Genshin Impact: My villain system is a little different.

"I apologize for alarming you all. Please stay in Liyue a while longer - things will be turbulent here for some time."

Back home, Jiang Ning addressed the visitors from Mondstadt.

"Mm, it's fine, we're on vacation anyway. Just focus on what you need to do," Amber said.

Eula asked with concern: "Do you need our help?"

"Well, I'll call you if needed," Jiang Ning replied.

"Little brother." Shenhe had returned, changed into her crane-style mountain attire.

"Senior Sister, let's go find Master. Sister Ningguang asked me to inquire about Rex Lapis."

Jiang Ning said.

Since Xianyun was in Liyue Harbor, Ningguang, who originally wanted to discover the truth before informing the adepti, realized it couldn't be hidden anyway and simply had Jiang Ning test the waters.

"Mm, alright." Shenhe nodded.

Ganyu hadn't returned as Ningguang still had many matters to handle, but calmed by Jiang Ning's speculation, the little coconut goat had regained her composure and was helping manage various affairs.

...

"Master."

Arriving at Xianyun's room, Jiang Ning saw her among piles of parts and books, seemingly secluded for a long time.

"I brought food."

Jiang Ning approached Xianyun under the pretense of bringing meals, noticing her hair was slightly damp and detecting a fresh fragrance.

Master had taken a bath...

Usually, when Xianyun was absorbed in her devices, she'd almost forget to bathe. Though adepti had dust-repelling spells, she still had the habit of bathing after finishing research.

However, having both bathed and appearing absorbed in research... this act seemed a bit forced.

"Ah? Jiang Ning, child, you came in without saying anything, but knew to bring me food... you're so thoughtful..."

Seeing Jiang Ning, Xianyun started rambling, though clearly happy about him bringing food.

However, this further confirmed something for Jiang Ning.

Master had just been out.

And from this setup, she was trying to hide it from him...

Jiang Ning went straight to the point: "Rex Lapis has been assassinated."

Xianyun fell silent for a moment, then visibly became angry, followed by an indignant voice:

"The Liyue Qixing, how dare they... No, I must first suppress Liyue Harbor, then address Rex Lapis's assassination!"

Jiang Ning said: "Well, Master, you can stop pretending. You already knew, didn't you?"

Xianyun's voice suddenly stopped, then said: "What are you talking about, I don't understand..."

"Master, shouldn't your first reaction be disbelief? As Rex Lapis, with such strong power, how could he be assassinated? The first reaction should be disbelief, thinking I'm deceiving you... Note that for next time."

Xianyun reflexively said: "Mm, I'll note that for next time... Huh? Wait a minute?"

Xianyun realized what she'd said and awkwardly turned away.

Jiang Ning stared at Xianyun with dead fish eyes: "Tell me, Master, what's really going on?"

"I... this adeptus..." Xianyun stammered.

Shenhe also looked at her master in confusion.

"Really now, we shouldn't have let you know. You really can't keep secrets."

Madame Ping's voice rang out, sounding somewhat exasperated.

And beside Madame Ping was Zhongli, who walked in with a helpless expression.

"Rex Lapis, you miscalculated this time, actually letting Xianyun know."

Madame Ping teased.

Zhongli also said: "Fortunately, Jiang Ning isn't one to speak carelessly..."

Jiang Ning said: "But Master, you never told me to keep it secret before. I just said you probably weren't dead, and explained that if an archon died, Liyue Harbor would be gone."

"To be honest, Master, this is full of holes. When has an archon ever died with their region remaining perfectly fine? Some people have probably figured it out but don't dare say it."

But I dare.

Zhongli pondered: "You're right, I didn't consider thoroughly... but don't spread this to more people. I want to see how Liyue performs in a godless moment, and this will also be your stage for ascending to divinity."

Shenhe's eyes widened. Though she had suspicions about Zhongli's identity... she never imagined he was Rex Lapis.

And it felt quite surreal.

The little brother who often rode beneath her... might become Rex Lapis's successor? The next Geo Archon?

