"Neuvillette, is this Liyue's Chenyu Vale?"
Furina hugged the Hydro Slime in her arms, glancing around curiously.
This scenery—she had never seen anything like it back in Fontaine.
After all, in order to play the role of the Hydro Archon well, she had barely left Fontaine in the past five hundred years.
"Yes. This place is called Yilong Wharf," Neuvillette replied with a nod, speaking calmly.
"It's where Su Yuan first arrived in Liyue, having sailed here from Lumidouce Harbor."
"Neuvillette, is it really alright for us to just leave Fontaine behind like this and run off to Liyue?"
Furina looked at him with some concern.
"Fontaine is still in a crucial period of reconstruction right now…"
"Well, to be honest, I don't feel great about it either. Wriothesley practically begged me to personally pick some Chenyu Vale tea leaves and bring them back for him…"
"Because starting next week, he's apparently not allowed to have even a single drop of tea anymore…"
"He told me… this is his last bit of time left. No matter what, he wants to taste tea leaves picked by me personally…"
"Besides, a promise is a promise. I gave him my word."
Furina nodded and said, "If we put it in Liyue terms, then it's: 'A contract once made must be honored—those who break it shall face the punishment of stone.'"
"Hahaha, Neuvillette, you can't even handle slightly dry food. If you had to eat actual stone, I can't even imagine what kind of face you'd make…" Furina laughed.
Watching her laugh, Neuvillette said softly, "Besides, even if something truly happens in Fontaine, I am now a complete dragon. As long as there's water, I can return swiftly, no matter where I am."
Hearing that, Furina finally relaxed a little.
"Hehe, we've snuck into Liyue like this—Su Yuan probably has no idea…"
"It hasn't even been two or three days. If we've got time later, let's go see him and give him a surprise!"
"Mhm." Neuvillette nodded.
Then, his gaze shifted toward a nearby corner.
Truthfully, ever since arriving at Yilong Wharf, he had sensed many eyes watching them from the shadows…
After all, their visit to Liyue wasn't under official diplomatic capacity but a personal journey, so they hadn't notified Liyue authorities in advance.
But at the same time, neither he nor Furina had made any attempt to hide their identities, so it was only natural that Liyue's officials were keeping a close eye on them…
.............
In the Jade Chamber, Ningguang reviewed the reports handed to her by Baiwen and Baixiao…
"In the presence of Morax, honor the contract…"
"Beware those who come to Liyue from distant lands…"
Ningguang turned her gaze to another report.
It detailed the appearance of two prominent figures from Fontaine spotted near Yilong Wharf today:
The Hydro Archon, Furina, and the Chief Justice, Neuvillette.
While earlier intel had already confirmed that during Su Yuan's time in Fontaine, these two were his allies…
Su Yuan's latest intel, however, now warned to "beware those who come to Liyue from foreign lands"...
So for both herself and Liyue, caution was still the wiser course of action.
Ningguang closed the intelligence documents and found herself pondering a strange question…
One that bordered on semantics, perhaps—but important nonetheless.
Beware the "people" who come to Liyue from distant lands...
According to Su Yuan's description, Neuvillette's true identity was the Sovereign Hydro Dragon of this era, a being of dragonkind by nature…
So then, the question was—
Does he really count… as a "person"?
.............
"Strange… truly strange…"
Dottore stood atop a high mountain, gazing toward the Dragon-Queller Tree in the distance, utterly perplexed.
"Morax has clearly been corrupted and is under the control of the eerie force. Even if some unexpected turn of events occurred midway, leading him to Guyun Stone Forest to eliminate those aquatic demons that posed a significant threat to Liyue…"
"But breaking the seal of Azhdaha should be a simple task, and yet… he still hasn't finished it?"
"All he needs to do is use the eerie power and strike the seal—it should break quickly."
"The eerie force corrodes and restrains elemental power. Even a small amount would cause noticeable damage to a seal like that…"
"And yet, look at him now—coiling his tail around the Dragon-Queller Tree, ramming his body into Mt. Hulao… Why does it all seem like brute force, completely lacking in finesse?"
"Could it be that the combined toll of the eerie corruption and time has already dulled his mind?"
"Or… is it that he's not fully under the eerie's control, and is actually putting on a show here with me?"
"He's been in this eerie state for quite some time now, and yet, he hasn't harmed any innocent people…"
"Morax, after all, is a master of deception… Just like that one from Fontaine—she's no slouch either…"
"Pretending to be dead, even though she clearly isn't…"
"He clearly hasn't been controlled by the eerie force… yet he's pretending that he has…"
"Could it be that Morax, like me, is also a madman in his own way?"
"Is that why he can retain his sense of self within the eerie corruption—and put on a show with me right here?"
"Oh? Su Yuan and his group… they've arrived already."
"Then let's have them take a look for me. I'd like to know what state Morax is really in…"
..............
After a long and exhausting journey, Su Yuan and his group finally arrived near the Dragon-Queller Tree.
However, the figure that resembled the Geo Archon was nowhere to be seen.
All that remained was shattered stone scattered across the ground, and a grassy field so trampled it was barely recognizable.
Aether suddenly raised his head, gazing up at the mountaintop above, his eyes fixed intently on something for a long time.
Su Yuan caught the movement in the corner of his eye and looked up as well, curious about what Aether was seeing.
Noticing both the Traveler and Su Yuan staring upward, Yelan also raised her head to look.
"So… what exactly are you all looking at? There's clearly nothing up there…"
Jiang Xue also looked up—but saw absolutely nothing.
"There was a strange bird up there just now," Aether said with a faint smile.
"It looked like it realized I'd noticed it… and flew off right away."
Uh… Su Yuan didn't quite know what to say for a moment.
So it was just a bird? He'd thought they were onto something important…
.................
On a distant mountaintop, Dottore spoke with a touch of anger in his voice:
"Tch… I've already done you the courtesy of not exposing your true identity…"
"And now you're deliberately getting in my way?"
"All I want is to be a simple observer in this experiment—yet you insist on interfering with me?"
"This will be the last time…"
"Next time, I definitely won't be so polite."
"Maybe the old me still held some reservations about you all…"
"Because there were simply too many unknowns surrounding you…"
"But now, I finally have the power to face you head-on."
---------------
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