"Cloud Retainer, what do we do now?" Ganyu asked, her eyes flicking toward the palm-shaped crater. Her feelings were… complicated.
"How can a single hand cause this much destruction?
"The force itself didn't feel overwhelming, but… the damage is insane."
Several nearby buildings had been flattened.
Wooden beams that used to hold up houses were now nothing but splinters, dust, and debris—some of it even stained with blood. Under the night sky, that whole area looked pitch-black, except for the blood at the edges, bright and ugly where it caught the light.
"Master!" Shenhe warned, spotting the Millelith rushing in from the street to the left.
If they stayed, things could get messy fast.
"Master, we should leave. If they misunderstand what happened, it'll be a headache."
"Agreed," Yanfei said. "Let's go."
"Of course I know that," Cloud Retainer snapped, glancing at them—and catching the little schemes Yanfei was clearly working through in her head.
When they appeared again, Cloud Retainer had already brought everyone into Madame Ping's Serenitea Pot.
The realm was spacious, draped in drifting adeptal mist. The entire place felt held up by a quiet, mysterious power.
Two cups of tea sat on the table. And across from them… a guest was already seated.
"Madame Ping, about what just—" Yanfei started, ready to report everything.
Then she froze.
Zhongli was sitting right there.
"Zhongli-san…? Why are you here?"
"Sigh. That's a long story…" Madame Ping looked at Zhongli and nodded. "Sit. It's not urgent."
Then she looked them over and raised a brow. "But you lot—why do you all look like you crawled out of a disaster?"
Cloud Retainer sat down. "A hand struck at us. And that palm… felt familiar. I swear I've seen it somewhere before."
She narrowed her eyes, remembering the impact. "Its raw power wasn't extraordinary, but the destructive force was monstrous.
"It slapped down once, yet seven palm imprints appeared across Liyue Harbor. Multiple homes were leveled. There have to be casualties."
She looked at Zhongli. "Rex Lapis—did you sense anything unusual? Or… did you see that hand?"
Zhongli set his cup down gently. "They vanished into nothingness the moment they fled."
His voice stayed calm, but the meaning was heavy. "Their owner is likely hiding in a separate space. And that space… even I cannot probe."
He gestured lightly. "Sit. Drink some tea. This isn't something you can rush."
"That's true." Cloud Retainer gave a short nod.
"R-Rex Lapis…" Ganyu whispered.
"Rex Lapis is Zhongli-san…?" Yanfei muttered, stunned. "That's… unreal."
"Keep it to yourselves," Zhongli said evenly. "I only came to bring Madame Ping some adepti tea."
His gaze flicked over the group. "I didn't expect to witness what just happened."
Ganyu hesitated, then hurried out, "Rex Lapis, I… I didn't know you were Rex Lapis. Tomorrow I'll explain everything to Keqing and Ryou, I—"
Zhongli waved it off and, somehow, drifted into a completely different complaint.
"Honestly, I didn't even want to work at the Ministry of Civil Affairs at first. I prefer a quiet life."
Then he paused, as if surprised by his own realization. "But I'm slowly starting to see the appeal. The work isn't bad."
He sounded oddly reflective. "I make over eight hundred thousand Mora a month, and—"
"Eight hundred thousand?!" Yanfei snapped, instantly locking in.
She flipped open a book and started scanning. "That can't be right. The average salary is three hundred thousand Mora."
She looked up, eyes sharp. "Even Keqing and Ryou don't make that much. How are you pulling in eight hundred thousand? That's not allowed."
She jabbed at the page. "The new regulations are very clear. Staff in the Ministry of Civil Affairs, Yujing Terrace, and related departments cannot exceed three hundred thousand Mora."
"Yanfei…" Ganyu tugged at her sleeve, trying to stop her.
Yanfei didn't budge. She met Zhongli's gaze head-on. "Rex Lapis, if you're living in Liyue Harbor, you follow Liyue's rules."
Her voice hardened. "Your income violates the law. I respect who you are, but contracts and law matter here. I can't pretend I didn't see this just because you're Rex Lapis."
Zhongli blinked. "Ahem. There's a law like that?"
"Of course there is. Look." Yanfei slid the book in front of him and pointed to the exact line.
While they argued, Shenhe leaned in toward Ganyu and whispered, "Ganyu, you only make three hundred thousand Mora a month?"
Then, completely sincerely: "So how did you buy dozens of houses on Yujing Terrace?"
Ganyu choked. "Cough—"
She noticed Yanfei looking over and rushed to explain. "Don't talk nonsense."
"Yes, that rule exists now, but it didn't exist a thousand years ago. And I've been working for over three thousand years."
She lifted her chin. "Is it really strange that I could afford property?"
Shenhe fell silent, apparently satisfied.
