Chapter 1: Act I: Fleeting World, Fleeting Lives Amidst the Millelith.
The story began with a passage.
[Under the watchful eyes of all, the God of contracts was assassinated.]
This passage alone made many Liyue people begin to question the authenticity of the prophecy book.
The Geo Archon assassinated? How could this be!
This was Lord Rex Lapis! Who in the whole world could assassinate him!?
Ordinary people were indignant, unwilling to continue reading.
But Liyue's high-ranking officials began to take it seriously. Lord Rex Lapis, could something really happen to him?
"I... I must go inform the Adepti!" Ganyu rarely put down the documents in her hand.
"The Archon actually..." Keqing was filled with disbelief.
Although she always said she couldn't just listen to the Archon, in her heart, the Archon was an omnipotent existence.
"How is this possible! No, I must go find Ningguang!" Keqing couldn't wait!
As for the Adepti, Ganyu didn't even need to inform them; Cloud Retainer was already reading the book.
"Under the watchful eyes of all? Could it be the Rite of Descension?" Cloud Retainer was a bit angry.
She continued reading and found that the Archon's half-Qilin, half-dragon immortal body fell from the sky.
["The Archon has been assassinated! Seal off the entire area!"]
The Archon was indeed assassinated during the Rite of Descension.
"To allow the Archon to suffer misfortune during the Rite of Descension! No, I must go to Liyue Harbor!" Cloud Retainer flapped her wings, quickly rushing towards Liyue Harbor.
Shenhe looked at the departing Cloud Retainer with a calm expression, thinking: It's rare for Master to go out.
Then, she noticed that Cloud Retainer hadn't taken the book with her when she left.
"Qiu Cheng? The author of that book last time, it seems it was also this person." Shenhe picked up the book and began to read.
She was very interested in this author because she had also read 'If You Are Trapped in a Place Without Wind'.
At this moment, Ningguang had already fallen into deep thought.
Her hand unconsciously kneaded the crumpled paper, which was the Liyue development plan she had just written down.
[Under the watchful eyes of all, the God of contracts was assassinated.]
Under the watchful eyes of all, even without reading further, Ningguang guessed it was undoubtedly the Rite of Descension.
If the Archon truly would be assassinated during the Rite of Descension, then should the Rite of Descension be interrupted?
But this annual Rite of Descension had never been interrupted before. Was it going to be broken under her generation of the Qixing?
"What kind of existence could assassinate the Archon... If such an existence were to assassinate him, would stopping the Rite of Descension even be useful?"
Ever since becoming Tianquan, Ningguang had never been so troubled.
As she was worrying, two large birds and a male deer flew in through the window. Xiao was actually there too, but he was very discreet, standing on the rooftop without showing himself.
"The Liyue Qixing, you must have heard about the Archon's matter, right?" Lishui spoke first.
With a loud clang, Keqing pushed the door open. She had already heard the conversation from outside.
"All Adepti, I, Keqing, on behalf of the Qixing, assure you that no one among the Qixing would ever wish to harm the Archon."
Keqing's gaze was firm. If anyone among the Qixing wanted to harm the Archon, she would be the first to not let them off.
Ningguang knew that the Adepti had come to demand an explanation. They probably suspected that the Qixing had tampered with the Rite of Descension, intending to seize power.
"Yuheng is right, the Qixing would never harm the Archon." Ningguang agreed.
The Adepti nodded. They also didn't think the Qixing alone could manage to assassinate the Archon.
Their main purpose in coming this time was actually to devise a countermeasure.
Now that they knew about the Archon's assassination, they couldn't just do nothing, could they?
"On the day of the Rite of Descension, Lishui, Alatus, and I will guard the site; there must be no mistakes!" Xiaoyue said.
"You Qixing must also do your best to arrange security."
Xiaoyue didn't quite trust the Qixing's strength. Asking them to arrange security was to facilitate monitoring the Qixing's movements.
"That is only proper." Ningguang nodded, already worried about insufficient manpower.
"Wait, what about me?" Cloud Retainer noticed a crucial point.
You included Lishui and Alatus, and almost brought Aping too, but why didn't you mention my name? What about me?
"Ahem, Cloud Retainer, how about you go prepare the Adeptal Catalysts first?" Xiaoyue said somewhat perfunctorily.
Mainly, Cloud Retainer's temper was a bit impatient. If something really happened, she would be the most unstable one.
Instead of having her on-site, it would be better to have her prepare the Adeptal Catalysts in advance, as anyone who could assassinate the Archon would be no ordinary individual.
"Hmph." Cloud Retainer acted a bit tsundere. Although she was unhappy about not being on-site, seeing as they understood her Catalysts so well, she'd let it go this time.
Xiao, who had been standing silently on the rooftop, suddenly appeared in front of Ningguang.
"If anything is discovered, call my name—Xiao."
After speaking, he vanished from the spot. This time, he returned directly to Wangshu Inn.
"Alatus's words are also what we wanted to say. If anything is discovered, just call us." Xiaoyue added.
Ningguang nodded, indicating: "If anything is discovered, I will notify all Adepti first."
As the Adepti left, Ningguang suddenly spoke, "Are there any clues?"
Yelan walked out and calmly found a seat to sit down.
"Unfortunately, there are no clues."
"There is no existence within Liyue capable of rivaling the Archon."
"Several seals also show no signs of loosening."
"However, we found that the Fatui seem to be researching something. It will take some time to infiltrate."
After listening to Yelan's report, Ningguang analyzed the current situation.
Although the Fatui were somewhat suspicious, relying solely on the Eleventh Harbinger and the Eighth Harbinger to assassinate the Archon was undoubtedly a pipe dream.
The outsider in the book didn't even know what happened, so he was clearly not the murderer.
She knew about the Qixing's affairs, and the Adepti's attitude didn't seem to be an act. So who exactly was this murderer!?
"Sigh." Ningguang let out a long sigh. How long had it been since she encountered such a tricky matter?
"I will organize the Millelith for defense in advance." Keqing said.
"Yes, thank you, Keqing." Ningguang smiled slightly.
Although it was tricky, as Tianquan, she could not show weakness.
Having done everything she could, it now seemed that on the day of the Rite of Descension, she could only do her best and leave the rest to fate.
Keqing rarely saw Ningguang sigh, but it had to be said, anyone in this situation would be the same.
How could that Archon have met with misfortune during their generation of the Qixing? Who exactly was the murderer?
At this moment, Zhongli was listening to a storyteller at Sanwan Buguo Port. Tian Tiezui was speaking with righteous indignation.
The story he was telling was the newly released Liyue Chapter Act I book. This was the Archon's death, and Tian Tiezui was almost in tears.
The people around were discussing heatedly, everyone wanting to know who the murderer was.
"Brother Zhongli, you are always well-informed. Could you help us analyze who this murderer is?" A passerby asked.
Zhongli put down his teacup and said calmly, "Forgive my limited knowledge, but the true culprit is still unknown for now."