The other side of Liyue Harbor, after nightfall, was immersed in an atmosphere of celebration and peace.
The entire city was brilliantly lit, dressing the night up as brightly as day. Voices echoed everywhere, lively and exuberant.
At Wanmin Restaurant, because Lumine, Yoimiya, and Paimon happened to run into Keqing—who had came by for a late-night meal—the four girls ended up sharing a table.
During the days she had spent in Liyue, Yoimiya found everything around her filled with curiosity and novelty.
When Xiangling brought out plate after plate of fragrant, colorful, and appetizing authentic Liyue cuisine, Yoimiya leaned in to smell that enticing aroma.
"Wow! So this is Wanmin Restaurant's food? This unique fragrance… it feels like it has a wondrous flavor that even Xinyue Kiosk and Liuli Pavilion can't match!"
Hearing Yoimiya's admiration, Keqing, who sat beside her, couldn't help smiling slightly as she explained, "What Miss Yoimiya is sensing should be what we call the 'fireworks spirit'."
Yoimiya's eyes lit up at her words, and she nodded again and again. "Yes, yes, yes! That's exactly it! The food here lets you truly feel the warmth and humanity of everyday life. Every dish is a story, carrying the joys and sorrows of the people of Liyue."
As she spoke, Yoimiya picked up a golden, crispy piece of fried chicken, placing it in her mouth to savor carefully.
The chicken was crispy on the outside, tender inside, and bursting with aroma, making her let out a satisfied sigh.
Just then, without warning, a sharp ringing pierced Lumine's ears, making her head split with pain in an instant.
Immediately after, a wave of dizziness—so strong it was impossible to resist—crashed over her, and her vision blurred.
At the same time, her body went soft and powerless, like a heap of cotton; even lifting a hand became extremely difficult.
"Ugh… so dizzy…"
Paimon, seeing Lumine suddenly leaning backward as if about to faint, turned pale with fright.
Without thinking, Paimon quickly flew behind Lumine and used all her strength to hold her up.
"Lumine, what's wrong? Don't scare me like this!"
On the other side, Yoimiya, who had been happily enjoying the food, noticed something was wrong with Lumine. She hurriedly put down her chopsticks and reached out to support her.
"Sorry, I've made you play with me too much lately! Maybe we shouldn't stay out too late today—let's head back and get some real rest, okay?"
Lumine forced her heavy eyelids open, one hand pressing tightly against her forehead as she answered weakly and trembling, "I'm fine… it was just a sudden bout of ringing in my ears…"
Though she said she was fine, her pale complexion and frail state clearly showed that things were far from simple.
Keqing, seated directly opposite Lumine, saw that fragile expression and felt her heart jolt.
She immediately stood up, walked briskly over, and reached out to help her, preparing to escort her to Bubu Pharmacy to see Doctor Baizhu.
"You don't look like someone with a small problem. Come on, I'll take you to Bubu Pharmacy to have Doctor Bai check you out!"
Lumine lightly waved her hand and forced a small smile to reassure them.
"Really, it's okay. Don't worry, everyone. I just need to rest a bit. Once I catch my breath, I'll be fine. You don't have to fuss around me."
Yoimiya, face full of concern, tried to persuade her, "Don't push yourself! It's a festival day—getting sick now would be terrible, you know!"
While everyone was focused on Lumine, a graceful young mother with her hair pinned up entered Wanmin Restaurant, leading her two adorable children.
Yi Xuan clung to her mother Nianhua's left hand, shaking her arm coquettishly. "Mamaaa, I really wanna try Wanmin Restaurant's Crystal Shrimp! Pleeease buy it for me…"
Yi Zhu held onto Nianhua's right hand. He behaved more reservedly, yet his eyes were filled with the same anticipation.
He said obediently, "Mama, I want the honey barbecue from Wanmin Restaurant. Just one serving is enough—we can share it."
Nianhua lowered her head, looking at her two children with eyes full of tenderness and affection.
Smiling, she nodded and replied, "Alright, alright, my little foodies. Mama will get you anything you want today!"
With that, Nianhua lifted her head, turning her gaze toward Master Mao, who was busy at work, and politely asked, "Master Mao, may I ask if there are still any seats available now?"
Master Mao freed one hand and nodded with a smile, warmly gesturing them inside. "Yes, yes, yes—come in, please!"
When Keqing glanced up and saw Miss Nianhua, she greeted her like an old acquaintance. "Miss Nianhua, long time no see. How have you been recently?"
