For the people of Liyue, this period of time was an especially busy one.
They were busy wrapping up year-end work, busy preparing meals for the Lantern Rite Festival, busy… welcoming home relatives they hadn't seen all year.
The streets of Liyue Harbor were still crowded with people and full of noise and excitement; it seemed this place never lacked the atmosphere of fireworks and daily life.
And where there are people, there are always topics of conversation. In past Lantern Rites, the people of Liyue would discuss where to eat that evening, whether the Yun-Han Opera Troupe would perform a new play, and the children would compare whose fireworks were the cheapest and most fun. But… this year, the topic seemed to have shifted.
—they were talking about a young member of the Liyue Qixing.
A burly man in coarse linen clothes said to the friend beside him, "Have you heard? That young miss of the Mo family sold her specially-made medicines and ointments all the way to Sumeru and Fontaine! I heard she's about to return!"
His friend, holding baskets of fruits and vegetables, glanced at him a little awkwardly and said, "But what does that have to do with you? Don't you work at the docks? You're not an herbalist."
The burly man replied excitedly, "More merchant ships going to Sumeru and Fontaine means more work for me! Won't I earn more Mora?"
Then he teased his friend, "Oh~ I get it. You didn't think much of her when she was newly appointed as the Yaoguang Star, and now that she's achieved success, you can't save face, can you?"
"I…! Sigh… fine, I admit I misjudged her back then, okay?"
"That's better. Hey, will you get time off for this year's Lantern Rite?"
"Yeah, it's not my turn on the rotation this year, so I've got a break~"
"Then… how about we have a few drinks tonight?"
"Drink till we drop!"
The very person they were talking about — the Mo family's young miss, the newly-appointed Yaoguang Star — was none other than Mo Yue, who only wished she could return to her original world.
At that moment, she was sitting in a carriage traveling from Fontaine back to Liyue, looking at the cargo orders and newly signed trade contracts in her hands. Mo Yue's lips curled into an unconscious smile, pride welling in her chest.
Pulling back the curtain over the window, she looked out at the fast-moving scenery and sighed:
"With this… I've fulfilled my responsibility as the Yaoguang Star to oversee foreign trade and negotiations, haven't I…?"
But then she let the curtain fall and gazed again at the contracts before her, her expression dimming as she muttered softly:
"Yet… no matter how capable I am, no matter how many orders worth millions or even billions of Mora I complete… I still can't go home."
She had to admit, perhaps she was being a little melodramatic. After all, the biological parents of this body were also famous apothecaries in Liyue, and even had a degree of cooperation with Baizhu of Bubu Pharmacy. They treated her very well.
Her two elder brothers also looked after her with great care. By all rights… compared to the exhausting corporate life of her previous world, this life was heaven and earth— utterly incomparable.
And yet… she could not forget her homeland, her parents, and… the career she once worked for.
Perhaps it was the homesickness stirred by the Lantern Rite Festival, but Mo Yue's thoughts began to drift… to these eleven years in Teyvat that felt almost magical.
She had inexplicably arrived in Teyvat at the age of nine. Now, after eleven more years, she had grown from a child into a young woman able to stand on her own.
As for the so-called "compensation" that Nibelung had promised her at the start… to put it bluntly, she hadn't seen a shred of it.
Her body showed no strange changes — she still caught colds, still ran a fever, still healed at the pace of an ordinary human. She had no Vision, no Gnosis, nothing of the sort.
At first, she thought it might be some kind of hidden ability, but the supposed power to "reclaim authority from the Seats of the Elements" had never manifested either.
As someone of the same generation as Hu Tao, Xingqiu, Chongyun, and Xiangling, of course she had met the elderly former master of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor more than once. But meetings were just meetings — nothing ever happened.
She was one step away from shouting at Zhongli himself:
"Morax! Today, I shall settle all debts of the past!"
When she went to Fontaine to negotiate trade contracts, she had even seen the nation's Chief Justice — the current Hydro Dragon Sovereign, Neuvillette.
Yet she hadn't obtained any strange elemental authority from that otter-like being either. She could only blame it all on Nibelung.
In such a weak and powerless situation, with no idea what was truly going on, all she could do was wait… and search for another way home.
Under the influence of her family's business, Mo Yue spent six years learning the principles of medicine-making in Teyvat. With ideas her parents considered "unorthodox," she developed various ointments and powders for treating external injuries.
Because of their forward-thinking design, these medicines reached Teyvat decades ahead of their time. Thanks to this, the Mo family made a fortune, and this young business talent soon drew the attention of Ningguang, the Tianquan Star.
By the time she came of age, Ningguang extended an olive branch, granting her many conveniences, and even incorporated some of her medicines into her commercial empire.
Then, last year, the former Yaoguang Star announced retirement. Ningguang immediately pushed Mo Yue into the role, making her the new Yaoguang Star, responsible for Liyue's foreign trade and negotiations.
It could be said that any merchant ship wishing to bring goods into Liyue now required Mo Yue's approval, and many high-value contracts needed her personal presence to finalize.
This time, after half a year of work, Mo Yue had signed a five-year spice trade with Sumeru, and a Fontaine contract for steam equipment that did not require Fontaine's harmonics technology to operate. She had also exported her family's medicines, along with Liyue's textiles and ores.
However… aside from news of her own medicine sales, the other deals were deliberately kept quiet under both her and Ningguang's instruction.
As she had written in her letter:
"It's the festival. Better to wait until the atmosphere is right before announcing it, so everyone can celebrate with joy."
And indeed, the people of Liyue were happy. But her? How could she feel any joy?
Thinking this, Mo Yue sighed helplessly again. Then she patted her face and quietly reminded herself:
"These are just my own emotions. I'll be seeing Father and Mother soon… I mustn't bring them this messy baggage."
But just as she finished admonishing herself, a piece of "white paper" suddenly appeared before her.
Mo Yue, who had been muttering to herself with her head down, looked up and was startled to see the paper floating before her, inscribed with characters all too familiar— Chinese.
Even though she had experienced plenty of major events, this sight still made her heart leap, and she cried out in shock.
"What's wrong, Lady Mo Yue?" came the concerned voice of the Ministry of Civil Affairs attendant outside the carriage. Realizing she had overreacted, Mo Yue quickly replied:
"It's nothing, it's nothing. I just dozed off… had a bad dream. Sorry to worry you."
Hearing this, the attendants nodded silently, assuming their young lady was simply under a great deal of stress lately, leading to unpleasant dreams.
Recalling how she had argued fiercely with the scholars of the Akademiya, and crossed words with a divine being in the Court of Fontaine, the attendant whispered:
"Lady Mo Yue, we'll be back in Liyue territory in about an hour. Please hold on just a little longer. You've worked hard."
"It's nothing. You've followed me for half a year— you should return and enjoy the festival. You're the ones who have worked hard."
…
After a round of polite exchanges, Mo Yue leaned back against the seat with relief, then carefully studied the "white paper" before her.
When she reached out to grab it, she found it intangible, like a rootless water plant, impossible to hold.
After several tries, she gave up trying to seize it, and instead began carefully reading the Chinese words inscribed on its surface:
"Genshin Impact Version 1.0 Special Program: The Outlander Who Caught the Wind."
As Mo Yue reeled in shock, she remained unaware that her every move had already been noticed by a supreme being.
She giggled softly as she watched the confused, bewildered Mo Yue through her mirror. Then, pulling from nowhere a pitch-black chess piece, she whispered:
"Tear apart the false heavens… very well. Let me show you— once you've truly blended into this world — what will become of the things you remember…"
"Well~ I'd better return this to you, otherwise… you won't be able to move a single step~"
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