After saying that, Lumine summoned her dull blade in a flash of light.
She rushed straight toward the three Cryo Whopperflowers.
In no time at all, the three monsters were cut down by the Traveler.
Fragments of Glaze Lily petals were scattered across the ground.
"This is a type of monster called a Whopperflower."
"Hmm? These petals… interesting."
After explaining, Zhongli crouched down and examined the scattered petals.
"The Glaze Lilies they used for camouflage have been buried alongside the Whopperflowers for too long."
"Instead, they've become excellent medicinal ingredients."
"A misfortune turned blessing… collect these petals."
Zhongli stood up and said to Lumine.
"That works out nicely?"
"So can we use these petals for the Rite of Parting?"
Paimon asked.
Qiu Nian shook his head.
"Excuse me…"
"Are you looking for Glaze Lilies?"
At that moment, a gentle female voice sounded nearby.
The four of them turned toward the source.
The one who had arrived was Ganyu.
"Ah! It's you!"
"Uh… wait, I can't remember your name…"
Paimon looked at Ganyu, trying to recall her name but failing.
"Hello there, Wang Xiaomei."
Lumine greeted her.
"Wang Xiaomei?"
"W-Who is that?"
Ganyu looked completely confused.
"Ganyu and Wang Xiaomei…"
"You didn't get a single word right."
Ganyu sighed, shaking her head.
"Speaking of which…"
"How was your visit to the Jade Chamber?"
She looked toward Qiu Nian as she asked.
"Lady Ningguang is very easy to talk to."
Qiu Nian replied casually.
"Compared to when we first met…"
"Your demeanor seems different."
"You don't feel as serious as before."
Paimon said curiously.
"Ah… that's because I was acting as the Tianquan's envoy at the time."
"But now I'm just here to look at flowers."
Ganyu explained.
"Then why not look at flowers in the city?"
"Why come all the way out here?"
Paimon asked.
"..."
"Yujing Terrace is where Rex Lapis passed away."
"Looking at flowers there only makes one feel lonely."
Ganyu sighed softly.
"These past few days…"
"When I work near Yujing Terrace, I keep my windows closed so I won't have to look outside…"
She explained quietly.
"Um… I'm sorry."
"I shouldn't have brought it up."
Paimon apologized awkwardly.
"No… it's simply that I haven't fully sorted out my own feelings."
"Two thousand years ago, when the Archon War ended, the original Seven gathered in Liyue and shared a drink with Rex Lapis."
"…But now, with the passage of time, five of those Seven have already passed away."
Ganyu said.
"So that means…"
Lumine seemed to realize something.
"Yes."
"Now that Rex Lapis has returned to the heavens…"
"Of the original Seven Archons, only Barbatos of Mondstadt still remains."
Ganyu nodded.
"The other five—including the Raiden Shogun of Inazuma—are no longer the same gods from two thousand years ago."
"Among the current Seven Archons, the youngest is Sumeru's Dendro Archon, who is only five hundred years old."
"Meanwhile, Rex Lapis lived the longest, for more than six thousand years."
She continued.
"So for the three-thousand-seven-hundred-year history of Liyue…"
"From the very beginning of its founding, Rex Lapis ruled it."
"We have never experienced a farewell to our god…"
Ganyu lowered her head slightly, as if struggling to imagine such a future.
"Then tell me…"
"What do you think about this farewell?"
Zhongli asked calmly.
"Eh? That's so sudden…"
Ganyu seemed a bit caught off guard.
"…As a human, I still cannot imagine what Liyue will become without Rex Lapis."
"But as an adeptus… I suppose I will eventually accept the truth."
"Since Rex Lapis has passed away, the era in which the adepti and gods upheld their contracts with Liyue has, in fact, already come to an end."
After letting out a slow breath, she answered.
"You said… as an adeptus?"
"Does that mean you're an adeptus?"
Qiu Nian asked curiously.
"I… I am half-human and half-qilin."
"I possess half the blood of an adeptus."
"During the Archon War, I also fought for Rex Lapis and for Liyue."
"After the war ended, I signed a contract with Rex Lapis and began serving as the secretary to the Liyue Qixing."
"And I have continued doing so until today."
Ganyu explained.
"No wonder you have horns on your head!"
Lumine exclaimed.
"Wow, you're actually a qilin!"
"But the more I hear about it… the more it sounds like the 'cocogoat' Qiqi talked about."
Xuehua said in the livestream.
[Half-adeptus beast with goat-like horns]
[I'm convinced the cocogoat Qiqi mentioned is her]
[Hahaha]
"Cough… cough…"
"Let's talk about something else."
Ganyu coughed awkwardly.
"If you're an adeptus who lived during the Archon War…"
"Then do you know anything about the person the adepti of Jueyun Karst mentioned?"
Qiu Nian asked.
"I was just about to ask that too."
Paimon said.
"That person…?"
Ganyu looked puzzled.
"It's like this."
Lumine explained the entire situation to her.
"I see."
"The person you mentioned did indeed fight Rex Lapis once."
"And just as recorded in historical documents, their power was nearly equal."
Ganyu said thoughtfully.
"However, I was still very young at the time…"
"So I don't know the exact outcome of that battle."
"But after that fight, for certain reasons, he reconciled with Rex Lapis and became his friend."
"And just as you guessed, he lived in Liyue as an adeptus for about ten years."
She continued.
"So our guesses were actually correct!"
Paimon exclaimed.
"Then… could you tell us…"
"What kind of person that out—uh… I mean, that adeptus was?"
"And if he were still alive today… would he really assassinate Rex Lapis?"
Paimon asked curiously.
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