"No, that's not it. I meant the other one, 'Tear~ asunder~ release~ ahh~~'" Paimon sang loudly.
Her voice was so adorable, 'Water Dragon Chant' sounded like 'Milk Dragon Chant.'
"How was that? I sang pretty well, didn't I?" Paimon put her hands on her hips and tilted her head back, looking like she was waiting for praise.
"Better than Lin Qiu, slightly worse than me," Ying similarly put her hands on her hips and tilted her head back.
Lumine would only tease little Paimon like this; with anyone else, she was quite proper.
"That's not right! It's way better than Lin Qiu!" Paimon stomped her foot.
Lin Qiu, who was watching the show, couldn't help but sneeze.
"Zhongli, you judge. Who sang better, me or Ying?" Paimon asked Zhongli.
Zhongli sighed, thinking that leaving the Funeral Parlor for a few days of work would give him some peace.
He hadn't expected the Traveler and Paimon to be just as much of a handful as the Director.
And why was he being asked to choose between two again? It felt like memories were attacking him…
To be honest, Lumine and Paimon really did sing better than Lin Qiu; compared to Lin Qiu, they were much better.
Lin Qiu sneezed again, and Tartaglia gave him a 'concerned' look.
Tartaglia looked a bit pained: "Partner, don't you dare get sick and be unable to fight me!"
Zhongli also had a headache; the Traveler and Paimon were truly six of one and half a dozen of the other, it was hard to judge.
Did he really have to choose a better one? Couldn't he eliminate both?
"I think my junior brother sang better," Shenhe said, coming to the rescue.
Suddenly, someone appeared, startling little Paimon, who immediately flew behind Zhongli, vigilantly staring at the source of the voice. She relaxed only when she saw it was an acquaintance.
"Oh, it's Shenhe! You scared me," Paimon gently patted her little chest.
"You said Lin Qiu sang better? That's too against your conscience!" Paimon retorted, hands on her hips.
That Lin Qiu's singing could, at most, only be described as not off-key, right?
However, Shenhe just looked at Paimon calmly, which made Paimon realize that she was being serious.
Shenhe herself had never heard many songs, so she had no basis for comparison.
Lin Qiu, at least, could manage not to be too off-key, so in Shenhe's opinion, Lin Qiu's singing was still very pleasant.
She just didn't know why her master didn't enjoy Lin Qiu's music.
Her master even said, 'Such a good song, it's a waste for you to sing it. This adeptus will go and research a singing mechanism right now.'
Lin Qiu had also suggested making the mechanism's appearance into a cat or a morning glory.
Shenhe didn't understand this. Where was the waste? Wasn't it very pleasant?
"Wow, Shenhe's ears are broken."
"Traveler, next time let's take Shenhe to listen to Barbara's singing, okay?"
Lumine nodded seriously. At this time, Lumine didn't know Yun Jin yet.
Shenhe was puzzled. Her ears were fine; she could hear movements within a ten-li radius clearly. If she concentrated, she could hear even further. How could they be broken?
"Traveler, Paimon, and Mr. Zhongli, are you looking for Glaze Lilies?" Ganyu also walked over and asked.
Ganyu looked at the three, focusing on Zhongli, wondering which adeptus he was a manifestation of.
Zhongli remained calm, letting Ganyu observe him without speaking.
"Ah, it's… it's Wang Xiaomei," Lumine said.
Lin Qiu hadn't mentioned this name to Lumine; she genuinely hadn't remembered Ganyu's name and just made one up.
"…" Ganyu was silent for a moment.
"Not a single word is right…" Ganyu sighed.
Why does everyone call me Wang Xiaomei? Where did this name come from? Is this name really suitable for me?
Fine, I'll just be called Wang Xiaomei from now on, but Wang should be pronounced 'Gan,' Mei should be pronounced 'Yu,' and the character for 'Xiao' is silent.
"Traveler, my name is Ganyu," Ganyu corrected gently.
Ying scratched her head. Actually, Ganyu had told her her name.
When they met the Qixing, Ganyu was also present.
It was just that Ganyu was very quiet; after greeting them, she didn't say much, so Ying couldn't remember. At most, she remembered the horns on her head and wanted to touch them.
"If you are looking for Glaze Lilies, I have some here," Ganyu said.
As she spoke, she took out a glaze lily from her embrace. This one hadn't been eaten yet.
The ones she had eaten still had teeth marks, which would obviously be unsuitable for bidding farewell to the Geo Archon.
"Oh! Thank you, Ganyu!" Paimon happily took the glaze lily.
Then she thought of another question and asked, "Do Ganyu and Shenhe also sing?"
Paimon looked at Ganyu and then at Shenhe, two elegant and refined beauties. She wondered what songs they would sing.
Shenhe nodded, "My senior sister's singing is very pleasant."
Shenhe had to admit that it seemed, possibly, probably a little more pleasant than her junior brother's singing.
However, wasn't it common knowledge that a senior sister was more capable than a junior brother? So this was normal and didn't mean her junior brother's singing wasn't pleasant.
Ganyu smiled gently, happy that Shenhe liked her.
"Eh? Senior sister?" Only then did Paimon realize Shenhe had a senior sister.
They lived together, and Shenhe always called Lin Qiu her junior brother, but she had never mentioned having a senior sister.
Ying was also slightly surprised, not expecting that Wang Xiaomei, the most silent person she met when seeing the Qixing, had such an extraordinary identity.
She had very little interaction with Ganyu at the time, and Ganyu wouldn't actively tell people about her half-adeptus status.
Ying had thought Ganyu was like Diona, just a rare bloodline.
"So, Ganyu is also an adeptus?" Paimon asked.
"I am a hybrid of human and qilin, with only half of adeptal blood," Ganyu replied.
Ganyu didn't say she was an adeptus because she felt she was both 'adeptus' and 'human,' and neither 'adeptus' nor 'human.'
She couldn't be completely transcendent and reclusive like an adeptus.
Nor could she fully integrate into the mundane world like a human, becoming a guest of the mortal realm.
It truly was the word 'loneliness.'
Shenhe was the same, which was why Ganyu wanted to communicate more with her junior sister when Shenhe decided to integrate into the mundane world.
"Alright, let's talk about something else."
Ganyu skipped this topic and continued:
"By giving you this flower, I have also shown my sincerity. Thank you."
Only then did Lumine realize that Ganyu was also an adeptus, so she must have experienced many things with the Geo Archon.
Now that the Geo Archon had passed away, although she looked calm, she must be very sad inside, right?
She wanted to comfort her but didn't know how to start.
"It should be us thanking you. I believe the Geo Archon will receive your sincerity," Zhongli said.
Not just the sincerity of this glaze lily, but everything you have done for Liyue.
Ganyu nodded, looking at Zhongli with some curiosity. She still didn't know which adeptus he was a manifestation of.
Speaking of which, even if the other adepti didn't know the truth, they had sensed that the Geo Archon wasn't dead.
But Ganyu might be a bit muddled; she hadn't reacted yet.
In fact, with the Geo Archon's 'passing,' the contract between the adepti and Liyue was considered concluded.
Strictly speaking, the adepti no longer had the obligation to protect Liyue, but Ganyu still chose to remain in Liyue Harbor as the Qixing's secretary.
Because, just as she said when answering Shenhe's question:
She really liked Liyue Harbor, this place that made her feel lonely, but also allowed her to look up at the stars and down at the lights.
Just as her junior sister said, it was very 'noisy,' and she liked it very much.
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Character Voice Line · Ganyu: About Lin Qiu's Singing
"Eh? Uh… As a senior sister, I can't speak ill of my junior brother. I can only say it's better than his fishing skills."