Chapter 47 – The Golden House

At the entrance of Liyue Harbor, Qiu Xue transformed into Qiu Bai.

Only then did Qiu Bai turn his attention to the pair of stockings in the system space.

The stockings were entirely white, adorned with golden patterns, one on each side.

“Why do these look so much like white stockings?”

Qiu Bai twitched his lips and, upon closer inspection, couldn’t hold back a laugh.

But to be fair, they would probably look quite good on his female form.

“Never mind.”

“I’ll wear them when I turn into Qiu Xue later. If not, I can always give them to my sister.”

Qiu Bai stroked his chin and murmured to himself.

After all, those stockings could also nourish Divine Power.

He then slowly walked toward the entrance of Liyue Harbor, where he heard the voices of Zhongli, Lumine, and Paimon.

Looking closely, he saw them talking to a masked Fatui member.

“You must be Mr. Zhongli, the Consultant of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.”

“The Millelith are keeping a close watch on us now. This is a special period, so don’t make any rash moves.”

The Fatui member, Felix, spoke slowly to Zhongli.

After all, the Fatui and the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor were too closely connected.

“Hey, little Paimon, Lumine, Zhongli!”

“What are you all doing?”

Seeing them deep in conversation, Qiu Bai walked over.

“Mr. Qiu Bai, Consultant of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.”

Felix was somewhat surprised to see the newcomer.

“Long time no see, old friend.”

Zhongli turned around and smiled upon seeing him.

“Qiu Bai! You’re here too.”

Paimon waved at Qiu Bai.

Qiu Bai walked up to the three of them and patted Paimon’s head.

“Qiu Bai, long time no see.”

Lumine looked up at Qiu Bai and smiled.

“What were you all talking about just now?”

Qiu Bai glanced at the three of them and then at the Fatui member in front of him, looking somewhat puzzled.

“Mr. Qiu Bai, we were just discussing the critical situation.”

Hearing Qiu Bai’s question, Felix slowly explained.

“Critical situation?”

Qiu Bai pretended not to understand, though of course he knew this was a special period.

He guessed that the Adepti were already confronting the Liyue Qixing.

“The Adepti of Jueyun Karst have already set out.”

“They’re coming here, likely with ill intentions.”

Seeing Qiu Bai’s confusion, Felix explained further.

“To demand an explanation?”

Zhongli crossed his arms and looked at the Fatui member.

“Most likely. I heard that several members of the Qixing have already taken people to greet them.”

“Hmph… ‘Greet’ is a polite way of saying they want to keep the Adepti outside the city.”

Felix snorted, seemingly mocking both the Adepti and the Qixing.

Then, crossing his arms, he added, “But both sides are being stubborn, so they’re at a stalemate for now.”

Upon hearing this, Zhongli stroked his chin, deep in thought.

He then slowly spoke, “Things were bound to come to this.”

“The Adepti don’t recognize the Qixing; they only recognize the Contract with the Geo Archon.”

“But if they decide to attack forcefully, Liyue Harbor likely won’t be able to hold them off.”

Zhongli lowered his hands and looked at Felix.

“But the Liyue Qixing won’t just sit back and wait.”

Qiu Bai chuckled from the side. It seemed Zhongli was quite satisfied with the current Liyue Qixing.

“Hmph, everyone knows they’re tough.”

“But that’s exactly why the conflict between humans and Adepti is about to erupt!”

Felix snorted again, as the Liyue Qixing were equally tough on the Fatui.

Zhongli waved his hand dismissively.

“And then? How did the Fatui end up becoming the target of everyone’s criticism?”

Looking at Felix, he spoke.

“Hmph, it’s all because of that Ningguang.”

“She said that in this moment of impending storm, the Millelith must completely control the movements of the Fatui.”

Felix glanced at the three people with a hint of disdain.

“Hmph, only now do they think of controlling the Fatui’s movements. The Liyue Qixing are nothing special.”

