Chapter 27

Ningguang's knowledge came entirely from books, and even then, she hadn't read extensively — she only had a general understanding of such matters. As for this particular style, where one turned oneself into the "dish" with everything flipped upside down, that was simply not in any book she had ever read.

Could it… really be done like that?

Ningguang was utterly shaken.

She swallowed hard, listening to Xiangling's bright, melodious voice rise and fall with vivid expression, and felt an inexplicable heat spreading through her body. One hand unconsciously began drifting toward the hem of her skirt…

No — I can't do this!

A last sliver of clarity remained in her mind. She bit down and triggered the mark, vanishing from the Serenitea Pot…

The next day, when Lu Lin returned to the Jade Chamber, he couldn't shake the feeling that Ningguang was looking at him strangely.

"What's wrong? Do I have something on my face?" Lu Lin instinctively touched his cheek.

"Pervert," Ningguang said, pursing her lips.

"Hmm? Is today the first day you've figured that out?" Lu Lin felt no shame whatsoever — if anything, he wore it as a badge of honor, teasing her with a grin.

"I can't be bothered arguing with you. The materials and craftsmen you requested are all assembled. Follow me."

The two left the Jade Chamber and made their way to a workshop concealed within the Mt. Tianheng range. The materials Lu Lin had listed and a large number of skilled craftsmen were all waiting there.

He conducted a quick inspection, confirmed everything met his requirements, then distributed the blueprints and directed the craftsmen to fabricate the corresponding components according to the designs.

In the days that followed, Lu Lin kept himself extremely busy.

He had to check in on the workshop's progress regularly, while simultaneously putting himself through an intensive training regimen.

He now commanded three types of Elemental Power, and his physical constitution had been dramatically enhanced by the System. His overall strength was already formidable — but he had almost no real combat experience, which meant his actual fighting ability was still fairly average.

A major battle was likely on the horizon, and Lu Lin urgently needed to sharpen his practical combat skills.

He enlisted two personal training instructors. The first was Ganyu — with her extraordinarily long lifespan, she had reached the pinnacle in both Elemental Power application and martial cultivation, making her an ideal teacher.

The second was Keqing. She was a master of swordsmanship with extensive real-world combat experience, brought in specifically to guide Lu Lin's sword technique.

Bolstered by the [Keen Intellect] entry, Lu Lin's comprehension was extraordinary. In just two days, his true combat ability had improved at a breathtaking pace.

Inside the Serenitea Pot.

A violet figure and a white figure intertwined, darting up and down like two butterflies dancing together — graceful, fluid, and alive — while the crisp ring of clashing blades rang out in a continuous stream between them.

After a fierce exchange, the two figures separated.

"Your talent is truly extraordinary. To have progressed this far in just two days — your swordsmanship is already no worse than mine!" Keqing sheathed her sword and stood tall, her praise genuine and unrestrained.

"It's all thanks to Master Keqing's excellent teaching!" Lu Lin remained quite humble about it.

Keqing was dressed as always in her purple skirt and black stockings. Standing with her sword sheathed, she cut a dashing, spirited figure. She laughed brightly at his words. "My swordsmanship comes from my family's tradition, refined further through my own improvements — it's genuinely top-tier among sword arts. This is my most prized technique. Since you've already mastered it, there's nothing more I can teach you!"

"Is that so? Then I have one more question." Lu Lin flashed a mischievous grin.

The moment she saw that smile, Keqing felt a pang of unease. This guy was definitely up to something again!

In truth, their sparring sessions hadn't originally taken place in the Serenitea Pot — they'd been using the Millelith's training grounds.

But since Keqing frequently had to step away to handle official matters, the constant back-and-forth was inconvenient and time-consuming. Lu Lin had a flash of inspiration and brought her into the Serenitea Pot, coaxing her into taking up residency there.

His reasoning was that once she was a resident, she could return to the Pot at any time from anywhere, and sparring inside the Serenitea Pot would save a tremendous amount of time.

