"There's a ghost in the kitchen? Look, if you don't want to make Almond Tofu for us, just say so. Don't make up such an excuse to fool us!"
"And it was Boss Verr Goldet who wanted you to make Almond Tofu. We're just messengers."
"It's not that I don't want to make it. I really can't. Look, my arm is still shaking."
Yanxiao raised his arm. Paimon noticed that his arm was indeed trembling, much like when she had first seen that enormous Pyro Regisvine.
Lumine, having experienced the previous "ghost exorcism" at Wangshu Inn, had initially doubted Yanxiao's words. But the genuine fear in his eyes made her suspicious. Hadn't Su Bai said the ghost had been exorcised? Why was there another one?
Had something happened in the meantime that brought another ghost to Wangshu Inn? This place really seemed unlucky. Lumine decided to get to the bottom of it.
"Chef Yanxiao, has anything happened recently?"
"Recently... oh right, the Fatui came to Wangshu Inn not long ago. They even argued and fought among themselves. It must be the Fatui's doing!"
Yanxiao grew very agitated, as if he had figured something out. He cursed the Fatui loudly, his spittle nearly flying into Lumine's face, forcing her to quickly step back.
"What are you two doing here? Yanxiao, why are you so worked up?"
Su Bai's slightly tired voice came from behind Lumine. If it weren't time for lunch, he felt Brother Xiao would have trained him all day.
"Master Su Bai, thank goodness you're back! Please help me. There's another ghost in the kitchen!"
"Su Bai, you're finally back! Listen to me..."
"Stop, stop, stop. One at a time. I'll deal with Yanxiao's problem first. After that, Yanxiao, you go cook. I'm starving."
Yanxiao nearly knelt down when he saw Su Bai. Su Bai raised an eyebrow, speechless. This grown man was so afraid of ghosts? If he remembered correctly, that ghost was just a little girl.
"Alright, stop shouting. Take this jade pendant. With it, you won't see ghosts anymore."
Su Bai sensed the situation and saw that the stone slab he had left in the kitchen was being used as a cutting board by Yanxiao. He rubbed his head. It seemed Verr Goldet, that unreliable woman, had forgotten to tell Yanxiao that the slab was his. With no other choice, Su Bai took out a jade pendant, drew an illusion talisman on it, and handed it to Yanxiao. He was confident that with this, Yanxiao wouldn't see ghosts anymore.
Amid Yanxiao's repeated thanks, Su Bai turned his attention to Lumine. Seeing the sweat on her forehead and her heavy breathing, Su Bai's pupils contracted. A sense of foreboding rose in his heart.
"Lumine, don't tell me Liyue Harbor has already suffered a catastrophic disaster."
"No, no, that's not it. It's just that..."
Before Lumine could finish, Paimon clamped a hand over her mouth. Under Lumine's puzzled gaze, Paimon whispered in her ear.
"Lumine, we can't just tell Su Bai directly. What if he can't handle the shock?"
"Uh, Su Bai isn't that fragile, is he? Paimon, you're overthinking it."
"Better safe than sorry. If we mess this up and something happens to Su Bai, we'll be in trouble."
Lumine thought Paimon made a fair point. Su Bai couldn't afford to have any problems right now. Otherwise, she might never get rid of her wanted status.
"Paimon, you handle it then."
"Huh? Fine... I'll try..."
Su Bai watched Paimon and Lumine whispering to each other. His body was sore from being beaten by Xiao, so he didn't have the energy to eavesdrop. All he wanted was a full meal and then to lie in bed enjoying the afternoon sun.
After some quiet discussion, Lumine somehow produced a pair of small, non-prescription glasses. She put them on Paimon, who then took a pen and a piece of paper and flew over to Su Bai.
"Ahem, Su Bai, Paimon is going to conduct a survey. Please cooperate."
"A survey? What's that? Fine, just ask. I'm going to rest when you're done."
If it weren't for Paimon, Su Bai would have walked away. If someone else had bothered him when he was this exhausted, he would have lost his patience long ago.
"Ahem, first question. If an elder in your family passed away, what would you do?"
"Uh, that's a strange question."
"Please answer the question directly."
Su Bai rolled his eyes at Paimon. This little one, thinking she was cute, dared to ask anything. He was an adeptus. His elders were also adepti. If any of the other immortals heard this, Paimon would definitely be accused of disrespecting the adepti.
"What can I do? I'd go ask Hu Tao to arrange the funeral. You know she's an expert in these matters."
Su Bai wasn't just brushing Paimon off. A solemn ceremony like the Rite of Parting, he believed Hu Tao was fully capable of organizing—perhaps even more perfectly than the Qixing.
"What if this elder held a very high status?"
"What can I do? I'd still ask Hu Tao. The Rite of Parting for an adeptus has always been the highest tier of funeral services. There's no going higher."
"What if this adeptus was assassinated?"
Before Paimon could finish, a killing intent erupted from Su Bai. If such a thing had truly happened, he would make the assassin pay. Every adeptus in Liyue was his elder and had treated him well.
Wait, why was Paimon asking these questions? If he remembered correctly, today was the Rite of Descension. Clues began piecing together in Su Bai's mind, leading to a shocking conclusion: Rex Lapis had been assassinated during the Rite of Descension???
Su Bai quickly shook his head, trying to erase that absurd thought. Rex Lapis was the Geo Archon. How could a god be assassinated? Those with power like that were proud individuals. They wouldn't stoop to such underhanded methods.
"Alright, alright, Paimon, stop beating around the bush. Just tell me straight. I'm not a three-year-old. You don't have to worry about me breaking down."
"Uh, fine. I'll tell you directly."
Lumine and Paimon exchanged a glance and recounted what had happened at the Rite of Descension. When Su Bai heard that Rex Lapis had fallen straight from the sky during the ceremony, he nearly fainted. Rex Lapis had passed away? And by assassination?
"Impossible. Absolutely impossible."
Su Bai's first reaction was disbelief. How could the Geo Archon, who had created Guyun Stone Forest, be assassinated? Even if someone truly tried to kill him, there would have been signs of battle. Unless the assassin's power far exceeded that of Rex Lapis himself.