Yanfei turned back to Zhongli and declared, "Rex Lapis, you broke the law!"
"Yanfei!" Madame Ping warned.
"Madame Ping, this is a principle issue," Yanfei insisted, shaking her head.
Zhongli took a slow sip of tea, then answered calmly. "Ryou issued some Mora separately. It wasn't paid by the Ministry of Civil Affairs. It was a personal reward."
He set the cup down. "So it isn't illegal."
"Hm?" Yanfei narrowed her eyes. "Is that so?"
She shut her book with a snap. "Then tomorrow I'm going to see him. Ningguang-sama has been talking to me about regulations lately, and I need to confirm this."
Madame Ping sighed, helpless, then glanced at Zhongli. "That's Yanfei. She gets stuck on rules and won't let go. Don't take it to heart."
"Of course." Zhongli shook his head, then looked out into the distance.
"What happened tonight may throw Liyue into chaos," he said quietly. "Since you're already investigating, I'll leave it to you."
"Yes, Rex Lapis."
"Yes, Rex Lapis!"
…
Before anyone noticed, it was morning.
Ryou opened his eyes—and immediately caught a whiff of blood.
He frowned, confused.
Keqing didn't get her period last night, so why…
He looked down at his hands, then silently cleaned them with his mind.
"Don't move," Keqing mumbled, rubbing against him. "Let me sleep a little longer."
"Up," Ryou said, stroking her cheek and kissing her once. "We're going to the Ministry today."
"Just… a little longer," Keqing complained, eyes still shut. "It's your fault. I'm exhausted."
She figured there probably wouldn't be anything urgent. Showing up late wouldn't kill anyone.
About an hour and a half later, Keqing finally opened her eyes.
Ryou was still holding her.
She shifted—and instantly regretted it. Everything felt sore and wrong.
She shot him a furious look, then buried her face in her hands, remembering how wild she'd been last night. Her palms were burning hot just from thinking about it.
"Hiss… you jerk," Keqing hissed, wincing as she moved again.
"I can be worse," Ryou said, leaning in.
Keqing's eyes were watery—like she was on the verge of crying.
She pinched the soft flesh at his waist. "You're still bullying me? Get out— I'm serious, it hurts!"
"It's fine. Just a little longer," Ryou murmured, pulling her close and kissing her hard.
"You—" Keqing really did look like she might cry now.
They were so close she could barely breathe, and that half-smile in his eyes made her furious. She bit him on instinct.
"Ow—" Ryou hissed. Then he put on a fake, ferocious face. "You're biting me now? Fine. I'm definitely not letting you off today."
"Wait—Ryou!" Keqing panicked. "Please, spare me!"
Ryou pinched her cheek. "We slept for a full eight hours. You're telling me you've got zero energy left and you're already begging?"
"Hmph. I don't want to beg," Keqing muttered, clinging to him and rubbing her face against his chest. "But… I'm scared!"
"Alright." Ryou patted her head, finally stepping back and grabbing clothes.
Keqing still felt awkward, like something was missing now that he'd stopped.
Then she spotted the "clothes" on the floor.
Her face went nuclear.
The fabric was basically shredded into strips. The floor was covered in scraps.
It took them over half an hour to get cleaned up and dressed.
Only then did they wander out, sit in the main hall, and eat at a leisurely pace.
After breakfast, Ryou held Keqing's hand and headed for the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
Once they arrived, he activated two qi buffs for the staff, and only then returned to the office.
Knock, knock, knock.
Not long after, Zhongli walked in carrying files.
"Zhongli-san," Keqing asked, "did something happen outside today?"
"Hm? You don't know?" Zhongli sounded genuinely surprised.
"Last night, there was a fight on Feiyun Slope. Someone struck the ground with a palm and left a giant handprint."
He frowned slightly. "And it didn't happen just once. Seven places were hit. Everyone's talking about it."
Keqing and Ryou exchanged a look.
Zhongli shook his head, baffled. The whole harbor was buzzing about it, and these two still hadn't heard?
"One strike… turning into seven handprints?" Keqing asked. "How big are we talking?"
"Big," Zhongli said bluntly. "Deep, too. Several houses were smashed into fragments. A lot of people died."
He set the documents on the desk. "Check these files for me. Once you confirm everything is fine, I'll bring them upstairs."
"Alright," Ryou said, nodding.
"Zhongli-san, take me to the scene," Keqing said. "I want to see it myself."
"Alright." Zhongli nodded.
"I'll stay," Ryou said. "I'll check the files."
Neither of them thought anything of it. They left.
The moment the door closed, Ryou stared at the stack of paperwork, feeling cold creep up his spine.
One strike becoming seven.
Why did that sound so familiar?
And why did he wake up smelling blood?
