"Intruders, state your purpose. If you don't have a good reason, even with the Sigil of Permission, I will punish you."
Seeing that they had the Sigil of Permission, Mountain Shaper reined in his anger and waited for Lumine and Paimon to give him a reasonable explanation.
"Uh, Traveler, you explain," Paimon said, still shaken by Mountain Shaper's earlier outburst. She awkwardly looked at Lumine.
"Sigh..." Lumine shook her head helplessly.
"Actually, during the Rite of Descension a few days ago, something happened... Rex Lapis has fallen."
"Rex Lapis has fallen?" Mountain Shaper's stern face was filled with shock and disbelief, which quickly turned into burning rage.
"How is that possible! Who would dare commit such a heinous crime?! No, what force in this world could even assassinate Rex Lapis?!" Mountain Shaper roared, his aura uncontrollably surging.
"Traveler, this is scary..." Paimon tugged at Lumine's sleeve, trembling. Lumine, however, remained silent, watching the scene unfold.
After a while, Mountain Shaper finally calmed down. He took a deep breath and said to Lumine, "Traveler, I will soon seek out another adeptus. Could you go to Mt. Aocang and inform an adeptus known as Cloud Retainer?"
"I understand. I have a question for you. Do you know an adeptus named Fan?" Lumine nodded, then asked about the person Keqing had tasked her to find.
"Fan? To my knowledge, there is no adeptus, living or deceased, by that name," Mountain Shaper shook his head. He didn't recognize the name Lumine mentioned.
"Is that so?" Lumine was surprised but felt it made sense. After all, according to Keqing, she only knew the name.
"Traveler, if needed, after this matter is resolved, I will ask Moon Carver to help you find this adeptus named Fan. He is one of Liyue's foremost divination masters."
"But you just said there's no one by that name..." Paimon muttered under her breath. You just said there's no such person. Isn't that contradictory?
"Hmph, foolish. When Adeptus walk the mortal world, why would they use their true names? If the person you seek is indeed an adeptus, then 'Fan' must be an alias," Mountain Shaper snorted. His form then shifted, and he transformed back into his true form—a red-and-white crane.
"Hurry along now. Farewell." With a flap of his wings, Mountain Shaper flew away, leaving Lumine and Paimon in awe.
"Wow, Traveler, did you see that? Mountain Shaper turned into such a big bird! So cool!" Paimon exclaimed.
"Many of Liyue's adepti take the form of birds or beasts. In fact, humans are the minority. That must be Mountain Shaper's true form," Lumine explained. Ningguang had told them about the adepti, but Paimon had almost fallen asleep during the explanation, so it was no wonder she didn't remember.
"Oh, oh, ah!" Paimon nodded thoughtfully, then suddenly remembered something and smacked Lumine on the head.
Lumine: ???
"What was that for?" Lumine glared at Paimon, hands on her hips, looking like she was about to turn Paimon into a roasted dish.
"Traveler, we forgot about Li Dang!" Paimon said, on the verge of tears. The crane had flown off too quickly, and they hadn't had a chance to ask.
"Uh..." Lumine finally remembered the Li brothers. "It's fine. He said his brother was swallowed by amber on the way up the mountain. We just need to go back down and break all the amber we find along the way."
Lumine and Paimon retraced their steps, smashing countless pieces of amber and releasing various monsters like Slimes and Hilichurls... Finally, near the foot of the mountain, they found Li Dang trapped in a piece of amber.
"Thank you, thank you for saving me!" Li Dang clasped his hands together, repeatedly thanking Lumine and Paimon.
"Alright, alright. Your brother Li Ding is waiting for you at the foot of the mountain. Go find him. The Adeptus have spared you this time, but next time might be different," Lumine said, giving them a warning to prevent them from getting any more ideas.
"Yes, of course, of course."
——————
"Mr. Zhongli, I heard you wanted to introduce someone to me. What does this person do?" Tartaglia asked eagerly. Today, Zhongli had approached him, saying he wanted to introduce a junior to him. Anyone favored by someone as talented as Zhongli was surely no ordinary person.
"Hehe, Mr. Tartaglia, no need to rush. We'll meet them soon. Why the hurry?" Zhongli chuckled, speaking unhurriedly.
"Haha, I guess I'm a bit too eager."
...…
"The 'Liyue' dishes at Liuli Pavilion are quite good. They rival the 'Moon' dishes at Xinyue Kiosk. Not bad at all," Yun Fan commented, looking at the array of dishes on the table.
Of course, he was only judging by the smell since the guests hadn't arrived yet. He couldn't start eating alone.
Creak—
The door to the private room opened, and Rex Lapis and his walking wallet walked in one after the other.
"You're here. Please, have a seat," Yun Fan greeted them with a smile. Setting aside their differing positions and interests, he quite admired Tartaglia. He seemed like a good friend.
"Haha, so you're the Yun Fan Zhongli mentioned. You certainly live up to your reputation!" Tartaglia didn't hold back his praise. At first glance, he could tell this silver-haired young man was no ordinary person. Making friends with him would definitely be beneficial.
"Not at all. I heard Mr. Tartaglia was willing to fund the Rite of Parting. That's quite noble of you," Yun Fan said with a smile. The Qixing hadn't chosen to consolidate power but instead focused most of their efforts on the Rite of Parting and hunting down the culprit. There was no way they'd let the Fatui get involved in the Rite. So Tartaglia must have been turned down.
"Ah, I had the intention, but the Qixing wouldn't allow it. What a shame," Tartaglia sighed, feigning disappointment.
"Don't be disheartened, Mr. Tartaglia. I'm sure Rex Lapis's spirit in the heavens can see your goodwill. Don't you agree, Zhongli?" Yun Fan smiled and looked at Zhongli.