Chapter 26

He had only just arrived in Liyue when the Geo Archon was suddenly assassinated right before his eyes, and the divine vessel had been hidden away by the Qixing.

At Yujing Terrace, he had considered rushing in to seize the divine heart by force, but the security there had been airtight, and that mysterious, powerful Traveler had also been present — escaping would have been far from certain.

So he changed his plan: first get close to the Traveler, earn her trust, then find a way to locate where the Qixing had hidden the divine vessel.

What he hadn't expected was that a young man would cut in and intercept her — and the two of them had vanished right before his eyes, just like that!

Now even his backup measures were running into trouble, with multiple Fatui strongholds inside the city coming under attack…

Things were looking grim.

Childe brooded for a moment, then let out a cold laugh. "Heh… now things are getting interesting. Did they really think this would stop me?"

He rose and issued his orders: "Send an elite squad bearing Her Majesty the Empress's token out to sea. Find Baschet in the deep waters and deliver a message…"

"Yes, sir!" His subordinate took the order and left. Moments later, another came to report.

"My lord Childe, a squad has spotted the Traveler's trail at Jueyun Karst!"

"Oh? She actually went to Jueyun Karst after all? Tell me the exact location!"

* * *

Jade Chamber — Ningguang's office.

The team dispatched to sweep the teahouse on the rock had returned. Every Fatui member inside had been captured, and a considerable number of All-Immunity Talismans had been confiscated.

Since the Fatui were officially Snezhnayan diplomats, they couldn't simply be arrested outright. Instead, the group had been detained on charges of conducting dangerous research — specifically, the counterfeiting of All-Immunity Talismans.

Ningguang studied the counterfeit talismans with a furrowed brow, unable to fathom what the Fatui were actually planning.

Just then, Lu Lin strode in. "Well, well — quite the haul. Your people really do get things done efficiently!"

"Naturally. Where's Keqing? Why didn't she come back with you?"

"Oh, she got her clothes dirty. She went home to change." Lu Lin said it without so much as a flicker of expression.

Keqing really did need to go change — her stockings and undergarments had been soaked through. The fact that she'd still helped Lu Lin finish calibrating the Guizhong mechanism in that state was already remarkable enough.

Ningguang, however, wore a suspicious look. Out of nowhere, going home to change clothes? Keqing always prioritized efficiency and never fussed over such trivial details.

Sensing her suspicion, Lu Lin didn't bat an eye. He grabbed her hand and tugged her toward the door. "Alright, it's getting late. Work can wait until tomorrow. Miss Ningguang, would you do me the honor of joining me for dinner?"

"Let go of me. Liyue's crisis isn't over yet. Stop pulling me around — I'm not your…"

"Not my what?" Lu Lin asked with a grin.

"Not anything!" Ningguang pursed her lips.

"Don't you want to know what the Fatui were planning to do with those counterfeit All-Immunity Talismans? This concerns Liyue's very future. Have dinner with me, and you'll know everything." Lu Lin offered her a convenient excuse at just the right moment.

He'd noticed it — Tianquan Star, the great Lady Ningguang, was sharp and calculating when it came to work, impossible to read. But when it came to matters of the heart, she was thoroughly tsundere.

And teasing a tsundere, well — that was one of life's great pleasures.

Even knowing full well that Lu Lin was doing it on purpose, Ningguang ultimately gave up resisting and let herself be led by the hand to Wanmin Restaurant.

This time, though, he genuinely had no ulterior motives. He simply wanted to have dinner alone with her and go over the developing situation and their plans.

That included the Fatui's schemes and objectives, the reasoning behind each of Lu Lin's countermoves — many things that weren't suitable for too many ears. That was why he needed time alone with Ningguang to talk it through.

By the end of the meal, the two had spent the entire time discussing serious matters, which left Ningguang — who had been somewhat on edge — breathing a quiet sigh of relief. In certain respects, she was a little afraid of the big wolf Lu Lin.

But since Lu Lin had genuinely done nothing at all, she found herself feeling just the tiniest bit… disappointed.

Catching herself feeling that way, Ningguang was momentarily lost in thought.

Had she really fallen for this scoundrel?

"Xiangling and I are heading back into the Pot tonight. Want to come?" Lu Lin noticed her drifting and asked with a sly smile.

The Serenitea Pot was an absolutely private space. What he was planning to do with Xiangling in there — did that even need to be guessed?

