With no one else present, Ningguang didn't bother hiding her cold expression.
"Follow me."
They left Chihu Rock and walked west in silence, crossing the bridge into the foothills of Mt. Tianheng before she finally stopped.
When she turned around, her pupils shrank slightly.
Lu Lin stood there casually tossing an ice sphere in one hand while a flickering flame danced at the tip of his other finger.
It looked like a street performance.
But it wasn't.
Ningguang knew what she was seeing—Cryo and Pyro elemental energy.
She had sensed no elemental fluctuation while walking ahead of him, which meant his control was extremely refined.
He was demonstrating strength.
And he needed to.
Ningguang possessed a Vision. If she tried to solve this by force, he had to preemptively discourage that option.
She had considered it.
Now she dismissed it.
Simultaneous control of two elements without a Vision was nearly unheard of.
There were too many unknowns about this man. Violence would yield little.
She exhaled slowly.
"Speak. What exactly do you want?"
"What do I want? I don't quite understand."
"Stop pretending. I want the photographs you took with the Kamera. What will it take for you to give them to me?"
"Don't be so angry. They're just photos. Here."
He handed her a few prints.
She looked.
They were landscape shots of the Jade Chamber.
Her face flushed red with fury.
"I don't want the scenery! I want the ones you secretly took!"
"Secretly took what? I'm not that kind of person. Accusations require evidence."
She inhaled sharply.
"So you refuse to talk properly?"
Lu Lin stepped closer, putting away the elemental display.
"It's not that I refuse. You need to be clear about what you want."
"You know exactly what I mean!"
"I really don't."
He was deliberately forcing her to say it.
She understood.
Her lips trembled.
She wanted to kill him.
But she couldn't.
If those images leaked, her reputation would be severely damaged—perhaps even cost her position among the Qixing.
Everything she had built would collapse.
She steadied herself.
She had prepared for this.
If she had to swallow her pride to retrieve them, so be it.
"I want the photos you took of me."
"What kind of photos?"
She clenched her teeth.
"The ones where you left marks on my chest."
The words burned on her tongue.
She, Liyue's most elegant and untouchable flower, forced to say such humiliating words.
Lu Lin felt an undeniable thrill.
"Oh, you mean this?"
He handed her one.
Snowy peaks. Red plum blossoms. Two symmetrical marks.
From a photography perspective—it was indeed a flawless composition.
Her face turned crimson.
"Name your condition. What must I do for you to hand over both the photos and the negatives?"
Instead of answering, Lu Lin asked:
"When we first met at the Jade Chamber, your attitude was normal. Why did you suddenly start hating me?"
"Hating you isn't justified? You're a scoundrel. A womanizer. You toy with multiple girls at once. I don't just hate you—I want to kill you!"
"Stop. That's not how someone negotiates."
He understood now.
She had realized from the report that he had kissed both Ganyu and Hu Tao.
She had judged him a scumbag.
That hatred had triggered the system task.
What an unfortunate chain of events.
"You can have the photos and negatives," he said calmly. "On one condition."
"What condition?"
She braced herself.
Money? Assets? Resources? Fine.
But if he crossed certain lines—
She would rather destroy everything.
"Before I tell you, come somewhere with me. Take my hand."
"Where?"
"I won't do anything to you."
She didn't believe him.
But she had no choice.
After a moment's hesitation, she placed just two fingers lightly into his palm.
That was enough.
Her vision blurred.
In the next instant, she stood in an unfamiliar realm.
Night sky brilliant with stars.
A bright moon overhead.
Rolling green fields and layered mountain silhouettes.
The scenery was breathtaking.
"Welcome to my Serenitea Pot," Lu Lin said with a graceful bow.
"Enough. State your condition."
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