Yunqin looked back at her with a confused gaze. The unfamiliarity in her eyes made it seem as if she were looking at a complete stranger.
The feeling vanished in an instant—so quickly that Lumine almost convinced herself it was an illusion.
"What's wrong?" Yunqin frowned and tried to pull her wrist away, her tone bordering on impatient. "Is there something else?"
Lumine's grip on her wrist tightened. The alarm bells in her head were screaming—I can't let her leave!
This "Yunqin" was too strange: her Vision was fake, her knowledge of Rex Lapis was inconsistent, and even her aura felt eerily wrong.
If she let her go and she caused chaos in Liyue Harbor, the consequences would be unthinkable.
But Lumine didn't know how to bring it up—she couldn't simply say, "You're a fake, I can't let you leave."
If she tipped her hand, she'd alert the imposter to her suspicions, making any further investigation even more difficult.
After a moment's thought, Lumine slowly loosened her grip and came up with a plausible-sounding excuse, her tone as natural as possible. "Since you're the guide to the Jade Chamber, you must have a secret code, right?"
"We don't know it. If we just show up, the guide will never let us in. We need your help."
Yunqin's eyes gleamed, and a bright smile appeared on her face, as if the earlier evasion and hesitation had been an illusion: "You really found the right person! I'm good friends with Yuheng; I know the Jade Chamber's password by heart!"
Saying this, she skipped over to Bu'yun: "Hello, Mr. Bu'yun, are you selling moons today?"
Bu'yun looked up and saw it was Yunqin, then burst into laughter: "Miss Yunqin, you and Lady Keqing are close friends. If it's you, what password could you possibly need!"
"Just follow me straight to the elevator. Lady Keqing has already instructed that if you come, you don't need to announce yourself."
"I'm just bringing two of Ningguang's invited guests, and I'm being safe," Yunqin said with a smile.
Bu'yun looked at Lumine and Paimon, his gaze tinged with a hint of scrutiny.
Lady Ningguang had instructed him that she would be seeing two special guests today, but he hadn't expected them to arrive with Miss Yunqin.
He didn't make things difficult and became more respectful in his tone: "Lady Ningguang did indeed instruct me that important guests would be visiting today. I presume you must be the famous Traveler?"
Lumine and Paimon nodded quickly, and Paimon couldn't help adding, "That's right! We're the ones Ningguang invited, and we even picked out a gift for her!"
Seeing Yunqin standing by with a natural expression, Bu'yun stepped aside to clear the way and made a "please" gesture toward the elevator.
"Since there are no issues, please follow me, the three of you."
"Lady Ningguang has been waiting in the Jade Chamber for a long time."
The elevator rose slowly and quickly arrived at the Jade Chamber.
The full view of Liyue Harbor spread before their eyes:
The stone-paved roads were like a crisscrossing network, laid out across the land of Liyue Harbor; the fishing boats at the docks had turned into small black dots, slowly moving on the surface of the sea...
The sea breeze blew in, carrying a faint fishy smell and the damp saltiness of the ocean, which made one feel refreshed.
"Wow! So beautiful!" Paimon spun around excitedly in the air, her small finger pointing at the distant ships, "Look at those ships! You can see them more clearly from here than from anywhere else."
Lumine couldn't help but nod as well.
The Jade Chamber was indeed as legendary as its reputation suggested.
Just then, the crisp sound of high-heeled shoes tapping on the floor came from behind them.
"Click, click, click..." The rhythm was elegant and steady.
The three of them turned their heads simultaneously and saw Ningguang slowly walking toward them.
There was a perfectly measured smile on the corners of her mouth, her tone gentle yet exuding majesty: "Traveler, Paimon, and Yunqin, welcome to the Jade Chamber."
Ningguang's gaze fell toward Liyue Harbor, her brow furrowing slightly, her tone tinged with an irrepressible solemnity: "Traveler, you have come at just the right time. Liyue's situation has been far from stable lately."
"Even now, commoners are still privately discussing the Exuvia's fall during the Rite of Descension in teahouses, saying 'Rex Lapis has truly abandoned Liyue and left,' which has caused widespread panic."
"Moreover, the Fatui have been making frequent moves recently. People from the Northland Bank have been contacting various merchants every couple of days, and some have even been seen prowling and inquiring near Guyun Stone Forest, though it's unclear what they're plotting."
Hearing this, Lumine's fingertips quietly clenched the railing.
"It's him, isn't it?" She didn't explicitly say "Fatui Harbinger," but the wariness in her eyes already said everything.
Although Tartaglia was temporarily traveling with them, he was ultimately a member of the Fatui and wouldn't necessarily behave himself.
Ningguang nodded gently, her tone carrying a hint of understanding: "Correct. Besides the Fatui, no other force would dare be such brazen 'madmen' in Liyue."
"On the surface, they fly the flag of 'commercial cooperation,' but in reality, they are secretly gathering intelligence on Liyue. They are even probing the movements of the Adepti and the Millelith's defenses, their motives plainly obvious."
Paimon listened, completely bewildered, scratching her head with a small hand: "What are you talking about? What 'he'? What 'madmen'?"
Lumine was about to explain that "the Fatui have a different agenda," but she caught sight of Yunqin standing beside her.
The young woman's lips held a faint smile, her eyes so hollow they lacked focus, as if she were listening to someone else's story.
There was no trace of the wariness she usually showed when hearing "Fatui," nor the old determination to "protect Liyue and stop bad people from causing trouble."
It wasn't until Ningguang looked toward Liyue Harbor, gazing at the fishing boats on the sea, and softly sighed, "To have today's peace is truly not easy," that Yunqin suddenly spoke.
Her voice was as light as if wrapped in the wind, carrying a hint of inexplicable melancholy: "If only it could always stay like this, how wonderful it would be."
Hearing this, Ningguang paused, her tone softening slightly, her eyes filled with cherished regard for Liyue: "It will... Liyue's peace has never been protected by Rex Lapis alone, but by the contracts and convictions passed down through generations of Liyue's people."
"Even without Rex Lapis's protection, the Qixing will uphold this stability, and the people will learn to hold up Liyue's sky themselves, just as everyone rebuilt Liyue Harbor together after the Archon War."
"Of course, we will never forget Rex Lapis's contributions." She paused, her gaze turning to the Statue of The Seven in the distance with a hint more of reverence, "He has protected Liyue for millennia, and this debt of gratitude will be engraved in the bones of every Liyue local."
"But this doesn't mean Liyue would collapse without Rex Lapis. We must eventually learn to grow up on our own; we cannot rely on a God forever."
Yunqin nodded thoughtfully, as if she hadn't quite understood the "growth" and "contracts" in Ningguang's words, merely repeating the nodding motion mechanically, her fingertips unconsciously rubbing her Vision.
That dim Vision caught the sunlight, glinting with a faint, almost imperceptible golden light.
A moment later, Ningguang turned slightly and made a "please" gesture with her hand, her tone returning to its usual elegance: "The wind is strong outside, and catching a chill from the sea breeze is easy. Please, the few of you, come inside the pavilion with me."