Jiang Ning said: "Alright, I understand. I won't tell anyone you're not dead, nor that you're Rex Lapis... until everything is settled."

Zhongli nodded: "Thus, the contract is sealed."

"Those who break their word shall face the punishment of stone." Jiang Ning added.

Zhongli was very satisfied and turned to Shenhe: "You should also make a contract."

"Alright..." Shenhe nodded.

...

Rex Lapis's death caused huge waves throughout Liyue Harbor. Some disbelieved, some worried.

But most felt lost about the future after Rex Lapis's passing.

Ningguang and Keqing proved worthy of their young positions as Qixing, acting swiftly and decisively.

In just three days, they consolidated all power in Liyue, forcefully continuing the investigation of Rex Lapis's death.

Ganyu helped from behind.

Though many wealthy merchants and outsiders stirred restlessly, they were directly suppressed.

And the Fatui were playing their own role in this.

After sending away another batch of dissatisfied people today, including those trying to grab power, Ningguang finally dropped her diplomatic smile.

With a stern face, she looked at the Yuheng who was so angry she wanted to draw her sword, and said:

"When Rex Lapis was here, no one dared question his decisions. He's barely gone west, and already people can't stay patient... Just watch, there will be more to come."

Ningguang lowered her eyes to drink: "Now you understand the inconvenience of human governance? Though Jiang Ning mentioned it before, we didn't expect the Northland Bank to adopt such an aggressive attitude as soon as Rex Lapis had this incident."

"They're testing us..." Keqing's expression darkened.

It was probably the intention of the wealthy behind the Northland Bank - they were already starting to use their puppet merchants to question Rex Lapis's decisions.

If Rex Lapis's death was confirmed, wouldn't they try to interfere with the Qixing selection too?

This was something Ningguang absolutely couldn't tolerate.

"Now, we just wait for news from Jiang Ning?"

Ningguang looked out at Liyue through the window, the sky was gloomy, a storm approaching.

When Jiang Ning arrived, he found Ningguang, Ganyu, and Keqing planning Liyue Harbor's defenses.

"How's the situation? Is Rex Lapis...?"

The three women looked at him anxiously.

Jiang Ning covered his mouth: "Well, there's a contract, I can't reveal anything."

At these words, the three immediately showed satisfied smiles.

Being clever and intelligent women, they understood from Jiang Ning's response that Rex Lapis wasn't dead.

"Very good. Then, how did Lady Xianyun react? Or rather, what does the Adeptus Cloud Retainer think?"

Ningguang continued asking.

"Mm... Master seemed very angry, then went to find other adepti to come to Liyue Harbor for an explanation."

This further confirmed their suspicions about deeper meanings - otherwise, that hot-tempered adeptus would surely have come alone to demand answers if she knew about Rex Lapis.

She might even have suppressed Liyue Harbor first.

Why would she "angrily" go find others first?

"Well then, next we need to think about how to handle the arriving adepti..."

Ningguang and Keqing continued making arrangements, while asking Ganyu which adepti might come.

In the shadows, Zhongli and Madame Ping were watching everything. Madame Ping said cheerfully:

"Rex Lapis, they found a loophole in your contract. It seems verbal contracts aren't rigorous enough. Should we make a new contract?"

Zhongli said: "No need. I don't mind them knowing I'm not dead. Though I originally thought about faking death and returning to the people, my conversation with Jiang Ning made me realize that Teyvat's nations cannot be without gods."

"When this is over, whether Liyue passes my test or not, I will appear and explain everything."

Zhongli's gaze fixed on the distant Guyun Stone Forest, lost in thought.

...

"Unlucky, unlucky, unlucky!"

At Mt. Hulao, Lumine and Paimon were being chased by a group of slimes again, with torch-wielding hilichurls and axe-wielding hilichurl berserkers behind them.

Finally, the quick-witted Lumine pulled Paimon into a sharp turn, suddenly leaping down and gliding to another peak with wind glider, leaving the hilichurls raging helplessly.

After reaching safety, Lumine sat on the ground most unladylike, breathing heavily.

