the others are back at Hare's House—I need to return too."
Venti smiled. "And I want to explore a bit more of this city."
Belle took a deep breath. "Alright, I'll pay for you."
She handed Master Tingman a handful of scattered Dennies.
Then she turned to Sam Li, handing him a stack of packaged discs.
"These are the ones Nicole asked for. Mind taking them back for her?"
Sam Li nodded. "I've got it."
Belle nodded seriously. "Alright then. You two head out—I've got to get back too. See you next time!"
As soon as she finished, she turned and dashed back toward the video store.
Leaving just Sam Li and Venti.
Venti gave a sly smile. "You really are the God of Wealth. No matter where you go, there's always someone ready to open their wallet for you. I'm jealous."
Then he waved. "I'm off to wander around a bit. I'll visit you in a few days."
Sam Li nodded. "Sure. My Knock Knock Chat ID is—"
He stopped mid-sentence, realizing Venti had just arrived in this world.
He didn't even have a phone. He definitely didn't know what Knock Knock Chat was.
Venti tilted his head. "Knock Knock Chat? What's that?"
Another strange name.
A weapon? Some kind of artifact?
Sam Li smiled. "Nothing. If you want to find me, just come to this coffee shop. Or head to Hare's House."
Then, he gave Venti a general idea of where to find Hare's House.
...