Chapter 197.
"I—I concede!"
Ying'er raised both hands in absolute defeat, her face still burning a bright, embarrassing shade of tomato red. She remained in a complete daze until the very end, entirely unaware of how her deepest secrets had been so effortlessly extracted by this little girl.
"Sigh, truly impressive. It really isn't easy to earn twenty million Mora."
Ying'er shook her head slightly, recovering her composure.
She had originally calculated that she could at least make it to the semifinals and secure a one million Mora payout. Getting eliminated in the quarterfinals meant she only walked away with a measly two hundred thousand Mora. It was decent, but nothing compared to the grand prize.
Still, Ying'er wasn't one to hold a grudge. She looked at Nahida with a charming, light smile.
"If you ever have some free time, little one, come visit me at Chihu Rock. Big sister will personally make you a unique fragrant balm~ I guarantee you'll be satisfied~"
With a final wink, Ying'er gracefully departed the pavilion.
Nahida, completely unbothered by the flirtatious exit, turned to the referee and blinked.
"Can I face my next opponent now?"
"Don't you need to rest?"
The referee asked, looking at the tiny girl with genuine pity.
She assumed that whatever terrifying ability Nahida had just used must have a massive energy cost. Several fortune-tellers and Vision holders had actually fainted from over-exerting their abilities during the earlier rounds! Could this little girl really just keep going?
"Mm."
Nahida nodded earnestly, indicating she was perfectly fine.
The next round was the semifinals! If she won this match, and then the next one, she would secure the grand prize! Twenty million Mora for the Akademiya!
"Okay, please follow me."
The referee nodded seriously, leading Nahida toward the next designated tent.
The organizers had been notified a few minutes ago that the next contestant was ready. As Nahida walked into the tent, she saw her opponent sitting at the table.
It was a little girl, roughly the same age as Nahida's physical form. She had freckles and a rather cute, confident expression.
When the girl saw someone "her own age" walk in, a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes, followed by a very smug smile.
"It seems your luck isn't very good today. You actually ran into me."
Nahida blinked, staring at the freckled girl.
Wait... I know her!
It was Nabiya! The famous fortune-teller from Sumeru City!
Nahida immediately recognized her. Nabiya was a rare divination prodigy, possessing excellent skills at a very young age, which allowed her to earn a very comfortable living in Sumeru City.
Fortunately, I disguised myself!
Nahida thought, feeling a wave of relief.
Before leaving for Liyue, she, Ei, and Makoto had all carefully altered their appearances, specifically because they were worried about running into Sumeru citizens or Inazuman merchants. If Nahida hadn't disguised herself, Nabiya would have instantly recognized her "true face"!
"Hello."
Nahida offered a polite, brief greeting and quietly took her seat.
"Let me introduce myself." the freckled girl smiled proudly. "My name is Nabiya, a renowned fortune-teller from Sumeru! I'm actually not in the best mood today."
"They don't allow pets in here, which makes me very sad." Nabiya sighed, before looking back at Nahida with a chuckle. "I'll let you go first. Making it this far means you definitely have some skill, but running into me means your luck has officially run out."
Nabiya was radiating absolute confidence. As a professional fortune-teller, when she had stumbled upon the "Guess What I Guess" event during her vacation in Liyue, she felt like the Archons were literally handing her free Mora!
The event seemed tailor-made for her abilities. Along the way, Nabiya had encountered many other "practitioners." but most of them were unskilled frauds. They relied on cold reading, linguistic loopholes, and observing people's clothes to guess their secrets.
But this wasn't a "Deduction Contest." It was "Guess What I Guess." If you couldn't actually divine the most important secrets hidden in a person's heart, you couldn't win.
Furthermore, names were a hidden part of the challenge. Nahida hadn't revealed her name to anyone, forcing her opponents to guess it. But so far, no one had been able to figure out her true identity.
Nabiya, however, was so confident that she had just boldly announced her own name right off the bat! She felt she had absolutely nothing to fear.
"I go first?" Nahida blinked, her expression turning a bit subtle. "How about you go first? Because I already know who you are."
It was true. As Lesser Lord Kusanali, Nahida spent her days constantly absorbing knowledge from the Akasha, and her nights entering the dreams of her people to play. If someone had a name and a reputation in Sumeru City, Nahida had likely visited their dreams.
She had actually played with Nabiya in a dream once! Back then, the girl hadn't been quite this cocky, but she was still a genuine prodigy.
"You know me?"
Nabiya looked at Nahida suspiciously. She blinked, then shrugged confidently.
"Alright, since you insist, I won't hold back! Hmm... let's see what's happened to you recently."
Nabiya closed her eyes, extended a hand, and reached out to the unseen threads of fate.
"What?! What, what, what, what, what, what?!"
Suddenly, Nabiya's eyes snapped open in absolute shock.
"Nothing?! How is that possible?!!! I... I can't see a single thing about you! No, it must be because I'm not focused enough! I need to focus! Nabiya, you must focus!!!"
Nabiya aggressively forced herself to concentrate, pouring all her mental energy into her divination. As a professional, she knew that if she just pushed hard enough, she could see things she normally couldn't.
But a second later, Nabiya let out a strange, strangled cry. Her eyes rolled completely into the back of her head, and she abruptly collapsed face-first onto the wooden table with a loud THUD.
"Ah?!"
