Chapter 23

This was only natural — otherwise, with several people living in Liyue Harbor, how could anyone function if they were constantly buffeted by each other's emotions?

Take just now, for instance: Ningguang had noticed that she'd been affected by pleasure during such an important occasion, and she must have been furious about it — yet even that level of fury didn't meet the transmission threshold, so Hu Tao felt nothing at all.

But when it came to positive emotions, the transmission threshold dropped considerably. Even the mild pleasure produced by a kiss was enough to be transmitted.

Did positive emotions get preferential treatment?

That was actually quite wholesome — except that Lu Lin had twisted it to his own ends.

His assessment was correct: negative emotions probably needed to reach the level of despair Ningguang had felt upon first waking that morning before they could be transmitted. But at that time, Ganyu had been inside the Serenitea Pot, and Hu Tao hadn't yet arrived in Liyue Harbor, so no one had felt it.

While he was still mulling this over, something changed on the plaza of Yujing Terrace.

The golden-haired girl had entered Yujing Terrace with her little guide and was making her way around the incense burners in each direction to offer prayers.

Lu Lin had a clear vantage point from his elevated position, and her golden hair was impossible to miss — he spotted Lumine's arrival almost immediately.

Since Lumine had arrived, the ceremony must be nearing its conclusion.

At the center of Yujing Terrace plaza, the Rite of the Descension had run its full course. All that remained was for Rex Lapis to appear and bestow his divine decree, guiding Liyue's course for the coming year.

But after the crowd waited for a while, Rex Lapis did not appear.

"What's going on?"

"Did something go wrong?"

The onlookers buzzed with murmurs, and Ningguang, who was presiding over the ceremony, also sensed that something was amiss.

The golden-haired girl had just pushed her way to the front of the crowd when the sky above suddenly shifted — clouds churned and colors bled — and a massive, lifeless dragon form plummeted from the heavens, crashing into the center of Yujing Terrace!

Ningguang's heart lurched. She rushed forward to investigate.

It was Rex Lapis. He was already gone.

The sudden turn of events left everyone reeling. Only Ningguang recovered first. She called out in a clear, commanding voice: "Rex Lapis has been assassinated — seal off the entire area!"

That single declaration left everyone present in a daze.

Rex Lapis — assassinated?!

You can't be serious!

That was Rex Lapis — the Geo Archon, known as the God of War, an absolute powerhouse who had carved his way through the Archon War!

Who could possibly assassinate him?

The Millelith were well-trained, and though they too were stunned, they moved immediately to lock down the entire Yujing Terrace.

Ningguang swept the scene with cold eyes but found nothing suspicious. A sudden surge of helplessness welled up inside her.

The sky had truly fallen this time — not just her sky, but the sky of all of Liyue.

She had no time for idle thoughts or laments. She swiftly directed the Millelith to screen for suspicious individuals and manage the aftermath.

While the scene descended into chaos, the golden-haired girl and her little guide were tiptoeing toward the exit, trying to slip away from Yujing Terrace unnoticed.

From his elevated position, Lu Lin watched this unfold. He patted Hu Tao on the shoulder. "Head back to Wangsheng Funeral Parlor and stay put — don't wander off. I have something to take care of. I'll come find you later."

Hu Tao was also shaken by Rex Lapis's sudden death. Hearing that Lu Lin intended to go off alone, she said with concern, "Are you sure you'll be alright by yourself? Do you want me to come with you?"

"No need — it's a small matter. I'll wrap it up quickly!" Lu Lin waved her off, fixed his eyes on the direction Lumine was heading, and gave chase.

"Lumine, we're both outsiders here. With Rex Lapis suddenly dying like this, the Millelith are definitely going to arrest us as spies — we need to get out of here fast!" Paimon hovered close to Lumine's ear and whispered urgently.

The golden-haired girl gave a small nod. The two of them identified a gap in the Millelith's formation and carefully slipped toward the exit.

"You two — what are you sneaking around for? Stop right there!"

"We've been spotted — Paimon, run!" Lumine called out sharply and broke into a sprint.

But five or six Millelith soldiers armed with spears suddenly appeared ahead, blocking their path.