Ningguang actually wanted to go, just a little.

She still hadn't figured out what Lu Lin had done to her through the Serenitea Pot.

Though her feelings toward Lu Lin had been slowly shifting, she still wanted to find the answer to that question.

"Go wherever you like. I'm not coming." Curious as she was, she knew better. If she actually followed him into the Serenitea Pot, she'd never escape his clutches.

Watching Ningguang's retreating figure as she hurried away, Lu Lin couldn't help but smile to himself. Who would have thought that one of the most powerful figures in Liyue harbored such a deeply tsundere nature?

Come to think of it, Keqing was quite tsundere too. Maybe they shouldn't be called Liyue's Twin Stars anymore — Liyue's Twin Tsunderes had a nicer ring to it.

* * *

The Serenitea Pot was quiet at this hour.

With the Geo Archon's sudden incident, Ganyu had to work overtime handling official affairs and wouldn't be back in the Pot until very late. She couldn't go home to sleep anyway — her bed had collapsed and hadn't been replaced yet.

Hu Tao had a task to attend to and would likely also return late.

Right now, only Xiangling was inside the Pot.

Yes — Xiangling had entered before Lu Lin. She had prepared a surprise for him.

After seeing Ningguang off, Lu Lin entered the Serenitea Pot and stepped into the house that belonged to Xiangling.

The furniture and décor were mostly arranged by now. Xiangling adored the large kitchen and had stocked it with all manner of cooking tools.

Lu Lin wandered around but found no one.

"Xiangling, are you here?"

"I'm here — I'm in the bedroom!" Her voice came from the bedroom, trembling just slightly — a mix of nervousness and excitement.

Hmm? She was inside the Serenitea Pot. What was there to be nervous about?

Lu Lin pushed open the bedroom door with a puzzled look.

Xiangling's bedroom was decorated with a wild, outdoorsy flair — she spent so much time in the wilderness hunting for ingredients that she'd naturally gravitated toward that aesthetic.

Animal and plant specimens hung on the walls: deer antlers, beast fangs, lizards, crystal pouches, clearheart blossoms… all crafted by her own hands.

But none of that was what caught his eye. What truly drew his gaze was the enormous double bed.

Lu Lin had chosen the bed himself. His only requirement: big enough.

What struck him as odd now was that Xiangling had drawn the bed curtains completely shut, enclosing the bed entirely.

What was she doing? All this mystery.

His puzzlement deepened.

"Brother Lu Lin, pull back the curtain~" Xiangling's voice drifted from behind the curtain — shy, yet full of anticipation.

All this secrecy — this surprise must be something else!

Lu Lin's own anticipation surged. He reached out eagerly and drew back the curtain.

Hiss.

Lu Lin's breath caught, his heart nearly stopping.

No way.

She was really going all out, wasn't she?

Who could possibly hold up against this?

Xiangling lay flat on the bed, her smooth, slender form without a stitch of clothing, resting not on bedding but on a soft mat beneath her.

If it had only been that, it wouldn't have shocked Lu Lin quite so much — he was no novice, and he'd seen plenty. But this? This was a first.

The girl's figure was slender and delicate, with exquisitely defined collarbones. Nestled in the small hollows of each collarbone sat two raspberries.

Moving his gaze downward, a large heart had been drawn in cream, its two lower points curving perfectly around two inverted jade bowls. The cream was dotted with colorful fruit pieces as decoration, and at the very tips sat two bright red strawberries.

Further down still, also written in cream and fruit pieces, were the numbers six and zero — a homophone for "Lu Lin."

The lower half of the zero extended past her navel, reaching all the way down to the abyss.

"Brother Lu Lin, that day you asked me how the dish called 'Xiangling' should be prepared, and I couldn't answer. You said it should be stir-fried over high heat.

But I always felt there might be another answer. After thinking it over carefully, I came up with this one. Do you… like it?"

"Of course I do. Xiangling truly is Liyue's finest chef — your ability to innovate is unmatched. Meeting you is my greatest fortune!"

Lu Lin leaned down and stroked her soft braids, then pressed his lips to her rosy ones.

Because she was covered in things, Xiangling didn't dare move, lying perfectly still as he claimed her sweet breath. After a long, deep kiss, Lu Lin produced a Kamera.

"Xiangling looks absolutely stunning today. Shall we keep a memento?"

