"No wonder you've been acting weird these past few days."
"So that's what this was… you've been studying Taro-sensei the whole time?"
Standing beside Ningguang, Keqing's expression turned complicated.
In the past, Ningguang might not have been outright arrogant, but she was always high-profile—complete with all the pomp and presence she felt was due.
But lately? She'd been so low-key it was almost unnatural.
You could practically call it seclusion.
Keqing hadn't expected that it wasn't "keeping a low profile" at all—
Ningguang had just been holding something back, building up for a big move.
"Wrong~"
Ningguang shook her head again. "My target was never Taro-sensei."
"The reason I studied him is because he's the only clue in this fog."
"As long as you seize the core point, the whole situation will become clear sooner or later."
Her real goal was to expand her perspective.
The most direct change would be in how she looked at the world—the angle, the viewpoint.
Her horizons had to grow.
Otherwise, she would never reach the height Rex Lapis stood at.
If her understanding of this world wasn't even clear enough, how could she possibly steer Liyue's future?
Liyue was a nation.
And that nation existed on the continent of Teyvat.
If she refused to look outward—if she kept her eyes locked on Liyue alone—
then when disaster struck and she scrambled to respond, it would already be too late.
"You're impressive, Ningguang."
Keqing took a slow breath, her voice low and heavy.
"I thought I'd already surpassed you."
"Didn't expect you to still pull a surprise like this."
"Remember to share, okay?"
"Of course~"
Ningguang smiled faintly. "Speaking of which, I should thank you for the pressure."
"You're young—full of vigor. Keeping up with you these days hasn't been easy."
"Tch~"
Keqing snorted lightly. "So you're circling around just to take a jab at me, huh?"
"I'm young and I'm proud. If you've got the guts, you go be young too."
If young people aren't fiery, are they even young?
Once you're old, it's already too late.
"…"
Ningguang fell silent.
This kid really never let herself take a loss.
All Ningguang did was mention "young" once, and Keqing immediately turned it into "so you're old."
Sigh… dealing with youth was hard.
"Just tell me what you actually saw."
Keqing waved it off, too lazy to keep trading barbs.
"Time's almost at Wei Hour already."
If they kept this up, they were going to waste the entire afternoon.
"I can't draw a conclusion yet."
Ningguang shook her head decisively.
"What I saw was only one part. What you saw was only one part."
"And even if we put our fragments together, we probably won't reach even a third of the whole picture."
"Trying to judge based on only what you and I inferred… honestly, the conclusion makes my blood run cold."
"Blood run cold…"
Keqing went quiet for two seconds.
"You want to say Liyue… no, the whole of Teyvat next—"
"is headed for a massive catastrophe."
"The kind that hits the entire world."
"One that could very likely drive the whole world to extinction, right?"
"Mm."
Ningguang's expression grew solemn.
"The disaster Teyvat is about to face may be a sweeping Heavenly Tribulation."
"Even Rex Lapis and the adepti may not have full confidence they can preserve Liyue through it."
"So Rex Lapis and the adepti chose a way out for Liyue."
"The Incense-Faith Divine Path is precisely the groundwork for that escape route."
Based on what she and Keqing had pieced together,
what they might have to face next was severe—
severe to the point that even Rex Lapis himself might not be able to walk away easily, let alone protect all of Liyue.
So before the calamity arrived,
Rex Lapis joined hands with the adepti and arranged Liyue's retreat in advance.
If they could endure this Heavenly Tribulation, then fine.
But if they couldn't…
then the people of Liyue would still have a guarantee—
so Liyue would not fall as a nation.
"No wonder people say 'ignorance is bliss.'"
Keqing's gaze fixed on Liyue Harbor far below.
"The more you know, the more you worry—and the heavier the pressure gets."
"What Taro-sensei said really does make sense."
"If it's something you can't change, knowing is useless."
"If it's something you can change, why waste time 'knowing'?"
"Even though what we know now still isn't complete… this pressure is already suffocating."
Other than their colleagues, they couldn't tell anyone.
They couldn't let anyone else know, either.
Because knowing wouldn't help—it would only add chaos.
Apart from making the people of Liyue panic day after day, what would it accomplish?
"Sigh~"
Ningguang shook her head. "I think the reason Rex Lapis stepped down at the Rite of Descension was probably to focus all his energy on preparing to face this coming tribulation."
After Guizhong took over, there was no "new ruler, new fires."
Her thinking was eerily aligned with Rex Lapis's.
For more than a month now, the Dust Lord and the Qixing had worked together to stabilize Liyue.
Other than the Incense-Faith Divine Path, there were no sweeping reforms.
And yet, precisely because of that—
Ningguang's unease only grew.
When calamity loomed, staying still really could be better than moving rashly.
The Dust Lord, the adepti, and Rex Lapis coordinating with such perfect tacit understanding—
wasn't that proof of the very猜想 they were afraid was true?
"Then we endure."
Keqing pulled her gaze back, voice firm.
"Isn't that what we, the Liyue Qixing, are here for?"
"This matter should circulate only within the Qixing."
"I'll push the Incense-Faith Divine Path's implementation at full speed."
"That's all we can do."
If your strength isn't enough, then there's no choice.
When the sky is falling, mortals have no power to stop it.
So as humans—
they would do what humans could do.
"Let's go…"
Ningguang led the way toward the nearby floating platform.
"We agreed we'd go ask Taro-sensei for advice. I just hope he's home today."
"Whether he's home or not—you'd really have no idea?"
Keqing shot her a look.
Ningguang spoke as if wronged. "The way you say it—do I look like the kind of person who'd dare plant spies around Taro-sensei?"
"You wouldn't even need spies for that. Door opens—he's home. Door stays shut—he's not."
"But last time I went, the door was open and he still wasn't home."
"Huh? You've gone before? When?"
"…"
Ningguang only smiled and waited.
Seeing she didn't want to say more, Keqing dropped the question.
That Ningguang would take the initiative to go see Taro-sensei…
what was it for?
Surely she wasn't bold enough to personally demand confirmation about that "World's Master" business?
Ningguang wasn't the type to be that unstable.
So what else could it be?
Keqing couldn't figure it out—so she stopped trying.
Either way, after today's visit, she'd probably learn what Ningguang was really up to.
Just… hopefully it wouldn't cause trouble.
Keqing still remembered her first meeting with Taro-sensei.
Because of her attitude, she'd received a very thorough "lesson."
That experience—being crushed so hard by something terrifying that she couldn't even straighten her back—
she really didn't want a second time.
Sure, a part of her wanted to see Ningguang get a taste of that too…
but that was only a thought.
She just hoped everything would be normal today.
(End of Chapter)
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