"We're done for — we're surrounded!" Paimon was completely panicking now.

At that very moment, Lu Lin burst out from the side like a flash of lightning, swiftly taking down several Millelith soldiers in quick succession. He grabbed Lumine's slender hand and said in a low voice, "Follow me!"

The girl didn't resist. He pulled her along, and they rapidly shook off the pursuing Millelith, successfully escaping from Yujing Terrace.

Just as Lu Lin let out a breath of relief, thinking they were in the clear, a young man came walking toward them head-on.

"Hm? Someone got here before me?"

Lu Lin's pupils contracted sharply. He recognized the newcomer.

It was Childe!

The man had short orange hair and carried himself with sharp, capable energy — it was none other than the last of the Eleven Fatui Harbingers: Childe, Tartaglia!

In Lu Lin's memory, it was supposed to be Childe who rescued Lumine from the Millelith's encirclement and handed over the All-Immunity Talisman.

His own arrival had altered that thread of events, but Childe had still shown up near Yujing Terrace — he had indeed come for Lumine.

Lu Lin had no desire for Lumine to have too much contact with Childe. The Fatui played no benevolent role in the crisis that was coming.

Childe's strength was extraordinary — dealing with him wouldn't be easy. And the two of them couldn't simply start fighting out in the open like this, not with the Millelith everywhere.

Without a moment's hesitation, Lu Lin activated [Critical Moment], freezing everything in place.

With time paused, he wasted no time on complications. He grabbed Paimon and tucked her into Lumine's arms, then scooped Lumine up in a bridal carry and moved swiftly in the direction of Mt. Tianheng.

His objective was to get Lumine out safely — not to pick a fight with anyone.

The girl was light as a feather, and even with Paimon added to the equation it was no strain at all. Within a minute, he had disappeared around a bend in the road.

That road still had Millelith patrols, though, so it wasn't truly safe — they had to keep moving. After a long sprint, they finally reached a quiet, deserted spot.

Right on cue, the time freeze ended.

"Whoa! What happened?! How did we get here?!" Time resumed its flow, and Paimon was completely bewildered.

Lumine was equally bewildered, but she was calmer and sharper. She asked in a measured tone, "Was that... a teleportation technique?"

Moving during a time stop did sometimes produce an effect that looked very much like teleportation. Lu Lin generally didn't bother explaining — letting people think it was teleportation was fine by him.

"Hello, traveler from a distant land. Allow me to introduce myself — my name is Lu Lin. Like you, I'm a traveler from another world."

"You know who I am?" Lumine's brow furrowed slightly, and she looked a little awkward. "Um... could you put me down before we talk?"

Time had been short, and Lu Lin had found this safe spot but hadn't had a chance to set her down before the time stop ended — so the two of them were now in a rather awkward position.

One of his hands was cradling the back of her knees, the other supporting her back — a textbook bridal carry.

The back of her belted dress had some cutout detailing, exposing a small patch of smooth, silky skin that happened to be in direct contact with his fingertips.

Lumine felt as though his fingertips carried some kind of magic, sending a continuous tingling, numbing sensation through her.

It was a little ticklish!

She had never been this physically close to a boy before. A warm, soothing aura radiated from Lu Lin, leaving her feeling slightly at a loss.

"My apologies — the situation was urgent. I meant no disrespect." Lu Lin set her down. After everything he'd been through, he'd long since developed a thick skin; he delivered the apology without so much as a blush or a quickened heartbeat.

"Hmph! What was so urgent about it? We'd already escaped the Millelith's encirclement — don't tell me you were just trying to take advantage of Lumine!" Paimon hovered like a protective little creature, always suspicious that Lu Lin wasn't entirely proper — even if he had just saved them both.

And honestly? She had pretty good instincts.

"The famous Paimon, I presume — you've misunderstood me. Yes, we'd shaken off the Millelith, but that doesn't mean there were no other threats."

"Other threats?" Paimon looked puzzled.

"You mean that young man who was walking toward us just now — who was he?" Lumine had noticed something.

"That was the last of the Eleven Fatui Harbingers — Childe!"

"What?! The Fatui?!" Paimon gasped.

