The journey wasn't exactly boring.
The Qianyan Army was more than happy to explain the recent changes in Liyue to Jean and her companions.
After all, from their perspective, since Ningguang herself had extended the invitation and mentioned it was for business, it surely meant big spending was involved.
Naturally, they were delighted to promote Liyue's goods as much as possible.
They gave detailed descriptions of the materials Liyue had for sale and the custom weapons available—like professional salesmen.
But it wasn't just idle chatter; Jean and the others learned a lot.
They now understood the finer details of Liyue's iron ore production and other resources.
More surprisingly, they discovered that Liyue's blacksmithing division accepted external orders and could forge weapons with elemental resonance tailored to the user.
This news genuinely shocked Jean and her group.
After all, even elite fighters like Lisa and Diluc only wielded four-star weapons.
As for divine artifacts, Jean's Favonius Sword was the only true one among them—and that already signified considerable wealth.
Amber's dream was simply to one day earn a standard-issue longbow forged by the Knights of Favonius.
Even forging four-star weapons required extremely rare prototypes.
Those prototypes were regarded as legendary materials throughout Teyvat.
Diluc was quite interested, especially upon hearing that Childe, one of the Fatui Harbingers, had bought every single weapon type in one go.
Diluc immediately declared that he wanted the very best of everything as well—one of each weapon type, regardless of whether he'd use them or not.
It wasn't about practicality; it was about making a statement.
Unfortunately, according to the Qianyan soldier, orders were already booked half a year in advance.
As dusk fell, the group finally arrived at Liyue Harbor.
Thanks to a massive influx of Mora, Liyue Harbor had been renovated extensively. Many areas had not just been restored, but improved beyond their former state.
The streets were bustling, shoulder to shoulder with people.
Every Liyue citizen wore a look of pride on their face.
From time to time, children could be seen chasing wolves and feeding them meat.
Jean and the others had heard of these wolves.
They were magical beasts like warhorses—utterly loyal and obedient.
Able to kill hilichurls with a single bite, just a few of them could tear through an entire hilichurl camp.
To Jean and her group, this wasn't an exaggeration.
After all, warhorses alone had already been shockingly powerful—why not wolves too?
Still, they couldn't help but feel a twinge of envy at the sight of those loyal, powerful beasts.
At the entrance to Liyue Harbor, several people in Fatui uniforms were gathered.
Just as Chiyan was about to lead Jean and the others in, his brow furrowed. He turned and strode toward the Fatui group, barking sharply:
"What are you doing loitering around here?!"
The Fatui agents looked up. Upon recognizing a Qianyan officer, their expressions soured.
"Sir, we were just discussing where to go for dinner tonight!"
"You need to sneak around just to decide on dinner?"
Chiyan snorted.
"Show your identification—search them!"
The Fatui agents were clearly disgruntled but didn't dare protest. They reluctantly raised their hands.
They had already noticed that other Qianyan soldiers, some with wolves on leashes, were approaching.
This whole procedure had become a routine for them lately—they had grown used to it.
They pulled out their identification documents with practiced hands, stood still for the pat-downs, and, after nothing was found, Chiyan scowled and barked:
"Move along! Don't gather near the entrance again!"
With that, he turned and walked back to Jean's group.
The Fatui agents rolled their eyes in silent fury.
There were crowds of people gathered at Liyue's gate, including merchants meeting for business, yet the Qianyan Army had to single them out.
Even a fool could tell it was targeted harassment.
But there was nothing they could do. In this land, they held no sway. All they could do was hang their heads and walk away.
"Apologies for the delay," Chiyan scratched his head sheepishly.
But Diluc, standing beside him, nodded approvingly.
"No need to apologize. With the Fatui, there's no need to be polite. I fully support your approach."
Chiyan grinned awkwardly at the praise.
"To be honest, it's also per Lady Ningguang's and the Ministry of Civil Affairs' instructions. These Fatui agents stirred up quite a bit of trouble after they first arrived. And they've been trying to... well…"
"When Lady Ningguang got angry, she ordered the ministry to audit the Northland Bank every other day. Qianyan soldiers were told to keep a close eye on the Fatui."
"That's the only reason they've been behaving lately."
Though he never said it outright, every word hinted at favoritism and bias.
But to those from Mondstadt—who had long suffered under Fatui pressure—it was music to their ears.
Paimon waved her fists and shouted, full of righteous fury, "That's exactly how they should be treated! Those rotten jerks deserve it!"
Diluc glanced at Jean and sighed, unable to hide his wistfulness.
He dreamed that one day, Mondstadt could stand with the same confidence as Liyue.
But he knew—such expectations were harsh.
Liyue had the Geo Archon and countless adepti. Even its mid-tier ranks were filled with vision-holders and disciples of the immortals.
Now, the Qianyan Army had grown powerful, backed by Liyue's robust financial system.