Keqing had been hesitant at first, since this was Lu Lin's private space.

The two of them had shared more than a few ambiguous moments, and Lu Lin had openly taken liberties with her at the ancient city walls of Mt. Tianheng. She wasn't particularly eager to be alone with him in such an intimate setting.

But she was also someone who placed enormous value on efficiency. Knowing there was a method that could save time and improve productivity, it simply wasn't in her nature to leave it unused.

In the end, half-reluctantly and half-willingly, she agreed to move in — but she set one condition: Lu Lin was not allowed to take advantage of her during their sparring sessions.

Under normal circumstances, after Lu Lin had teased her at the ancient city walls of Mt. Tianheng, she should have long since lost her temper, gone to Xiangling or Ningguang to expose him as a shameless womanizer.

But what would that accomplish? This womanizer had openly embraced both Ganyu and Hu Tao right in front of Ningguang — he'd been playing his cards face-up from the very beginning.

Besides, she couldn't simply fall out with Lu Lin outright. Because aside from his lecherous tendencies, he was genuinely exceptional in every other regard — and right now, he was working hard to help Liyue through its crisis.

Falling out with him at this moment would do Liyue no good at all.

Of course, there was one more reason — one that Keqing herself refused to acknowledge, or perhaps hadn't yet realized — and it was the most important reason of all: she genuinely had no ill feelings toward Lu Lin. Falling out with him was simply never going to happen.

Regardless, for all these reasons, she had become his sword instructor and was now cooperating with him in sparring sessions inside his private space.

Fortunately, Lu Lin had been reasonably well-behaved over these two days — genuinely focused on sword practice, with no verbal teasing and no wandering hands. Apart from the intensity of his gaze, he'd given her no other cause for complaint.

But the moment she saw that mischievous grin, Keqing recalled every moment of what had happened at the ancient city walls of Mt. Tianheng. This man was definitely about to cause trouble.

Sure enough, she heard Lu Lin ask: "Since I've learned Keqing's family sword art, does that make me part of Keqing's family?"

Without a moment's hesitation, Keqing shook her head. "No, it does not."

"No? Then how can I have learned this sword art? That seems highly improper. Surely your family has ancestral rules — something about not passing it on to outsiders?"

As it happened, Keqing's family did indeed have such a rule. It was simply that Keqing was not a rigid person and paid little mind to such old conventions.

"There is such a rule, but there's no need to take it seriously."

"That won't do. We must respect our ancestors' traditions — rules passed down from our forebears ought to be honored. So you'd better just let me become part of your family!"

Lu Lin pressed forward step by step. Keqing grew flustered and retreated step by step, until her back was against a tree.

"You promised me — no taking advantage of me during sword training!" Keqing's voice carried a plaintive edge. She was genuinely a little afraid of this scoundrel now.

"But the sword training is already over — you said so yourself." Lu Lin leaned closer and closer, his warm breath sending wave after wave of heat rising through Keqing's chest.

Aside from that one time at the ancient city walls of Mt. Tianheng, the two of them hadn't had much physical contact — yet the tension between them was anything but low. Especially after she had spent an entire night eavesdropping at Cuijue Slope only to be caught by Lu Lin in the end; the lingering effect of that had been overwhelming.

So when Lu Lin's face drew closer and closer, Keqing didn't even think to dodge. She simply stood there, dazed, as his lips met hers.

This was her first kiss.

Lu Lin's movements were as gentle as he could make them, giving her the most perfect experience possible. Breath mingled with breath, lips and teeth entwined. Keqing had the faintest impulse to resist at first — but it melted away almost immediately, dissolved by the tenderness of the kiss.

Her feelings toward Lu Lin were complicated, yet she couldn't deny it: aside from his lecherous nature, she admired every single thing about him.

Far-sighted, deeply learned, brilliantly gifted, meticulous in attention to detail, handsome in appearance, elegant in bearing…

If she were to list his virtues, she could go on and on. Who wouldn't like someone this exceptional?

