The first star descended into the storybook. She was the author of the story; she picked up the pen tucked inside the book and continued writing her own chapter for it.
The second star returned to the storybook. He was the original author of the story. Finding that his outline had been rewritten, he threw himself at the first star, only to be crushed by that immense gravitational force, falling into the crevices between the pages and staining an Eclipse with the ink.
The third star streaked across the sky, casting only its shadow onto the pages. It intended to lead the words in the book to leap off the page and forge a story of their own, but its plot was seen through by the first star. The four shadows of the stars divided him into seven parts, transforming them into the seven crowns bestowed upon the seven kings in the book.
The fourth star fell. She was one of the twin stars, and she was also a reader of the story, destined to write footnotes based on her understanding for every page.
Finally, the fifth star descended from the sky again. It was pulled by a disk, shaped like a spider.
It looked around and sighed repeatedly.
It said, "Here, there is the one who continues the story, the original author of the book, the false tamperer, and the reader of the text. It seems there are no new positions left. Then, I shall be the publisher of the books."
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After chatting with Zhongli for a few more moments, Orion left with Hu Tao on his back.
He had roughly understood what Zhongli meant. Essentially, it was that if he wanted to help when encountering injustices, he should go ahead. In any case, the main axis of the story would likely not deviate from its original trajectory, meaning the outline of the game's plot would remain unchanged.
On one hand, Orion did not want the plot to deviate; on the other hand, it was also due to the existence of another Descenders, and our cute Lumine also played an indispensable role.
Alright, it's decided. In the next nation, Inazuma, I'll try participating in the plot myself and see what happens!
Hu Tao looked at the silent Orion beneath her and, after a moment of deliberation, decided to liven up the atmosphere.
She slapped Orion hard on the back: "Orion! Let me ask you something. Why are you always obsessed with carrying me on your back instead of a princess carry?"
Orion was snapped out of his thoughts by the slap and replied with a smile: "Look, when I carry you on my back, I can hold one of your legs with one hand, but if I carry you in my arms, I'd only be able to touch you with one hand. Wouldn't that be a bad deal?"
A question mark appeared over Hu Tao's head: "But if you carry me in your arms, wouldn't you be able to touch my shoulders? And our faces would be very close too."
As soon as she finished speaking, Orion slammed on the brakes and stopped in his tracks.
Before Hu Tao could understand what was happening, she found herself suddenly dropped onto the ground.
Hu Tao:???
Looking ahead, she saw Orion crouching halfway and opening his arms: "Come here, Hu Tao! I can't wait!"
Hu Tao: ♦ ฺ ( ◣ д ◢ ) ♦ ฺ
Hu Tao felt that she really shouldn't have said that. Now, looking at the expression Orion was struggling to maintain on his handsome face, she felt like giving him a kick.
Thinking it, she did it. Hu Tao jumped up and kicked at him. This kick was very slow—the kind that could definitely be dodged.
However, Orion did not dodge; instead, he just waited for Hu Tao to fall into his arms.
Sure enough, she didn't kick Orion, but landed directly in his arms.
Hu Tao:??????
Why? What's the logic?
Orion smiled. "Don't say it's just you; even if the four shadows tripped and fell today, they would still land in my arms. That's how the underlying code is written."
Then, Orion carried Hu Tao, whose face was flushed for some unknown reason, and ran back to the WangSheng Funeral Parlor.
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Lumine is a Descenders. He was once a traveler. In the market, there was an old woman observing flowers, hanging a pot at the front of the shop. At the end of the day, he would jump into the pot. The townspeople did not see it, only Lumine saw it from the stairs and found it strange. ———— "Post-Liyue Records • Heaven in a Pot"
Of course, Liyue has no "Book of the Later Han," nor is there any written record of "Heaven in a Pot," let alone that this thing here is called the "serenitea pot."
Lumine and Paimon found Grandma Ping at Yujing Terrace. They saw the old woman standing alone in front of a patch of blue flowers, with a table beside her on which a delicately crafted brown teapot was placed.
Lumine and Paimon stepped forward to ask, and after they spoke, Lumine stated the purpose of their visit.
"Grandma Ping, we came here this time to borrow something from you, called the [Cleansing Bell]."
Grandma Ping had been staying at Yujing Terrace, so she naturally learned of the news of the Lord of Geo's passing immediately. Not only that, but as she was the closest, she even immediately used Adeptus arts to examine the Exuvia.