Back in Mondstadt, the Fatui had left a very bad impression on them — especially the overbearing and arrogant Harbinger known as the Lady, who remained vivid in their memory.

And Childe, who shared the rank of Harbinger with the Lady, was surely no better. It seemed they really had misjudged the person standing before them.

"That person is actually a Fatui Harbinger?! I'm so sorry for doubting you just now!" Paimon floated up in front of Lu Lin. When she owed someone an apology, she didn't mince words.

"It's fine — as long as the misunderstanding is cleared up."

"But why did you help us?" Lumine tilted her head and asked.

"I've been watching you since you entered Yujing Terrace, so I know that Rex Lapis's sudden death has nothing to do with you.

The Liyue Qixing sealing off the area and searching for an assassin among the ceremony's attendees is absurd on its face.

What mortal could assassinate the God of War who swept through thousands of enemies? He never once relinquished his divine power!

Such a crude response is beneath the standard the Qixing should uphold, and you two certainly shouldn't be made to take the blame for this."

"Exactly! We didn't do anything, and yet the Millelith are chasing us!" Paimon fumed indignantly.

"Here — take this." Lu Lin handed Lumine a small box. "This is the All-Immunity Talisman. Take it as a token and go to Jueyun Karst to seek out the Adeptus of Three Eyes and Five Manifestations. Inform them of Rex Lapis's assassination and ask them to come forward and clear your name."

"Wait — there are really adepti?"

"Of course. Liyue was built together by Rex Lapis and the adepti..." Lu Lin gave the two of them a brief overview of Liyue's history, then concluded: "Go — seek out the adepti. Right now, they're the only ones who can clear your names."

Lumine tucked away the All-Immunity Talisman and left with Paimon.

And then a new Random Quest triggered for Lu Lin.

[Ding! Random Quest triggered: Save Liyue.]

[Quest Objective: Work together with Lumine to help the Liyue Qixing face the coming disaster and protect Liyue. Note: If Zhongli intervenes, the quest is considered failed.]

[Quest Rewards: 1,000,000 Mora, 3,000 Points, 1,000 EXP, 2 random Residence Entries, 1 Soul Bead.]

Hiss.

The quest rewards were quite generous — a lot of Points, a lot of EXP, and two Residence Entries? And what on earth was a Soul Bead?

Lu Lin realized this wasn't going to be as simple as he'd thought. The richness of the rewards was, to some degree, a reflection of the quest's difficulty. Was there some additional twist to this crisis in Liyue?

As someone who knew the full backstory and ultimate outcome of the entire crisis, Lu Lin had originally felt no anxiety about it — his mindset had been quite relaxed.

But the appearance of the System quest made him realize things might not unfold as simply as he'd imagined.

His presence had already triggered a butterfly effect. Many things might not play out the way he knew them to.

The most obvious example: it was originally supposed to be Childe who rescued Lumine and gave her the All-Immunity Talisman. He had intercepted that role — so how would Childe respond now?

He needed to take this seriously and not get careless. Lu Lin walked and thought, intending to head to Wangsheng Funeral Parlor to find Hu Tao — but he was intercepted halfway there by Ningguang.

"Lu Lin. I knew it had to be your doing."

She had heard the Millelith's report that someone had vanished right under their noses, and immediately guessed it was Lu Lin using some special ability. So she had waited for him near Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.

"Miss Ningguang, with something this serious happening, shouldn't you be at Yujing Terrace managing the situation? Why come looking for me?"

"Did you have a hand in Rex Lapis's death?" Ningguang asked coldly.

"Huh?" Lu Lin hadn't expected her to say something like that. He instinctively pointed at himself.

Me? Assassinate Rex Lapis?

You're giving me far too much credit.

What struck him most was that Ningguang's expression was completely serious — she was genuinely entertaining the possibility.

In truth, it wasn't entirely unreasonable for Ningguang to think this way.

In her eyes, Lu Lin had claimed to be an outsider from beyond this world, possessed the bizarre ability to stop time and transmit pleasure to others, and was both powerful and deeply enigmatic.

Who was to say he didn't possess some other formidable ability — perhaps one sufficient to kill Rex Lapis?