Not long after.
Zhongli also arrived at Wanmin Restaurant.
Upon seeing Rios and the others—especially Rios—Zhongli's gaze paused slightly for a moment; he had probably recognized Rios's identity.
But with Hu Tao and other diners nearby, he didn't acknowledge Rios; the two of them just acted like ordinary strangers and introduced themselves to each other.
Then, since they hit it off chatting, they simply sat down to eat together.
With Zhongli there, who also disliked seafood, Rios felt incredibly comfortable.
This old gentleman, though he always said he respected others' tastes, could find arguments from a thousand different angles when it came to why seafood wasn't good.
A kindred spirit.
Talk more; he loved hearing it.
"The Braised Black-Back Perch is here."
At that moment, Xiangling brought out Wanmin Restaurant's signature dish.
Mualani's eyes lit up at the sight of her favorite seafood, her red eyes sparkling: "Itadakimasu..."
"Ah! Spicy, spicy, spicy, spicy!"
Mualani hadn't even taken two bites before she was so spiced that she stuck out her tongue, looking exceptionally pained: "Water, I need water..."
"Ah, sorry—I didn't know you weren't good with spicy food; I'll get you some water right now," Xiangling said upon seeing this, about to go fetch it.
"No need." Rios took a bottle of white beverage from the storage space unique to Visions and placed it on the table. "I have some here."
Mualani grabbed it without a word and chugged it down fiercely.
The instant the beverage hit her throat, she widened her eyes in disbelief: "Rios, you gave me milk?"
She hated milk the most!
Bad guy Rios, picking this exact moment to mess with her!
"Don't give me that look," Rios said with a smile. "I read in a book that drinking milk after getting spiced can relieve the pain."
Then, he turned his head: "Mr. Zhongli, am I right?"
"From a general rational perspective, milk is indeed one of the more effective anti-spice drinks," Zhongli said. "If Miss Mualani doesn't like the taste of milk, she can drink other beverages; they can also relieve the spice."
"What is it?" Mualani blinked, asking with great interest.
"Yogurt, coconut milk..."
"Thanks, Mr. Zhongli—I'll stick with milk."
Hearing that the latter options were also milks, Mualani immediately lost interest.
Since they were all milk, the taste was probably similar; no need to specially spend Mora on another cup.
"If you're really afraid of spice, later have Xiangling bring a bowl of water over; rinse it in the bowl before each bite, and it won't be so spicy," Hu Tao said. "I see Gaming does it that way."
"You could also rinse it in milk," Rios added.
"No, no—water rinse is fine," Mualani shook her head frantically.
"Won't that just defile the ocean's deliciousness?" Rios asked.
"It won't!" Mualani rolled her eyes.
Amid Mualani's hissing and huffing, everyone finished lunch.
Because the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's business had been slow lately, Zhongli had nothing to do, so he proposed taking Rios and the Natlan people around Liyue to tour the famous sights and experience the joys of walking birds, drinking tea, and watching opera.
Rios agreed without a second thought.
Though he was still young, he didn't mind starting a retired life early.
But before setting off, he asked Hu Tao and Xiangling to let him touch their Visions.
"Guest, what do you mean by this?"
Though Xiangling didn't understand, she still handed over her Vision.
"I'm just curious what Visions from other countries are like."
Rios placed his hand on the Liyue-style Pyro Vision.
In the instant of contact, the two Visions flashed brightly, then returned to normal.
Afterward, he handed the Visions back to the girls.
It wouldn't be long before players discovered that the Hu Tao and Xiangling they pulled had suddenly gotten just a tiny bit stronger than before.
As for Hu Tao and Xiangling themselves, they would later feel their own strength grow a bit, but it wouldn't show immediately—instead, it would strengthen bit by bit over time.
Next, Rios and the others followed their guide Zhongli to visit all of Liyue's famous sights and fun spots.
And based on Kachina's preferences, they climbed several particularly high mountains, incidentally collecting some minerals that didn't exist in Natlan as souvenirs.
During this time, Rios and his group also met all of Liyue's playable characters once, getting to know each other.
It's just a pity they still didn't get to see the young Madame Ping.
Sigh, Ping'er—when will we finally meet?
After touring Liyue, Rios picked up his pen again to write a letter to the Traveler, incidentally gifting players 50 Primogems.
Dear Traveler:
Unknowingly, it's been a long time since we've seen each other; I don't know if you've finished exploring Natlan—anyway, our trip to Liyue has come to an end.
If you're preparing to set off for the next stop, I hope you'll let us know in advance; at that time, we'll hold a banquet to celebrate your departure... This wording seems a bit off, but the meaning gets across.
They say Liyue people are warm and hospitable, and after coming to Liyue, that's indeed the case. As soon as we entered Liyue Harbor, we met a kind person named Mr. Zhongli.
Under his lead, we toured all the fun places in Liyue and became friends with quite a few locals.
The one who impressed me the most was a young girl named Yanfei. At the time, I was bored and wanted to fish, and she happened to be right beside me.
After fishing for half a day, I hadn't caught anything all day, but she caught one. So she enthusiastically came over and shared her fishing tips with me, like selecting bait and casting the rod—explaining it all in detail.
I felt pretty awkward at the time, because I was just using fishing to zone out; I hadn't prepared any bait, and there wasn't even a hook on my fishing line.
If she noticed, it might make her feel even more awkward.
Fortunately, that Yanfei girl wasn't wearing glasses, but she seemed a bit nearsighted and didn't notice anything off about the bait, so nothing bad happened.
To express my thanks, I used the excuse of being from Natlan and wanting to see other countries' Visions to ask her to hand me her Vision for a look.
On the surface, I was just looking, but actually, I secretly infused some power into it.
It won't be long before she discovers that her control over flames has gotten just a tiny bit stronger.
Not only that, I did the same thing to Miss Hu Tao and Miss Xiangling.
Maybe one day when you meet them, you'll find they've gotten a bit stronger than before.
The players from another world, upon opening the game, noticed an extra message in their mail. Opening it, they found it was a letter from Rios.
After reading the letter's contents, they instinctively opened the character menu to check, then couldn't help but be greatly shocked.
[No way...]
[Hu Tao and Xiangling suddenly got buffed?!]