Xianyun, Jiehu, Houzhang, and the other Liyue adepti all stared wide-eyed in shock.
Zhongyue even shot up from her chair.
"Am I... going blind?"
Apep glanced at her and said, "Probably not. How could you still see if you were blind?"
"Then I must be seeing things," Zhongyue murmured.
"What's wrong? Why is everyone frozen?"
The person at the doorway laughed at their varied expressions of shock, waved at them, and called out, "Xianyun, Zhongli, Ping!"
Zhongli looked at the person standing at the entrance and fell silent for a long while before finally saying, "Welcome back."
Ping rose from her seat. She looked at the person at the door, tears glimmering in her eyes.
"How long has it been since we last saw each other?"
"A very long time, I suppose," the person at the door replied with a smile.
"Welcome back, Guizhong." Ping smiled, wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes as she welcomed the traveler who had returned home.
"Ping!"
Guizhong stepped inside and gave Ping a tight hug.
Hu Tao and the younger ones watched it all unfold. She quickly tugged Zhongli's sleeve and whispered, "Hey, hey, who exactly is Miss Guizhong?"
"An old friend," Zhongli replied calmly.
"An old friend?" Hu Tao frowned slightly, looking even more confused.
Venti watched the scene in the courtyard, then stepped over the threshold with Wynlin and came inside. He smiled at Lora and asked, "Well? How is it? Not a bad gift, right?"
Lora immediately asked, "How did you do it?"
"Well... I used just a tiny bit of power."
As soon as Venti said that, he realized it did not sound quite right and quickly corrected himself.
"No, wait. I put in a tremendous amount of effort. I spent the past half year traveling all over Liyue before I finally brought her back."
"Stop pretending to be weak." Lora gave Venti a disdainful look, then gave him a thumbs-up. "Still, that is impressive, drunken bard."
"Thank you," Zhongli also said to Venti.
"Oh my, the old man is thanking me?" At this point, Venti no longer cared whether Hu Tao and the other mortals noticed his identity. He put on a relieved expression and said, "Does that mean I'm forgiven?"
"Gratitude is one matter, but what you did before was still improper," Zhongli said seriously, shaking his head.
Venti nodded. "I know, I know. I was wrong, all right? Today is a day for everyone to reunite, so don't keep lecturing me!"
"Exactly, exactly. Come on, let's eat first!" Lora called Venti over to sit down.
Guizhong was a chatterbox.
Although she had only just returned, it was as if she had endless things to say to the younger ones. Before long, she had already become good friends with Hu Tao and the others.
"Sister Guizhong, you know so much!"
Chongyun and Xingqiu looked at Guizhong with eyes full of admiration, as if they were looking up at their idol. As someone from ancient times, the stories she knew were all legends to them.
And both Chongyun and Xingqiu happened to love listening to legends most.
"Oh, they're just old stories! If you want to hear more, I have plenty more to tell!" Seeing the admiration in the two children's eyes, Guizhong puffed out her chest, feeling a little proud.
From the way Xianyun and the other adepti treated Guizhong, Hu Tao also gained a rough understanding of her identity.
She had to be an adeptus too!
Compared to the other two, who asked about all kinds of legends, Hu Tao's questions leaned more toward stories between the adepti, along with a few details about Zhongli.
Guizhong patiently told her some small stories from his past.
Venti carried a cup of wine over and sat beside Beleth. "So? Getting used to this?"
"You know I have never attended a gathering like this before," Beleth said after looking at him in silence for a moment.
"Perhaps there will be many more gatherings like this in the future," Venti said to her. "So you had better get used to it!"
"Why exactly did you invite me here?" Beleth asked.
"You'll find out tomorrow. Lora will explain it to you." Venti did not reveal the purpose of inviting her at that moment.
Today was a festival, a day of reunion and celebration.
It was not the time to discuss such heavy matters.
The meal passed peacefully.
Or rather, none of the various incidents from the previous two Lantern Rites happened this time.
It felt a little like the calm before the storm.
...
After dinner, lanterns lit up across Liyue Harbor, and the streets outside gradually grew lively. All kinds of stalls had been set up, their owners calling out to sell delicate ornaments and gifts.
The harbor was bustling with people.
Guizhong walked along the street with her hands behind her back, gazing at the Liyue Harbor she had not seen in thousands of years.
"The customs and atmosphere today are completely different from back then!" she sighed with emotion. "It is more prosperous now, and much warmer too."
"Yes. The Liyue of today is no longer the Gui Li Assembly of the past," Ping said with a nod.
She and Xianyun accompanied Guizhong as they strolled through the streets, leaving the other gods behind.
"If only time could stop here, with all these beautiful things preserved. How wonderful that would be." Sophia watched the three of them from behind and murmured to herself, "Unfortunately, even we are powerless before time."
"No dwelling on the past! No sorrow! No sadness!" Lora quickly cut Sophia off and said to everyone, "Today is a festival, and everyone has only one task. Be happy."
"Lady Egeria is right," Focalors was the first to agree.
Furina nodded vigorously. "Mm-hmm! I completely agree."
"If you get sad, you won't be able to enjoy good food, so it's better to be happy!" Paimon was still holding a stick of candied hawthorn Zhongyue had given her, eating as she flew beside everyone.
"Paimon is right!" Lumine nodded in agreement.
"Little ones really do know how to look on the bright side!" Makoto smiled from the side, agreeing with Paimon.
The group continued forward.
When they reached the harbor, however, the lights suddenly dimmed.
"Huh? What's going on?" Makoto, Ei, and the others, who did not know what was happening, looked confused. "Did something go wrong?"
Lora reassured them, "Don't worry. It's nothing serious. Look over there."
Like the enthusiastic local guide she was pretending to be, Lora patiently pointed everyone in a certain direction.
Everyone followed where she was pointing and saw a platform on the surface of the sea not far away.
The sound of drums drifted over, and a fiery red glow lit up.
Gaming stood on the water, holding up the Suanni.
"Look! It's Gaming! He's going to perform the Wushou Dance!" Paimon pointed over there and cheered.