Lora hurriedly threw up a soundproof barrier before Gaming, who was walking ahead of them, could overhear. Then she turned to Xianyun and said, "Keep your voice down. He's still right there!"
Xianyun glanced at Gaming, then sighed. "I knew he didn't get along with his family, but I never imagined things were this bad. Lantern Rite is almost here. How can he keep feuding with his family at a time like this?"
"So?" Lora looked at her, waiting for her to continue.
"Hmm... I have an excellent idea!" After thinking it over for a moment, Xianyun shared her proposal. "We can show Gaming and his father what a harmonious family looks like. Then they'll understand that nothing is more important than peace within the family!"
"I think that's... actually a pretty good idea," Lumine said after giving it some thought.
"Then who's going to play this harmonious family?" Paimon asked, spreading her hands.
"Um... I think I could—" Before Lora could finish, Xianyun cut her off.
"Isn't it obvious? Naturally, it should be me!" Xianyun puffed out her chest and addressed the group in a measured tone. "My experience and methods when it comes to teaching disciples speak for themselves. My disciples and I also get along exceptionally well."
Lora fell silent and stared at her. "Are you sure?"
"Of course! I've raised my disciples for so many years, and we've always been one big happy family!" Xianyun looked utterly confident.
Seeing how certain she was, Lora raised no further objections. She nodded. "All right, then."
"Excellent! Once we return to Liyue Harbor, we'll work out the details," Paimon cheered.
If Lora had not blocked the sound around them in advance, their plan might have collapsed before it even began.
...
After returning to Liyue Harbor, Gaming said goodbye to Lora and the others and headed back to his residence. The rest of the group made their way to Xianyun's home.
As they reached the front door, however, Xianyun spotted two enormous craters in the ground and frowned.
"What... happened here? Is someone demolishing my house?"
The moment she finished speaking, another deafening crash erupted from inside. A second later, Zhongyue and Furina shot out of the courtyard trailing black smoke, flew into the air, and crashed down directly in front of them.
Yuandai and Shuyu came running out after them, both covering their noses.
Xianyun: "..."
Lora: "..."
"Did heavenly punishment strike my home?" Xianyun stared blankly at the group before her.
"Master!" Shuyu cried excitedly. She ran straight over and grabbed Xianyun's hand. Yuandai also approached and bowed respectfully in greeting.
Zhongyue waved away the smoke without saying anything to Xianyun. After climbing out of the crater, she turned toward the courtyard and shouted, "Apep! Put those tools down if you don't know what you're doing! Four times! You've blown me up four times today!"
"Apep is...?" Xianyun looked at Lora in confusion.
"She's the woman with green-gold hair who came with us," Lora explained. "The one you saw at The Chasm."
"That name sounds familiar. Who exactly is she?" Xianyun asked with a frown.
Before Lora could answer, Apep stormed out of the courtyard with a dark expression.
"Nonsense! There could not possibly be anything wrong with my craftsmanship. You must not have cooperated properly!"
"How much more cooperation do you expect from me? You've already blasted me into the sky four times!" Zhongyue snapped.
"It was only four times. You're a dragon. Can't you endure a little hardship?" Apep shot back.
Zhongyue's eyes widened with pure disbelief. "How can you possibly say that with a straight face?"
Rubbing her backside, Furina walked over to Lora. Lora gave her a deliberately stern look.
"How did you end up getting involved in this?"
"It was a misunderstanding! Zhongyue said there wouldn't be any problems, so I climbed aboard with her. But the moment she started it, the thing blew both of us away!" Furina hurriedly explained, making it clear that she had absolutely not joined in because it looked fun.
"You really need to be more careful next time. You're not as tough as they are. What would you do if you got hurt?" Lora sighed and reached out to wipe the black soot from Furina's face.
"It won't happen again," Furina mumbled quietly.
Lora walked over to Xianyun and began making introductions.
"Come on, you two should get acquainted. This is Xianyun, a Liyue adeptus, also known as Cloud Retainer, and the owner of this house. And this is Apep, the Dendro Dragon Sovereign from Sumeru."
"The Dendro Dragon Sovereign...?"
Upon hearing Apep's identity, Xianyun froze. Her expression gradually shifted into one of utter disbelief.
Well, this time she might truly be finished.
Lora patted Xianyun on the shoulder. "Oh, don't worry. It's not as though she's targeting you."
"She's targeting me," Zhongyue interjected. "But I'm clever, so she didn't succeed. Still, I suspect that Wynlin fellow is going to have a miserable Lantern Rite."
"What a sinful woman..." Xianyun lamented.
Lora shook her head. "No, a goddess."
"...You're insane."
Xianyun and Apep exchanged a few words of greeting, which was enough to count as an introduction.
As the first-generation Dragon Sovereign, Apep had never held gods in particularly high regard. It was only because of everything that had happened before that she had developed a good relationship with Lora and her companions. By extension, she had also become more accepting of those associated with Lora.
Otherwise, the old Apep would never have cared about a Liyue adeptus. She would not even have spared Xianyun a glance.
"Come along. There's no need to stand around outside. Let's go in," Xianyun said, ushering everyone toward the house.
However, the instant she opened the door and saw the courtyard, she turned to stone.
Could someone please tell her what she was looking at?
It looked like a ruin left behind after the Archon War.
Was this really still her home?
Lora followed closely behind her. The moment she saw the devastation in the courtyard, her eyes widened in shock. She turned toward Furina and the others.
"Were you people trying to tear the place down?"
Furina spread her hands. "This had nothing to do with me."
Shuyu and Yuandai exchanged glances, then shook their heads at Lora.
Zhongyue snorted. "You'll have to ask a certain someone, the first-generation Dendro Dragon Sovereign of Sumeru, who claims to be capable of anything but can't even build a self-propelled kite."
She had practically named Apep already, so why bother pretending to be vague?
Lora looked at Apep. "How did you even manage to cause this much destruction?"
"I simply do not understand human mechanical structures or methods of power transmission!" Apep raised her chin slightly, making it clear that she did not consider this her fault.
"Then why insist on using human methods?" Lora asked. "Don't you dislike humans?"