"Everyone! Liyue Harbor is just ahead!"
Xiangling stood at the edge of the cliff, waving excitedly.
The afterglow of the setting sun shone upon the distant harbor, plating the sweeping eaves and upturned corners of Liyue in gold.
the quartet stood at the highest point of Mt. Tianheng, the night wind brushing past their varied masks.
Jesse let out a soft sigh: "Liyue..."
"What's wrong with you guys?"
Paimon floated into the middle of the four, looking around curiously.
"Why is it suddenly so quiet? Could you be intimidated by Liyue's prosperity?"
Jesse raised a hand to adjust his slightly skewed mask, his cloak swaying gently in the wind: "It's nothing, just seeing these Flying Eaves and Bracket Sets... reminds me of some past events."
Just then, Elliot suddenly darted to the edge of the cliff, his voice changing pitch: "Wait! Look quickly! Am I seeing things? Why are there so many Millelith?"
Zane pulled a telescope out of his four-dimensional pocket and began checking the situation at Liyue Harbor.
"Something is wrong."
Zane looked at the "Millelith Planning" notebook in his hand and said: "Usually, no more than twenty people guard the gates. Now..."
He adjusted the focus.
"At least a hundred elites."
Matt's Electro Lawachurl mask moved closer, his honest voice carrying confusion: "Is it because of the... Rite of Descension?"
"The timing is wrong."
Zane put down the telescope and casually pulled out a copy of *Liyue Gazetteer*.
"The Rite of Descension is still three days away."
Suddenly, Zane's muscles tensed: "Wait... purple hair, twin tails..."
His voice suddenly became serious.
"It's the Yuheng Star Keqing, she's personally leading the team."
"What?!"
The three exclaimed in unison.
Jesse quickly pulled an exquisite monocular telescope from his cloak, Elliot somehow produced an exaggerated shell periscope, while Matt honestly cupped his hand over his brow to peer out.
"Um... who is Keqing?"
Lumine looked at Xiangling in confusion.
Xiangling, who was standing on her tiptoes trying to see the situation in the distance, heard the question and explained: "Lady Keqing is the Yuheng Star of the Liyue Qixing. She is mainly responsible for urban construction and land planning; she's a very important person."
Elliot put down the shell periscope and looked at his companions: "They couldn't possibly be here to... arrest us, could they?"
Zane picked up a stick from the ground and used it to draw a Simple Defense Map: "Since we entered Liyue territory, we've been watched by the spies of at least seventeen different merchant guilds."
Matt scratched his head and asked: "So, are we still going?"
"Yes, of course we're going."
Jesse suddenly chuckled, his mask gleaming faintly in the setting sun.
"First, we can't die anyway; second..."
He rotated his wrist, and a Mora flipped between his fingers.
"What a shame it would be to miss such an interesting welcome ceremony, wouldn't it?"
Zane silently hoisted the thunder hammer onto his shoulder: "I can take this opportunity to test the newly improved weapon."
"I'm going to ask Miss Keqing for an autograph!"
As soon as Elliot finished shouting, he agilely dodged Zane's warning thunder hammer.
Matt gave an honest laugh: "Then I... I'll go try Liyue's snacks?"
The four exchanged smiles, their masks shimmering with a mysterious glow in the twilight.
Paimon whispered from behind Lumine: "Traveler, I have a feeling something big is going to happen in Liyue tonight..."
Lumine looked at the backs of the four walking toward the harbor with an arrogant swagger, sighing helplessly: "Let's go. Looks like we need to be ready to clean up the mess."
——————
"A warm welcome to the five Honorary Knights from Mondstadt!"
This sudden cheer plunged the entire dock into an eerie silence.
Lumine, who was about to draw her weapon, froze in place, and Paimon nearly tumbled out of the air.
The most exaggerated sight was the Liyue residents who had grabbed stools and rolling pins, ready to charge—several of them slammed directly into the wall due to the sudden stop. Miraculously, they were flattened into "humanoid stools" like rubber men, yet still maintained angry expressions.
"Oh my god!"
A Fish-Selling Uncle peeled himself off the wall.
"How did this old man turn into a stool?"
Keqing's purple twin tails moved without wind, and she struggled to resist the urge to rub her forehead.
Ningguang's intelligence was indeed correct—these four Hilichurl truly possessed the ability to distort the rules of reality.
