Outside Yuehai Pavilion in Liyue Harbor, after days of competition, the finals of the cooking tournament finally began today. Su Bai wasn't surprised that Xiangling had made it this far. But when he learned her opponent was Yanxiao, that caught him off guard.
"It's a shame you missed yesterday's match, Su Bai. Yanxiao made one of his signature dishes and beat the head chef of Xinyue Kiosk outright."
Paimon licked the corner of her mouth. After the judges had finished tasting and commenting on yesterday's dishes, most of them had ended up in her stomach. She was really looking forward to today's match between Xiangling and Yanxiao.
"Sigh, I had no choice. If Shenhe and I hadn't stopped Cloud Retainer yesterday, she would have brought her automatic cooking pot to the venue and started a scene."
"Shenhe and I had to talk her down. We even tricked her into thinking the competition was already over."
Hearing Paimon mention yesterday's dishes, Su Bai felt a pang of regret. He might not know other chefs' skills, but he knew Xiangling's and Yanxiao's. Their cooking was first-rate.
As for Yanxiao, that straightforward guy, Su Bai didn't believe for a second that hiding his skills was his own idea. It was probably Verr Goldet's suggestion.
As the competition time approached, various ingredients were delivered to the venue according to Xiangling's and Yanxiao's requests. The judges also began to take their seats.
"I didn't expect someone as busy as you to come watch a cooking competition, Ningguang."
"Well, someone had to fill in for a certain adeptus who mysteriously disappeared and couldn't be found. Though it seems I worried for nothing."
Ningguang gave Su Bai a half-smile. His sudden disappearance yesterday had nearly thrown the competition into chaos. The number of judges was supposed to be odd, but with Su Bai gone, it became even. Keqing had no choice but to call Ningguang in to make up the numbers.
"Cough, yesterday was just so sudden. I didn't have time to tell anyone."
"Of course. If my people hadn't seen you flying toward Jueyun Karst, I might have thought some wicked woman had spirited you away."
After teasing Su Bai, Ningguang quietly examined the people delivering ingredients. Once she confirmed they were all her people, she nodded in relief. If anything went wrong with today's food, Liyue's entire leadership could be wiped out in one stroke.
The poisoning case from a few days ago had been a wake-up call. The world was full of schemers. For Liyue's sake and her own, she couldn't afford to be careless.
"By the way, what happened to the man behind the poisoning? Did his accomplices talk? If you need, I can use illusions to get answers."
"No need for that. I've handed him over to a professional. While we're on the subject, could you give me another phone? This professional of mine is investigating The Chasm and may need to contact me at any time."
Ningguang didn't hide anything from Su Bai. Rather than making up excuses, she was straightforward. Besides, her professional had always been curious about the adepti. When Su Bai first returned to Liyue Harbor from Inazuma, that subordinate had volunteered to investigate him.
Hearing this, Su Bai handed Ningguang a phone. According to Albedo, the latest version was nearly ready. It would allow users to create their own group chats and set up group admins. All of it was Lumine's idea. Su Bai didn't fully understand it himself.
"The final round will last one hour. Both contestants, please inspect the ingredients provided by the organizers. If there are no issues, you may begin."
"No issues." x2
"Very well. Will the judges please take their seats?"
Under Yanfei's hosting, Su Bai, Hu Tao, Lumine, Keqing, and Uncle Tian sat down at the judges' table. As Lumine's pet in the eyes of outsiders, Paimon got to sit on Lumine's lap and look forward to the food.
"Haha, I didn't expect you all to be so young. I told Ningguang I was too old to be a judge, but she insisted."
"Uncle Tian, don't say that. You're still in excellent health. You could work for another twenty years easily."
Keqing's words were sincere. She knew Uncle Tian's capabilities. If anything happened to him, it would cause no small amount of turmoil. But Uncle Tian just laughed.
"Haha, Keqing, you're just trying to make an old man feel good. Another twenty years and I'd be a monster. The future of Liyue belongs to you young ones. Once you find suitable successors, I'll step aside."
"Uncle Tian..."
Keqing held great respect for Uncle Tian, the Tian Shu of the Qixing. Hearing him talk like this left a bitter feeling in her heart. And in today's Liyue, she couldn't think of anyone worthy of inheriting the Tian Shu position.
At that thought, Keqing shot a glare at Hu Tao, who was sitting beside her. Keqing couldn't understand how Hu Tao managed to recruit so many talented people into Wangsheng. Even Ningguang couldn't poach them.
"Keqing, did you just glare at me?"
"I did not. I said nothing. Don't make things up. Sit properly. Yanfei is about to announce the start."
Keqing straightened in her chair. Hu Tao looked around, puzzled. Over the past few days, she had not only learned Xiao's xin xin xin technique but also picked up some basic perception and combat skills from him. After failing to find anyone glaring at her, she muttered under her breath.
"How strange. Did I really sense it wrong?"
"Very well. Since the judges are seated, I hereby declare the finals of this year's Liyue Chef Championship officially begun!"
After a round of applause, Xiangling and Yanxiao were about to light their stoves when a gust of Anemo energy descended from the sky. Everyone tensed. Was another enemy attacking Liyue?
On a high building, a woman wearing a glowing bracelet had already aimed her Hydro-infused bow at the black dot in the sky. Behind her, Ganyu silently raised her own bow, aiming at the woman. Though they were colleagues, if this person dared to attack Cloud Retainer, Ganyu would not hold back.
"Waaah, what a huge bird!"
"Ah, it's that woman! The one Su Bai called the 'great conversationalist adeptus'!"
Xiangling's and Paimon's words made Cloud Retainer's good mood sour. What kind of description was that? Did she, Cloud Retainer, have no dignity?
"Insolence! What woman? And this adeptus has a name. I am Cloud Retainer, not some 'great conversationalist adeptus.'"
Cloud Retainer slowly landed on the ground and dropped Shenhe from her beak. Shenhe touched her hair, which had been blown into a wild style, and silently walked over to Su Bai. It was clear that the plan to delay Cloud Retainer had failed.