Nianhua, delighted to see Keqing, quickly replied, "Miss Keqing, hello! Thank you for your concern—I've been doing quite well."
At that moment, as Lumine sipped her drink to calm her nerves, she heard the name "Miss Nianhua," and her entire body froze.
Then, her throat tightened, and the drink she hadn't swallowed yet suddenly sprayed out through her nose uncontrollably.
A burning sensation shot through her nose, but she had no time to care.
She quickly wiped her face with her hand, then jerked her head up, staring at the very-much-alive Miss Nianhua, and shouted in disbelief, "Cough—cough—who?! You're Miss Nianhua?!"
Miss Nianhua was startled by Lumine's sudden reaction. She blinked in confusion and answered softly, "Yes… is something the matter?"
When Lumine confirmed with her own eyes that the woman before her was indeed Nianhua, she blurted out something that made the whole room freeze.
"Weren't you already dead a long time ago?"
Not only did Miss Nianhua freeze on the spot, even Keqing standing beside her widened her eyes and formed a huge "O" with her mouth.
She couldn't fathom why Lumine would say something so inappropriate. Had she been possessed by some strange wind?
In an instant, the whole atmosphere turned painfully awkward and eerie.
Paimon recovered first. She quickly threw her arms around Lumine's head, brought her mouth to Lumine's ear, and whispered anxiously, "Hey! Lumine! You can't just say stuff like that!"
Then Paimon turned toward Miss Nianhua, laughing awkwardly while apologizing repeatedly.
"So sorry, Miss Nianhua! Please don't mind her! Lumine probably hasn't been sleeping well lately—her brain's all scrambled and she's babbling nonsense!"
Lumine forcibly yanked away Paimon's hands, then began explaining the story in her mind.
"Paimon, I'm not sleep-deprived. Didn't Miss Nianhua die long ago? Jianqiu and Huachu were killed by Shao Yun—the whole of Liyue knew about it!"
Keqing, hearing Lumine insist that Miss Nianhua was dead, felt even more confused.
"Uh… Lumine, what are you even talking about? I don't understand a single thing."
Seeing this, Lumine quickly turned toward Keqing, explaining urgently, "Keqing, don't you remember?"
"Shao Yun killed Jianqiu and Huachu right on the street in front of everyone! He did it to avenge the wronged Miss Nianhua!"
Hearing this, Keqing only grew more bewildered.
She couldn't understand how Miss Nianhua had anything to do with Shao Yun.
"What are you even connecting together? Lumine, you really must be exhausted… maybe you're hallucinating or mixing things up?"
Lumine felt all their bewildered gazes stabbing into her back like needles.
In that moment, a strong sense of unreality surged through her.
She clutched her head and muttered names that were both strange and familiar.
"Miss Nianhua… Jianqiu… Huachu… and Gentry De'an… How could they still be alive? They should've died long ago!"
Hearing Lumine's muttering, Keqing suddenly realized something and said, "Oh! You mean that attempted murder case on Chihu Rock that caused such a sensation back then? I was the one who handled it."
Clearing her throat, Keqing began recounting the details of the case.
"Here's what happened back then: Jianqiu attempted to murder Miss Nianhua, but he was caught on the spot by some Millelith who happened to be patrolling nearby."
"During interrogation, we learned that Jianqiu attacked Miss Nianhua because he wanted to elope with Miss Huachu."
"But fearing that Gentry De'an would find out and stop them, he came up with a plan to find a scapegoat—a substitute to take the blame."
Here, Keqing paused briefly before continuing, "But unexpectedly, Gentry De'an, wanting to protect his own and his daughter's reputation from being tainted by the scandal, made a reckless move."
"He secretly bribed a Millelith guard watching the prison and had Jianqiu poisoned to death, hoping to bury the truth completely."
"That bribed Millelith has already been arrested."
"In the end, because Jianqiu was poisoned by Gentry De'an, Miss Huachu took her own life out of grief, and Gentry De'an, unable to bear it, also hanged himself."
After listening to everything Keqing described, Lumine felt as though everything happening before her eyes had turned unreal and illusory, and an inexplicable headache only grew stronger.
"Ugh… my head hurts…"
Lumine couldn't help groaning softly. She held her forehead with one hand, her brows furrowing in pain.
Seeing this, Paimon said worriedly, "Lumine, your face looks really bad. How about we hurry to see Doctor Baizhu?"
