Lumine and Paimon jumped with joy as they took the Serenitea Pot in hand.
Finally, no more sleeping out in the wild.
Qiu Bai also accepted the Serenitea Pot from Ping'er. After examining it for a moment, he stored it in his system space.
"With this, I won't need to use it while abroad."
"Once I return to Liyue, that is."
Qiu Bai rubbed his chin and muttered to himself.
"Thanks, Ping'er."
He looked at Ping'er, dressed in green, and gave a light nod with a smile.
"No need to thank me, Immortal Lord."
"This small favor is well within my ability."
Ping'er smiled as she returned the nod.
"Lumine, Paimon."
"Aren't you two headed to Inazuma?"
Qiu Bai turned toward them with a smile.
"Qiu Bai, we're planning to stop by the Adventurers' Guild first to earn some Mora."
"We can't exactly head to Inazuma with empty pockets,"
Paimon said, waving her hands as she explained.
"The Adventurers' Guild, huh?"
Qiu Bai rubbed his chin. Could it be something related to the Abyss?
"Lumine, have you ever heard of the 'Inverted Statue of The Seven'?"
He crossed his arms and asked in a calm tone.
"The Inverted Statue of The Seven?"
"Even the name sounds creepy!"
Paimon shuddered and huddled closer to Lumine.
"Qiu Bai, what exactly is the Inverted Statue of The Seven?"
Lumine looked at him, puzzled. Why would a Statue of The Seven be turned upside down?
Qiu Bai frowned slightly at her question. If Lumine was already aware of this, then she'd probably met Dainsleif.
But… had she seen her brother yet? Or maybe she had.
Yet in the original storyline, Lumine hadn't encountered Aether before this point. So how could that be?
Could it be… because of my interference?
Qiu Bai pushed aside his thoughts and looked steadily at Lumine.
"Well, in that case…"
"I'll tag along with you two. I'm out of Mora myself."
Qiu Bai laughed and waved it off casually—though the idea that he lacked Mora was ridiculous.
Back during the Dream Archon incident, someone from the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor had delivered five million Mora to him… only for Morax to "borrow" the whole sum afterward.
Just thinking about it made Qiu Bai's mouth twitch. He hadn't even been at the Funeral Parlor at the time—Zhongli, that old fox, had pulled a fast one on him.
"You're coming with us, Qiu Bai?"
"Yay! With Qiu Bai on our team, the mission will be a breeze!"
Paimon happily stomped her feet. Just thinking about that sword strike that split the skies made her feel totally reassured.
Lumine also smiled and nodded—after all, Qiu Bai was one of Liyue's gods.
"Then, Ping'er, we'll be heading off."
"Let's grab a pot of your tea next time we drop by."
Qiu Bai turned to Ping'er with a smile.
"Mhm. Now that Lumine has her Serenitea Pot, I should head back too."
"Liyue's legal matters still need me."
Yanfei smiled and gave a small nod before strolling off toward the steps of Yujing Terrace.
"Take care, Yanfei."
Ping'er watched her leave, smiling as she spoke.
"You three, be careful on the road too."
"Even with an Adeptus among you, don't let your guard down."
Ping'er reminded Lumine and Paimon gently.
"Got it! We'll be careful!"
"Uh… Ping'er?"
Paimon scratched her head, unsure what to call her for a moment.
"Haha, since she looks like this now…"
"Just call her Ping'er."
Qiu Bai chuckled, seeing Paimon's hesitation.
"Alright then!"
"We'll be going, Ping'er! See you!"
Paimon smiled and waved, arms crossed over her chest.
Under Ping'er's watchful gaze, the three of them slowly descended from Yujing Terrace and headed toward the Adventurers' Guild.
...
Before long, they were just a short distance away.
Two figures stood near the Adventurers' Guild, one of whom looked very familiar.
With twin qilin horns on her head, long blue hair, and a blue-violet outfit paired with black stockings, it was unmistakably Ganyu.
She seemed to be chatting with another woman—none other than Sister Lan, the branch director of the Adventurers' Guild.
"That's Ganyu! And Sister Lan, too."
"What do you think they're talking about?"
Paimon looked at Qiu Bai and Lumine, puzzled.
"Heh, Ganyu, huh?"
"If you're curious, why not just go over and ask?"
Qiu Bai smiled as he gently patted Paimon on the head.
"Right!"
"Let's go check it out, Traveler."
Lumine nodded, and the three of them headed toward Ganyu and Sister Lan.
"Yes, yes, I know they'll mess with anything—"
"Yagami, evil dragons... even ancient relics with such dangerous backgrounds, they don't hesitate to get involved."
Sister Lan stood with one arm crossed and the other supporting her chin as she spoke to Ganyu.
"But this time, who gave them the guts to target something belonging to the Abyss Order?"
She frowned slightly, clearly confused.
"Ah, Traveler—it's you! And Mr. Qiu Bai as well."
Noticing the trio approaching, Sister Lan greeted them with pleasant surprise.
"Ganyu and Sister Lan? What are you doing here?"
"Is there a new commission or something?"
Paimon tilted her head curiously as she asked.
"Hello, Lumine. And Mr. Qiu Bai."
"We were just talking about the Treasure Hoarders."
Ganyu turned toward them with a soft voice. Her tone was gentle, almost sleepy, and paired with her calm expression and qilin horns, it gave her a bit of a dazed but adorable look.
Qiu Bai couldn't help smiling to himself—just thinking back to petting Ganyu's head a thousand years ago brought a faint grin to his face.
"Ganyu, do you remember me?"
Qiu Bai used immortal telepathy to speak directly to her.
Just as Ganyu was about to say something, her eyes widened in shock as she looked at him.
"You're... Immortal Lord?!"
She responded through the same telepathic channel, stunned to realize that the Mr. Qiu Bai from the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor was actually an Adeptus.
"Ganyu, don't mention this to anyone outside the Adepti."
"The Geo Archon didn't die either—like me, he's taken on the form of a mortal. His current name is Zhongli."
Qiu Bai found her reaction amusing as he continued the telepathic message.
"I understand, Immortal Lord."
Ganyu exhaled, trying to suppress her inner shock. She never imagined that both an Adeptus and the Geo Archon would be serving as guest consultants at the Funeral Parlor.
Qiu Bai chuckled to himself. All the other Adepti knew, and even the Liyue Qixing were vaguely aware—yet somehow Ganyu was completely in the dark about whether Morax was dead or not.
Was it because she was half-human, half-Adeptus?
"What's with Ganyu?"
"She's been quiet since we got here."
Paimon waved her hand, looking at her with concern.
Lumine also tilted her head in confusion. Even Sister Lan looked over, puzzled by Ganyu's sudden silence.
"No, no."
"We were just talking about the Treasure Hoarders."
Ganyu waved her hand quickly, her face turning slightly red. She then patted her chest and gave a small smile to reassure them.