"Ningguang!"
Before the person even arrived, the voice came first.
With a push, the heavy doors slammed open.
A violet-clad girl stormed inside.
"Well, if it isn't Keqing~"
Seeing the girl barge in, Ningguang, who was calmly organizing her documents, curved her lips in a slight smile.
"What brings you to my humble abode today?"
"Cut it out!"
Keqing marched forward and slammed her palm down on the desk.
Bang!
The sharp crack showed her mood was anything but good.
"The property next to Mingxing Zhai at Feiyun Slope, and the one by the Tiger-Eating Rock Adventurers' Guild—those were clearly pre-ordered by me!"
"Give me the deeds back!"
The cat-eyed girl glared fiercely at Ningguang, as if the woman's refusal would see her draw her sword that very moment.
"The deeds, hmm~"
Ningguang seemed to have expected Keqing's arrival today. She wasn't flustered in the slightest, only smiled faintly.
"Business is business. Those two houses together cost ten billion Mora. Pay up, and the deeds are yours."
"Ten… billion?"
Keqing's brows knit tight. "As the market's regulator, you should know exactly what crime it is to drive prices up. And abusing your office for personal gain? You know that crime even better. Hand over the property!"
Ten billion?
What do you take me for, some fool?
You wish.
If you don't hand over those deeds today, this isn't over.
Business is business?
Fine. Then I'll answer with the blade of law. Let's see who bleeds first.
"No need to be so hasty~"
Ningguang ignored the accusations. She rose, lifted the teapot, and poured Keqing a cup with poise.
"Storming in so early, clearly you've overheated yourself. Have some tea to cool your temper?"
"Don't change the subject!"
Keqing didn't even look at it. "Say what you mean directly. I hate all your circling around. There's no outsider here—what's there to hide?"
Keqing had always been the straightforward, decisive type.
Now her reserved houses had been snatched. Her temper was already boiling. She wasn't about to mince words.
"Hmm, so I was right then."
Seeing Keqing's fire rise, Ningguang only nodded. It confirmed yesterday's intel.
"Seems you were truly upset yesterday, and today it still hasn't passed."
"..."
At the mention, Keqing's brows twitched.
"The Rite of Descension is almost here, yet you, as its host, have this much leisure?"
"Want me to file a complaint against you before Rex Lapis himself?"
"Oh?"
Ningguang blinked, surprised. "So something did happen that I don't know of. That makes me all the more curious. Could you tell me in detail?"
For Keqing to even mention reporting her to the Archon—this whole thing smelled odd.
It seemed yesterday's intelligence wasn't complete.
That mysterious traveler, Keqing, Zhongli, and that immortal... What exactly had happened?
Ningguang suddenly felt as though something important was slipping through her grasp.
She hated such situations.
"This isn't for you to know."
Keqing's tone was flat. "Stop probing here. If you want answers, investigate yourself.
"And by noon, put the deeds on my desk. Take your Mora then."
With that, she spun on her heel and left, giving Ningguang no chance to respond.
As for what happened yesterday? Keqing had no desire to say.
What, tell her how she'd been utterly crushed and humiliated, taught a painful lesson?
Not a chance.
That would rot in her gut.
Let Ningguang stew in curiosity.
And if one day Ningguang walked into the same wall and came out battered?
Then Keqing would be the first to laugh in her face.
Bang!
The door slammed shut behind her.
Ningguang frowned, walked to the window, and pushed it open slightly. Her gaze swept over Feiyun Slope below.
"Immortals…?"
So the immortal Keqing met yesterday wasn't only Madame Ping.
Zhongli?
Or that 'traveler'?
Perhaps both?
What in the world happened yesterday morning to make Keqing's attitude shift so drastically?
The Liyue Harbor before her suddenly seemed unfamiliar.
"Baixiao~"
"Here, Lady Ningguang!"
"After yesterday morning, what of those three's movements?"
"This… Forgive me, Lady Ningguang. After they left Wanmin Restaurant, they vanished almost instantly. Our people never spotted them again inside the Harbor. Most likely, they left the city."
Baixiao sounded embarrassed.
Tracking mortals, Vision bearers, even Fatui—that they could handle.
But immortals? Could they really tail them?
A blink, and the quarry was gone.
"This isn't your fault."
Ningguang propped her chin on her hand, eyes still on the Harbor below.
"Withdraw most of the personnel. Leave two sentries to watch the houses, but shift the focus to the Fatui.
"The Rite of Descension is imminent. We cannot afford any mistake."
"Yes, Lady Ningguang!"
When Baixiao left, Ningguang sat again at her desk.
Keqing was right—she wasn't idle.
Were it not for yesterday's intel involving Keqing, she wouldn't have been so focused.
But the more she learned, the heavier the shadow in her heart grew.
Immortals rarely interfered in worldly affairs.
Yet one appeared now, altering Keqing's attitude so dramatically.
Was it good, or ill?
She could not say.
But it would certainly reshape the balance of Liyue.
A single misstep could be disastrous.
Setting her brush down, she sighed softly:
"Baiwen!"
"Here, Lady Ningguang."
"Go at once to Yuehai Pavilion. Invite Secretary Ganyu here. Tell her I have urgent matters to discuss."
"Understood!"
Baiwen obeyed and departed quickly.
"...Ah."
Ningguang rubbed her brows in frustration.
Since this touched upon the immortals, only Ganyu could mediate.
She alone bridged the Qixing and the adepti.
Yanfei didn't count.
Yaoyao was too young, and Xiangling too flighty.
No choice but to trouble Ganyu.
Best wait for her report before deciding whether to convene the Qixing.
If she acted rashly, and inadvertently offended an adeptus…
The consequences would be dire.
Keqing's look just now, full of schadenfreude, had said it all.
Ningguang could read it clear as day.
That girl was waiting for her to stumble.
That was how blunt people were—thoughts always written on their faces.
Let's hope it's not bad news.
(End of Chapter)
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