She did like him. But his fickle, womanizing ways left her hesitant and uncertain — unable, for a time, to see clearly what her own heart truly wanted.

It was only when Lu Lin took the initiative and kissed her — tearing away the thin veil that had been draped over her heart — that she finally saw herself clearly.

She was a straightforward, bold girl — in that respect, she was a little like Hu Tao. Once she understood her own feelings, she could express them without reservation.

And so she began to respond to Lu Lin's kiss with enthusiasm, even reaching out to take his hand herself and pressing it against her thigh, wrapped in black stockings.

This time, she didn't wait for Lu Lin to press her with questions. She told him with her actions directly.

"I like this feeling."

Feeling little Keqing's cooperation, Lu Lin's movements gradually grew more ardent. One hand traced the curves outlined by the black stockings and ventured beneath her skirt, while the other slipped inside her collar to cup the fullness there — no less impressive than Ganyu's.

"So am I part of your family now?" Lu Lin asked after a while.

But he never got his answer.

"Apologies for the interruption, you two — there's important intelligence." Ningguang had appeared at some point, standing a few meters away, watching them quietly.

Lu Lin, thick-skinned as ever, didn't so much as blush. He unhurriedly withdrew his hand and calmly helped little Keqing straighten her collar.

Keqing, though direct by nature, had been caught in the act of stealing a good friend's man — she felt at least a little too ashamed to face her, and turned her head to the side, unable to meet Ningguang's eyes.

She still didn't know, even now, that the relationship between Ningguang and Lu Lin was nothing like what she imagined.

Ningguang, for her part, felt deeply resigned. She had gone so far as to acknowledge her own self-indulgence in order to protect her good friend from Lu Lin's clutches — and yet, in just a few days, her friend had still failed to escape his grasp.

Well… she herself hadn't either…

"What's the important situation?" Lu Lin finished tidying Keqing's clothes before asking.

"That golden-haired Traveler went to Jueyun Karst and brought the Adeptus of Three Eyes and Five Manifestations down from the mountain. The adepti have now gathered and are on their way here to demand answers."

"What about Lumine? Has she returned?"

"She's with the adepti. They've already reached the outskirts of Mt. Tianheng."

"Perfect timing, then. Let's go meet them together. Don't worry — the Adeptus of Three Eyes and Five Manifestations won't cause any serious trouble. I'll handle it."

Lu Lin was as confident as ever, and somehow that confidence put both Ningguang and Keqing at ease.

Without either of them quite realizing when it had happened, these two formidable women of Liyue had slowly come to depend on him.

* * *

On the northern slopes of Mt. Tianheng, Tartaglia led a squad of Fatui disguised as Millelith soldiers in a swift retreat.

His luck had been absolutely terrible lately.

The Fatui's secret bases within Liyue Harbor had been swept out in large numbers. Not only had the attempt to replicate the All-Immunity Talisman been completely derailed, but their ability to gather intelligence had been severely curtailed as well.

As a result, Tartaglia had been unable to determine where the divine relic of the Archon's mortal shell was hidden.

So when he learned that Lumine had gone to Jueyun Karst to seek out the Adeptus of Three Eyes and Five Manifestations, he had devised another plan.

He intended to conceal his identity, approach Lumine, accompany her in seeking out the adepti, infiltrate their circle from within, and then find an opportunity to sow discord between the adepti and the Liyue Qixing — provoking a conflict between the two sides.

That would make it far easier for him to locate the divine relic.

After all, once the adepti got involved, they would certainly want to inspect the relic and investigate the cause of Rex Lapis's death. The Liyue Qixing couldn't very well keep hiding it forever, could they?

If they tried, a clash between the two sides would be inevitable — and he could use the chaos to search for the Gnosis.

But the plan had failed again.