But Lumine stubbornly shook her head. She took a deep breath, forced herself to stay conscious, and slowly pushed herself to her feet.
Even though the dizziness made it nearly impossible for her to stand, she still clung tightly to the wall, inching her way toward the door step by difficult step.
"No… I just need some fresh air." Lumine gritted her teeth as she insisted.
…
When Lumine reached the outside of Wanmin Restaurant, she leaned sideways against the wall.
She breathed in the cool, refreshing night air in large gulps, trying to ease the unbearable discomfort tearing at her senses.
With each deep breath, the chill in the air seemed to seep slowly into her body, gently loosening the tension that had been wound tight inside her.
Paimon floated anxiously beside her, gently patting her back to help her breathe more smoothly.
After a moment, seeing that no one else was nearby, Paimon lowered her voice and asked, "Lumine, be honest… you're not, um… pregnant with a little baby, are you?"
The moment the words left her mouth, Lumine—who had just started to recover—instantly flushed red, a wave of humiliation and exasperation rushing through her.
Without a word, she raised her hand and smacked Paimon hard on the top of her head.
"Paimon! What in the world is going on inside that tiny brain of yours?!"
Holding her head, Paimon yelped in pain with a scrunched expression. "Ow—ow—ow!! Then what was that earlier? You were nauseous and mumbling weird things nonstop! What's going on with you, huh?"
"In the novels I read, girls who are having babies always act like that!"
Hearing that Paimon's "knowledge" came from novels, Lumine could only shake her head helplessly. After a sigh, she said, "Sigh… I really need to make sure you read fewer of those useless light novels."
After speaking, Lumine took a deep breath and returned to the original topic, speaking solemnly. "Paimon, think carefully. How could Miss Nianhua possibly still be alive?"
"She clearly passed away long ago! She was brutally killed by that wretched Jianqiu and that sly, treacherous Huachu!"
But faced with Lumine's absolute certainty, Paimon only blinked her big eyes, staring at Lumine in complete confusion.
"What are you talking about? Miss Nianhua is alive and well! I just saw her! If you ask me, you're definitely just tired out. Let's go back and rest, okay?"
Just then, a flash of insight shot through Lumine's mind—so sudden and terrifying that it chilled her to the bone.
"No… impossible… There's only one explanation! Oh no—something must have gone terribly wrong with the Irminsul!"
Paimon blinked rapidly, baffled. "The Irminsul has a problem? How do you know that?"
Her tiny head simply couldn't imagine how gentle, soft-spoken Miss Nianhua could possibly be connected to the Irminsul.
Lumine recalled what had happened before. After that unpleasantly ended celebration banquet, she had gone to speak with Nahida.
During that conversation, Nahida had told her many secrets regarding the Irminsul.
"Nahida once told me that the Irminsul can modify the memories of the people of Teyvat…"
But before she could finish, Lumine suddenly tapped her forehead lightly, remembering an important detail and quickly correcting herself.
"Wait, no—no, that's not right! Nahida said that while the Irminsul can change people's memories, it can't alter facts that have already happened!"
"Then what in the world is going on with Miss Nianhua? It makes no sense at all!"
At this moment, seeing Lumine frowning deeply and struggling in confusion, Paimon tried persuading her, "I think you've just been playing with Yoimiya way too much lately. You must've worn yourself out."
But no matter how Paimon tried to reason with her, Lumine held firm to her own thoughts. She now believed she had no choice but to go to Sumeru City personally.
With that in mind, Lumine took a deep breath and declared, "No. I must return to Sumeru City and meet Nahida!"
When Paimon heard this, she was dumbfounded.
"Aiyaa! Why does seeing Miss Nianhua make you wanna run back to Sumeru?! What's even going on?!"
But Lumine's mind was already a chaotic mess, and she had no time to answer Paimon's questions.
Because she remembered—Shao Yun was currently in Sumeru. And if this situation had anything to do with him… who knew whether it would lead to fortune or disaster?
Don't tell her that after her man had barely survived the Heavenly Principles, he was now about to challenge them again. Her heart couldn't take that!
Thinking of this, Lumine shivered.
"That's right! This matter cannot wait! We must head to Sumeru City immediately!" With that, she ignored Paimon entirely, intent on going straight to Sumeru.
Paimon was completely speechless. She first went to inform Yoimiya, then hurried to chase after Lumine.
===BREAK===
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