Su Bai's mouth twitched. Adepti lived extremely long lives. The Rite of Parting was something that happened once every few centuries at most. How did Paimon make it sound like the Rite of Parting was a regular occurrence?
"I didn't expect you to solve such a difficult problem. Impressive."
"Of course! With Paimon on the case, any problem can be solved. See, three balms, not a single one missing."
Zhongli's praise made Paimon puff out her chest. Even though she hadn't actually done anything, that didn't stop her from accepting the compliment. It was pretty much the same as Lumine receiving it anyway.
"The first one is called 'Hidden Within a Golden Chamber.' Miss Ying'er said it's sweet and dreamy, a favorite among young girls."
Paimon placed the first balm before the statue. Watching the statue begin to glow, she scratched her head in wonder.
"Could Rex Lapis be a little girl? How amazing. I thought he'd be a big sister."
Zhongli's mouth twitched involuntarily as he watched the glowing statue. He was genuinely puzzled. Why would his statue think he liked this balm? Could it be because he had once taken the form of a little girl?
"Even though the first one already glowed, let's test the other two anyway. Maybe Rex Lapis will like them too."
Paimon took out the second balm and placed it beside the statue, introducing it to everyone.
"This is the second balm, called 'Cluster of Mountain Shade.' Miss Ying'er said it's elegant and noble, a favorite among wealthy young ladies."
The statue remained completely still. Zhongli silently approved of his statue's response. He wasn't particularly elegant and noble. Seeing no reaction, Paimon brought out the final balm and placed it beside the statue.
"This third one is called 'Ethereal Adepti Encounter.' The fragrance is light but lingers long, like misty haze... anyway, it's supposedly most popular with mature women."
Paimon looked at the statue expectantly. In her mind, Rex Lapis was sure to like this one. But as time passed, the statue remained completely unresponsive.
"Um, could the statue be broken?"
Zhongli stared at the unresponsive statue, lost in thought. Normally, the statue's reaction should reflect the truth. But why would he like a balm favored by young girls?
Unlike the pensive Zhongli, Su Bai shrank back. He felt like he had just learned something he shouldn't have. Lumine and Paimon were completely dumbfounded. Rex Lapis was a little girl? That was huge news. Would they be silenced for knowing this secret?
"Um, I don't think Rex Lapis is actually a little girl."
"As for why he liked the balm favored by young girls... maybe, maybe..."
Seeing Su Bai struggle to continue, Zhongli coughed dryly and took over. To preserve the image of Rex Lapis in everyone's minds, he offered what he thought was the most plausible explanation.
"Perhaps Rex Lapis sees every person of Liyue as his own child. He wishes for them to grow strong. That's why he would favor a balm called 'Hidden Within a Golden Chamber.'"
Just as Zhongli was racking his brain to make the explanation more convincing, inside the Fatui's Hundred-Eyed Talisman forgery base, Childe moved cautiously through the facility, water blades in hand. The base had been attacked by an unknown assailant, and Childe had already ordered his men to evacuate.
But evacuation didn't mean he would let this slide. To find out who had dared to destroy the base, Childe had come alone to investigate, hoping to find any clues left behind by the enemy.
But the enemy was clearly clever. No matter how hard he searched, Childe found nothing. He began to wonder if there was a traitor within the Fatui ranks.
Meanwhile, another Fatui secret base had received some unexpected visitors. This base was deep underground, with almost zero chance of discovery. No one knew how these visitors had found it. In the moment the guard at the entrance yawned, a loud crash echoed, and the base's door went flying.
"Sister Toto, if we blow up these bad guys, will we really get a lot of Mora?"
"Yes. That woman Ningguang said she'd give us a big reward if we destroy all the Fatui bases in Liyue."
Azhdaha had no reason to doubt Ningguang's words. Even Zhongli, the Geo Archon himself, had praised that woman. So she wasn't worried about being cheated.
Hearing that destroying bad guys came with Mora, Klee pulled a pile of bombs from her little backpack and started tossing them. She muttered as she threw them, "Full firepower!" "Everything can be blown up!"
If not for the base's reinforced load-bearing walls, Azhdaha might have worried about the whole place collapsing.
Unlike Klee's noisy rampage, little Qiqi was calmly disposing of the bad guys with a Dull Blade she had found somewhere. Judging by the smoothness of her movements, she had plenty of experience dealing with Treasure Hoarders.
"Enemy attack! Prepare to fight!"
At the sound of the alarm, numerous Fatui elites poured out of the base. These elites had been smuggled in from Snezhnaya and were the cream of the crop.
Unfortunately, their opponents were far from normal. Azhdaha stomped lightly, and rocks controlled by Geo energy crushed the gathered Fatui into pulp.
Considering there were children present, Azhdaha thoughtfully used stones to block the bloody scene. The pulverized Fatui sank into the ground with the rocks, as if nothing had happened.
This led to a strange situation when the Fatui later sent investigators. The number of bodies found in the base didn't match the number of personnel stationed there. Far fewer corpses were discovered than there should have been.
But that was all in the future. For now, Childe had no idea how serious things were. Some secret bases were so well hidden that the agents inside never went out and exposed their positions.
With the mission so important, the agents had stockpiled plenty of food and were lying low, waiting for orders to attack Liyue Harbor. This meant that Childe and the other Fatui operating in the open had no idea that the secret bases were being wiped out by Azhdaha and the two little ones.
Elsewhere, Lumine and the others had finally found some high-quality Glaze Lilies. But they had hit a snag—the lilies required singing. According to Zhongli, Glaze Lilies only bloomed fully when they heard beautiful music. Unfortunately, no one present was a particularly good singer.
"Um, maybe I could give it a try?"
Lumine raised her hand weakly. Su Bai and Paimon quickly grabbed her. They had finally found some decent Glaze Lilies. If Lumine opened her mouth and made them wilt, they'd be in trouble.
"Hey, how can you do this to me? My singing was praised by a great musician from another world. These Glaze Lilies will love it."
"Oh? Music from another world? Letting Lumine try wouldn't hurt. I'm curious to hear what it sounds like."
Zhongli's curiosity gave Lumine confidence. She cleared her throat, ready to let Zhongli hear her angelic voice. Su Bai and Paimon exchanged glances. Having experienced Lumine's singing before, they silently plugged their ears.