He had barely managed to disguise himself and strike up a rapport with Lumine when she saw through his true identity. The Fatui's notorious reputation meant that a Harbinger was never easily trusted by others — let alone one who had deliberately concealed his identity.

The two sides clashed in a fierce battle. Lumine's true strength far exceeded Tartaglia's expectations. Even after he activated his Foul Legacy transformation, he still couldn't beat her, and in the end he had no choice but to flee in defeat.

In truth, his plan itself had been sound enough — but what he could never have anticipated was that Lu Lin had long since revealed his identity to Lumine. The golden-haired Traveler had known who he was all along.

After the plan's failure, he was forced to resort to a more direct and violent approach: disguising Fatui operatives as Millelith soldiers to attack Lumine and the Adeptus of Three Eyes and Five Manifestations, framing the two sides and inciting conflict between them.

The attack went smoothly. Since the goal was to frame the Qixing, Tartaglia had not shown his face. The objective of this strike wasn't to achieve any particular military result — it only needed to pin the blame on the Liyue Qixing.

The Fatui disguised as Millelith struck once and immediately scattered, vanishing into the depths of Mt. Tianheng.

When Lu Lin arrived at Mt. Tianheng together with Ningguang and Keqing, they walked straight into the path of the Adeptus of Three Eyes and Five Manifestations — who was furious.

"Greetings to the honored adepti. I am Ningguang, the current Tianquan Star of the Liyue Qixing…" Ningguang stepped forward with composed, dignified grace, neither servile nor arrogant — but she was cut off by an angry snort.

"Hmph! The Liyue Qixing — quite the audacity!" A divine deer stepped forward, voice thundering with fury, cutting off Ningguang's words. It was the adeptus known as the Moon-Carving, Sun-Building True Lord.

"The honored adepti have traveled far, and we have come out of the city to receive you — our courtesy is complete. Why, then, do you speak such harsh words, Venerable One?"

"Courtesy? You call dispatching Millelith soldiers to attack us courtesy?!" The divine deer demanded furiously, its front hooves striking the ground with a heavy stamp that sent dust and stones flying in all directions.

Ningguang stood unmoved in the face of this, while Keqing quietly rested her hand on the hilt of her sword. The atmosphere grew taut and oppressive — a confrontation was on the verge of erupting.

At that moment, Lu Lin stepped forward, his voice calm and pleasant. "Moon-Carving, Sun-Building True Lord, please calm yourself. You say Millelith soldiers attacked you — could you tell us the details of what happened? To my knowledge, there were no unusual deployments of Millelith forces from Liyue Harbor today."

"Who are you, and how do you know my name?" The Moon-Carving, Sun-Building True Lord did not answer his question, but turned it back on him.

The Adeptus of Three Eyes and Five Manifestations had been in seclusion for a long time, and their true names were not widely known. Yet this young man spoke as though he were already well acquainted — which was genuinely suspicious.

"My name is Lu Lin. The reason I know your title, Venerable One, is that a young man entrusted me with the task of inviting the adepti down from the mountain — and I in turn passed that task to Lumine. The All-Immunity Talisman she carries was given to her by me."

Lu Lin's words made the three adepti present exchange glances, each forming their own silent conjecture.

Lumine, who had been observing the situation from the side, gave a nod, confirming that what Lu Lin said was true.

But she was also quite puzzled. Lu Lin had clearly helped her escape the Millelith's pursuit — so how had he ended up on the same side as the Liyue Qixing?

"We had only just arrived at Mt. Tianheng when a military force ambushed us from the roadside. Their armor and weapons were unmistakably those of the Millelith!" A dark-feathered divine crane stepped forward, and the adeptus known as the Water-Ordering, Mountain-Stacking True Lord recounted the details of the incident.

Both Ningguang and Keqing furrowed their brows. Keqing stepped forward and said: "I am Keqing, the Yuheng Star. The Millelith had no large-scale deployment outside the city today. The attackers you encountered were most likely impostors — someone is trying to drive a wedge between the Qixing and the adepti."