As a gentle breeze swept through the street, a strangely dressed teenager with two small braids silently appeared in front of the statue at the center of the district.
His outfit was odd, like a minstrel straight out of an old movie.
He instantly drew the attention of passersby.
"Look over there! There's a strange kid worshipping the statue..."
"It's been days, and someone still believes worshipping the statue will bring blessings? How naïve. Should we say something?"
"What's the point? The statue won't respond to him..."
"Wait, look! He just put his hand on the statue. Golden light! Is the statue manifesting again?"
"Let's go check it out..."
...
With no one having received blessings from the statue in days—and with the arrival of the golden Bangboo and platinum Bangboo—very few had come to worship lately.
But now, seeing the golden statue light up again, passersby rushed over.
They gathered around the minstrel-like youth, eyes filled with excitement and greed:
"Young man, what blessing did you receive? Did you get Geo powers?"
"Hurry up and show us what you got! I'm willing to pay a high price—five million? Ten million is fine too! Just show us!"
The crowd swarmed around the statue and the minstrel, eagerly pushing him to reveal his blessing.
But—
Venti looked puzzled. "A blessing?"
One of the bystanders spoke excitedly, "Yeah! Show us what you got!"
Venti shook his head. "If he were going to bless me, it would've been with a good jug of wine. Sadly, I didn't receive anything..."
As he spoke, Venti scanned the area, eyes full of curiosity.
Wide streets, towering buildings.
Judging from the architecture, it looked nothing like Liyue Harbor—more reminiscent of Fontaine, yet still quite different.
Then—
Venti looked around at the people nearby.
Some wore suits and professional attire… others looked like local residents in sportswear...
Even their clothing was unlike anything in Liyue, though somewhat similar to Fontaine's.
If it weren't for the Geo Archon statue in front of him, Venti would never have guessed this was Liyue—he would've mistaken it for a small Fontaine town.
However—
The surrounding buildings were so tall, the décor so lavish, and the streets so spacious—it clearly wasn't some small town.
It looked more like a massive city, easily on par with Fontaine's capital.
Thinking that—
Venti turned back to the statue of The Seven, feeling the pure, dense Geo energy flowing from it. Sitting atop it was none other than Morax.
No doubt about it—the statue was real, and the elemental energy surrounding it was real too.
This had to be Liyue.
The only odd thing was that the Geo Archon's statue looked far too new, like it had just been erected.
It shimmered with a faint golden glow, showing no signs of wear or age.
Venti's eyes filled with confusion. "Strange… I don't remember a city like this in Liyue. Was it built in the last year or two?"
Then—
He looked around again, trying to spot something familiar to figure out where he was.
But with buildings blocking the view, he couldn't see the Qunyu Pavilion, one of Liyue's landmarks, nor Mount Tianheng... even Celestia, usually suspended high above, was nowhere to be found.
Strange.
This was all too strange.
If he had a compass like the Traveler's, maybe he could pinpoint his location.
Was this an island in the sea?
A hidden city in the mountains?
He visited Liyue often, but he had never heard of a place like this.
"Zhongli, that sly old fox. Pretending to retire and enjoy life, while secretly building an entire city behind everyone's back. Is he planning to leave Mondstadt in the dust?"
Of course, Venti was joking.
Still, discovering such a massive city in Liyue truly shocked him. He was amazed by how rapidly Liyue had developed.
As Venti continued to look around in curiosity...
At the same time...
The citizens nearby were also eyeing Venti with curiosity.
Seeing him fail to produce any divine blessing, looking like some clueless bumpkin who thought Federer District was the city center...
"Guess he really didn't receive anything... This statue's useless now."
"Maybe the statue's power is depleted. No one's gotten a blessing in days..."
"Officer Seth from the Public Security Bureau said only the purest and most sincere people could be blessed. What a load of nonsense. Aren't we sincere enough? Aren't we devout enough? I nearly kneeled to that thing, and it still ignored me..."
"Young man, judging by your clothes, you're not from around here. First time in the city?"
"Don't worry. As long as you don't stir up trouble, the Public Security Bureau won't drive you out..."
That old minstrel-style outfit had gone out of fashion long before Old Eridu. These days, you'd only see it in movies.
Nowadays, only the resource-scarce outer ring still wore such outdated clothing.
Hearing the chatter, Venti smiled slightly. "Heh, you're right—I really am new here. Mind if I ask something?"
The surrounding citizens were surprisingly friendly. "Sure, ask away."
Venti smiled. "Zhongli, the consultant from Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, has gone missing. Have any of you seen him?"
The nearby citizens looked puzzled. "Wangsheng Funeral Parlor? Zhongli? Anyone heard of that?"
Others shook their heads. "Nope. Is it a new company? Or maybe a gang from the outer ring?"
Seeing this, Venti grew even more confused.
In Liyue, of all places, how could people not know Wangsheng Funeral Parlor? How could they not know Zhongli?
Suddenly—
Venti's doubts deepened. He began to question whether the world before him was even real.
Was it some kind of illusion created by the ley lines?
After thinking for a moment, Venti asked again, "Do you know Morax?"
The citizens shook their heads and gave Venti a look of pity.
That's how outer ring kids were—they thought the gangs or thugs from out there were a big deal, and that their names had made it all the way to New Eridu.
But in reality, no one in the city cared about the outer ring.
Venti pressed again, "You don't even know the Geo Lord?"
The citizens shook their heads once more. "Geo Lord? Some gang boss from the outer ring? Sounds like a big shot..."