"That powerful, unfamiliar energy. Are you referring to me?" Nahida asked from behind Lora.
Xiao's gaze fell on her, his expression turning somewhat confused. "And this is?"
"She is Sumeru's Dendro Archon, Lesser Lord Kusanali. You can just call her Nahida," Lora said, introducing her to Xiao.
After hearing Nahida's identity, Xiao paused for a moment, then instinctively asked, "So... why has Lesser Lord Kusanali come to Liyue?"
"For the festival. Lantern Rite," Nahida replied.
Yaoyao raised her hand and said, "Qiqi and I invited her!"
When Xiao heard the words Lantern Rite, his expression almost slipped for an instant. He subconsciously took a step back, looking troubled. After thinking in silence for a long while, he finally said, "Lantern Rite... Liyue's festival this year is as lively as ever. It is indeed a good time for reunions."
"Hey, we're having dinner at Xianyun's place this year for Lantern Rite. Are you coming?" Lora asked.
Xiao answered immediately, "That won't be necessary. Liyue still needs me to maintain peace in various places. You all can go."
Seeing how quickly and firmly he reacted, Lora sighed helplessly and said, "This year's Lantern Rite won't make things difficult for you. I'm mainly targeting Xianyun."
"Uh..." Xiao looked at her in surprise.
Was it really fine to just say that out loud?
"So you don't need to avoid me," Lora continued. "As for what happened before, it really was our fault as old-timers. Don't be angry anymore, okay?"
"I'm not angry!" Xiao immediately refuted.
"Good! Then it's settled! Dinner at Xianyun's place on the day of Lantern Rite. Don't miss it!" Lora clapped her hands, then quickly gave the sumpter beast a prod.
The beast raised its head and let out a long cry, dragging the cart forward at once.
Sitting in the cart, Lora waved and called out, "Don't miss it! Remember!"
They moved so fast that Xiao had no time at all to react or refuse.
Xiao watched Lora and the others disappear into the distance, leaving a trail of dust behind them. He fell silent. After a long while, he sighed helplessly.
In the cart, Nahida asked curiously, "Lora, what exactly did you do during the previous Lantern Rite to make Liyue's adepti end up like this?"
Lora scratched her head, blinked, and looked a little embarrassed. "Well..."
Lumine and Paimon explained Lora's "great achievements" from the previous festival to Nahida.
After listening to the two of them, Nahida looked at Lora with even more admiration and said, "You really are completely different from how you were back then. But it does sound rather interesting."
"See? I told you! It's very interesting!" Lora spread her hands and laughed.
"You seem pretty proud of yourself..." Paimon said, looking at her helplessly.
Scaramouche sneered, "I really don't know what there is to be proud of. You—"
Before he could finish, Lora chopped him on the head again and said, "Shut your mouth! Seriously..."
The trip from The Chasm to Liyue Harbor passed without any accidents. However, after entering the harbor, the group got down from the sumpter beast-drawn cart and immediately noticed Zhongli drinking tea at Third-Round Knockout, where Iron Tongue Tian was telling stories.
"Huh? Isn't that Zhongli?" After noticing him, Paimon quickly waved and called out, "Hey! Zhongli, we're over here!"
Hearing Paimon's voice, Zhongli put down his teacup and looked over.
His gaze fell on the group, and he noticed Nahida and Scaramouche among them. His expression gave nothing away. He stood and walked over, then said calmly, "You all came from Sumeru, I take it?"
"Yeah, yeah!" Paimon nodded.
"Hello, Mr. Zhongli!" Yaoyao greeted him together with Qiqi.
Zhongli nodded slightly, then introduced himself to Nahida and Scaramouche. "Greetings. I am Zhongli, a consultant of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor."
"I'm Nahida, a... staff member of the Sumeru Akademiya." Nahida had originally wanted to state her true identity, but after remembering that this was not Sumeru, she immediately changed her wording.
Scaramouche had no intention of introducing himself, so Lora said from the side, "You can just call him Kunikuzushi."
Scaramouche: "..."
"Welcome to Liyue, both of you. I hope you will enjoy the upcoming Lantern Rite," Zhongli said gently.
Lora then asked, "What are you doing here? Drinking tea and listening to stories?"
"Drinking tea and listening to stories is secondary. I had originally planned to go to the area around Qingce Village today to gather some young bamboo shoots. The residents there once gave me some, and they tasted quite good," Zhongli said calmly. "I simply ran into you all before I had set out."
"What are young bamboo shoots?" Paimon asked in confusion.
Lora and the others also looked puzzled, but they did not dwell on it.
Zhongli explained, "This year's Lantern Rite gathering will be held at Xianyun's home, and many old friends have been invited. To allow Xianyun to remain at ease, the task of preparing supplies has been left to those of us with free time. I still have other matters to attend to. If you have the time, could you go to the Qingce Village area and help me gather some young bamboo shoots?"
"I understand. The reason you were drinking tea and listening to stories here was so you could wait for us to arrive and hand this task over to us, right?" Lora suddenly understood and saw through Zhongli's intentions at a glance.
Zhongli smiled and said calmly, "Lora, that is not quite right. I just happened to be here listening to stories, and I just happened to run into you upon your return to Liyue. Everything simply happened to be a coincidence."
"..."
Yaoyao raised her hand and said, "I'll go! I'm very familiar with the Qingce Village area. I'll gather the bamboo shoots!"
"Huh? Wouldn't it be too dangerous to let Yaoyao go by herself?" Hearing Yaoyao's words, Paimon looked at Lumine.
Lumine said, "Paimon and I will go with Yaoyao."
"Then I will trouble you," Zhongli said with a nod.
After they left, Zhongli looked at Lora and Nahida again. "I also have quite a few lists prepared by Xianyun and Zhongyue. Lora, why don't you take a look..."
"Stop. I'm not looking!" Lora took a step back, refusing the task Zhongli was trying to hand off. She said, "I'm going to take Qiqi back to Bubu Pharmacy first. As for the lists, you should handle them yourself!"
"Oh, I see. Then I shall finish one last cup of tea before setting out..." Zhongli nodded slightly.
"Didn't you already finish just now?" Lora asked with a frown.
Zhongli shook his head. "The tea at Third-Round Knockout has a delicate and lingering fragrance. One more cup is never too many.