Normally, that speed of impact would be enough to cause fractures, but these people surprisingly reverted to their original state like putty.
"Ahem."
Keqing cleared her throat, trying hard to ignore the citizens nearby who were "inflating" themselves from a two-dimensional state back to three dimensions.
"Honorary Knights, welcome..."
Before she could finish, she was interrupted by a clattering sound.
The four Hilichurl were clumsily trying to hide their weapons—
Jesse was attempting to stuff an RPG into a backpack that was clearly three sizes too small, with the barrel still sticking out;
Various dangerous items kept falling out of Elliot's pant legs;
Zane's thunder hammer was stuck in his belt;
The most outrageous was Matt, who actually mistakenly stuffed a bomb into a passing child's pile of balloons.
"Ahaha..."
Cold sweat seeped out of Jesse's mask.
"So it was a welcome ceremony, we thought..."
His voice trailed off.
Zane turned to look at Keqing, casually tossing the thunder hammer to Jesse: "Wait, when did we become Honorary Knights? Lumine is the genuine Honorary Knight, right?"
Keqing's mouth twitched again.
She pulled a gold-stamped letter from her sleeve: "This is a personal letter from Jean, the Acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius."
She unfolded the letter. Besides the formal document, the corner also featured drawings of four Chibi Hilichurl heads.
"Considering the four of you and your 'outstanding contributions' in Mondstadt..."
The letter was suddenly blown away by a gust of wind, revealing a hastily scrawled postscript on the back: [Please, distinguished sirs! Any title will do, just don't let them return to Mondstadt! —Jean, Mentally Exhausted Edition]
The scene fell silent once more.
"Oh!"
Elliot's eyes suddenly lit up.
"So we are officially certified Knights now? Does that mean we can..."
"You cannot enter the Women's Bathhouse!"
Zane's thunder hammer accurately struck the top of Elliot's head.
Matt's Electro Lawachurl mask turned toward the balloon stall: "Um... who wants to buy an explosive ball..."
Before he finished speaking, Jesse jumped up and covered his mouth, and the balloon flew away.
Keqing took a deep breath, deciding to finish quickly: "In short, the four of you now enjoy Honorary Knight status. Here are your Passes."
She handed out four gold-stamped cards, then quickly added.
"However! If any accidents occur..."
She pointedly glanced at the citizens who were still rubbing their backsides.
"The Passes will immediately become invalid."
Jesse accepted the Passes, and his mask suddenly changed into a smiling face expression: "Don't worry, Yuheng Star Lady! We are the most law-abiding people!"
The moment he finished speaking, a huge "boom" suddenly echoed from the distance.
Everyone turned their heads to look, only to see a pink Mushroom Cloud rising from a corner of the Jade Chamber.
"That wasn't me!"
The four simultaneously raised their hands, their movements so standard it looked like they had rehearsed eight hundred times.
However, when the bomb balloon with a smiling face "pop"ped open in the sky, showering down a pile of colorful confetti, Jesse, Zane, and Elliot's fingers all simultaneously pointed at Matt: "He did it!"
"Oh crap!"
Matt's Electro Lawachurl mask nearly fell off, and he fumbled to catch it.
"You traitors who sell out your teammates!"
Suddenly, a three-meter high pillar of intense flame erupted behind Keqing, blowing her twin tails straight up.
Even more terrifyingly, the flame condensed into the shape of an Eastern Dragon and shot a fireball at Matt.
"Since when did Lady Keqing have Pyro element?!"
The Millelith collectively retreated three steps, and a New Recruit dropped the spear he was holding.
Matt's legs shook like a sieve, and his voice beneath the mask was tearful: "I-I-I'll go fix it right now!"
As he spoke, he pulled out an exaggerated set of Repair Tools—the Welding Torch was taller than he was, and the wrench had a tag hanging from it marked "Gu Qian's Exclusive."
His feet suddenly sparked, and the next second, he shot into the sky with a whoosh, as if he were riding on Fire Wheels.
"We're going too!"
The remaining three were terrified by Keqing's "Blazing Dragon Gaze." They pulled out Rockets, lit the fuses, and shot toward the Jade Chamber, leaving a string of miserable screams in the air.
Lumine and Paimon huddled together, trembling.
Paimon whispered: "Traveler, I suddenly feel like Dvalin is actually quite gentle..."