Another early morning. After two days of training that began at dawn and ended at dusk, Su Bai had finally managed to jump from the mountain and land safely. The progress might not be fast, but he was quite satisfied with himself.
It was worth mentioning that thanks to Su Bai's guidance in his spare time over the past two days, Shenhe could now distinguish between salt and sugar—a major improvement. At least the stir-fried Qingxin she made was no longer salty enough to kill a person.
Xiao had been rather busy these days. After dropping Su Bai off at Jueyun Karst, he spent his time clearing monsters near Liyue Harbor. With the Rite of Descension approaching, most of the Millelith were maintaining order inside the harbor, but someone still had to deal with the monsters outside. The Millelith had no choice but to work in shifts. Xiao's appearance had greatly relieved their burden.
"It's time to go. We've lingered long enough."
"Don't rush, Brother Xiao. There's a good show to watch today."
Su Bai gazed toward Liyue Harbor. He had arranged quite a spectacle. Missing it would be a shame. Seeing the mischievous smile on Su Bai's face, Xiao silently mourned for whoever had caught his attention. Still, he was curious about what was going to happen.
"By the way, Brother Xiao, Verr Goldet didn't ask you to pay for yesterday's meal, did she?"
"Pay? No. When I defeat stronger monsters, I give her the materials they drop. That should cover the cost."
Xiao might not know exactly how much a meal cost, but every time he gave that woman named Verr Goldet those materials, he could see the delight in her eyes that she couldn't hide.
"Good. Dining and dashing isn't my style, even out here."
"It's a shame I donated those twenty thousand Mora to the orphanage. Otherwise, I could have treated you to some of Wangshu Inn's fine wine."
Though Su Bai's words expressed regret, Xiao saw no trace of it in his eyes. That pleased him. This was how an adeptus should be.
Xiao had heard about that orphanage from Rex Lapis at the gathering a few days ago. It was located in a prime area of Liyue Harbor, established by the Tianquan of the Qixing and Su Bai. Ningguang had only managed to silence the opposition by invoking Su Bai's name as an adeptus.
"If that Tianquan can stay true to her principles, entrusting Liyue to her wouldn't be a bad thing."
Though he had never met the Tianquan, Xiao was quite satisfied with what he'd heard about her from Rex Lapis. If she truly passed the test, the Conqueror of Demons wouldn't mind quietly lending her a hand.
"I'm going to nap for a bit. Brother Xiao, if you see the Fatui coming to Wangshu Inn, wake me up."
"I understand."
Hearing Xiao's reply, Su Bai happily lay back down and fell asleep. Falling asleep as soon as he touched the bed was an innate talent. And with Xiao nearby, he didn't have to worry about danger. If not even Xiao's side was safe, nowhere in Teyvat was.
---
Before long, the sky was fully bright. Verr Goldet was idly petting a kitten at the counter. There weren't many guests today, and no one required her personal attention. She was starting to worry about this month's performance.
"If only some wealthy person would book the whole place. That would save my numbers for the month."
"Then again, other than Lady Ningguang, few in Liyue Harbor have that kind of money."
Verr Goldet sighed, her admiration for Ningguang growing. Lost in her fantasies, she didn't notice Childe, one of the Fatui Harbingers, stepping onto Wangshu Inn with several of his subordinates.
"Boss, the Fatui are booking the entire inn today."
"Yanxiao, serve the—wait, you said the Fatui are booking the whole place?"
Verr Goldet couldn't believe her ears. Were the Fatui planning some major move? Instead of skulking together like rats in the gutter, they were openly booking out Wangshu Inn?
"Is there a problem?"
"No, no problem at all. Please come in, esteemed guests."
Verr Goldet knew that Northland Bank was a Snezhnayan establishment, so she wasn't worried about this Harbinger defaulting on payment. During her training under Ningguang, she had learned to recognize the Fatui Harbingers. The young man before her was clearly Childe.
'I want to see what you're plotting. Luckily, the adeptus upstairs hasn't left yet. If you dare start anything at Wangshu Inn, you're dead.'
Verr Goldet narrowed her eyes. With an adeptus backing her, she wasn't afraid of these Fatui. And there wasn't just one adeptus upstairs—young master Su Bai was still here too.
"Boss! Boss! Trouble! Big trouble! Come quick!"
A server who usually handled cleanup happened to glance downstairs. He stumbled back several steps and fell onto his rear.
Verr Goldet frowned. This guy was making her lose face in front of outsiders. He clearly wasn't suited for front-of-house work. She'd find an excuse to transfer him to the kitchen.
"What's all the panic about?"
"Boss, it's terrible! There are coffins everywhere downstairs!"
The server swallowed hard, trying to force himself to stay calm. But his trembling legs betrayed his true feelings. Verr Goldet froze. What? Coffins everywhere downstairs?
She stopped worrying about the server's behavior and rushed to the railing to look down. What she saw made her jump.
From Wangshu Inn looking toward Liyue Harbor, not a single pedestrian was visible. Only a group of Fatui agents carrying coffins, slowly moving toward the inn.
'Could the Fatui be planning to take everyone at Wangshu Inn out in one fell swoop?' A terrifying thought crossed Verr Goldet's mind.
She was startled by her own idea. If that were true, wouldn't it mean Snezhnaya was declaring war on Liyue? She needed to get this news to Lady Ningguang immediately.
At a table nearby, a Pyroslinger gave Childe a respectful bow and poured him tea. Childe didn't touch the tea—he found it unpalatable anyway. Instead, he glanced sideways at Verr Goldet, who was clearly up to something.
"Don't worry, Boss Verr Goldet. Since we Fatui were able to leave Liyue Harbor, you can be sure the Qixing approved our actions."