The next morning, the 100-to-50 round of the bubble-blowing contest proceeded as scheduled.
Victor Wang and Xingqiu advanced with ease as usual. Xiangling had already overperformed… When people in her group recognized her, they thought she would surely take first place. Instead, she ended up in last, and as expected, was eliminated.
"It's all about participation, it's all about participation…"
"I get it now! Xiangling must have deliberately held back, just to give us a chance!"
"Ah? No no no, that's not it."
"Tch, don't be so modest. As the one who makes bubble gum, how could you possibly lose to us outsiders at blowing bubbles?"
Xiangling scratched her head awkwardly, the words of explanation stuck in her throat, unable to come out.
"Hehe, the matches in the other divisions should be over too. I wonder how many members of our Bubble Gum Squad are still left. Let's go take a look."
Using Xingqiu as cover, Xiangling quickly escaped those reverent gazes.
…
At noon, Victor Wang arrived at the Liuli Pavilion on time.
This Liuli Pavilion, together with the Xinyue Kiosk, stood across the street from the Liyue Ministry of Civil Affairs. Their locations were similar, their styles were similar, and even their prices were similar. The only difference was that Xinyue Kiosk specialized in seafood, while Liuli Pavilion focused on mountain delicacies.
Last time, when Zhongli treated him to a meal at Xinyue Kiosk, the bill had come to more than a million Mora. It hadn't exactly crippled him financially, but every time he thought about it, he felt a little pain in his heart. That much Mora would have been enough for him to eat Black-Back Perch Stew at Wanmin Restaurant hundreds of times.
Thankfully, today it really was someone else paying.
"Welcome to Liuli Pavilion. How many in your party, esteemed guest? Do you have a reservation?"
"I'm a friend of Ye Caizhen."
"Understood, let me check…" The attendant called over a server and instructed, "Take this guest to 'Room of Colored Glass.'"
When the door to the private room opened, Ye Caizhen wasn't inside. Instead, there was a blond young man in rimless glasses, dressed with impeccable elegance.
Looking closely, his face bore some resemblance to Ye Caizhen's. Other than that, his apparent age made it difficult to believe he was really her father. His eyes, meanwhile, were black and unremarkable.
"If I may ask, you are…?"
The young man smiled. "I am Ye Caizhen's father, Diergis. Zhenzhen already told me about you. I know why you've come. Please, sit. And close the door."
As Victor Wang shut the door and took his seat, Diergis carefully examined him from head to toe. Then he remarked, "But I don't see the traces of Khaenri'ahn in you. Heh, I almost wonder if Zhenzhen was deceived."
Victor Wang retorted, "Aren't you the same? Aside from your hair, I can't tell either."
"A small disguise, nothing more."
Diergis removed his glasses, then carefully pinched something out of his eyes. When he raised his head again, those eyes had become a pale azure, each bearing a hollow star.
Contact lenses?
Victor Wang was taken aback.
Now, with golden hair, starry eyes, and a face seemingly untouched by time, he truly did resemble someone from Khaenri'ah.
"I heard from Zhenzhen that a fellow Khaenri'ahn was seeking aid. That is why I came.
More than five hundred years ago, I was but a marginal figure in my family—pure of blood, yet low in status. Such was common in the great families.
Worse still, because my elder brother was brilliant and sought power, I was dragged into the family's struggles as well.
On the very eve of Khaenri'ah's annihilation by the gods, I was still bound by petty reasons, carrying out so-called 'reconnaissance' on distant soil under the guise of a wandering merchant.
But after that day… everyone was gone. It was as though I had become the last Khaenri'ahn in the world. My family, my classmates, my old friends—almost everyone I knew had perished before the curse of immortality could even take hold… At the time, I did not realize that was a kind of fortune.
I was lost, terrified. All means of communication with Khaenri'ah were severed. The road home destroyed by a surging force. I was forced into a five-hundred-year exile. From a fake wandering merchant, I became a true one. Ridiculous, isn't it?"
Diergis let out a long sigh before continuing:
"Fortunately, I was not the only one left. There were other compatriots. Over the centuries, we struggled upon this now-alien land, forming an organization of Khaenri'ahns devoted to helping those just as lost and afraid as ourselves.
