"So delicious, this is amazing. Thank you, kind strangers."
"I haven't had meat in so long. Thank you so much."
After finishing all the Sweet Madame, the unfamiliar young woman let out a satisfied burp and wiped her mouth. She politely expressed her gratitude to Su Bai and Lumine.
Paimon looked at the mountain of bones on the ground and rubbed her stomach in disbelief. Lumine had made ten whole Sweet Madames. Paimon had only eaten three—the remaining seven had all been devoured by this stranger.
"It was just a few Sweet Madames, no big deal. But this is the border of Liyue. What brings you out here, miss?"
"What? The border of Liyue? Isn't this the way to Liyue Harbor?"
The young woman looked genuinely shocked, even the rhythm of her burps was disrupted. Su Bai studied her carefully. She had a Hydro Vision—couldn't she sense the water element growing thinner around them? Judging by this, she wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed.
"Never mind, I can't waste any more time talking. I need to get to Liyue Harbor immediately. My pen pal is in danger. Little girl, this notebook fell out of your bag. Here, take it."
"Thank you for the meal. If you're heading to Liyue Harbor, I suggest you take care of your business and leave quickly. A great disaster is about to strike Liyue Harbor."
The young woman's serious expression suggested she wasn't joking. Paimon felt a bit nervous at the mention of a disaster, but Su Bai objected.
"I don't appreciate that kind of talk, miss. Not to mention Rex Lapis watching over Liyue Harbor, even if he were away, Liyue's adepti aren't pushovers."
"I think you should focus on studying astrology instead of pretending to know things. If you need guidance, I have a friend skilled in astrology. Maybe you could learn from her."
Su Bai's words made the young woman bristle. She conjured a mirror of water before her, stood tall with hands on her hips, and proudly introduced herself.
"I am Astrologist Mona Megistus, a contributor to 'Astral Reflections' in the Steambird. And you say I don't understand astrology?"
"As-to-lo-gist Mo-na Me-gis-tus... that's a mouthful."
Paimon's head clearly couldn't handle such a long name. Even Klee scratched her head—she had never heard anyone with such a long name before.
"It's Astrologist Mona Megistus. Actually, just call me Mona. It's easier."
Mona had clearly encountered this situation many times and knew her name was hard to remember, so she simply told them to call her Mona.
Hearing the familiar name, Su Bai paused. He had always thought "Astrologist Mona Megistus" was a pen name. He never expected someone actually had such a name.
"Astrologist Mona Megistus? You're the one who believes pigeons came before pigeon eggs?"
Mona was equally stunned by Su Bai's words. How did this fox with three tails know about that? Not only did he know, but he could even say her full name correctly. Incredible.
Wait, this wasn't the time to dwell on that. Only the old hag and her pen pal knew about the pigeon debate. Was this fox the old hag's friend? Or had he used some evil technique on her while she was unconscious?
Mona looked at Su Bai warily. She wasn't sure if this fox was really her pen pal. Su Bai, curious to see his pen pal's skills, deliberately didn't reveal his identity.
An awkward silence fell. Lumine's eyes darted between Su Bai and Mona. Her intuition told her these two had crossed paths before, though for some reason, Mona didn't seem to recognize Su Bai.
"I need to do a divination. I have a feeling this guy isn't a good person."
Mona channeled Hydro energy, the water mirror spinning before her. As it turned, her expression shifted from cautious to surprised, then to indignant.
"Haha, nice to meet you, Astrologist Mona Megistus. I'm 'Second Coffin Half Price,' real name Su Bai."
"I always imagined you'd be some thirty-year-old lady. I didn't expect you to be so young. Truly surprising."
"Second Coffin Half Price? What a strange name. Is there some meaning behind it?"
Paimon remarked. Su Bai grinned and waved at Mona. Even if Mona were slow, she would have realized she was being played. And she was far from slow. Remembering that Su Bai had witnessed her fainting from hunger, her face reddened as she conjured a water sphere and splashed Su Bai in the face.
"You mocked me in your letters, and now you mock me in person! Aren't you afraid I'll teach you a lesson?"
First meetings between pen pals were usually awkward and stiff, but Mona felt no distance between them. It was as if they had known each other for years.
Fate was truly mysterious. Who would have thought that picking a random letter to reply to would lead to such an encounter between two unrelated people?
"Wait. If Mona could predict that Su Bai was her pen pal, doesn't that mean the great disaster she mentioned for Liyue Harbor could also be real?"
Lumine, not yet corrupted by Paimon's influence, spotted the implication. Su Bai's playful expression immediately vanished, replaced by a serious look as he turned to Mona. She nodded.
"I've divined this many times. The result is always the same. That's why I was in such a hurry to reach Liyue Harbor to find you. The divination also shows that many people in Liyue Harbor will die or be injured in this disaster."
"Huh? Then isn't Liyue Harbor really dangerous? Lumine, maybe we should wait until after the disaster to go. I don't think we need to rush."
Lumine ignored Paimon and looked at Su Bai instead. His face flickered with uncertainty. He understood astrology and knew Mona was skilled in the field.
If Mona's divinations predicted a great disaster in Liyue Harbor, the possibility was extremely high. But he couldn't understand—what disaster could possibly befall Liyue, protected by Rex Lapis and so many adepti?
Even if another nation declared war on Liyue, Liyue Harbor was the nation's most important city. Unless most of Liyue's territory had been occupied, no harm could come to it.
"Pen pal, why don't you come to Mondstadt with me? We can go to Liyue Harbor after this disaster is resolved."
"I need to visit my master's friend there anyway to pick something up."