Half an hour later
"Next, you'll come with me to prepare the items for the Rite of Parting."
Zhongli stood up and spoke to Lumine and Paimon.
Since the Rite of Descension had been so grand, the Rite of Parting naturally had to be held to the same standards.
"What do we need to prepare?" Lumine asked.
Zhongli smiled lightly. "Quite a lot, actually. There are many ritual items of different grades. It would take too long to explain now—better to go and gather them one by one. I'll explain as we go."
Lumine could only agree.
After all, if she wanted to see the Geo Archon, there was no other way.
"Then let's go."
Just as the two were about to leave, Luo Li suddenly spoke up, stopping them.
"Wait a moment. Lumine, come here—I have something to tell you."
He asked Zhongli to pause briefly, then led Lumine into a quiet side room.
Before leaving, Lumine noticed La Signora giving her an unfriendly look—she had no idea what kind of warning that was supposed to be.
"Mr. Luo Li, what is it?" Lumine asked.
If she remembered correctly, Ganyu had said he was investigating the Geo Archon's death. Yet now he was clearly mixed up with the Fatui. Could it be that he really was connected to them?
With doubts in her heart, Lumine waited for his guidance.
"I just want to tell you one thing," Luo Li said calmly.
"Be more cautious of Tartaglia. And if you have time, go take a look around Lisha—there might be a little 'surprise' the Fatui left behind."
"Surprise? What kind?" Lumine asked eagerly.
"You'll know when you get there," Luo Li replied.
"It's related to the Sigil of Permission you used earlier. Remember—this thing is not a simple token of trust."
"..."
Please, stop talking like riddlers.
Lumine pressed her forehead and sighed.
Watching her burning curiosity go unanswered, Luo Li suddenly understood why so many people loved being cryptic.
It really was satisfying.
Letting someone want answers but refusing to give them—dangling the truth just out of reach—until they were desperate enough to move on their own.
"Also," he continued, "if you run into trouble, you can always ask Eula or Noelle for help. Just tell them it's on my behalf. As for Makoto—tell her not to take any action."
Luo Li had his own calculations.
The events in Liyue were excellent trials, and what followed—the appearance of an ancient vortex god—would be even more so.
Letting Eula and Noelle test what they had learned in real combat would help them grow faster.
Normally, Liyue wouldn't allow outsiders to interfere—but their identities were special. Even if they joined in, it likely wouldn't be rejected.
Lumine carefully committed everything to memory.
"Alright. If something happens that I can't handle, I'll call for help immediately."
Calling reinforcements—who didn't know how to do that?
She wasn't stupid. Charging in alone when she had so many allies would just be asking to die.
In fact, with Luo Li's approval, she felt like the road ahead had suddenly widened. She was no longer fighting alone.
After confirming there was nothing else to say, Lumine left in high spirits, taking Paimon with her to follow Zhongli.
"We should go too."
Rosalyne took the initiative to hook her arm through Luo Li's, and under Tartaglia's shocked gaze, the two left Glaze Pavilion together.
Watching both groups depart in opposite directions, Tartaglia rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Should I report the matter between La Signora and that man to Her Majesty…?"
After some consideration, he gave up on the idea.
It was personal business. No need to bring it before the Tsaritsa.
They didn't get along anyway—best to just focus on his own task.
"Forget it. I'll deal with my mission first."
Following Zhongli, Lumine finally realized that all her previous errands had been nothing.
For the next several days, she followed him all over Liyue, gathering materials for the Rite of Parting.
Premium Noctilucous Jade, perfume made from Silk Flowers, wild Glaze Lilies, children's kites for entertainment—
She ran all over Liyue nonstop.
Thanks to this, she met many new people:
Porters, Ying'er from Springvale's perfume shop, and Granny Ping—who possessed the Cleansing Bell.
She was exhausted to the point of collapse.
Even Paimon complained about "phantom limb pain."
During breaks, she followed Luo Li's hint and went to the outskirts of Lisha to search for the Fatui's hidden site.
And she actually found it.
A Fatui research outpost hidden deep in the wilderness, dedicated to studying the Sigil of Permission.
She didn't understand what they were researching it for.
According to legend, it was a covenant between Rex Lapis and the people—imbued with adeptal power to ward off evil, allowing mortals to request an audience with the adepti.
Yet Luo Li had said it was not a mere token.
Lumine was puzzled, unsure how to judge the truth.
Eventually, after she and Zhongli—along with Tartaglia, the ever-reliable wallet—finally gathered everything needed for the Rite of Parting, she received a summons from Ningguang, the Tianquan of the Liyue Qixing.
Meanwhile—
Luo Li seemed completely detached from the tension gripping Liyue.
Together with Rosalyne, he strolled through Qingce Village and up to Mt. Tianheng, enjoying lanterns and fireworks along the way.
"It feels like a dream," Rosalyne said softly.
"That after five hundred years, I can see you again… it still feels unreal."
Walking across Liyue's land, her voice seemed distant and fragile.
She gazed at the young man beside her—almost like an immortal—and feared that if she let go for even a moment, he would disappear again.
"Heh, what's there to worry about?" Luo Li chuckled.
"Though I have to say, Liyue's fireworks aren't as grand as Inazuma's. If there's a chance, I'll take you there next time."
Luo Li knew himself well—unless something truly unexpected happened, he wasn't disappearing again.
But Rosalyne, having experienced it once, couldn't shake her unease.
If Luo Li left again, she didn't know what she would become.
"Inazuma…" she murmured.
"I've only been there once—and it left me with bad memories."
She seemed to recall events from five hundred years ago, her mood sinking slightly.
Although she had orchestrated the corruption of the three Commissions, most of it had been done through subordinates—she had rarely set foot there herself.
At one point, she had even considered abandoning the mission and handing it off to another Harbinger.
Because Inazuma was a nation Luo Li had once personally ruled.
She didn't want to damage the traces he had left behind.
Yet she had also harbored resentment toward the Raiden Shogun—the one who had gone to Khaenri'ah with Luo Li, yet returned unharmed.
Of course, now Rosalyne knew the truth.
There had been two Raiden Archons.
And the one who had stayed behind, guarding Tenshukaku alone…
If anything, she had suffered even more than Rosalyne herself