With Xiangling's permission, Lu Lin put his exceptional photography skills to work, capturing this precious moment forever.

After taking the photographs, Lu Lin could hold back no longer. He shed his own obstructing garments in short order and climbed onto the great bed.

True to her reputation as a master of the spear, Xiangling — even with her movements restricted and her flexibility limited — still managed to precisely locate the long spear and began practicing her grip technique.

Lu Lin, meanwhile, leaned down and began savoring this Xiangling cake made exclusively for him.

Such a delicious feast was not something Lu Lin intended to enjoy alone. He first picked up a raspberry with his lips and fed it to Xiangling, then began sampling for himself.

The raspberries and her tender skin complemented each other beautifully — the smoothness of her skin and the fresh sweetness of the raspberries bloomed together on the tip of his tongue.

After finishing the raspberries, Lu Lin continued downward, licking the heart drawn in cream and fruit pieces. The cream was silky and rich with a deep milky fragrance; the fruit was fresh and sweet — truly a supreme delicacy.

Lu Lin ate with great care, unwilling to waste a single bit, licking everything clean before moving on, feeding Xiangling a few bites along the way.

By now Xiangling's eyes were wide, waves of pleasure washing over her continuously, leaving her dazed. The cream and fruit Lu Lin fed her she swallowed almost on instinct.

Soon, all that remained of the enormous heart were the two strawberries at its tips.

Lu Lin's method of eating strawberries was unlike anyone else's — he liked to bite them open first and then suck, drawing out all the juice before savoring the rest slowly.

He savored them with great deliberateness. Xiangling, however, was beginning to struggle to bear it. This particular dish was already extraordinarily sensitive, and Lu Lin was applying his genuine skill to fully appreciate it.

Most critically, she couldn't move — any movement would ruin the numbers below — so she could only endure the overwhelming sensations with all her might, one hand clutching the soft mat, while the other hand, the one practicing the grip technique, quickened its pace.

But in such matters, the harder one tries to endure, the more intense the feeling becomes. Xiangling's petite frame had already begun to tremble uncontrollably.

Noticing her state, Lu Lin decided to add fuel to the fire. He reached out and covered the already-cleaned inverted jade bowls with his hand, kneading gently.

[Nimble Hands] granted him supreme technique. Xiangling felt as though tiny currents of electricity were racing along her skin, raising goosebumps in their wake.

And this became the single spark landing on a summer haystack — igniting her in an instant.

"Brother Lu Lin~" Xiangling cried out, her whole body shuddering violently, yet she gripped the bedsheet tightly to keep herself from moving too much and ruining the cream that hadn't yet been eaten.

But how could it not be ruined? A clear liquid had seeped into part of the cream, turning it into a soft, blended mixture.

Lu Lin was in no hurry. He slowly licked the number "six" clean first, then finally turned his attention to the number "zero," which had already lost its shape.

A strange, sweet fragrance bloomed on the tip of his tongue. Lu Lin, unwilling to enjoy it alone, fed some to Xiangling as well.

Tasting her own flavor, even the bold Xiangling flushed a deep crimson — but she still swallowed it with a soft gulp.

After she swallowed, Lu Lin shifted into a new position, the two of them inverting — this way he had sweet, soft cream and fruit to enjoy, while Xiangling also had something to savor, so neither would go hungry.

He was really quite considerate.

After quite some time more, Lu Lin finally finished this extraordinary cream-and-fruit course. He straightened up, turned around, and under the girl's silk-soft, enchanted gaze, pressed forward…

The room filled with a rhythmic symphony — the creak creak of the bed, the slap slap of skin, and the girl's distinctively clear and bright voice, lingering long into the night.

And in a spot beyond the sight of either of them, a wisp of white hair flashed past — as though it had never been there at all.

* * *

Ningguang had said she wouldn't go to the Serenitea Pot — because she was afraid Lu Lin would take advantage of her. But she could sneak in on her own!

She had free access to the Serenitea Pot as well.

So after returning to the Jade Chamber, she locked herself in her bedroom and quietly slipped into Lu Lin's Serenitea Pot.

In truth, she already had a rough guess about the inexplicable pleasure she'd been feeling — it was very likely being transmitted to her when Lu Lin was being intimate with other girls.

She wanted to verify that theory, which was why she had snuck in while Lu Lin and Xiangling were inside the Pot.

What greeted her eyes, however, was a scene that shattered her entire worldview.