"Re-really now, why? Why are we so unlucky? In Mondstadt we were inexplicably wanted, and now in Liyue we're being hunted by the Millelith..."

Paimon complained.

"Lumine, do you have some kind of criminal constitution?"

"You're one to talk!" Lumine glared at Paimon, then knocked on her head.

"Your suggestion was completely ridiculous! I was just worried if Rex Lapis might be the god who took my brother, but I didn't say we should run!"

"You just grabbed me and ran, what was that about? Now we're being treated as suspicious people!"

Lumine grew angrier as she spoke, pinching and squishing Paimon's cheeks.

"I'm sowwy..." Paimon quickly begged for mercy.

Finally, Lumine released Paimon with a snort and continued:

"Then that Childe Tartaglia appeared, saying something about Northland Bank being law-abiding but Liyue using this as an excuse to squeeze them ruthlessly. He wanted us to find the adepti for judgment, saying it could clear our suspicion... And this Sigil of Permission, can it really let us meet the adepti?"

Paimon expressed strong doubt.

Lumine said: "We can only take it one step at a time... Really, Jiang Ning is right there in Liyue Harbor, and I haven't seen him for so long..."

Life is hard, Lumine sighed.

Paimon said: "Look on the bright side! At least we saw Rex Lapis, right?"

Lumine couldn't be bothered with Paimon. Your idea of 'seeing Rex Lapis' was watching him plummet from the clouds and crash land?

That was really ridiculous.

"Wonder which adeptus is here at Mt. Hulao? I say we should have gone to Mt. Aozang first. I heard the adeptus there is Jiang Ning's master, they might be easier to talk to."

Paimon speculated.

"We're already up here, and you want me to go back down and climb another mountain... You're comfortable since you can just return to your little space when tired, but I'm the one walking!"

Lumine kept complaining, clearly full of resentment.

"Ehehe... let's go."

...

After three days and nights, Lumine had met two adepti - one a deer, the other a bird.

However, they hadn't met Cloud Retainer yet, and their final destination should be Wangshu Inn.

Following the innkeeper's directions, they reached the top, but after calling for a long time, no one came. Lumine was confused.

"How reliable is this Childe anyway? Cloud Retainer isn't home, and neither Conqueror of Demons nor Guardian Yaksha Xiao is here."

Paimon threw up her hands.

Lumine was also confused but then remembered something and took out the Sigil of Permission.

"Xiao!"

Lumine called again, and this time, Xiao finally appeared: "You hold the Sigil of Permission. Why do you call me?"

"Wow, he appeared right away!"

Paimon was startled.

Lumine curiously looked at this Guardian Yaksha - this was the first human-form adeptus they'd met.

"Why do you call me?"

Seeing Lumine silent, Xiao sighed and asked again.

"Oh, oh, it's like this..."

Lumine explained what happened at the Rite of Descension, and mentioned she had already found several adepti.

Xiao's expression turned sorrowful, his tone melancholic: "Rex Lapis has met with misfortune? I'll head to Liyue Harbor first to investigate the situation and see what my fellow adepti think..."

With that, he vanished on the spot.

Lumine and Paimon looked at each other, with Paimon very confused:

"Why did the deer adeptus and bird adeptus seem extremely angry and rushed to Liyue Harbor, but this Guardian Yaksha seemed to have no emotional reaction?"

"Could it be because his relationship with Rex Lapis isn't that close?"

Paimon said.

"Don't talk nonsense!"

Lumine glared at Paimon. Truly, during their eighty-one tribulations along the way, part of it was caused by Paimon's stomach - after all, to feed a big eater, they had to keep taking commissions.

The rest was due to Paimon's mouth - she just liked causing trouble.

Careless words were more likely to offend people.

"Oh..."

Paimon covered her mouth, trying to act cute to get away with it.

Lumine massaged her swollen calves, then said:

"Let's head back too. We've notified everyone we could reach. Let's see what's happening in Liyue... and find Jiang Ning to clear our names."

"So why didn't we find Jiang Ning in the first place?"

"... Can't I just forget something?!"

----

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