The referee was completely dumbfounded. She stared at the unconscious Nabiya, and then at Nahida, who was just sitting peacefully in her chair, looking completely innocent.
After a brief moment of shocked contemplation, the referee cleared her throat.
"Due to... unconsciousness resulting from ability backlash, contestant Nabiya is eliminated! The mysterious girl from Sumeru advances to the Grand Finals!"
According to the rules, knocking yourself out with your own powers counted as an automatic forfeit. Nabiya was quickly carried away to a resting area to recover from her self-inflicted psychic trauma.
This time, the referee led Nahida into a massive, highly decorated tent. It was filled with specialized divination tools: crystal balls, magic mirrors, decks of cards, and complex astrolabes.
"Wow, so professional."
Nahida murmured, genuinely impressed by the organizers' dedication.
"Professional? Not at all. Most of the junk in here is second-rate."
A confident female voice echoed through the tent. Mona strutted out from the shadows, her arms crossed. She looked at Nahida and raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"You must be the fortune-teller from Sumeru. Honestly, you're even younger than I imagined. To have such excellent divination skills at this age... no wonder the Old Hag told me never to underestimate my peers."
Mona had run a quick divination before entering the finals and learned she would be facing a highly talented fortune-teller from Sumeru who could seemingly block her scrying. Assuming it was Nabiya, Mona had been eagerly looking forward to a high-level astrologer's duel!
"Uh..." Nahida stayed silent for a moment. "I am indeed from Sumeru, but I am not a fortune-teller."
The referee quickly stepped in to clarify.
"You must be referring to Miss Nabiya. Unfortunately, she was just defeated in the semifinals."
While the event didn't restrict how you guessed an opponent's secrets, the referees had to maintain strict fairness. If Mona started the match operating under incorrect divination data, she would be at a massive disadvantage.
"Defeated?" Mona gasped, genuinely surprised. "How is that possible? My divination said she was supposed to be my opponent in the finals! This is truly strange—"
Mona narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing Nahida. She was always absolutely confident in her astrology. If her divination was wrong, it meant the little girl sitting in front of her was far from ordinary.
"Interesting."
Mona flashed a highly confident smile.
"It seems you're even stronger than her! This is going to be very fun."
"So, let's get straight to it. Do you ask first, or do I? Or should we introduce ourselves?"
Mona sat down and confidently flipped the sand timer, officially starting the match.
The referee stood by silently, incredibly eager to watch these two powerhouses clash. Both Mona and Nahida had completely steamrolled their way through the bracket using terrifyingly accurate deductions.
Nahida sat obediently in her chair. She looked at Mona and slowly shook her head.
"A self-introduction? I'm afraid I can't do that."
"Oh? Is that so?"
Mona didn't mind. It wasn't the first time someone had tried to hide their true name from her to avoid being scryed.
"Then I'll introduce myself! My name is Astrologist Mona Megistus! It means 'The Great Astrologist Mona'! And I am definitely taking that twenty million Mora! My expenses have been truly out of control lately. If Liyue Harbor didn't host this event, I honestly don't know how I'd live this month!"
Mona complained with a sigh.
Her financial situation was notoriously tight because she strictly refused to profit from her astrology. She only accepted payment in very special circumstances—like when she worked for The Knave. But this event wasn't technically "profiting from divination." it was just winning a prize! Therefore, her pride was intact, and she was ready to secure the bag.
"Mm, me too."
Nahida nodded earnestly, quietly sizing Mona up.
Thanks to the Chat Group, Nahida knew Mona was an incredibly powerful astrologer. However, everyone in the group always seemed to mention her... unique fashion sense.
Seeing her in person, Nahida had to agree.
Hmm, her reputation precedes her. Her outfit is very... suggestive! Doesn't she feel cold? Or embarrassed?
"Excuse me, just a moment!"
Suddenly, a Millelith guard poked his head into the tent. He looked directly at Nahida.
"Little sister, your father is looking for you outside."
"Eh?"
Nahida blinked, genuinely surprised. Why would Mitama come looking for her right at the climax of the tournament?
"Can we pause the match, Miss Mona?"
The referee asked politely. Pausing required the consent of both parties.
"No problem, I'll wait here."
Mona agreed easily. The kid was so young, it was perfectly normal for her dad to come checking on her.
"Please wait just a moment!"
Nahida said politely, hopping out of her chair.
She followed the guard outside the tent, where she immediately spotted Futsu Mitama and Maha Rukkhadevata standing nearby.
"You're here!" Nahida quickened her pace, trotting up to them. "What happened? Did something go wrong?"
Seeing Nahida talking to her "father." the guard respectfully stepped away to give them privacy.
"There's something going on with you." Mitama sighed, looking incredibly stressed. "I just found out Mona is participating in this event! An astrologer of her caliber joining a civilian guessing game is practically a cheat code."
"I'm afraid you're going to be exposed. You need to be extremely careful. If possible, absolutely do not let her run a divination on you!"
Futsu Mitama was genuinely worried. Mona was a prodigy. If she went all-out and tried to read Nahida's fate, there was a very high probability she would discover the truth. After all, Nahida wasn't a veteran Archon like Zhongli, Venti, or Ei. She was only five hundred years old—still a child by divine standards.
If Mona proved stubborn and dug deep enough, Nahida's identity as the Dendro Archon would be blown! That's why Mitama had sprinted over to stop the match before things went horribly wrong.