Unfortunately, even though she examined it back and forth no less than a dozen times, the result of the examination was the same: this was indeed the Adeptus body of the Lord of Geo; it was absolutely impossible for it to be fake.
Or rather, perhaps only an existence of the Lord of Geo's level could possibly make a fake look real? But how could an existence of that level do such a thing?
Not only that, she couldn't even determine the cause of the Lord of Geo's passing. This matter was likely not simple.
Therefore, when someone came to borrow the Cleansing Bell this time, she naturally assumed that perhaps some Adeptus could not stand by and had decided to step in to uphold justice.
"Sigh." Grandma Ping let out a sigh: "It's just a pity that various rumors are spreading in the city like a foul miasma. Even if an old friend intends to uphold justice, I fear he would find himself tied hand and foot, wouldn't he?"
Then she looked at Lumine and Paimon: "Forget it. I liked that bell back then, so I pestered the Lord of Geo to get it from him. He couldn't refuse me, so he gave it to me, but he established a contract saying that if anyone came to borrow it in the future, I could not refuse. The bell is now in my serenitea pot. You can go and retrieve it for me."
Lumine and Paimon looked at the serenitea pot in shock.
Lumine pondered for a long time and pointed a finger: "Go on, Paimon, go in and take a look!"
"Oh, I can't get in! No matter how I think about it, I can't get in!" Paimon stomped his feet in anger again.
In the end, Grandma Ping cast a spell, and the two were sucked inside.
Before being sucked in, they didn't think much of it, but once they got inside, good heavens! What is meant by "a universe in the sleeve," and what is meant by "the sun and moon lengthening within the pot"?
This world inside the pot had everything—Adeptus mountains, floating islands, the sun and moon, wind and clouds—it was all there. Mountains, rivers, flowing water, the cries of foxes, and the singing of birds—not a single thing was missing.
There were even quite a few naturally spawned Slime.
After some clearing out, Lumine and Paimon finally obtained the Cleansing Bell and returned to the outside.
The two thanked Grandma Ping and were about to take their leave when Grandma Ping suddenly called them back.
"Wait, children, Grandma still has something to ask you."
Grandma Ping stepped forward, lowering her voice slightly, her tone filled with doubt: "You two should be acquainted with one of my disciples, right? My disciple's name is Xiangling, a chef at Wanmin Restaurant in the east of the city. That child is innocent, cute, smart, and lively. But in the last few days, when I went to see her, I found that the child was often sleepy and distracted. Recently, he even obtained some precious medicine from who knows where that can boost vitality and nourish the spirit! Do you know anything about this?"
Lumine and Paimon thought about it. How could this be anyone other than Orion? He sent Shenhe to Wanmin Restaurant every day and would see Xiangling every day.
As for the medicine, it was probably either swiped from another planet or pulled out from the Gate of Babylon.
Considering they couldn't let the old lady worry, they said the medicine was probably given by a friend, who was a good person, and the medicine must be fine. As for why he was sleepy, they didn't know.
After the two left, the upright glaze lily was suddenly blown askew by a gust of wind. Looking at the table again, where was the old lady? It was clearly a beautiful Adeptus in palace attire with a delicate face.
The Adeptus had blue hair and heroic brows, but her expression carried a sense of unease.
She walked a few steps to the white jade railing, stroked it gently with her jade hand, and looked at the red clouds on the horizon.
"Could that child's lack of energy also be related to that Orion? Is he the strange outsider that the Lord of Geo vouched for before his passing... No, I probably cannot investigate this alone. After the Rite of Descension is over, I will go and discuss it with Cloud Retainer. She will surely have a way."
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"Tonight, you should just stay with me for the night. The Chasm is not easy to navigate at night! Wait until tomorrow at dawn, and I'll take you through a shortcut. You'll be able to get out of The Chasm very quickly! Here, look, this is a map I drew myself!"
"Wow! Your drawing is amazing!"
In the camp above ground at The Chasm, a sunny, cheerful, and beautiful Damselette Adventurer was chatting with Jahoda about girl talk.
Her name was Zhi Qiong. She met Jahoda at the Millelith today. The Millelith didn't have time to escort this little outsider girl out of the valley, so the beautiful and kind-hearted Zhi Qiong accepted this request.
Looking at the Damselette who kept introducing her to the delicious food and fun things in Liyue, Jahoda closed her eyes, and hot tears streamed from the corners of her eyes.
"There are still many good people in the world!"
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