Hearing Klee's words, Jiayi—a guard of the Millelith—was instantly stunned.
Looking for Ye Xi?!
He'd been on the job for quite a while now, and of course he'd done shifts at Yujing Terrace, so he knew about Ye Xi.
What's more, the rumors about Ye Xi had been growing more and more numerous lately.
Though he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, today everyone over at the General Affairs Office was abuzz with talk—word was that Ye Xi wasn't human at all, but one of the Adepti.
In the blink of an eye, he'd conjured out of thin air a ship even bigger than the Alcor!
And that ship had even drawn the Adepti into appearing in this world!
Not only that, but it was said he'd spent last night up at Tianquan Star's Jade Chamber.
Each one of these incredible feats had already lifted the name 'Ye Xi' onto a pedestal among the gods!
So much so that now, hearing that name, every single member of the Millelith couldn't help but take it seriously in their hearts.
That was why, hearing Klee mutter this name, he didn't dare to be the least bit careless.
Jiayi hurriedly softened his voice and, as if coaxing a child, asked: "So, little Klee, is there some reason you're looking for Master Ye Xi?"
"I can help you—I'll report it to Master Ye Xi for you!"
With anyone else, as a member of the Millelith he would certainly have done some questioning first.
But these two girls before him, one big and one small, both bore an Eye of God.
And the little girl even called herself a knight.
With backgrounds like these, he figured it would be best to first get the situation clear and then report it up the chain.
"Master?"
Hearing this, Lisa was slightly surprised.
Having studied at Sumeru's Akademiya, she was more than familiar with this form of address.
But as far as she knew, this title wasn't a particularly common word in Liyue.
Being called 'Master' in Sumeru was one thing—but why was he being called 'Master' here in Liyue too?
Hearing Jiayi's question before her, Klee pressed a little finger to her chin and thought for a while, then spread her hands: "Klee doesn't know~"
"Eh?!"
This answer left Jiayi a little flustered.
He had just been about to nod when a lazy voice drifted to his ears: "My, my—for something like this, you'd rather ask a little child than ask a grown-up like me?"
"Cough, cough, cough..."
Jiayi broke into a fit of coughing and hurriedly shook his head.
It wasn't that he didn't want to ask.
It was that he didn't dare to ask!
He had no choice but to put the same question he'd just asked to Lisa again.
Only this time, he was very cautious: "So... Miss Lisa, may I ask what business you have with Master Ye Xi? I'll go report it right away!"
Lisa gave a soft smile and said: "Actually, it was Master Ye Xi who invited us to come."
"This is the letter he sent us."
As she spoke, she held the letter up for Jiayi to see.
This letter had been sent back a couple of days ago.
The senders were, in fact, Eula and Amber.
When the letter first arrived, Jean assumed it carried good news and immediately tore it open.
As a result, she saw the explanation written upon it.
It was 'infrastructure,' not 'fencing'!
It was meant for building up the economies of the four nations and all sorts of engineering projects—not for taking part in some swordsmanship tournament!
Upon reading this letter, Grand Master Jean's vision went black and she nearly fainted on the spot.
The trouble was, in the letter Eula even asked her how on earth she had managed to mishear it!
Grand Master Jean was absolutely furious!
The whole mix-up about 'fencing' had clearly been started by that fellow Barbatos!
And what's more, when Barbatos mentioned 'fencing' back then, he had even deliberately mimicked a few sword-swinging attack motions like a swordsman.
As a God, there was no way he could have not known that 'infrastructure' wasn't 'fencing'!
This proved that the whole thing had been done by Barbatos on purpose!
Faced with Lisa's interrogation, Grand Master Jean had no choice but to disclose Barbatos's identity, along with the truth behind this whole mix-up.
So Lisa now already knew everything.
She understood full well the importance of this 'infrastructure'—uniting the four nations in commerce and trade, and manufacturing more convenient means of transportation.
For Mondstadt, this too was an enormous boon.
And so she didn't fuss over it too much, and immediately prepared to come to Liyue to see Ye Xi.
It was just that Kaeya, who was originally supposed to travel with her, suddenly had urgent business and said he'd be two days late in arriving.
As it happened, Klee had also been put in confinement for playing with Jumpy Dumpty.
So she brought Klee along to get out and unwind.
Seeing the letter, Jiayi trusted them a few degrees more.
