"Miss Shenhe! Can I interview you?" Charlotte popped out.
She hadn't returned to Fontaine yet, as there was too much breaking news in Liyue. She had been incredibly busy lately, having organized and sent back countless news reports to the Steam Bird Newspaper.
She had just finished organizing the news about the Archon in Liyue and seized the opportunity to come out and buy books, unexpectedly encountering the star of 'Goddess Splitting the Clouds'.
"May I treat you to a meal?" Charlotte asked.
"Sorry, I need to buy books," Shenhe replied calmly.
"And after you buy the books?"
"After I buy the books, I need to go back. My junior disciple is waiting for me."
Charlotte was disappointed; her plan to treat someone had failed again...
Speaking of which, the meal she owed Lin Qiu was also ill-fated. Originally, after the Rite of Descension, she found time to treat him, but Childe intercepted her.
Later, there was super big news, and she was busy organizing and sending reports back to the Steam Bird Newspaper, so she never found the time.
Although the plan to treat him failed, the two were still queuing together, so a casual chat was still possible.
Shenhe refused the meal but did not refuse the interview, so Charlotte seized the time and managed to get some content.
Here, Shenhe and Charlotte were chatting casually.
On the other side, in Stormterror's Lair, Paimon was also chatting casually with Lumine.
Over the past few days, they had followed clues from the Temple of the Falcon all the way to Stormterror's Lair.
However, they hadn't encountered the Traveler's brother, as Lin Qiu had said they would.
Of course, they wouldn't encounter him, because the encounter Lin Qiu spoke of was still yet to come.
"Turns out the person we wanted to meet didn't appear at all, Lin Qiu is a liar!" Paimon complained.
Although there were many clues, they hadn't encountered an Abyss Herald.
Lin Qiu clearly said they would encounter one, but now they haven't. Does that mean Lin Qiu's prophecy was wrong? Lumine won't see her brother?
This was why Paimon was angry; she also hoped Lumine could see her brother.
"When we go back, I'm going to 'ignite the sea' at Lin Qiu!" Paimon waved her little fists.
"I won't save you then..." Ying retorted.
Last time you said that to him, your face was almost kneaded out of shape. Why don't you learn?
Lumine was also a bit disappointed that she couldn't see her brother, but she still believed in Lin Qiu's prophecy, thinking it was just not the right time yet.
At this moment, Ying suddenly felt something and abruptly turned around.
The mountaintop was empty, but Ying's feeling at this moment was so strong.
Wind rose under her feet, and Ying leaped up the cliff in a few bounds.
The cliff was indeed empty, and the figure she hoped to see was not there.
"Whew~, wait for me, Traveler, don't run so fast," Paimon arrived late.
"What? Is it a familiar aura?" Dainsleif asked.
Lumine looked at Dainsleif strangely. How did he know? Could the companion he spoke of be...?
No way, is this guy the brother's Paimon? So big? ...I mean, is this guy the brother's guide?
However, Lumine didn't dwell on this question too much because she was attracted by a cluster of dandelions.
Ying walked over and touched the dandelions, and a memory flooded her mind.
It was her brother; he really had been here... Could the reunion Lin Qiu spoke of really be this time?
"Paimon, let's go back to Liyue," Lumine said.
"Huh? So urgent? What happened?" Paimon was bewildered.
"Although I also really want to go with you to see the Prophet, I think I have other things to do..." Dainsleif said, looking at the footprints next to the dandelions.
"You're not going to investigate by yourself, are you?" Paimon gasped, her reaction quite quick.
Dainsleif didn't answer directly but said, "It's just a temporary departure. Don't worry, we'll meet again."
After speaking, Dainsleif left without looking back.
Paimon pouted unhappily, watching Dainsleif leave. Why was he so mysterious?
"What's with that? So mysterious, just like Lin Qiu."
"Let's go, we're also going back to Liyue to complain to Lin Qiu!" Paimon waved her fists.
Lumine nodded. She felt that Lin Qiu's prophecy was not that simple, and their reunion shouldn't end like this.
And Lin Qiu, whom they had been thinking about, was currently chatting with Charlotte.
It turned out that after she and Shenhe finished buying books, they parted ways, one to find her junior disciple, and the other to find Lin Qiu.
Then the two of them reunited at Lin Qiu's home. After all that, they were looking for the same person.
"Teacher Qiu Cheng, I really didn't expect you to be Shenhe's junior disciple," Charlotte exclaimed.
Indeed, not many people knew that Lin Qiu was Shenhe's junior disciple, so even with Charlotte's extensive information, she didn't know.
"Hmph, this Adeptus does not have such a disciple. We are merely friends who teach each other some knowledge," Xianyun said.
She said this not because she disliked Lin Qiu, but because she felt that Lin Qiu's identity should not be branded with the title of an Adeptus's disciple; that would instead lower Lin Qiu's status.
However, her personality was tsundere, and she was too embarrassed to say it directly.
"Eh? Are you going to expel junior disciple from the sect?" Shenhe immediately shielded Lin Qiu behind her.
"Master, please don't."
Xianyun was helpless, "I... didn't mean that either..."
Guizhong and Gecheng secretly snickered. It was truly amusing to see their old friend in a pickle.
"Alright, let's read the book. It even mentions you," Lin Qiu said to Xianyun.
"Oh? It mentions this Adeptus? Then this Adeptus truly must take a look," Xianyun became interested and took the book from Shenhe's hand.
Shenhe, of course, bought more than one book, so they didn't need to crowd together to read.
'teyvat story collection: Moonchase Festival'
The story tells of Lumine and Paimon arriving at Wanmin Restaurant to find Xiangling, learning that the Moonchase Festival in Liyue was approaching.
Each Moonchase Festival had a different theme, and this year's theme was "Food and Mountains and Rivers," so the Qixing held a cooking competition.
Xiangling wanted to hire the two of them as her culinary consultants to prepare for the Chef Showdown.
Seeing this part, Ningguang smiled. She had just written down the four-character theme "Food and Mountains and Rivers," and upon picking up the book, she saw that Lin Qiu had already written it.
Anyone who didn't know might think Ningguang plagiarized Lin Qiu's idea.
"The Prophet is indeed amazing, but what's so special about the Moonchase Festival to write about?" Ningguang murmured to herself.
Speaking of the Moonchase Festival, Liyue had held it countless times. Why did Lin Qiu specifically write about this year's? Could something big be about to happen?
Could it be that Beisht was going to attack during the Moonchase Festival?
Ningguang frowned in thought. She had already investigated Beisht's existence, so she became vigilant and read the book carefully, hoping to find answers within.
In the story, Xiangling and the Traveler went together to seek inspiration.
The first person they found was Hu Tao, because of her high poison resistance—no, it was because her insights always made people 'feel refreshed'.
Coincidentally, Hu Tao also came to find Lin Qiu at this time. In her opinion, reading a new book was more interesting when everyone read it together.
The characters in the story chatted about food here, while Guoba stood on a stone chair, gazing at the scenery, truly enjoying a leisurely stroll through the mortal world.
----------
Character Voice Line · Xianyun: About Lin Qiu · Discipleship
"Sigh, this Adeptus doesn't feel she can be his master, but if she isn't his master, that child Shenhe