Only after Yunqin's aura had completely vanished did Xianyun pick up the teapot and refill Zhongli's empty cup.
The pale green tea flowed into the cup, creating delicate ripples.
She watched Zhongli continue to sip his tea with his eyes closed, his fingertips still lightly tracing the cup's rim. Unable to suppress the doubt in her heart any longer, she lowered her voice slightly. "Rex Lapis, so she..."
Thump. Zhongli's finger tapped lightly on the stone table. The sound wasn't loud, but it cut her off.
He opened his eyes, their depths as unfathomable as a thousand years of time.
He reached for the teapot, took over her movements, and filled the cup in front of her. The pale green tea swayed gently in the cup, reflecting fragments of the morning light.
"Everything follows the will of heaven," he said slowly, his tone as calm as a mountain stream yet carrying an indisputable power. "Her choices and Liyue's future must both align with the tides of fate."
"We need only... wait quietly for her decision."
As the first light of dawn broke, Lumine and Paimon were already packed and ready.
After parting ways with Yunqin and Tartaglia near the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor last night, they hadn't looked for an inn but had instead spent the night fighting monsters in the wild.
Lumine's single-handed sword glowed with a clear elemental light. Each swing was sharper than the last, and even the trajectory of her Elemental Burst became smoother as the blade sliced through the monsters' bodies.
Paimon floated in the air, cheering them on. By the latter half of the night, her eyelids were already fighting to stay open.
Only when the morning light pierced the clouds, painting the horizon with a faint gold, did the two of them stop.
Paimon rubbed her bleary eyes and let out a huge yawn, tears streaming down her face. Her voice was soft and drowsy, "Lumine... If I'd known, I wouldn't have accompanied you to fight Hilichurls last night. Now my head feels all fuzzy."
Lumine, however, was full of energy. Her fingertips gently traced the patterns on the sword's hilt before she finally returned the Dull Blade to her Elemental Space.
A night of battle had pushed her strength forward once more. The Elemental Power within her flowed smoother than ever, like a gentle stream.
She subconsciously glanced at the Elemental Space, where the pile of seventy thousand Primogems lay quietly, shimmering like twinkling stars.
With a flicker of her gaze, she ultimately withdrew her thoughts.
This was the final gift Lydia had left for her. The Abyss had once said, "Perhaps it could revive Lydia." Even if there was only a one in ten thousand chance, even if it was just false information thrown out by the Abyss, she refused to use this "hope" to increase her strength.
Lydia's smile was still in her mind; she couldn't let this lingering thought be turned into cold combat power.
"Hold on a little longer." Lumine reached out and patted Paimon's shoulder, her tone comforting. "Let's find a teahouse in Liyue Harbor. We'll perk up after a cup of hot tea."
The two of them washed up briefly by the stream, the icy water making Paimon shiver.
Finally feeling a little more awake, they then started walking toward Liyue Harbor.
As they stepped onto the stone-paved road of Liyue Harbor, a humid breeze carrying the fishy smell of the docks wafted toward them, and Lumine saw a familiar figure standing not far away.
Tartaglia was wearing his casual clothes, hands in his pockets, gazing absently at the fishing boats setting sail. The morning light fell into his eyes, but it didn't reflect much warmth.
Obviously, he had been waiting here for a long time.
"Tartaglia!" Paimon was the first to cry out, floating over, her round eyes still showing a hint of sleepiness. "Why are you here so early? Could you be even more eager than us to pick out gifts?"
Tartaglia turned around, his habitual smile instantly appearing on his face, but the seriousness hidden deep in his eyes hadn't completely vanished: "Just finished with a minor matter at the Northland Bank. Ekaterina brought the accounts this morning, and I came over after checking them."
"I figured you'd be picking out gifts this morning and might lose your way, so I came to wait for you."
He and Lumine met each other's eyes. Though they stood on opposite sides—one a Traveler wandering nations, the other a Fatui Harbinger.
At least Tartaglia had never made a move against them, and because of Yunqin, they had developed a subtle trust over this period of time.
The three of them exchanged a few pleasantries, Paimon still complaining about last night's sleepiness, when Tartaglia suddenly looked left and right.
Around them were only early-rising merchants, no one else idling about.
He quietly leaned forward half a step and lowered his voice, his tone far more serious than usual: "I have something to tell you. Something's not right with Yunqin."
"Not right?" Paimon immediately frowned and scratched her head, her face full of confusion. "When we parted with her in front of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor yesterday, she even smiled and told us she'd see us tomorrow. Her smile was just as sweet as before. We didn't see anything wrong at all."
Lumine also frowned. She indeed hadn't noticed any obvious abnormality in Yunqin last night, but just as they were parting, she glimpsed at the other's Vision; its warm golden light seemed slightly dimmer than usual.
At the time, I just thought Yunqin was tired and didn't think any deeper into it.
Tartaglia's expression grew even more grave. He held up his fingers, counting the details one by one: "Didn't you notice?"
"Yesterday at the pier, when she was talking to us, there was no light in her eyes. Her eyes used to shine like they held stars, but yesterday that smile looked more like she was deliberately imitating it."
"And her Vision, it used to be warm gold, but yesterday it had a hint of transparent light. That's not the aura a Geo Vision should have." He paused, his voice dropping even lower, almost inaudible to anyone but the three of them, "And when she was with Ganyu, Ganyu's expression was very unnatural. She also left exceptionally quickly, as if she were afraid of something, or even more like she was hiding something..."
Just as Tartaglia was about to say, "That Vision might be a fake, the real Vision might not even be on her person," a crisp laugh suddenly popped out from between him and Lumine.
"What are you guys whispering about?"
Lumine and Tartaglia both took half a step back at the same time. Paimon was so startled that her whole body froze, and she floated back several meters, clutching her chest and panting heavily, her face turning pale.
"Yunqin! H-how did you suddenly appear? You scared me to death! My heart almost jumped out of my chest!"
Yunqin clutched her stomach and laughed out loud, her shoulders shaking, tears almost streaming down her face, even the tips of her ink-black hair swaying with her laughter: "Sorry, sorry! I just wanted to scare you a little, I didn't expect Paimon to be such a scaredy-cat!"
Only after she'd laughed her fill did she wipe the tears from the corners of her eyes and look at Lumine and Tartaglia, her eyes filled with concern: "Are you guys okay? Paimon's almost scared to tears, did I take the joke too far?"
Lumine and Tartaglia exchanged a glance, both of them instantly tensing up.
When Yunqin had approached just now, they hadn't sensed a single trace of her presence!
Under normal circumstances, when Yunqin rode her little UFO, it would carry a distinct Geo element fluctuation. Even if she wasn't using the little UFO, there should have been the faint sound of footsteps as she walked.
But this time, she had appeared out of thin air between them, as silent as a shadow!