Liyue truly had the strength to stand against any nation.
Mondstadt?
Perhaps before the Grand Master went on his expedition, things wouldn't have been so bad.
But now…
Jean was dependable, but she couldn't carry all of Mondstadt on her shoulders alone.
No one noticed Venti, who stood quietly, watching the Fatui with a conflicted expression.
But seeing how Liyue treated Snezhnayan merchants—no differently from any others—lightened his heart somewhat.
He understood the path the Cryo Archon was walking. That woman deserved sympathy—but she didn't need it.
Like Zhongli, Venti supported her… but couldn't do so openly.
As for the Fatui, Venti had little affection for them.
There might be those within truly loyal to the Cryo Archon—but many were not.
Many merely used her for their own agendas.
Still, the Cryo Archon needed their strength, at least for now.
Venti wouldn't try to dissuade her. She walked that lonely, stubborn path on her own.
But if any of the Fatui Harbingers were ever to betray her—considering the debt Venti owed her from the time he stole her Gnosis…
Venti didn't mind lending the Tsaritsa a hand—especially when it came to reminding those scheming Fatui Harbingers of their true duties.
Like Zhongli, he wasn't fond of the Fatui, but he respected the Tsaritsa's determination. In fact, he was even willing to secretly aid her from the shadows. Perhaps this was just something only old friends would do.
Suddenly, Lisa caught something out of the corner of her eye—a heavily guarded path leading toward Mt. Tianheng.
There was nothing visibly unusual there, and yet, the stationed forces were several times greater than even those at the entrance of Liyue Harbor.
Narrowing her eyes, Lisa chuckled softly and asked,
"Captain Chiyan, what's over there?"
Following her gaze, Chiyan's face darkened at once.
He paused, then replied in a weighted tone,
"Miss Lisa, that area is off-limits. Unless authorized by the Qixing, no one is permitted entry."
"If someone dares to trespass, the Millelith stationed there have full authority to execute them on the spot. It's not exactly a secret."
"I can even tell you—one of the reasons the Fatui are under such scrutiny is because they refuse to give up on that place."
"You are guests of Liyue. I don't want to see anything happen to you."
"There are not only Millelith stationed there, but immortals guarding the site…"
"Under the decree of the Geo Archon himself, any intruder—no matter who—may be slain without question. So please, don't test your luck."
Lisa fell silent. She hadn't expected the place to be related to that Geo Archon.
To think... even a kill-on-sight order had been issued.
But still—
Lisa smiled faintly.
"Of course. I wouldn't do anything so reckless. But Captain Chiyan, are you sure it's alright to tell us all this so openly?"
Chiyan chuckled and shook his head.
"It's fine. The changes in Liyue are visible to all. The stationed force there isn't some grand secret—anyone with a brain can figure out its importance."
"But so what? No one dares approach it."
"They say even one of the Harbingers was warned by the immortals and has been behaving themselves ever since."
"I'm only telling you this because I don't want you walking into something dangerous by mistake."
"Lady Ningguang's stance is clear—be they mortal or god, anyone who steps across that line is an enemy of Liyue."
"The Geo Lord himself wouldn't hesitate to strike personally if needed."
With that, Chiyan said no more and resumed leading the group into Liyue Harbor.
Lisa's gaze lingered on the path for a while longer before she smiled softly to herself.
"My, my... now I'm really curious."
"Don't even think about it," came Venti's voice, transmitted directly to Lisa and the others via Anemo resonance.
"That place holds divine wards left behind by the old man himself, with Pingzi acting as guardian. Even I would trigger a deadly formation if I wandered in uninvited."
"It's better not to go against the old man's wishes. The God of War hasn't gone soft yet."
The group exchanged quiet, knowing glances, temporarily putting their curiosity to rest.
No matter what, meeting with Ningguang came first.
"Is that... where the Geo Archon is most likely to be?"
Lumine reached out to Venti through elemental resonance, asking in a hushed tone.
"Hehe~"
Venti winked playfully.
"Indeed, the old man's aura is thick over there. But I suggest you don't go. Not unless you're invited."
"With your current strength, you wouldn't even make it past the Millelith, and if Pingzi caught you sneaking around... even if she didn't kill you, she'd definitely make you suffer."
"Back in the day, she was quite the ferocious immortal."
Lumine's eyes dimmed slightly. She reluctantly gave up on the thought.
She'd heard that the Geo Archon had lived for over six thousand years.
If anyone knew what happened to that god back then—perhaps even had seen her brother—it would be him.
But… she couldn't just barge in.
"I guess I'll have to wait for the Rite of Parting," she sighed.
"Not necessarily," Venti hinted vaguely, but then fell silent, turning his attention to the lively scenery around him, commenting cheerfully on the sights.
It had been a long time since he'd last visited Liyue.
~~----------------------
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