“Anyway, Mr. Qiu Bai and Mr. Zhongli, you are Lord Childe’s collaborators. Your stance also represents half of ours, so don’t give anyone a handle against you.”

Felix looked at Qiu Bai and Zhongli, reminding them.

Qiu Bai and Zhongli exchanged a glance.

“Old friend, if this disaster reaches a point beyond control.”

“I’ll have to trouble you to step in.”

Zhongli transmitted his voice to Qiu Bai.

“Hey, no need to be so polite with me.”

“Don’t worry, Morax. Leave it to me.”

Qiu Bai also transmitted his voice to Zhongli. After all, Rex Lapis was supposed to be dead.

But he, the Adeptus of the Two Principles, was merely missing!

“It seems the various conflicts within Liyue Harbor.”

“Have reached their limit!”

Paimon said to the Traveler beside her.

Lumine looked at Zhongli and Qiu Bai, her gaze growing somewhat resolute.

“I don’t want to stand by and do nothing.”

Lumine said to Qiu Bai and Zhongli.

After spending these days in Liyue interacting with various people, she didn’t want to see such things happen.

Moreover, she still needed to search for clues about the God of Rock.

“Do you mean you wish to mediate using your special neutral status?”

“Or do you intend to rely on your personal martial prowess to alter certain balances?”

“Both paths are likely not so easy, are they?”

Zhongli looked at Lumine and Paimon as he spoke slowly.

“By the way, Mr. Zhongli, I heard your Wangsheng Funeral Parlor has also been dragged into the conflict.”

“They’re currently in a standoff with the soldiers who came knocking.”

Felix looked at Zhongli and spoke.

Upon hearing this, Zhongli stroked his chin, his mouth twitching. That child Hu Tao—she might just do something.

“This is not good.”

He then looked at Lumine, Paimon, and Qiu Bai.

“I must take my leave now and go check on the funeral parlor.”

“I hope Director Hu can handle it for the time being and doesn’t cause any major trouble.”

Zhongli nodded at Qiu Bai.

Qiu Bai felt like laughing, wondering how Zhongli would react when he saw his sister.

He then continued speaking to Lumine and Paimon: “Traveler, you should also consider this.”

“In my view, if you want to prevent an imminent explosion, it’s better to first think about where the fuse is.”

With that, Zhongli headed into Liyue Harbor, leaving a confused Lumine and Paimon behind.

Paimon looked at Qiu Bai somewhat puzzled.

“Aren’t you going, Qiu Bai?”

“After all, you’re also a consultant at the funeral parlor.”

Paimon looked at Qiu Bai, scratching her head, not understanding why he wasn’t going back.

Qiu Bai did not answer Paimon’s question.

“Who was the sucker paying for everything along your journey? Do you remember?”

Qiu Bai spoke calmly to Paimon and Lumine.

Tartaglia: ?

Qiu Bai’s words enlightened Paimon and Lumine.

“So that’s it! I… I think I understand now.”

“Hmm, if I had to say who most hopes for the whole city to fall into chaos, the first person I’d think of is him!”

Paimon pointed a finger into the air, analyzing the situation with great clarity.

“That guy must be taking advantage of the citywide chaos to do something bad!”

“But where should we look for him now?”

Paimon waved her hand, speaking with confusion.

“Where would he go when all the chaos has become… chaotic?”

Paimon held her forehead, unable to think of an answer.

After all, Liyue is so vast—who knows where that guy went?

“There’s only one place he would go.”

“Qiu Bai, are you coming?”

Lumine seemed to have figured out where Tartaglia had gone, then turned to look at Qiu Bai and asked.

After all, having one more person would make things easier.

Lumine and Paimon still remembered Qiu Bai’s one-hundred-percent punch that left a fist imprint in the stone!

“Sure, I’ll go with you.”

“My strength is quite impressive, you know.”

Qiu Bai patted little Paimon’s head, not caring whether she got angry or not.

Then he said to Lumine, “Let’s go, to the Golden House.”