He turned and spoke to the colleague beside him: "Jingming, you stay here. I'll take these two to the General Affairs Office and be right back!"
"Sure, leave it to me!"
Jingming, beside him, nodded again and again.
Although he figured Jiayi just wanted to go slack off, compared to continuing to stand guard, leading the way for Lisa seemed even more terrifying.
He had no desire to slack off in Lisa's company.
"Really? Well now, that's just wonderful."
Lisa's face was all smiles.
She had never liked work and overtime to begin with, and if this matter hadn't been so important, she wouldn't have wanted to come at all.
At the mere thought of arriving in Liyue, having to search for someone among a vast sea of people, and on top of that having to look after Klee.
All the matters of food, clothing, lodging, and travel gave her a splitting headache.
Who would have thought Ye Xi's reputation was no small thing—the moment she reached Liyue's gates, there was already a Millelith to lead the way.
Now there was no need to search for anyone, and perhaps even food and lodging were taken care of.
She could go back to slacking off again.
Jiayi hurriedly led the way out front, turning his head back every few steps, terrified that Lisa and Klee might get lost.
Crossing the wooden bridge into the market streets of Liyue Harbor, the place was packed with crowds everywhere, people jostling shoulder to shoulder.
Seeing this scene, Klee was thrilled: "Wooow——! So many people! It's so lively! Klee wants to go play!"
Lisa hurriedly grabbed hold of Klee's little backpack: "You can't, little Klee."
"If you wander off and get lost, I'll have to send you back to the confinement room in Mondstadt."
"Eh?!"
"Big Sister Lisa, Klee doesn't want to go back! Grand Master Jean is so scary!"
Klee immediately settled down and behaved herself.
Little did she know that, far away in the office of the Knights of Favonius, Jean just so happened to sneeze several times in a row.
To be honest, Lisa too was startled by the crowd before her.
In the past when she'd come to Liyue, there had never been this many people here.
Jiayi explained with a chuckle: "There's no need to be surprised, Miss Lisa. There's a real reason for so many people today."
"...This afternoon, our Lady Tianquan Star Ningguang is going to deliver an address to the whole harbor atop the Jade Chamber."
"According to reliable intelligence, Master Ye Xi will also make an appearance then."
"With both Lady Ningguang and Master Ye Xi, the whole harbor is in something of a stir."
This explanation left Lisa rather astonished inside.
"This Master Ye Xi—could it be that he holds great prestige in Liyue?"
"But of course!"
Jiayi said with a smile: "The great name of Master Ye Xi is already known to every single person in our General Affairs Office!"
"The moment His Esteemed Self arrived, he brought a huge commercial order from Sumeru, letting the people of the entire harbor get to eat Sumeru's fruits!"
"What's more, he's on no shallow terms with both our Lady Tianquan Star and Lady Yuheng Star."
"It's said that this very morning, Master Ye Xi even built a giant ship with his own hands and drew the Adepti to come!"
"For that reason alone, the people of Liyue all want to catch a glimpse of Master Ye Xi."
"And that's why we have this scene now."
As they were speaking, they arrived at Feiyun Slope.
Only, here too was already a sea of people, packed to the brim.
Even with the Millelith working to clear a path through the crowd, it was still impossible to move an inch.
Trying to get into the General Affairs Office could be called difficult upon difficult.
"Miss Lisa, I'm truly very sorry."
"From the looks of it, we won't be getting through anytime soon."
"How about we wait a while?"
Hearing this, Lisa nodded.
With this many people, forcing their way in would be dangerous.
Just as they were speaking, an enormous shadow suddenly appeared in the sky.
Everyone looked up one after another, only to see that three Jade Chambers had actually arrived above Liyue Harbor!
Lisa's face was full of astonishment.
She clearly remembered that there should be only one Jade Chamber!
How had it become three?!
At this moment, shouts rose up from within the crowd.
"It's here, it's here! Lady Ningguang's Jade Chamber is here!"
"Wonderful, it's finally about to begin!"
"I can't wait! Just what is it she's going to announce!"
"I wonder whether Master Ye Xi will show his face!"
"I'm wondering whether the Adepti will come!"
"..."
Hearing the chattering discussions all around her, Lisa was utterly stunned inside.
Why did it feel to her that Ye Xi's prestige in Liyue Harbor was already on par with that of Rex Lapis back in the day?
Wasn't this scene just a little too lively?
.....
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