"A person from 'the trade'?" The blonde youth was puzzled for a moment, but he quickly composed himself and introduced himself with a smile. "Hello, Mr. Zhongli. My name is Aether, and this is my travel companion, Paimon."
"Mm-hmm, hello!" Paimon spun around in mid-air and waved her hand in greeting.
"Is this creature named Paimon a mutated Hilichurl?" Xia Yu's curious voice suddenly rang out as he watched Paimon floating in the air.
To Xia Yu, it didn't matter whether the 'Traveler' was 'Aether' or 'Lumine'. Although they were characters he had once controlled, he had controlled far too many characters. If he hadn't failed to pull Zhongli back then, Zhongli would have been one of them too.
However, the Traveler being Aether might have been because he chose the 'older brother' for immersion when he played the game, but it didn't really affect him anyway.
"Hey! Paimon is not a mutated Hilichurl!"
Hearing Xia Yu's words, Paimon stomped her feet in the air and retorted with a look of dissatisfaction.
"Oh, I see." Xia Yu put on an expression of sudden realization and looked at Aether seriously. "Then she must be emergency food, right? After all, it's easy to go hungry while traveling."
"That's completely wrong! That's even worse than being a mutated Hilichurl!"
Hearing these familiar words, Aether chuckled. Seeing that Aether actually laughed, Paimon became even more upset.
"You're laughing too!"
"Sorry, I just thought of something funny." Aether pulled back his smile, apologized to Paimon, and then said to Xia Yu, "Paimon isn't emergency food; she's a travel companion."
"I know, I was just joking. My apologies, travel companion Paimon." Xia Yu looked at the huffing Paimon with a smile.
"Hmph." Paimon tilted her head high and put her hands on her hips. "I'm a big enough person to accept your apology."
But soon, Paimon lowered her head and looked at Xia Yu curiously. "By the way, you haven't introduced yourself yet?"
Aether also looked toward Xia Yu. He was also curious about this person who looked similar in age to Zhongli but had black hair that faded into a gradient of gray-white at the tips.
"Me? You can just call me Xia Yu. Like Zhongli said, I'm just here to watch the fun. Don't mind me."
"Alright, alright. Since everyone knows each other now, we should talk business," Childe suddenly cut in. "Mr. Zhongli is a consultant for the WangSheng Funeral Parlor. The WangSheng Funeral Parlor is an organization in charge of funeral rites, aiming to send people to the afterlife with peace of mind."
"Correct," Zhongli took over the conversation. "I have a way for you to see the exuvia of the Rex Lapis."
As soon as these words were spoken, Aether and Paimon were stunned. Zhongli ignored the reactions of others and continued.
"Although Rex Lapis is the ancestor of all Adepti, he is, in the end, one of the Adepti himself. Looking back at Liyue's history of thousands of years, the Adepti have been leaving one after another. This is an irreversible trend."
"Because times have changed. You should have already experienced this transition in Jueyun Karst."
"Indeed, the Adepti are distancing themselves from Liyue," Aether nodded in agreement.
During his previous journey to find the Adepti, he had already discovered that almost all of them were staying away from humans and were largely indifferent to the affairs of mortals.
This seemed to be a consensus among all Adepti, and because they were so hard to find, it had caused him to travel a lot of extra distance.
Aether lowered his head in thought after responding, and Zhongli had no intention of stopping, continuing instead.
"As you can see, the era of the Adepti is fading, and the era of humanity is gradually becoming a reality."
Throughout the conversation at this dinner, Xia Yu had been silently eating after his initial remarks. After all, the matters being discussed had little to do with him.
However, he wasn't idle; he had been lurking in the Chat Group... discussing the future.
[Genshin Impact]: My plot has only reached 'Farewell, Archaic Lord'. Can you guys help me think of what benefits I can get?
[clash of clans]: Go say bad things about the Anemo Archon to his face, then go pick a fight with the Electro Archon, and your mission will be complete!
[dark souls iii]: Don't forget the little Dendro Archon loli. Go kidnap her. Hehehe, my Dendro Archon.
Evil Spirit Xia Yu had already sent the latest settings collection of Genshin Impact to the group, so The Xia Yus already knew the general plot, including the new characters introduced in the story and so on.
[clash of clans]: That's way too illegal. I didn't know you were such a criminal.
[dark souls iii]: Are you stupid? If anyone's a criminal, it's the Dendro Archon. She's over five hundred years old. How old are we? It's clearly an old cow preying on a young bull.
[clash of clans]:...[Genshin Impact]:...[Gourmand Dungeon]: I thought of something. Doesn't Zhongli have a Story Quest? I recall there being a God of Salt, but she perished.
[Genshin Impact]: You mean?
[Gourmand Dungeon]: The relics of the God of Salt. As long as you get her relics... [Genshin Impact]: Right, I can devour... [Gourmand Dungeon]: We'll have a never-ending supply of salt to eat!
[Genshin Impact]:???
[Gourmand Dungeon]:???
[Genshin Impact]: A never-ending supply of salt? Good grief, you only want to use the relics left by a Demon God to make salt.
[Gourmand Dungeon]: Nonsense, what else would you use them for if not making salt? Do you actually want to devour her relics? Aren't you afraid of being salted to death?
[Genshin Impact]:...I'm devouring the authority of the God of Salt, not pouring salt directly into my mouth. Besides, if I devour the authority of the God of Salt, maybe I can create salt too.
[Gourmand Dungeon]: Better not. I doubt anyone could stomach that kind of salt. Think about it: the salt of a beautiful woman versus the salt of a man—which one would you want to eat?
[Genshin Impact]:...Demon God Xia Yu does not want to talk and silently closes the Chat Group... "Well, if you agree, then come with me. We can discuss the details on the way."
When Xia Yu snapped back to reality, the exchange between Zhongli and Aether had concluded.
Aether wanted to see the deceased body of Rex Lapis, and Zhongli had given his suggestion: the Rite of Parting.
The Rite of Parting, as the name suggests, was a grand commemorative ceremony, and it was a long-standing tradition in Liyue.
Whenever an Adeptus passed away, a Rite of Parting was required. But now that it was Rex Lapis who had passed, everyone was too preoccupied to attend to this tradition.
Therefore, Zhongli requested Aether to help him prepare a ceremony to bid farewell to the Geo Archon. Only by participating in the Rite of Parting could one see the body of the Geo Archon again.
Everyone was satisfied with this dinner. Aether gained the opportunity to see the Geo Archon's remains, Zhongli successfully recruited someone to help prepare the Rite of Parting, and Childe successfully achieved his own goal.
As for Xia Yu, like Paimon, he was simply happy to have scored another free meal.
After the dinner, Childe, who planned to stay a bit longer, looked at the clean dining table. After a moment of silence, he smiled and prepared to pay the bill.
Zhongli and Aether prepared to go buy the items needed for the Rite of Parting. Xia Yu expressed no interest in this, and after saying goodbye, he left on his own.
He was now going to look for the remaining relics of the God of Salt. Once he found them, he would come back to join the fun of the Rite of Parting.