In fact, among these four, only Xingqiu and Chongyun were relatively free.
Hu Tao was always busy running around promoting the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
Though recently, when checking the accounts, she noticed things had gotten much easier.
There weren't as many extra entries to record.
Xiangling spent most of her time helping out at Wanmin Hall.
The four rarely had the chance to gather like this.
Paimon brought four drinks to them. "Here they come, here they come."
"These are the signature drinks you ordered."
The group closed their eyes and randomly picked a cup.
"So that's how they're drinking today…"
Watching their actions, Mu Yang's thoughts seemed to drift back to a long, long time ago.
The four of them had played a similar game before.
It was during Fujin's first time hosting the Toulong Ceremony.
The jade pendant he wore was drawn from Yaojun's lot.
Later, during tea, wine, or snack gatherings, the creativity was endless, all about going with the flow.
Getting something made by Mu Yang was, of course, lucky, since his skills were the best.
But if you got the Cocogoat's snacks, that was tough to stomach—only describable as having a wild, rugged charm.
After a few times, Lingyuan felt embarrassed and trained privately with Mu Yang.
Mu Yang still remembered the smug little expression on her face when Fujin praised her.
If someone had patted her head, she'd probably have soared to the heavens.
"Mu Yang…"
Hearing Lumine's voice, Mu Yang snapped back to reality.
"Hm? What's up?"
"What were you thinking about? You were so lost in thought, I called you several times and you didn't hear."
Mu Yang shook his head slightly. "Nothing, just… their bond is really nice."
Lumine leaned closer. "Why does your tone sound a bit lonely?"
Mu Yang froze slightly. Lumine, oh Lumine, it's really hard to hide anything from you…
"…Having you and Paimon here makes me happy."
[What's Mu Yang suddenly talking about?]
[Don't do this, don't do this. The next version is the Lantern Rite, it can't possibly stir up trouble, right?]
[Zhongli said Mu Yang has something to do during the Lantern Rite. Guess what it is?]
[It's a knife, I'm eating, eating, eating, eating!]
Lumine leaned even closer.
"We'll be here with you…"
Mu Yang collected himself and teased, "That depends on whether Paimon can follow the employee handbook."
They both looked toward Hu Tao's group, where Paimon was being fed by the four.
She'd already figured it out: no stealing guests' food, fine.
But if friends insisted on feeding her, she couldn't refuse.
How could she turn down a guest's request?
[No sad atmosphere can stop Paimon.]
[I'm actually kinda jealous. As long as she eats and drinks well, she has no worries.]
[Paimon, terrifyingly wise, the true sage.]
After seeing off the four, two distinguished guests arrived—Ningguang and Beidou.
"Yo, isn't that Lumine? How'd you end up as a bartender?"
"Hehe, Captain Beidou, Mu Yang's swamped, so we're helping out."
Ningguang didn't hold back her praise.
"His little shop has so many tricks up its sleeve. Probably only you could adapt this quickly."
She greatly admired Lumine's abilities.
Paimon pouted, hands on her hips. "Paimon's working hard too, hmph."
Lumine retorted, "Yeah, yeah, thanks for 'working hard' to eat the guests' snacks."
"Xiangling made me eat them!"
"Hehe, you two are as entertaining as ever."
Ningguang was about to find a seat when Mu Yang stopped her.
"Please, Lady Tianquan and Captain Beidou, head to the third floor."
The crowd downstairs was about to grow…
The three from yesterday, though among the Seven Archons, had mortal identities as cover.
In the eyes of Liyue Harbor's people,
Ningguang and Beidou's statuses made them seem untouchable.
One was the Tianquan of the Liyue Qixing, the other the legendary captain who slayed sea beasts.
How could a small merchant like Mu Yang let these two great figures sit at the counter?
The VIP room had to be arranged.
Anything less would be too discourteous.
Lumine and Paimon led the two upstairs.
Paimon said, "Seeing you two together again, you must have a great relationship."
"Captain Beidou said she had business to discuss but refused to meet at the Yuehai Pavilion, saying it felt like 'a subordinate reporting to a superior.'"
Ningguang mercilessly called Beidou out.
"In my opinion, she probably just wanted to support Mu Yang's shop but was too embarrassed to come to the second floor, which doesn't serve hard liquor."
Beidou couldn't argue with that.
The second floor only offered non-alcoholic drinks, and for her to come up alone would feel a bit awkward.
Especially after losing to Mu Yang in drinking contests multiple times…
Wouldn't that be admitting weakness?
"Mu Yang probably wouldn't overthink it. He's just happy you came."
Recalling Mu Yang's lonely expression earlier, Lumine added a few words.
With that, she turned to prepare their drinks.
After Lumine left,
the two's expressions turned serious.
"That thing in the sea is making me more and more uneasy. How's the preparation going?"
"Still missing a few key items."
"Mu Yang?"
Ningguang shook her head. This crisis—she didn't plan to involve Mu Yang.
The Adepti were the last resort.
She wanted to prove that humans alone could handle this crisis.
But even if she didn't say anything, Mu Yang likely already knew.
Why else would he go to the trouble of opening a shop in Liyue Harbor?
Still, on the surface, Ningguang hoped he'd pretend not to know.
Mu Yang, of course, knew about the sea beast.
But he also understood Ningguang.
If she didn't bring it up, he'd act oblivious.
If he spoke first, what identity could Ningguang use to keep him out of it?
In times like these, playing dumb was the way to go.
— — — — — —
On the players' side, after seeing off Beidou and Ningguang, the storyline ended.
The remaining activities only featured individual characters appearing, with brief dialogue after mixing drinks.
Players shouted that they weren't ready to let go, they hadn't seen enough.
But to their surprise, the story had an epilogue—[Snake and Beast].
It was an animated short.
Judging by the sky outside, Lumine and Paimon had likely clocked out.
Mu Yang was alone, tidying the counter.
A barefoot woman with white hair and red eyes walked in. "At this hour, that rock 'n' roll girl should be off work, right?"
Mu Yang said, "I reinforced the third floor's soundproofing. Next time, just take the staff passage."
"That's more like it."
[Jade]
[Changsheng transformed again?! Quick, admire her!]
[What are they talking about?]
[Touching the stage reveals there's a rock-themed day at the shop. Snakes are sensitive to vibrations—she's probably scared of Xinyan.]
The scene flashed.
Another person entered, someone players hadn't seen before.
No leakers or insiders had seen them either.
[That model's detail—it's not an NPC.]
[Blue, wavy hair, mature vibe—who's this general?]
[Blue, wavy, hair!]
[Sadly, no Vision. Not sure yet, let's keep watching.]
[Just say you want to see big lightning, no need to mention Visions.]
Lingyuan had arrived.
Mu Yang asked, "Why so late?"
"If I hadn't run out of mooncakes, I wouldn't have bothered coming…"
The playful Changsheng suddenly appeared from behind. "Just as Mu Yang said, you're all talk."
Lingyuan turned back. "You've changed quite a bit…"
The scene shifted again, and the three were in a third-floor private room.
The table held tea, Fine Tea, Full Moon, and plenty of snacks,
all prepared for four people.
"How long until she wakes up…?"
The camera panned out, focusing on the bright moon in the sky.
Then it showed a map players hadn't seen before.
The place was a secluded valley.
Under the cold moonlight, a river surged endlessly.
The scene settled on two large jade pendants locking the river in place.
At the center of the pendants was a massive whirlpool—
identical to the one where Fujin exited during the Yujing Terrace Sword Challenge…
The animated short ended.
[Snake and Beast] complete.