Ryan and Morax waited for a while near the Statue of The Seven, and only then did Lumine and Paimon appear.
Since they could use the Ley Line Outcrop, they didn't need to rush over, but instead teleported directly from the Outcrop in the city.
With the help of Ying'er at Chunxiang Kiln, they made three different sachets, each favored by a little girl, a rich young lady, and a mature big sister, respectively.
Following Morax's guidance, Lumine and Paimon offered the three sachets one by one.
The sachets favored by the little girl and the rich young lady received no reaction from the Statue of The Seven after being offered.
Only after the sachet favored by the mature big sister was offered did the Statue of The Seven suddenly light up.
"..."
Lumine and Paimon's eyes widened, then they looked at each other.
They remembered what Ryan had said earlier in Jueyun Karst.
At the time, Lumine felt that her enemy was a female deity and should not be Lord Rex Lapis.
But Ryan believed that Lord Rex Lapis had myriad incarnations, often accompanying people in different forms, and could be of any gender.
So... he... she really is a mature big sister?
The two speculated with surprise and uncertainty in their hearts.
"..."
'A sachet favored by a mature big sister, huh...'
Ryan secretly nodded, planning to get one himself later.
This way, when he sneaked into the Golden House at night to find the Exuvia, he could offer it first; otherwise, Ryan worried that he might anger the Lord back to life while gathering materials.
After confirming the sachet favored by Lord Rex Lapis, everyone then brought this sachet back to the square where the Rite of Parting was to be held and placed it on the offering table.
"Hoo hoo, another preparation is complete! What's next?"
Having successfully completed two preparations, Paimon nodded in satisfaction, then asked Morax.
"Next... I hope you can borrow the Cleansing Bell for me."
Morax hesitated for a moment, but still stated the required item.
"Cleansing Bell?"
Ryan twitched his ears, feeling like he had heard of it somewhere.
Lumine and Paimon, however, had never heard of it and looked at Morax with some confusion.
"The one who currently keeps the Cleansing Bell is a friend of mine, named Granny Ping. She is near Yujing Terrace. If you ask her, she will naturally know."
Morax explained to Lumine and Paimon.
"Auntie Ping? Mr. Morax knows Auntie Ping too?"
Ryan said with some surprise.
"Naturally. One time, when our director went to Bubu Pharmacy to find Qiqi, she was stopped by Yaoyao, Granny Ping's disciple. Both wanted to take Qiqi out to play, so they wouldn't give way to each other."
"When I went to find the director, I happened to encounter Granny Ping going to find Yaoyao. Only later did I learn that the Cleansing Bell needed for the Rite of Parting was kept by Granny Ping."
Morax nodded slightly and explained in quite detail.
Hearing that Hu Tao went to find Qiqi, Ryan nodded knowingly, finding it very reasonable.
Although he didn't know the purpose of the Cleansing Bell in the Rite of Parting, it was also reasonable for it to be kept by an adeptus.
"Auntie Ping."
Thus, after leaving the square, Ryan took Paimon and Lumine to find Granny Ping at Yujing Terrace.
However, given the extraordinary circumstances, Ryan called out softly, without the excitement he had shown when they met last time.
"Oh, it's little Ryan. Are you bringing friends to admire the flowers? It's a pity you've come at the wrong time; the flowers are almost all withered..."
Hearing the call, Granny Ping's gaze shifted from the gradually wilting glaze lilies around her.
"Hello, Granny Ping, why are these flowers... all withered?"
Paimon greeted politely, looking at the glaze lilies with some confusion.
They had noticed them when they went up Yujing Terrace to watch the Rite of Descension; at that time, these glaze lilies were blooming beautifully.
Only a few days had passed, yet all the glaze lilies had wilted.
"Because glaze lilies are perceptive. If they hear good sounds, like laughter or singing, they become very happy and grow well."
"But if, on the contrary, they hear too many bad sounds, such as messy rumors and gossip, their mood will worsen, and they will wither immediately."
Granny Ping glanced at Paimon flying in the air, but showed no particular novelty, explaining it this way instead.
In Liyue Harbor today, with the passing of Lord Rex Lapis, various rumors, gossip, and conspiracy theories had emerged, and some forces were even stirring.
And hearing Granny Ping's explanation, Ryan subconsciously touched his chest.
When he was in the city, he had also been slightly affected, but unlike the glaze lilies, those discordant noises instead made his body feel somewhat abnormally excited.
Am I actually a bad fox...?
Such a thought involuntarily popped into Ryan's mind, leaving him slightly bewildered.
"All right, little Ryan, you've brought your friends to see me, do you have any other important matters?"
After explaining the wilting of the glaze lilies to them, Granny Ping then inquired of Ryan.
"Oh, oh, it's like this, Auntie Ping, we've come to borrow the Cleansing Bell to hold the Rite of Parting."
Ryan regained his senses and quickly explained to Granny Ping.
"The Rite of Parting, huh... Alas, yes, Liyue Harbor, throughout history, has seen countless adepti depart, and countless commotions have arisen."
"But no matter the occasion, it has always been the custom to first conduct the Rite of Parting with dignity, and then arrange matters afterward."
"Constantly shouting about catching the culprit, yet delaying the Rite of Parting, in my opinion, is putting the cart before the horse."
Hearing Ryan mention the Rite of Parting, Granny Ping couldn't help but sigh and say this.
She kept the Cleansing Bell, and whenever the Rite of Parting was to be held, she was always the first to know, but this time there had been no news.
"To have good children like you still remember this matter, the Lord, if he knows in the afterlife, must surely feel comforted by you."
"Little Ryan, I entrust you to conduct the Rite of Parting with dignity. I will now get the Cleansing Bell for you."
Granny Ping said to Ryan with satisfaction, then personally took out a black and gold bell-shaped bell with white tassels decorating the top from a nearby teapot—it was the Cleansing Bell.
"Actually, we are just helping to collect the ritual items. The Wangsheng Funeral Parlor will mainly be handling the ceremony at that time, but Auntie Ping, rest assured, the Rite of Parting will definitely be conducted very well."
Ryan took the Cleansing Bell and explained to Granny Ping, but still promised at the end.
After all, that Mr. Morax, as long as it wasn't about spending money, was quite reliable.
"Hehe, no matter what, you're good children. Why don't you all have a cup of tea before you leave?"
Granny Ping smiled and nodded, kindly suggesting to Ryan, Lumine, and Paimon.
The three naturally didn't refuse, accepting the tea Granny Ping had brewed.
They couldn't really be said to be tea connoisseurs, but even so, Paimon pretended to be an appraiser and praised Granny Ping's tea.
Thus, Ryan returned to the square with the easily borrowed Cleansing Bell and placed it on the offering table as well.
After the Cleansing Bell, the next ritual item was kites—seven kites, symbolizing the Seven Archons of Teyvat.
Each of these seven kites had unique features and needed to be adorned with patterns symbolizing the Seven Archons, such as Liyue's pattern of contract, Inazuma's Electro Trigram, and so on.
Therefore, skilled artisans were needed to make these kites, and the time required for their production was also not short.
Fortunately, Morax had already specially ordered them from Granny Ashan at the toy stall earlier, so there was no need for further searching and waiting...