Zhongli naturally recognized Focalors.
Though Focalors was the second-generation Hydro Archon, she had once been the familiar of the first Hydro Archon, Egeria. During the gatherings of The Seven, Focalors would often accompany Egeria.
Though now, among the original Seven, only he and Barbatos remained, Zhongli was acquainted with all the second-generation Archons—except the current Dendro Archon. They weren't close, but he knew them well enough.
So… what exactly was going on with Focalors now?
This was her, right? Undoubtedly Focalors?
Her face, her presence, her aura—no matter how he looked at it, the girl before him was unmistakably Focalors.
But… why was she human?
An ordinary person might struggle to tell, given the curse-like aura surrounding Furina that obscured others' perception. But for a god's gaze, whether Furina was human or divine was something that could be discerned at a glance.
There was no divinity.
To determine whether a god was truly a "god," one only needed to sense their divinity. And whether a god possessed divinity was something another god could perceive instantly.
Yet from this Furina before him, Zhongli could detect no trace of divinity whatsoever.
In that case, she was undoubtedly human.
But… aside from the lack of divinity, no matter how he looked at her, she was still Focalors!
What in the world was going on?
As Zhongli puzzled over this, Furina's mind raced, quickly deducing the man's identity.
That girl just now had mentioned the name "Zhongli," hadn't she?
Zhongli… Ye had told her that Zhongli was the mortal alias of the Geo Archon, Morax.
Meaning… the man before her was likely Morax himself.
Why would Morax know her? And why did he act so familiar with her?
Had he visited Fontaine and met her before?
Or perhaps…
In a flash, Furina recalled something that had struck her as odd at first but which she had long since forgotten over the centuries.
Namely… how suspiciously smooth her impersonation of the Hydro Archon had gone.
This wasn't about how flawlessly she had played the role over the past five hundred years—but how effortlessly she had assumed the position in the first place.
Back then, Furina had nervously followed the instructions of the "her" in the mirror, gone to the Palais Mermonia, and declared herself to be Fontaine's new Hydro Archon, Focalors. And the Palais Mermonia had accepted it without question, publicly proclaiming her as Archon without a shred of doubt.
At the time, Furina had been bewildered—had the Palais Mermonia always been this easy to fool?
But over time, she had forgotten about it, since the Palais Mermonia never once faltered in treating her with genuine reverence.
Yet now that she thought about it…
That "her" in the mirror, whom she had only seen once…
If that mirror version was the true Focalors, then… had she asked Furina to impersonate her precisely because they looked identical?
If that were the case, then Morax would have known the real Focalors. That was why he had said, "Long time no see"… No, wait—his eyes had held confusion and scrutiny. He was questioning her identity.
A wave of panic crashed over Furina. She deeply regretted ever coming to Liyue. She should have been more cautious—who could have guessed that in a nation as vast as Liyue, she'd run into him of all people?!
Calm down. Calm down. Calm down.
He was only suspicious—meaning he wasn't certain she was a fraud yet. There was still room to salvage this.
"Well, if it isn't Mora—ahem, Mr. Zhongli! Long time no see. Care to join us?"
Furina forced a smile, gesturing invitingly before glancing curiously at the girl.
"And this is…?"
"This is the Director of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, Hu Tao. My apologies—the Director got a bit overexcited and acted impolitely."
"Impolite? This is all your fault to begin with!"
Hu Tao whirled around to glare at Zhongli.
"You charging your personal expenses to the Parlor is one thing, but paying for someone else's tab? And not just anyone's—a ten-million-Mora bottle of wine?! Even I, the great Hu Tao, have never drunk something that expensive!"
"Hehehe…" Furina chuckled lightly. "It seems Ye has done something rather rude. My apologies, Director Hu. I'll reimburse that ten million Mora for you."
Hu Tao gave Furina a surprised look before waving her off. "Nah, don't worry about it. I've never had ten-million-Mora wine because I'm not of drinking age yet—it's not like I'm actually hung up on the money. I was just curious what kind of freak would have the audacity to make someone else pay for a ten-million-Mora tab. Anyone who'd do that must be quite the character."
She turned back to Ye. "Cat got your tongue? Feeling guilty? Didn't think someone shameless enough to pull this off would even have a conscience."
Ye finally spoke. "My apologies, Director Hu. I was simply so stunned by your beauty that I was at a loss for words."
"Pfft—smooth talker." Hu Tao laughed before plopping down at the table.
"Since I treated you to the finest wine, shouldn't you return the favor?"
"Order whatever you wish, Director Hu."
Ye nodded slightly before glancing at Zhongli.
"Mr. Zhongli, please join us as well. My treat today—anything you'd like."
"Oh? Such generosity?"
Zhongli finally tore his gaze away from Furina and took a seat across from Hu Tao.
"In that case, Xiangling, we'll have one of every dish on Wanmin Restaurant's menu—and the finest wine as well."
"Wastefulness is a sin." Ye said earnestly. "Let's order one dish at a time. We can always get more, but we mustn't waste food."
"Ye, do you remember what happened last time you ordered Wanmin Restaurant's entire menu?" Zhongli replied with equal sincerity. "Worry not—if we can't finish, we can always share the feast with everyone on the street. A celebration for all."
Ye: "..."
Was this what they called Shooting Yourself in the Foot?
"Ah, so it was you that time too!"
Hu Tao's eyes lit up with realization.
"Makes sense. Who else would pull something like that?"
"I feel this is a misunderstanding. I'm not the type to take advantage of small favors."
"Oh, I know." Hu Tao nodded sagely. "You don't go for small favors—what 'small favor' starts at ten million Mora?"
"...…Fine. Do as you please."
Ye gave up.
Whatever. He could always expense it through the Palais Mermonia anyway. No big deal.