Lora spoke so smoothly that the younger ones were stunned all over again.
Xiangling looked at Zhongli in disbelief. "So Mr. Zhongli is actually that old?"
"He probably isn't human anymore, is he?" Yun Jin murmured.
Hu Tao immediately turned to him. "Consultant, what exactly are you? Tell us honestly!"
Thankfully, back during the Rite of Descension, that dragon body had fallen from the sky. Because of that, even though the younger ones now knew Zhongli was not human, none of them guessed he was Rex Lapis.
"Him? Well, of course he's..." Lora looked at Zhongli and deliberately drew out her words.
Just as he was starting to feel uneasy, she laughed and said to everyone, "An adeptus!"
Zhongli finally relaxed.
It seemed she still had some sense of restraint.
The moment Lora said it, Hu Tao clapped her hands. "I knew it! I knew you were an adeptus!"
Zhongli sighed helplessly, while Lora looked at Hu Tao and asked, "So Director Hu had already guessed?"
"I'm not stupid. During Lantern Rite, all those adepti were so stiff around you two. Anyone could tell your identities weren't ordinary!" Hu Tao said with the air of someone who had known all along.
Then she asked curiously, "By the way, since all of you have such impressive identities, what about that Venti guy? What is he? A Liyue adeptus, or some old monster from Fontaine?"
"Old monster from Fontaine..."
Hearing that, Lora, Focalors, and the others exchanged glances and fell silent.
"Don't worry about that." Lora quickly changed the subject. "No matter who we are, aren't we still friends? In a while, we'll all go to Liyue for Lantern Rite! You'll be the stars!"
"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Hu Tao frowned.
"No, you don't," Lora said, shaking her head.
...
Yun Jin's The Divine Damsel of Devastation was performed as scheduled at the Opera Epiclese.
This style of performance from Liyue quickly won over the people of Fontaine. When the song ended, the applause in the opera house went on for a long time.
Lumine had also come to the Opera Epiclese after seeing the advertisements, and only then did she and Paimon learn that Lora had returned.
Seeing their shocked faces, Lora fell into thought.
Just what remote mountain valley had those two been wandering through to not know she was back? She had been back for a while already!
After the performance ended and everyone left the theater, Zhongyue had set up a stall by the entrance, selling Divine Damsel of Devastation co-branded candied hawthorn skewers.
"Huh? Isn't that little Zhongyue?" Hu Tao ran over in surprise when she saw her by the entrance.
Zhongyue was not surprised to see them. "Oh, familiar faces! Come, come. I'll give you a 0.1 percent discount. No need to thank me. These candied hawthorn skewers are our shop's signature product. You can't get them anywhere else!"
"Why are you selling candied hawthorn here?" Hu Tao looked at her in confusion.
Then she suddenly remembered that Zhongyue was supposedly a child from a distant branch of Zhongli's family and understood at once.
"Oh! I get it."
After that, she lowered her voice and asked, "Pardon me, but how old are you?"
"Hm?" Hearing that question, Zhongyue instinctively looked toward Zhongli and Lora.
Lora said, "She knows my identity now. She also knows Zhongli isn't human."
"Oh! So that's how it is..." Zhongyue nodded, then looked back at Hu Tao. "Little girl, don't ask about my age. The waters here run deep. Knowing too much at your age won't do you any good."
"Uh..." Hu Tao blinked, then suddenly understood what she meant.
If Zhongyue really was some several-thousand-year-old being who had turned herself into a little girl, that would be a little hard to handle.
Better not ask.
Yun Jin stayed in Fontaine for half a month and performed The Divine Damsel of Devastation several more times before setting off back to Liyue. After she left, the others did not stay much longer either and soon prepared to return.
During this time, Xiangling still had not managed to teach the chefs at the Palais Mermonia many Liyue dishes, so Lora decided she would regularly send people to Liyue to study cooking.
After returning to Liyue, Hu Tao personally paid Xianyun a visit.
Xianyun looked at Director Hu, who had come alone for the first time, and asked in confusion, "Director Hu, what brings you here?"
Hu Tao said, "Xianyun, I have a question for you. You know Miss Lora's identity, right? She's Fontaine's Hydro Archon..."
Xianyun was a little surprised to hear that, but still nodded. "Yes, I know. What about it?"
"Then you must know her pretty well, right?" Hu Tao continued. "Miss Lora told me before that she was coming to Liyue for Lantern Rite and wanted me to be the star. What does that mean?"
Xianyun, who had been perfectly calm, froze. Then her eyes widened in surprise.
"You say she's coming to Liyue for Lantern Rite? No, I need to hurry and..."
She had only gotten halfway through before she caught herself, looked at Hu Tao, and asked, "Wait. You said she wants you to be the star?"
"Yes." Hu Tao nodded. "Is there a problem?"
After confirming it, Xianyun let out a breath of relief and shook her head. "No, no problem. At least, not for me."
She smiled and patted Hu Tao on the shoulder. "Director Hu, you're still young. Lora may love stirring up trouble a little too much, but she's good to children and young people. So don't worry. Nothing will happen."
"Really? Because just now, when you heard she was coming for Lantern Rite, you looked ready to pack up and run." Hu Tao frowned at her, clearly unconvinced.
"We're different, of course." Xianyun spoke earnestly. "Think about it. I'm a Liyue adeptus. She has no burden at all when it comes to messing with me. But you're different. You're one of the younger generation. If she went around bullying children, she'd be the one losing face."
She repeatedly assured her that nothing would go wrong.
"If you're really worried, apologize first the moment she arrives. That should settle it. But then again, did you offend Lora somehow? How did it come to this?"
Hu Tao sighed and told Xianyun that she had called Venti an old monster from Fontaine right in front of Lora.
After hearing that, Xianyun fell silent for a while before saying, "Mm... I wouldn't say you're completely doomed."
"You hesitated!" Hu Tao frowned.