"Wow, what a, what a huge living room! I've never seen such a luxurious room..."
Paimon followed Lumine into the palace and was astonished by the magnificent decorations of the living room.
The table where snacks were placed was even more exquisite than her bed?!
"Yoho, Paimon finally found her way here?"
Feng Yi, who was making tea, couldn't help but tease her with a smile when she saw Paimon enter.
"Hey, hey, hey, Feng Yi, are you questioning the best guide in Teyvat? Forget about being in the sky, even underground, I, Paimon, am an expert at finding my way!"
Paimon stomped her feet in the air, annoyed. Although she found her way here mainly thanks to the guidance of Xingxi, the owner of 'Mingxing Zhai', without her leading Lumine around the city, Xingxi wouldn't have had the chance to guide them.
Speaking of which, she accounted for at least half of the credit in this endeavor!
Feng Yi: You said it yourself, no one forced you. I hope you don't cry when you're leading the way at the bottom of the Chasm...
As Lumine, who had followed Paimon all the way, she had the most say, but she didn't want to speak at the moment, sighing with her hand on her forehead.
"Haha, you two are welcome to make yourselves at home..."
Ningguang, seeing how well Feng Yi and Paimon got along, couldn't help but have a slight change of heart. On Feng Yi's account, she would make some subtle adjustments to the arrangements for the Traveler later.
"Is that really okay?!"
Paimon exclaimed in surprise, thinking she was dreaming, and quickly confirmed again.
"I invited you here, so naturally I consider you friends. When friends visit, happiness is paramount."
Ningguang smiled slightly. Even without Feng Yi's influence, she was always quite accommodating to her guests.
"Ningguang, you're so considerate. Then we won't stand on ceremony. Lumine, look, that should be 'the legendary wall,' right?"
Paimon pointed at a wooden wall plastered with posters, her eyes shining.
According to the storytellers, even the torn scraps from the wall were worth a fortune. If she could memorize the entire piece of paper, wouldn't she be rich?
"Oh? You're quite well-informed."
Ningguang smiled faintly, unconcerned. Legends of the wall posters had always circulated in the marketplace.
Because that wall recorded Liyue's secrets, and merchants were always enthusiastic about secrets that led to making money.
"However, little Paimon, Liyue's commercial secrets are meaningless to you. They're not as valuable as the snacks on that table..."
"Are you praising me? But don't underestimate me. After my meticulous analysis, I've deduced that the huge commotion in Liyue this time must have been instigated by someone, like those Fatui, for example..."
Paimon rested her chin on her hand, her gaze sharp, then pointed to the sky, transforming into a flying Conan Edogawa.
"Oh ho, I'm surprised you could think of that. I don't deny that the Prime Minister's death seemingly benefits the Liyue Qixing, but for Liyue's sake, I cannot be constrained by rumors of the 'Seven Stars usurping power.' As you guessed, behind those rumors, there are active figures from the Fatui..."
Ningguang couldn't help but look at Paimon with newfound respect. Seeing this much already surpassed most ordinary people.
"My order to seal off information and hide the immortal bodies was to temporarily stabilize the situation and, second, to force the clowns lurking in the shadows into the open. Ambushes are more difficult to defend against than direct confrontation..."
"The Fatui have already taken too many actions that exceed diplomatic boundaries under the guise of the Prime Minister's death. As the 'Tianquan' responsible for Liyue, I couldn't afford to be elegant in my resistance. Approving the preparations for the 'Rite of Descension' was merely to buy some buffer time for the Qixing to fully take over Liyue..."
She did not hide this matter, nor was there any need to. She assumed that the Traveler before her had already guessed it.
"Mmm... it's just as Zhongli said, the Qixing provided the venue for the ritual, but it was only because they could use us to achieve their own goals."
Paimon now found Zhongli's words to be very insightful!
As if struck by an idea, Paimon suddenly looked at Ningguang with anticipation:
"Oh, speaking of 'achieving goals'... there's one more thing, can I say it?"
"Please, go ahead."
"I heard that guests who give a meeting gift receive some benefits... do we get some too?"
Thinking of the gifts from Liyue's wealthiest person, Paimon could barely contain herself.
"Paimon, is that all you have to say?"
Lumine suddenly felt a bit embarrassed. How could she be so impolite when visiting someone's home?
"Hahaha... it's alright, I like straightforward people."
Ningguang smiled slightly. She was actually wondering how to draw the Traveler into the situation, and this little fellow had inadvertently helped a lot.
"You've had quite a few troubles recently. How about this, as an apology, you can choose one item you like from me to take away."
"Okay! I've been waiting for this—I've already thought of it! What I want is..."
Paimon: You said anything was fine! Actually, I'm not that greedy, I just want the Jade Chamber, do you think that's possible?
However, Paimon figured Ningguang wouldn't agree to something like that, and it was just a thought.
"I want the paper from that wall!"
After much deliberation, Paimon decided to go for something practical.
If a scrap of paper was worth a fortune, then a whole sheet would be worth many fortunes, right?
Wouldn't Paimon become rich overnight?
From then on, she'd drink bubble tea by the bucket and only eat chicken legs when eating roast chicken...
Lumine: Just as I expected...
After years of getting along, Lumine knew Paimon too well. When Paimon opened her mouth, Lumine knew what she was going to say.
She knew Paimon must have heard that even a fingernail-sized piece of paper from that wall could sell for a sky-high price, which was why she was tempted.
It was just that Paimon didn't know that paper had different values in different hands. In Ningguang's hands, it was priceless, but in ordinary people's hands, it was like blank paper, not exactly worthless, but too rough to even use for wiping.
However, if she had to choose, Lumine didn't know what she would pick either.
At first, she was just running around to clear the Prime Minister's name from suspicion of murder. Now that the suspicion was gone, Lumine suddenly felt a sense of aimlessness.
If there was anything she wanted to do next, it was to complete the 'Rite of Descension,' to see things through to the end and finish this unfinished business.
As for Ningguang offering her a gift, Lumine thought it was better to decline. Letting Paimon pick a piece of 'blank paper' and suffer a little wouldn't be bad.