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After retrieving a reply letter from the Northland Bank, Victor Wang crossed over the bustling central avenue below via the skybridge. However, as he passed by the second-floor platform of Xinyue Pavilion and prepared to head downstairs, he spotted a figure wearing a green hat standing in a corner.
After a moment's thought, he walked over and found that the person leaning lazily against the railing, looking down below, was indeed Venti.
"Why are you here?"
Venti suddenly turned around and weakly waved his hand. "Some kind soul left fine wine by the Statue of The Seven, so I followed it all the way to Stone Gate. Then I heard there was a music festival in Liyue Harbor. As a creator of poetry, how could I possibly resist the temptation to come and take a look?"
"And after that?" Victor Wang pressed on. Hu Tao's banquet was not held on the same day the concert ended, but on another carefully chosen day afterward. Venti's seemingly coincidental appearance here might not actually be a coincidence.
"After that~ I smelled the aroma of a feast and fine wine coming from here."
"There shouldn't be any alcohol at today's table."
"Then gathering with friends and having a good meal is still pretty nice, right~?"
"Don't look at me like that. I'm just a guest too. If you want to add someone, the organizer of the banquet has to agree."
"Ah, but the one who has the final say is clearly inside, and yet he's ignoring me…"
"Who?"
"Forget it. I'll wait a bit longer… wait for a kind-hearted person…"
Venti, trying to mooch a meal, looked pitiful, weak, and helpless. No matter how long he waited, no one invited him in. In the end, he could only rely on his extreme social skills to make an entrance himself—managing to slip into a banquet organized by people he didn't even know. That wasn't just ordinary social confidence…
But what if they weren't completely strangers?
Victor Wang suddenly felt an all-too-familiar sensation—the feeling of reliving something that had already happened.
If they had once known each other, but for some reason the other party no longer remembered him, then knowing that person's personality and treating them as a close friend would naturally make mooching a meal seem trivial.
Victor Wang changed the topic, bringing up something completely unrelated to the banquet. "Do you remember when I was troubled by the predicament of the Chief Instructor… Wilbur Cobb? You accurately stated the number of days he had been controlled by Isshin. After I brought him back, you also restored his long-numbed mind to normal…"
"Mm, I just shaved off some excess memories for him," Venti said, turning slightly more serious, though still smiling.
The truth was that [The Two Ends of Beginning and End] had reacted at the time. The explanation about erasing memories was obviously false. What Venti had truly used was something related to time… Victor Wang took a light breath and asked, "I just want to know—can that method be used on yourself?"
"Eh—ehe?"
"..."
What would happen if the power of time were fully applied to a single person?
If one person's memories were sent back into the past, the world would change because of that individual. If that person's memories were repeatedly sent back, the world would form a loop because of them—a world loop belonging to one person alone.
Venti merely smiled in his usual unserious way, saying nothing.
Victor Wang sighed and shifted the topic back. "Alright then. Once we're inside Xinyue Pavilion, I'll help put in a word for you. When I give the signal, that's when you make your entrance."
This time, Venti nodded vigorously. "There really are more good people in this world!"
When Victor Wang pushed the door open and entered, Lumine, Xiao, and Hu Tao had not arrived yet. He sat down next to Xingqiu, joining the early arrivals in discussions about mechanisms, cooking, strange tales, and exorcism while waiting for everyone else.
After him, Paimon and Lumine arrived.
"Wow—there are already so many people here! Luckily the food hasn't been served yet… hehe, Happy Lantern Rite, everyone!"
"Happy Lantern Rite," Lumine echoed.
"Happy festival. Please, take a seat," Zhongli said dutifully as he received them.
Once Lumine and Paimon were seated, only two empty chairs remained in the room. Paimon looked around curiously. "Hey, where's Hu Tao, the one who invited us? And Guoba isn't here either?"
"Guoba volunteered to help out in the kitchen at Wanmin Restaurant! There are especially many people eating there during the Lantern Rite. If Guoba weren't helping, at least one of Shenhe or I would've had to miss this banquet."
"As for the Director, she said she went to pick up a guest. Judging by the time, she should be back soon."
"So, the remaining seats are for Hu Tao and that guest?" Paimon guessed. "Someone she personally goes to pick up must be really amazing… Keqing? Ningguang? Or Captain Beidou?"
Zhongli shook his head. "The Director didn't explain it herself. As a subordinate, it wouldn't be appropriate for me to ask too much."
"That's fine. We'll know once they arrive—wah!"
Before Paimon could finish her sentence, the door to the room suddenly burst open. Startled, she screamed and shrank behind Lumine. Everyone looked over, only to see Hu Tao charging in energetically.
"Sounds like someone was talking about us, so here we are! We're not late, right? Let me see… Mm, thanks to the Great Sage moving in and out like the wind just like me, the timing is perfect!"
Looking again, they saw Xiao following behind Hu Tao in silence.
The atmosphere instantly grew tense.
Xingqiu secretly poked the stunned Chongyun. Xiangling and Shenhe were also taken aback.
Those who knew Zhongli's identity all felt a chill—if they had to cooperate in keeping his identity hidden, then this could get tricky…
Xiao was the most nervous, but after seeing Cloud Retainer present as well, he relaxed a little.
Then Zhongli spoke. "So, the honored guest the Director invited is… I've long heard of you. To think that not only are there young heroes who once defended Liyue, but also the Conqueror of Demons and Cloud Retainer herself. To gather with all of you here today truly brings me great honor."
Xiao: "..."
Cloud Retainer: "..."
Lumine: "..."
Paimon: "..."
Victor Wang: I came here just to see this!
After a moment of silence, Xiao replied, "Mister Zhongli, you give me too much credit…"
Cloud Retainer, who prided herself on being very good at conversation, immediately stepped in to change the topic. "I didn't expect even the Conqueror of Demons to attend. You're even quieter than this adeptus. In gatherings over the past thousands of years, you've rarely been willing to show up. For Hu Tao to actually invite you?"
"Hehe, that's where my brilliance comes in!" Hu Tao cut in eagerly and vividly recounted, "I knew normal methods wouldn't work on the Conqueror of Demons, so the moment I arrived at Wangshu Inn, I shouted: 'Conqueror of Demons—hero of Dihua Marsh—guardian of Wangshu Inn—are you there—!' And just like that, the Conqueror of Demons appeared, forced to talk to me and said, 'Quiet! Do not disturb the peace.'"
Xingqiu, clearly enjoying the spectacle, laughed. "That does sound exactly like something Director Hu would do."
Chongyun was even more bewildered. "So, the Conqueror of Demons agreed to come just to stop Hu Tao from causing trouble…?"
Zhongli said, "I suspect there is more to it than that."
"Oh? Should I say our consultant is well-informed, or just too clever?" Hu Tao said, half-praising and half-suspicious, before finally explaining.
"I didn't mention it earlier because the next part isn't all that interesting. I just brought up some old ties between the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor and the yakshas to build rapport.
"It's said that during the Archon War, disasters plagued the mortal realm. The yakshas, the Millelith, and the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor each carried out their duties—the yakshas subdued demons, the Millelith fought bravely, and the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor handled the dispelling of plagues and the escorting of departed souls.
"Only through cooperation among the three sides could the boundary between life and death be clearly maintained during those chaotic times, preventing even greater calamities.
"Even so, despite being old partners, this Director still had to put in quite a bit of effort to persuade the Conqueror of Demons to come."
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