Since arriving in this world, Hu Tao and the Traveler's group had already encountered several beings resembling demons or yokai.
There was Hoshimi Miyabi in the Hollow, with her pair of fox-like ears...
There was Nekomata from Hare's House, who looked just like a cat spirit from Inazuma...
And across the street, they'd spotted several bulky Guoba-like figures—bear-headed, round-bodied—almost like bear yokai from Inazuma...
Yet nobody around seemed to find any of this unusual.
It seemed people here had long since grown used to coexisting with these "yokai."
...
Soon, led by Billy, they arrived at the Federer District and saw it—the statue of the Geo Archon's Statue of The Seven, standing tall in the center of the street.
The moment Keqing saw the statue, her eyes narrowed.
There was no mistaking it. This was a real Statue of The Seven for the Geo Archon. Something like this couldn't be forged—replicating its form was one thing, but there was no imitating its divine aura and presence.
Keqing slowly stepped forward and placed a hand against the statue.
Immediately, it responded to her touch, emitting a faint golden glow.
At the same time, a virtual map appeared in her mind—displaying the seven nations of Teyvat. The shimmering points on it marked the Statues of The Seven and teleport anchors across Liyue.
They'd found it.
This was the very statue marked on her map.
Before coming here, she and Ningguang had speculated endlessly about what kind of world they were entering.
She had guessed it would be a barren wilderness...
Or maybe a lonely island...
But never had she imagined it would be such a modern, developed city.
Keqing let out a sigh.
"Looks like Ningguang and I were both wrong. Maybe this really is a piece of Liyue's long-lost territory—transformed over thousands of years into a world completely unlike our own..."
She stepped closer and examined the statue carefully, her expression darkening with confusion.
Something was off.
This statue looked far too new—as if it had just been crafted. Every golden line glowed softly with divine energy, spotless and pristine, almost as if the Geo Archon himself had descended upon it.
It was… strange.
Keqing frowned. "What's going on here?"
Hu Tao looked equally puzzled. "Why is there a Statue of The Seven here? Keqing, could this place really have been Liyue territory all along?"
...
While Keqing and Hu Tao pondered over the statue, the Traveler, Paimon, and Xiao weren't focused on it at all.
Their attention was fixed entirely on Sam Li.
They knew who he truly was—"the Geo Archon."
So they hoped he would explain the truth.
What was this statue doing here? Had this land truly belonged to Liyue from the beginning?
But in this situation, there was no way Sam Li could answer them honestly.
He simply acted as if he hadn't seen anything and calmly admired the city scenery from the sidewalk.
Paimon sighed. "You're really hopeless..."
The Traveler turned to Keqing. "Now that we've found Zhongli—well, Sam Li—and gotten a sense of this city, should we head back?"
Hu Tao looked surprised. "We're leaving already?"
They had only just arrived.
And even if they were going back, shouldn't they take Sam Li with them? But clearly, taking him away wouldn't be that simple.
Hu Tao gave a cheeky grin.
"Sam Li said this city is full of secrets. Since we're here, we should do a bit more investigating. Besides, we haven't even made formal contact with the city's officials yet..."
As one of the Liyue Qixing, Keqing could represent Liyue officially.
If there was a governing organization here, they had a duty to establish formal contact and learn more about the situation.
Hu Tao continued, "Sam Li's not great in combat. Leaving him here alone doesn't sit right with me."
Paimon threw up her hands. "Sam Li... not good at fighting."
Sam Li: "..."
Keqing nodded in agreement. "Hu Tao's right. We didn't come all this way for nothing. At the very least, we need to speak with the local authorities..."
If this place had nothing to do with Liyue, then a peace pact would suffice.
But if it truly was Liyue's lost land, then Keqing's job would be to find a way to reclaim it.
Most importantly, now that they'd located a Statue of The Seven, they could return anytime they wanted—there was no need to rush.
...
Just then, Billy, who had been standing nearby, walked over.
He seemed to have overheard them saying Sam Li wasn't good at fighting. What a joke. Sam Li was insanely strong—way tougher than even the Void Hunters.
"Hey, hey, what were you all just saying? Who said Sam Li isn't good at fighting?"
Hu Tao blinked. "Is there a problem?"
Billy replied seriously, "Of course there is! Sam Li's amazing in battle. He took on a whole bunch of Ethereals by himself! Even the Outer Ring's Azhdaha Bangboo King got beaten by him!"
Everyone looked confused.
Azhdaha BangbooKing?
What the heck was that?
But then realization struck—could he be talking about Azhdaha, the Geo Dragon King?
Paimon's eyes widened. "Wait, Azhdaha's here too?! Did he destroy anything? How did you deal with him?"
Keqing's expression darkened at the mention of the name.
"Just as I feared... he escaped here."
She clearly regarded Azhdaha with extreme caution.
That creature had once been the strongest being in Liyue after the Emperor himself. The Adepti had said even they couldn't subdue him. Back then, it had taken the Geo Archon's own hand to seal him underground.
And now...
The Geo Archon was gone. Azhdaha had broken free and fled to this city.
There might be no one left who could stop him.
But just then, Billy grinned.
"Oh, he was strong all right. But no worries—we already defeated him with Sam Li's help. These days, the Azhdaha Bangboo King is about the size of this flying little... ahem, I mean, this floating Paimon. He's got a bunch of Bangboo underlings and set up a gang in the Outer Ring."
Everyone turned to Sam Li in disbelief—Hu Tao and Keqing especially.
Was this for real?
Could Sam Li really be that strong?
The Traveler, Paimon, and Xiao, however, didn't doubt it one bit.
What shocked them was Azhdaha himself.
That monster... had actually mellowed out?
He had underlings now?
He'd formed a gang?
This new version of Azhdaha completely blindsided the Traveler.