After Keqing left, Lin Qiu checked his Emotional Value, still converting it into Elemental Mastery and Elemental Energy.
Lin Qiu now had 100,000 Emotional Value to boost his strength; purely in terms of numbers, defeating Childe should be no problem.
The Emotional Value gained from exposing the news of the Geo Archon's death was significant, but lower than expected.
The reason was that this information was so explosive that people who read the book immediately began spreading the news, and it spread throughout Liyue in minutes.
Since it no longer had a direct connection to Lin Qiu, the Emotional Value received from indirect connections was even lower, with very little subsequent increase.
After checking his Emotional Value, Lin Qiu noticed something: Keqing had left, but Ganyu had not.
"Mr. Lin Qiu, do you have time tomorrow? My master wishes to see you," Ganyu asked softly.
Her master was Cloud Retainer, that female.
Cloud Retainer wanted to see Lin Qiu because she didn't know at the time that the Geo Archon was actually alive, so she mentioned to Ganyu that if the Prophet returned to Liyue, she should invite him to meet her.
She wanted to ask Lin Qiu about the Geo Archon.
To this, Lin Qiu could only say, "I cannot say. I promised Zhongli I would only fully expose his identity after the plan concludes."
"I have time," Lin Qiu nodded.
There were still more than ten days until the Rite of Descension, and he had to be present to witness such a momentous event. He planned to stay in Liyue for the next few days.
"Alright, then I will come find you tomorrow," Ganyu nodded politely, then turned and left.
"Hu Tao, look at her," Lin Qiu pointed at Ganyu.
"I see her. She's indeed bigger than Hall Master," Hu Tao acknowledged with a nod.
She then turned to look at Navia, thinking, who could tell who the 'big' boss was now?
"I meant for you to notice how polite she is," Lin Qiu said, rubbing his forehead.
"Hehehe, Hall Master is polite too, so of course, I should look at what I don't have," Hu Tao said matter-of-factly.
"What are you talking about?" Navia didn't understand.
"Nothing," Lin Qiu immediately cut off the conversation. He didn't want his second boss to also start saying strange things because of Hu Tao.
The two girls were already quite evenly matched in terms of liveliness, though Hu Tao was a bit more mischievous than Navia.
Navia, despite her lack of Demoiselle's reserve, still had some.
Hu Tao, on the other hand, was different; if she didn't say it, who would know she was also a Demoiselle?
Speaking of which, the experiences of the two girls were quite similar; both were Demoiselles who took over their family businesses at a young age.
Their personalities were also lively and enthusiastic, and both even had an elegant old man accompanying them.
But for some reason, Navia was influenced by Melus, while Hu Tao remained completely unaffected.
Two similar people developed similar yet different personalities. Being able to find common ground while respecting differences was far better than looking in a mirror, so the two girls were actually very close.
Rewinding a bit, while Keqing and her group were heading to Lin Qiu's residence, the Traveler also learned from the Adventurers' Guild that Lin Qiu was home.
"Traveler, we're about to meet the Prophet. Have you decided what you want to ask him?" Paimon asked Lumine as they walked together.
"Before that, I hope he's someone easy to get along with," Ying said.
"That's true. If he's unwilling to communicate with us, then we won't be able to ask anything," Paimon nodded.
By the time Ying and Paimon arrived at Lin Qiu's home, Ganyu had just left.
Lin Qiu and the two girls saw Ganyu off at the door, chatted for a couple of sentences, and were about to close the door and go back inside.
"Wait, don't close the door yet."
Ying was still considering how to greet him, but Paimon had already flown over first.
"Little Paimon?" Lin Qiu recognized the white floating object at a glance.
Since Paimon was here, was the Traveler here too?
Lin Qiu looked further and saw Ying indeed standing there.
It had to be said, Ying was truly adorable; the more he looked, the cuter she became.
"Wow, you really know me!" Paimon was delighted.
"Ying, come over quickly! The Prophet knows us, no need to be shy!" Paimon waved.
She thought Ying was shy and hadn't come over.
"Paimon, mind your manners," Ying walked over, a bit helpless.
Being overly familiar wasn't a bad thing, but the premise was to first understand the other person's personality. What if the other person disliked such a lack of personal space?
"It's fine, I'm quite familiar with you two, no need to be polite," Lin Qiu waved his hand.
If he had to say, these two were the most familiar, after all, even if he didn't use them to explore the open world in the game, they were still the main characters during the story.
However, when the protagonist he used to control appeared before him, Lin Qiu still felt a sense of unreality.
He used to traverse, adventure, and travel this world in Ying's form, and now she appeared before him. This feeling was truly marvelous.
"Let's go, let's chat inside."
Lin Qiu invited the Traveler and Paimon into the house and introduced them to Hu Tao and Navia.
Inside the house, the Traveler sat gracefully and obediently, with Paimon sitting in her lap.
"Mr. Lin Qiu, I have some questions I'd like to ask you," Ying began.
"Just call me Lin Qiu," Lin Qiu took the black tea brewed by Navia and handed it to Ying.
Ying nodded, "Lin Qiu, I want to know about my brother."
Lin Qiu had guessed that Ying would ask this question. For Ying, this was probably the most important question.
"Do you want to know where your brother is?" Lin Qiu asked.
Ying first nodded, then shook her head.
"I really want to know that too, but I want to confirm first, is he safe?"
More than where her brother was, Ying wanted to confirm his safety first.
Ying was still very worried about her brother. From her current travel experience, the Abyss really didn't seem like a good place.
Her brother absolutely couldn't get into trouble, otherwise, how could she beat him up?
"He is safe," Lin Qiu affirmed.
Ying breathed a sigh of relief. It was good to know that Aether was safe; the search process could be a bit slower.
"Then, when will we be able to meet?" Knowing her brother was fine, Ying began to care about the meeting.
"Well, it should be soon," Lin Qiu thought for a moment and said.
After the Rite of Descension concluded and the Liyue matters were handled, Ying would encounter Dainsleif and Aether.
However, this meeting would only be a brief one, not a true reunion.
"That's great, Ying! You'll find your brother soon!" Paimon said happily.
Then she became a little sad, "After you find your brother, will you leave?"
Ying stroked Paimon's head but said nothing.
They were twins who traveled through many worlds; leaving this world was probably only a matter of time.
"I'm afraid this will only be a meeting, not a reunion. Ying will not be leaving you for now," Lin Qiu said.
"Eh?" Paimon was stunned. What did that mean? What was this about meeting and reuniting?
Ying, however, understood. It seemed her brother really did have a problem if he wouldn't go with her even after seeing her.
Could he really have been hypnotized and brainwashed by the Abyss? How was she supposed to break that? She hadn't learned how!
"Oh, I also want to ask a question unrelated to my brother," Ying said.
"What?" Lin Qiu prompted Ying to ask.
"You, like me, are from another world, right? What is your world like? Is there a way to go back?"
This surprised Navia and Hu Tao. So Lin Qiu was also an outsider?
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Character Voice Line · Traveler: About Lin Qiu
"Paimon: Lin Qiu is very easy to get along with, isn't he?
Ying: Yes, he's as easy to get along with as I am.
Paimon: Are all outsiders like this?"