On the eastern coast of the continent,
a bustling city stood tall by the sea.
The streets were filled with crowds—small traders peddling their goods, local residents going about their day, tourists from distant lands, and Qianyan soldiers patrolling diligently...
Among the crowd,
a bard dressed as an adventurer with two small braids appeared quietly by the roadside.
It was Venti, the famed bard of Mondstadt.
It had been over half a year since his last visit to Liyue, and everything seemed unchanged.
The rich scent of wine still wafted from the tavern's entrance...
The familiar voice of a storyteller could still be heard outside the teahouse, retelling tales of the Geo Archon's heroic exploits...
Venti only glanced at the teahouse and knew Zhongli wasn't inside listening.
"He must be out bird-watching again."
He wandered the streets once more, even visiting the docks, but there was no sign of Zhongli and his birdcage.
"Strange... where could he have gone?"
As luck would have it,
Venti soon ran into Keqing, one of the Liyue Qixing, and seized the chance to ask about Zhongli.
"Hey, Miss Keqing! Do you remember me?"
Hearing Venti's voice,
Keqing turned, surprised.
"Oh—it's you, Mr. Bard. Of course I remember. Welcome back to Liyue Harbor."
Venti smiled.
"Miss Keqing, do you know where Zhongli is? I've searched all over Liyue Harbor but can't find him."
At the mention of Zhongli's name,
Keqing sighed.
"Zhongli is missing."
Venti blinked.
"Huh? Missing?"
Keqing nodded.
"That's right. He vanished three days ago—no one has seen him since. We even mobilized the Qianyan Army to search for him, but found no trace."
Rumors had begun to spread among the people.
Some said Zhongli, as a guest consultant of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, had traveled abroad to expand business...
Others claimed he had offended someone and was tied to a rock and thrown into the sea...
Still others reported sightings near Mt. Hulao, or swore they'd seen him enter the secret realm beneath the Dragon-Queller Tree...
In Liyue Harbor, Zhongli was a well-known figure.
His sudden disappearance had stirred much gossip.
Venti looked puzzled.
"Zhongli is a guest at the Funeral Parlor—doesn't Master Hu know where he is?"
Keqing shook her head.
"It was Hu Tao herself who reported him missing. That's why we dispatched the Qianyan Army. Unfortunately, we haven't found anything. If you want to know more, you can ask Hu Tao at the Funeral Parlor."
Venti grew even more confused after hearing this.
How could Liyue's Geo Archon simply vanish?
Could it be that Zhongli, bored with retirement, had reverted to his mighty dragon form and flown off to Celestia to serve as a proper Geo Archon once more?
Beside him,
Keqing continued.
"It's not just Zhongli. Adventurers have also discovered that the Azhdaha is missing from the secret realm beneath the Dragon-Queller Tree..."
Her expression was full of doubt.
If Zhongli had left the country, it would explain his absence—but where could the Azhdaha have gone?
More and more strange things had been happening lately.
Even Keqing herself could sense a faint aura of danger in the air.
Venti mused,
"Zhongli and Azhdaha disappeared together?"
Keqing nodded.
"Venti, if you happen to see the Traveler, please tell her to help us investigate their whereabouts."
Venti immediately agreed.
"Of course—but judging by the time, the Traveler should already be in Natlan and probably won't return for a while."
After parting ways with Keqing,
Venti visited the Funeral Parlor to hear the story from Hu Tao herself.
Hu Tao sighed.
"What story? He took his birdcage out one day to walk the birds and never came back. I've been searching for a week and still haven't found him. Do you think he wants to resign as our guest consultant?"
Venti replied earnestly.
"If Zhongli did this, I'm sure he had his reasons."
Things were growing stranger by the day.
How could a living person—let alone the Geo Archon—vanish so completely?
Venti wasn't worried about Zhongli's safety.
He was more curious—had Zhongli stumbled upon something new and exciting?
"Perhaps the disappearances of Zhongli and Azhdaha are connected to changes in the leylines..."
With that thought,
Venti headed to Mt. Hulao to investigate the leylines beneath the Dragon-Queller Tree.
The moment he reached the base of the tree,
he sensed something unusual.
It was a new elemental presence—one he had never encountered before.
"It seems something major has happened within the leylines. I'd better take a closer look."
With that,
Venti transformed into a breeze and vanished.
...
Meanwhile.
In another nation—somewhere in Natlan.
The Traveler—Lumine—had crossed mountains and rivers and finally discovered a golden treasure chest.
After opening it, she received a large haul of valuable items.
Just as Lumine eagerly prepared to move forward,
Paimon stopped her.
"Traveler, let's save the area ahead for later."
Lumine sighed.
"Paimon, don't tell me you're lost again."
Paimon looked flustered.
"Of course not! It's for other reasons. We'll be able to explore it in a month—let's wait a little longer."
Lumine sighed again.
"..."
Her enthusiasm for treasure hunting was once again dashed by Paimon.
Then,
Lumine pulled out her map compass.
This tool not only displayed explored areas, but also revealed unexplored regions.
Explored so far were Mondstadt, Liyue, Inazuma, Sumeru, and Fontaine...
Unexplored regions remained shrouded in darkness, their terrain still unknown.
But suddenly—
Lumine noticed something new on the compass.
In one corner of the map, two previously unseen Seven Heavenly Gods statues had appeared.
From experience,
the appearance of these statues meant the area was now ready to be explored.
Lumine called Paimon over.
"Paimon, look! There's new map data here. Let's go explore this area."
Paimon quickly flew over.
After seeing the compass, she looked puzzled.
"Eh? We can explore here too?"
"Paimon, don't tell me even you don't know where this is."
"Of course I know! This is... uh... an area we can explore. Traveler, let's go check it out!"
Paimon's expression looked a little awkward—she clearly had no idea where this was either.
...