Sure enough, when he skimmed through the reports, he froze.
…You're kidding me.
I took one nap, and you three almost tore Liyue Harbor apart?!
What the hell are you doing?!
Now it made sense why Zhongli's explanation sounded off. That's why Ryou barely responded—because the more he listened, the more it screamed one thing.
This was [Hand].
Which meant…
By any reasonable standard, the "mastermind" here was him.
Ryou pressed a hand to his forehead.
If someone investigated this properly, he was going to have a problem.
Still… the effects of Darkened Mode were terrifying.
One palm becoming seven.
That was basically Buddha Palm at this point.
Ryou stared toward Guyun Stone Forest, mind racing.
If Osial showed up… could he slap it to death?
If he pushed Darkened Mode a few more times, maybe it really could happen.
That thought excited him.
Then reality caught up and gave him a headache.
So how do I clean this up?
He tapped his chin. "The Fatui haven't made any noise lately…"
Then he smiled. "Whatever. The Fatui are already on wanted posters. They can't exactly argue back."
He shrugged. "They've worn the blame more than once. One more won't hurt."
With that, Ryou stood and walked out.
"Ryou!" someone called from behind.
"Ganyu?" Ryou turned, surprised.
He also spotted Baiwen standing at the corner behind her, watching like a hawk.
What is this?
Ganyu sighed. "Who else? Ningguang-sama is worried I'll run off again, so… she's having Baiwen keep an eye on me."
She waved it off. "Anyway, I came because I need to tell you something."
"Tell me after I'm back," Ryou said. "Something happened at Feiyun Slope. I need to see the damage."
He frowned. "A lot of people got hurt. It sounds bad."
"…Yeah." Ganyu's expression tightened. "I saw it happen last night. It's serious."
She almost offered to go with him—then remembered the "babysitter" behind her and swallowed it.
"I'll wait for you to come back," she said.
Ryou nodded and hurried out.
He headed for one of the sites—near Bubu Pharmacy.
What used to be a walkway had sunk into a massive crater. Luckily, there hadn't been any buildings right there.
So it looked eerie… but there was no blood, no bodies, no obvious traces of anything.
Ryou heard people arguing and speculating the moment he arrived. He pushed forward—and spotted Keqing, Zhongli, and even Yanfei.
"Ryou, you're here." Keqing walked up and gave him a quick rundown.
Ryou nodded, then immediately spoke loud enough for everyone nearby to hear.
"I'm sure this was the Fatui."
He pointed toward the crater, voice firm. "And that kind of power isn't something ordinary Fatui can pull off."
His tone turned sharper. "I strongly suspect it was a Harbinger—Childe and La Signora."
He spread his hands. "We've arrested plenty of Fatui lately, and they've been forced into hiding. Of course they'd hold a grudge."
He lowered his voice like he was revealing the truth. "This was meant to intimidate us. It's obviously the Fatui."
Keqing and Yanfei both froze.
People around them, however, ate it up instantly.
"The Fatui are always up to something! They've been stirring trouble in Liyue Harbor for days!"
"Ryou-sama shutting down the Northland Bank was protecting us! And they still dared to do this!"
"They killed so many people!"
…
Childe had heard something huge happened in Liyue Harbor, so he took the chance to disguise himself and slip in.
The moment he saw the massive palm crater, even he was stunned.
Because he couldn't do that.
Striking multiple locations at once and leaving without a trace? That was absurd.
If he ever found the person responsible, he'd want them in the Fatui.
He was just watching the commotion—until Ryou showed up and, without hesitation, tossed the blame straight onto the Fatui.
Childe's blood boiled.
Last time Ryou stormed the Northland Bank, he was pure brute force and arrogance. Now he was pulling the same routine.
This was too much.
"Ryou, that's bullshit," Childe said, stepping forward. "When did I ever do something like this?"
His eyes narrowed. "This is framing. If anything, I think you did it!"
"It's Childe!" Keqing's brows snapped together.
Everyone nearby tensed immediately. Childe was a wanted criminal.
Ryou was honestly surprised too.
He'd tried to pin it on the Fatui, and the real guy walked in?
Ryou's eyes flicked as he thought fast. Then he shrugged.
"I don't even have a Vision," he said. "You really think I can slap the ground hard enough to leave something like that?"
"Exactly!" Keqing jumped in instantly.
She raised her hand and barked, "You pull something like this and you still dare show your face? Childe, you've got some nerve."
Her voice rang out. "Millelith—arrest him!"
"You—" Childe almost choked.
His eyes reddened with anger. "You two are unbelievable. This has nothing to do with me, you—"
He looked like he was about to explode.
This is obviously you two framing me!
And the way you're playing good cop and bad cop together—how shameless can you get?!
[End of chapter]
[200 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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