Kael left the Jade Chamber together with Ganyu.
Her curious gaze kept drifting toward him.
Handsome face, tall frame, strong presence…
But Ningguang had countless admirers, many of them of this exact type.
So what did he have that won Ningguang over…?
And more importantly, what would Ningguang's sudden change mean for all of Liyue?
---
When Kael returned to Wanmin Restaurant, it was right in the middle of dinner service.
Xiangling and Chef Mao were both rushing around the kitchen.
Mona was helping serve dishes. She stood at the pass, using magic to float plates directly onto customers' tables.
The moment Kael stepped through the door, he saw bowls and plates flying through the air.
"Kael! You're finally back!"
Mona's eyes lit up. She shoved the last few dishes toward the tables with a flick of her hand before running over to him.
"You finally remembered to come home! Don't tell me you were having such a great time in the Jade Chamber that you forgot the rest of us even exist!"
"Forget that for now."
Kael spoke urgently. "Quick. Say, 'Help find Keqing's location.'"
"…What?"
Mona blinked in confusion.
Who even was Keqing?
"Just say it first. I'll explain later."
"Uh… help find Keqing's location?"
Kael immediately opened his map.
A blue square icon with a dot in the middle appeared on the Liyue map.
At the top was a mission title.
"Saving the Yuheng."
Got it.
He'd only been testing the idea, but he had actually discovered a new function of the map.
Just like quests accepted from the Adventurers' Guild, other tasks also appeared on the map as icons.
Hilichurl camp clearings, resource collection requests… they all showed up back then.
His backup plan was to ask Mona to publish a commission through the Adventurers' Guild, then go accept it himself.
But he didn't need that anymore.
Even tasks not issued by the Guild would show up!
Kael tapped the mission icon. A page popped up in front of him.
It even included a detailed mission description.
"A traveler from Mondstadt named Mona seems troubled inside Liyue's Wanmin Restaurant about someone's disappearance… even though she doesn't actually know them…"
"Reward: 5000 Attribute Points upon completion."
Attribute Points!
A mission triggered this way still awarded Attribute Points?
This function had so many loopholes to exploit…
Another reliable method of getting Attribute Points.
He could even have Xiao issue him one task a day.
He'd be rich in no time at all.
But this wasn't the time to think about farming attributes.
Keqing's safety mattered far more.
The mission was called "Saving the Yuheng."
Which meant Keqing really was in danger.
The map showed her location inside the Underground Mines of The Chasm.
If he remembered correctly, that area had a heavy Fatui presence.
So it was connected to them.
The Chasm's tunnels were a maze, dug by miners, carved by Ruin Serpents, or formed by unknown causes.
If he went in blind, he'd get lost instantly.
Fortunately, the System's map had unlocked all of Liyue the moment he stepped foot into the nation—including its underground areas.
Keqing was somewhere close to a teleport waypoint.
He could get there in moments.
Kael prepared to move immediately.
But before he took a single step, Mona grabbed his hand.
"Where are you going? What happened? Are you really going to find that Keqing person?"
"Yes. I need to go to The Chasm's Underground Mines. I'm out of time. I'll teleport there now. We can talk when I get back."
"I'm going with you!"
Mona held his gaze, deadly serious. "I don't know what you're doing, but the situation's already bad enough. You have to take me with you."
She wasn't about to let Kael run into danger alone. She tightened her grip on his hand.
"You must take me."
Seeing her determination, Kael knew she wouldn't back down unless he agreed.
"Alright."
He pulled her toward the back courtyard.
He placed Mona inside the Serenitea Pot, then opened his map.
He tapped the waypoint inside The Chasm's Underground Mines.
[Teleport?]
"Yes."