The sound of waves crashing against the reefs stunned Ningguang. Both her visual and auditory senses were overwhelmed.
Is this a movie?
It was spectacular. It was shocking.
While Ningguang and her group were captivated by the film, the crowd gathered outside the cinema also heard the sounds echoing from within.
"Whoa, what is that sound? Music suddenly started playing from inside the house!"
"Yeah, out of nowhere, loud sounds are coming from inside."
The crowd looked at each other in astonishment.
What is going on? How can a building emit such loud noises?
"It's not just music. It's the sound of ocean waves."
Someone looked confused, his expression one of shock. "I hear waves crashing. How can that sound come from inside a house?"
It was clearly just a building, yet it sounded like the sea hitting the rocks.
"Are you messing with me? This is a house, not the ocean. You say you hear waves?"
"Why would I lie? My family has been fishermen for generations. I go to the beach to fish all the time. You think I can't recognize the sound of waves?"
"It really is the sound of waves crashing on reefs."
Another person nodded in agreement. "But why? Why is the sound of the ocean coming from inside a room?"
He stared blankly at the cinema. It's a house, not the sea!
"Lady Ningguang went inside. I wonder what's happening in there to create such loud sounds."
"Not just sound! Look! There are flashing lights too! What on earth are they doing?"
"Right? If it's not a Domain, why is this happening? Even a Domain wouldn't leak sound like this. And this music... it feels majestic."
"I don't know, but I really want to go in and see."
The crowd buzzed with speculation and curiosity. The sensory leakage from the cinema was driving them wild.
Even the Millelith guards stationed at the door were baffled. They desperately wanted to peek inside to see why the ocean had seemingly moved indoors.
Inside the Cinema.
Ningguang and her entourage stared unblinkingly at the screen.
On screen, the massive black stone suddenly exploded with a booming CRASH.
A monkey leaped out, somersaulting through the air.
The scene shifted to a misty, ethereal palace where strangely dressed figures staggered, looking panicked.
Baiwen and the others felt the floor tremble beneath them, as if an earthquake had hit.
"I... I feel dizzy."
Baishi felt the world spinning. She instinctively grabbed Baixiao's clothes to steady herself.
The immersive 3D effect made Ningguang and the others feel like they were physically present in the scene. The ground beneath their feet seemed to shake in sync with the film.
After a moment, the shaking stopped.
A figure dressed in golden dragon robes addressed the assembly: "What is the disturbance in the Lower Realm? Thousand-Mile Eye, With-the-Wind Ear, go and investigate immediately."
"Yes!"
Two figures stepped forward respectfully and left the hall.
On screen, Thousand-Mile Eye and With-the-Wind Ear arrived at a misty gate. One emitted green rings of light from his eyes, while the other's ears rippled with sound waves.
A view appeared before them: a golden-furred humanoid monkey running and laughing on a mountain peak.
Seeing this, the two deities rushed back to report.
They knelt respectfully: "Your Majesty, the disturbance was caused by a stone monkey born from a cracked peak in the Lower Realm. Its birth shook the heavens."
"I see."
The figure in the dragon robes nodded. "It is a creature born of heaven and earth. Ignore it."
In the audience, everyone looked at each other in shock.
"Where is this place? It looks so... high-class."
Baiwen stared at the screen in awe. "It feels even more beautiful than our Jade Chamber."
The misty, celestial palace looked more ethereal than anything in Liyue.
"Not just beautiful, but magnificent," Keqing narrowed her eyes. "Ningguang's Jade Chamber floats above Liyue, surrounded by clouds. But this place... the people are literally walking on clouds. Mist surrounds them completely."
"Ningguang, you said this movie is a recording? Then where is this place? Does Teyvat have such a location?"
She had heard Ningguang's explanation that movies turned static recordings into dynamic images. That implied the footage was real—recorded from somewhere.
But she didn't recognize the coastal environment from the opening scene. Not Yaoguang Shoal, not Guyun Stone Forest, not Bishui Plain.
No place in Liyue matched those waves and rocks.
Mondstadt didn't have it either. Maybe Inazuma? But she doubted it.
She suspected this place wasn't on Teyvat at all.
The architecture of the celestial palace was unfamiliar. The people were strange. The man in the dragon robes was clearly their ruler—"Your Majesty."
And the two deities, Thousand-Mile Eye and With-the-Wind Ear, had abilities that mimicked Visions but functioned differently.
"Teyvat... probably doesn't have such a place," Ningguang said softly.
"From the start, the items in the Jar Shop have been unheard of."
"If these things came from Sumeru or Fontaine, we would have heard rumors, even without the shop. Knowledge travels."
"But abilities that rival Visions? A book on advanced finance that changes an economy? Dragon Balls that grant wishes? It's all too mysterious."
Ningguang was now certain: Felix was not from this world.
If someone on Teyvat possessed these things, word would have spread. The Steambird would have reported it. Other nations would have adopted the technology.
The steam battleship, made of steel, was centuries ahead of anything in Liyue Harbor.
She knew Teyvat was vast, but she refused to believe such powerful items could exist in secret for so long.
"If these things existed here, the world wouldn't be frantically chasing Visions," Ningguang concluded.
"Yes," Keqing agreed.
She had checked her family's ancient records. Nothing.
Creating food from nothing. Abilities stronger than Visions. The mystery of the Shopkeeper.
It all pointed to an otherworldly origin.
Keqing kept this theory to herself, sharing it only with Ningguang (and now the secretaries).
"So, these things we've never seen before have magical effects. All we can do is accept them," Ningguang smiled teasingly at Keqing. "I think you should marry the Shopkeeper. That way, he'll stay in Liyue forever. It would be a huge benefit for you and the city."
Hearing this, Keqing's eyes flashed with embarrassment and indignation.
Felix's earlier words echoed in her mind: If I could favor anyone, I'd favor Miss Keqing.
Her ears turned pink.
She retorted calmly, "You could marry him too. Maybe the Shopkeeper prefers your type."
Ningguang was beautiful, wealthy, and elegant. Maybe Felix liked that.
Ningguang's eyelid twitched.
Felix's words from that afternoon replayed in her head: Miss Ningguang truly has the temperament of a good wife and mother.
Her ears also turned pink.
"Then I'll ask him next time," Ningguang recovered instantly, her smile turning sly. "I'll ask if he prefers my type or yours."
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