Now comes the question. I have shown you sincerity, but looking at you… how can I believe you are truly of Khaenri'ah? The secret of the curse is too poorly kept—let us not speak of that."
A real one, then. The more he spoke, the more mistakes Victor Wang might make. He carefully considered his response:
"As you can see, I am not pureblooded Khaenri'ahns, and so I surely know less than you.
I only ever heard my elders mention that the last king of Khaenri'ah was the one-eyed monarch, Irmin. After his downfall, it was the Alberich clan, though not of royal blood, who took up the regency.
I also once stumbled upon a hidden truth: that Khaenri'ah had a god who wielded the power of the Abyss. It was a secret known to very few. You… do you know of this?"
Diergis's pupils quivered. He quickly pressed, "Indeed! Very few knew this… Where is your elder now?"
"He had other matters. We parted ways when I was very young."
Diergis sighed repeatedly, his face full of weariness and disappointment. This stirred Victor Wang's curiosity, and he asked in return, "You seem especially concerned with news of this god?"
"Unlike the Seven Archons of the earth, this god did not rely on faith. For He was created by human hands—Khaenri'ah's greatest achievement! I… have been searching for Him ever since."
"A man-made god?!"
"Do not be surprised, young one. Though Khaenri'ah was a godless nation, it was undoubtedly the strongest human nation in Teyvat—the pride of mankind!
While the creatures of the surface wallowed in ignorance, we pursued knowledge and technology.
While surface dwellers still struggled to wield elemental power as individuals, we had already refined it into pure energy. We applied it, and from it, we forged mechanical constructs as plentiful as the beasts of the land, created tireless legions of steel. We could have conquered the world. For every surface nation, we had underground outposts—even fortresses.
Children of three years could pilot 'tillers' that even Vision bearers found hard to oppose. Our researchers attempted, and nearly succeeded, in creating perpetual motion. Meanwhile, the royal court secretly pursued an energy surpassing even the elements… But at that step, division arose.
A division so vast that even the prince of Khaenri'ah could not mend it… We gained greater power… but also drew the gaze of the gods above. A millennium of labor destroyed in an instant…
Regrettably, I knew nothing of that god's existence then. I only heard of Him later from other survivors.
But all that is past now. Believe me—the cursed would surely prefer to leave this prison of a world. What has kept me alive is not the glory of old, but rather…"
Diergis's eyes were full of grief. He left the thought unfinished.
Victor Wang pressed urgently, "That energy, that division, and the matter of the prince of Khaenri'ah—could you speak more on them?"
"That energy was the power of the Abyss. As for the rest, there is nothing more worth saying. All is past."
"…Since you don't wish to say, I won't ask further."
"It is not that I refuse. It is simply meaningless to bring it up again."
Victor Wang thought to himself: When you were praising Khaenri'ah just now, you didn't seem to think it was meaningless…
"I heard from Zhenzhen that you seek relics of Khaenri'ah?"
"Yes, yes, do you know of them?"
Diergis shook his head. "At my level, I cannot access such things. But I can offer advice. You were born upon the surface, but Khaenri'ah was a nation beneath the ground. If you wish to find its relics, you must look deeper.
"For ordinary men, the road back is indeed destroyed. I don't know what you want them for, but if you are ordinary like me, best to give up early.
"My advice only—if you have the ability, you may go to the Old Mondstadt of a Thousand Winds, or to Byakuyakoku. These were both important strongholds of Khaenri'ah that I know of. You should be aware of their locations, yes?"
A final test, then? Victor Wang thought quickly before replying, "Old Mondstadt of a Thousand Winds… in Mondstadt. Byakuyakoku… in Inazuma, on Watatsumi Island."
The first he had guessed, based on the Temple of the Thousand Winds. The second, he truly knew.
"As long as you know. And do not miss the ruins of the homeland of Khaenri'ah itself."
"Thank you, elder, for the guidance."
After all Diergis' boasting, only two points truly mattered: Khaenri'ah's god was man-made, seemingly powered by the Abyss, and now missing. And relics of Khaenri'ah might be found in Old Mondstadt of a Thousand Winds, Byakuyakoku, and the ruins of Khaenri'ah itself.
Byakuyakoku was in Inazuma—there was no rush. But if Old Mondstadt truly was in Mondstadt, then a return to Mondstadt should indeed be placed on the agenda.