Shinobu successfully defended Arataki Itto outside, and the moment the prison door opened, he rushed out.
"What an idiot! She meant the kind of ghost that flickers in and out!" Kujou Sara said.
"Ah... that kind of ghost? I'm not good at dealing with those either... Guess we'll have to rely on Ushi."
Kujou Sara gave Arataki Itto a strange look. How was this guy completely unaffected despite losing his Vision?
She then turned to Shinobu. "Why do you stick with such a fool? You should join the Tenryou Commission instead."
"Hmph! Nine-Tailed Turtle, don't even think about driving a wedge between me and Shinobu! How about you return our Visions, and I might just spare you."
As Itto and the others continued their noisy argument in the prison, Raiden Ei inside Tenshukaku had just finished reading a book.
The book had been delivered by Yae Miko. Previously, If You're Trapped in a Windless Land had backfired, so Yae Miko didn't send every book.
But this one concerned Liyue's Geo Archon, so Yae Miko made sure to deliver it to Ei.
"Back then, the crane returned, with nothing to rely upon in the vast world, leaving alone."
"Now reunited, old friends and new fill the hall, gathered together."
These lines were the exact opposite of Ei's situation... Originally, old and new friends had filled the hall, but upon her return, she found herself with nothing to rely upon in the vast world.
"So even Morax couldn't resist erosion..." Ei murmured, looking up at the sky of the Plane of Euthymia.
In Ei's eyes, Morax presiding over Liyue for thousands of years was a form of eternity. The recent changes were likely due to erosion altering his perspective.
If even an unyielding stone like Morax could be changed by erosion, then creating a puppet and secluding herself in the Plane of Euthymia to cultivate her mind was indeed the right choice.
Among the original generation of gods, it seemed only her own ideals remained unchanged.
The Electro Archon was a twin deity, so while Ei was not the first Electro Sovereign, she was indeed one of the original gods—the shadow of Makoto.
Thinking of the original gods, Ei's mind conjured images of her sister.
"Sister... Lady Saiguu... everyone..." Ei whispered, closing her eyes to meditate.
At the same time, she instructed the puppet that if Yae Miko delivered more books in the future, they were not to be relayed to her—they disrupted her mindset.
In Sumeru, the Dendro Archon Nahida also came to understand Morax's intentions.
"A test for his people?" Nahida sighed softly.
Right now, it wasn't her testing her people—it was her people testing her.
"How wonderful... A god tests their people, and the people live up to the god's expectations."
Nahida's small eyes shone with determination. "I must live up to my people's expectations too."
In Fontaine, Furina's eyes widened. "Wait, so the Geo Archon faked his death?"
That enormous dragon falling from the sky, such a grand spectacle—and it was all staged?
Oh no... As the Hydro Archon, I didn't notice. Would the Qixing of Liyue look down on me? Could they tell I'm not actually a god?
Little did she know, her perceived wisdom was entirely the result of others' overinterpretation.
When one's status was extraordinary, people would rationalize their actions on their own.
Furina couldn't help but reflect—back then, at Lucian's home, she hadn't just dined with the Anemo Archon, but the Geo Archon as well?
And Shenhe's story... The loneliness of the past contrasted with the joy of making friends now—she could relate deeply.
No, I need to hear 'Divine Damsel of Devastation' performed live!
Furina took out the communication device Lucian had given her and contacted him.
He had given it to her when she left Liyue to return to Fontaine, telling her to reach out if anything came up.
Lucian had exchanged a few of these from the System, giving one to her and one to Navia.
The device only allowed two-way communication, with the other end permanently linked to Lucian.
At that moment, both of Lucian's devices lit up—Furina and Navia were "calling" him simultaneously.
"What's wrong?" Lucian asked, thinking something had happened in Fontaine since both were contacting him at once.
"Lucian, I want to hear 'Divine Damsel of Devastation'!" the two said in unison.
Hearing each other's voices, they realized the other had also contacted Lucian.
"..." And here I thought it was something serious.
"You want to hear it? I'll sing it for you." Lucian cleared his throat.
"Ah, wait! I want to hear Yun Jin's version," Navia interjected.
"Yeah, Navia's right," Furina agreed.
Lucian smirked. So they just think my singing's bad, huh? "Fine, gather at my place in a few days, and I'll take you to hear it."
The reason for the delay was that Yun Jin didn't perform every day.
Come to think of it, Lucian hadn't just completed these two books—others would likely be released in the following days to capitalize on the momentum.
The next day, just as Lucian predicted, another new book was released—Love and Teyvat, which hadn't been updated in a long time.
"Sinae Unicornis Chapter: Act I - Sea of Clouds, Sea of People"—Ganyu's Story Quest.
The previous stories had given people some understanding of the Adepti, and this one could build on that.
In the story, the Traveler noticed that several secretaries working at the Jade Chamber seemed troubled.
Upon asking, they learned that since Ganyu had returned to her "family home," they had temporarily taken over her duties—and were now on the verge of collapse from overwork.
Ganyu, as the Qixing's emissary, had gone to Jueyun Karst to deliver a letter updating the Adepti on Liyue's post-crisis handling.
But Ganyu never returned, leaving her usual workload to them.
They hadn't realized just how inhuman her workload was until they tried handling it themselves.
The three secretaries were highly capable—otherwise, they wouldn't be working under Ningguang—but even combined, they struggled to manage Ganyu's usual tasks.
In just a few days, they were already physically and mentally exhausted, feeling like they were about to "meet their ancestors."
They had no choice but to ask the Traveler to bring Ganyu back—before Hu Tao came knocking.
Readers marveled—just how massive was this Adeptus's workload? Three people couldn't even handle one of her roles!
And she'd been doing it for thousands of years...
"Big Sister Ganyu is so diligent," Yae Miko mused, smiling. "Next time we meet, I'll bring some Sakura Blooms."
She was already thinking of ways to pamper Ganyu.
Though she was the Electro Archon's familiar, she wasn't nearly as busy as Ganyu—because she preferred delegating work to others.
Unless it required her personal attention, she'd rather be a spectator.
In contrast, Kokomi deeply admired Ganyu.
"How impressive... It seems I still haven't worked hard enough," Kokomi sighed.
Like Ganyu, she was hands-on, but she had to admit she wasn't as resilient—she got tired.
Jean, another hands-on leader, shared the sentiment. "Such dedication. I wish I could work alongside her."
Little did she know, Ganyu and Keqing had thought the same when reading about her—perhaps like attracts like?
If only Ei hadn't refused Yae Miko's books—she really should've seen this, as a shut-in goddess who avoided work.
===✧✦✧===
Character Voiceline · Ganyu: About Sinae Unicornis Chapter
"Don't!... Don't read it... Ugh, even though I like it, please don't..."