To escape Mt. Aocang as quickly as possible, Su Bai leaped down from the mountain and transformed himself into a flying fox of Liyue. He gripped his two fluffy tails in his hands. The dense fox fur turned these tails, normally only useful as pillows, into gliders—and fluffy limited edition gliders at that.
Feeling the oncoming breeze, Su Bai squinted his eyes in comfort. Indeed, no matter where he went, the wind of his homeland felt the best. But he had no time to enjoy the breeze and admire the scenery of Mt. Aocang. He knew that if he didn't leave quickly, Cloud Retainer might grab him and refuse to let him go.
"Next up are Moon Carver and Mountain Shaper."
"Those two elders aren't homebodies like Cloud Retainer. Hopefully I can find them at their abodes."
Regarding the great disaster Mona had divined, Su Bai felt it wasn't as trivial as Lumine had made it sound. He thought it necessary to notify the adepti to prepare. If an uncontrollable disaster truly struck, with Su Bai's warning, the adepti could rush to Liyue Harbor immediately.
At Qingyun Peak, Su Bai had just followed the path to the summit when he noticed something off about the clearing outside Moon Carver's abode. The normally flat ground was now full of holes and craters, and the protruding rocks nearby had been smashed to pieces, as if a great battle had taken place.
Looking at the battered Qingyun Peak before him, Su Bai rubbed his chin. Recalling that Cloud Retainer's feathers had become fewer, Su Bai formed a tentative guess. Had Cloud Retainer and Moon Carver gotten into a fight?
But judging by the surrounding destruction, it seemed Moon Carver had been on the losing end. Yet Cloud Retainer's combat ability didn't seem stronger than Moon Carver's. Of course, there was the possibility that Cloud Retainer had used her mechanisms against him.
"Great. I'll go ask Mountain Shaper at Mt. Hulao if he knows what happened."
"Hopefully those two elders didn't tear each other apart over some trivial matter."
Su Bai looked toward Mt. Hulao. After visiting Mountain Shaper, there was another old senior he needed to visit. He wondered if that old senior had met with Rex Lapis yet.
If they had met, surely Rex Lapis would praise him. After all, he had expended a great deal of adeptal energy to awaken the kindness in Azhdaha's heart.
Though Su Bai wanted Azhdaha to be free, he knew the dragon's temperament well. He had even once suspected that the great disaster Mona mentioned was Rex Lapis and Azhdaha fighting.
But Su Bai dismissed that thought. He didn't think Rex Lapis would lose to Azhdaha. Otherwise, it would be Rex Lapis sealed away instead.
"If Rex Lapis frees Azhdaha, then with the combat power of those two brothers, no matter how great the disaster, Liyue wouldn't suffer severe damage."
"I'll ask Azhdaha about Rex Lapis when I visit him. As Rex Lapis's brother, Azhdaha must know something about him."
Speaking of Rex Lapis, though Su Bai held reverence for his god, he felt more curiosity. After being held a few times as a child by the mysterious Rex Lapis, he had never seen him again.
Even the Rite of Descension in recent years had been performed by Rex Lapis using a Geo elemental projection. This meant Su Bai's wish to see Rex Lapis again could only be postponed indefinitely.
"I wonder what Rex Lapis is so busy with. But a god as outstanding as him must be secretly protecting Liyue from somewhere hidden."
At this thought, the majestic image of Rex Lapis glowed brighter and brighter in Su Bai's mind, and his desire to see his god again grew even stronger.
Meanwhile, at the Heyu Tea House in Liyue Harbor, Yun Jin was passionately performing opera on stage. Wealthy patrons weren't stingy with their Mora, continuously tossing tips into the boxes held by the attendants.
"Mora."
Zhongli savored the fine tea sent from Qiaoying Village while patting his pocket symbolically. Then, with a calm expression, he looked at Childe, who was choking on a pastry.
"Childe, I forgot my wallet this time. I'll trouble you to cover the Mora."
He even poured Childe a cup of tea. This tea was said to be from Qiaoying Village, a famous tea-producing area in Liyue. The quality of its tea leaves far exceeded that of other regions, and naturally, the price was beyond what ordinary tea could match.
Childe took the tea and downed it in one gulp. As the pastry in his throat dissolved with the tea, he patted his chest and finally breathed fresh air.
"Mr. Zhongli, this is the wonderful place you wanted to bring me? The tea smells fragrant, but it tastes so strange."
"And this pastry nearly choked me to death."
(A/N: I don't know if any of you have experienced this, but the pastries I ate as a child were always the dry kind. If you stuffed too much in, you could barely swallow.)
"That was indeed my oversight. Childe, you haven't been in Liyue long, so it's understandable that you're not used to tea."
"Boss, another jar of fine wine. Yes, the most expensive one you have."
Childe's mouth twitched. Why did he have to complain? He wondered how much Mora this most expensive wine would cost. But for Her Majesty the Tsaritsa, spending a bit of Mora was nothing.
"Childe, you really should try our fine wine. 'Smooth on the throat' is one of the criteria for good wine in Liyue."
"You might experience a flavor different from your Snezhnaya."
Zhongli calmly sipped his tea. He had long heard that the owner of Heyu Tea House had a jar of excellent wine, but it had always been too expensive for him to buy. Today, with a willing wallet, he naturally wanted to taste it.
"Coming right up~ I'll fetch it for you, Mr. Zhongli."
Zhongli's words made the teahouse owner's eyes narrow into slits with joy. This fine wine hadn't sold once since he bought it. He had been planning to enjoy it himself on his birthday. Unexpectedly, it sold today. He could go to Xinyue Kiosk for a nice meal tonight. And since Master Yun was performing here today, he could even invite her along.
Looking at the packed teahouse, the owner felt genuine admiration for young Yun Jin. Her singing skills were nearly unmatched in Liyue. Whenever she performed at Heyu Tea House, the day's earnings matched an entire month's normal income.