Lin Mo smiled and said, "I don't want the people of Liyue, nor my companions, to know that I'm serving as the acting Geo Archon."
"That matter no longer concerns me," Zhongli said as he slowly shook his head.
In his view, from the moment he stepped down as the Geo Archon, he became nothing more than an ordinary resident of Liyue Harbor.
Whether the people of Liyue knew there was a new god had nothing to do with him anymore.
"Since this involves the Gnosis, why not hear me out?" Lin Mo said, smiling as he looked toward Liyue Harbor.
At this moment, on the still-unmelted ice covering the harbor, the giant dragon from Mondstadt, the wolf lord from Wolvendom, and the strongest beast on the continent—Azhdaha—were all resting together with the others.
"In the future, I'll go to Inazuma, then to Fontaine. I'll travel across all seven nations of Teyvat," Lin Mo continued.
"If Liyue ever encounters some trouble that's difficult to resolve, I hope you'll step forward."
He stated his request plainly.
At present, Liyue seemed to have overcome the crisis.
But Lin Mo knew that in the near future, the Chasm in the southwest would bring an even greater disaster to Liyue.
That was what worried him most.
"If… Liyue truly runs into trouble," Zhongli asked in confusion, "what use would it be for a mere mortal with only a Vision to step in?"
"But aside from us—and the Heavenly Principles—no one knows you've lost your power," Lin Mo replied with a smile.
"With you there, Liyue would have a powerful deterrent to the outside world. The Qixing and the adepti would also be more united, wouldn't they?"
...
Zhongli looked at Lin Mo's smile, then slowly nodded. "I agree. Here—take it and pass it to Rosalyne."
Lin Mo smiled and handed the Gnosis to him.
"My old friend, thank you," Zhongli said calmly.
To him, this could hardly be called a transaction.
If Liyue were to face a calamity it couldn't handle, he would still step forward under the name of the Geo Archon to deter any threats.
In Zhongli's eyes, he owed Lin Mo a great favor.
"We're old friends. No need for thanks," Lin Mo said indifferently, waving his hand.
On the surface, he had given away a Gnosis for nothing.
But in truth, to keep the plot on its original track, this Gnosis was always meant to be handed to Rosalyne and then delivered to the Tsaritsa of Snezhnaya.
Since it was going to be given away anyway, he might as well earn Zhongli a favor and ease the regret of breaking the ancient contract.
"Hehe, everyone wins."
Venti immediately slapped Zhongli on the shoulder and said smugly, "Ahem! This citizen of Liyue—Mondstadt's god invites you for a drink. Surely you wouldn't refuse even a god's invitation, right?"
Looking at Venti's infuriating grin, Zhongli suddenly felt a pang of regret.
Why had he held back when beating him back then?
"You two haven't seen each other in many years, have you?" Lin Mo cut in with a smile.
"Why don't you take your time catching up? I've been gone too long—everyone else will be getting anxious. I'll head back first."
With that, he spread his jet-black wings and flew toward the Sea of Clouds.
"Hey—Lord Venti! Are we drinking tonight or not?!" Venti shouted.
"...We'll see."
...
At Liyue Harbor, the port area was still completely frozen.
There was no helping it.
Two giant dragons plus Andrius—three colossal beings of overwhelming size—simply couldn't be accommodated anywhere within the harbor.
Fortunately, Azhdaha had already taken on human form, allowing him to blend in.
However…
His army of Geo Vishaps was now packed densely across the ice.
And they weren't the only ones there.
A group of women had gathered on the ice, seemingly discussing something.
Ningguang confirmed with everyone, "So… most of you met Lin Mo in dreams, didn't you?"
Keqing, Amber, Yanfei, and Eula all nodded.
Their acquaintance with Lin Mo had indeed begun in a dream—a parallel world.
"I see…"
Ningguang fell into brief contemplation, then looked over the crowd.
She more or less understood that, aside from the girls who had just nodded, Ganyu, Rosalyne, and Klee—who was playing in the distance—had met Lin Mo in the real world.
Finally, Ningguang's gaze settled on Ganyu.
The moment she saw her, Ningguang's eyes trembled slightly, a hint of dejection surfacing.
By the time Ningguang was born, the Archon War had ended three thousand years earlier.
Even so, she had heard many stories of the adepti.
And from the moment Ganyu first laid eyes on her, Ningguang learned that she bore a striking resemblance to the Dust Archon, Guizhong.
This made Ningguang realize that she hadn't received her Vision because her ambition moved the gods.
Rather, it was because she looked like Guizhong, earning her the special regard of the Geo Archon.
Now, knowing that Lin Mo had also lived through that era, Ningguang couldn't help but begin to doubt.
In the dream, what had Lin Mo's true motive been in approaching her?
Was it genuine affection?
Or had he merely been using her as a substitute for someone from the past?
As these thoughts surfaced, the gloom in Ningguang's eyes deepened.
"Daddy! Daddy!!"
"Look! Klee caught four lizards with really strange patterns!"
Klee's cheerful shout instantly drew everyone's attention.
She was dragging four differently elemental Geo Vishaps with ropes, running happily toward Lin Mo.
From afar, Kun Jun watched Klee's joyful expression, his eyes filled with affection.
Clearly, those four lizards were his gift to his little sister.
"Yo, everyone!"
Seeing the crowd light up at the sight of him, Lin Mo smiled and waved back.
"The Traveler! He's here!" Paimon hurriedly tugged on Lumine's sleeve.
Just as Lumine was about to step forward—thinking about the weight of the Heavenly Principles—a figure moved faster than her.
That person grabbed Lin Mo by the wrist and pulled him briskly toward the harbor.
"Everyone, I need to borrow Lin Mo for a moment. I'll bring him back soon," Ningguang said.
"Huh? Ningguang, what's going on?" Lin Mo asked, confused.
But Ningguang didn't respond.
She simply kept pulling him toward the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
Lin Mo was about to press further—
But when he saw Ningguang's tear-filled eyes, he swallowed the words he was about to say.
He couldn't help thinking,
"Did Ningguang… misunderstand something?"
"Forget it. I'll explain it clearly later, then go join everyone."
Soon, Ningguang led Lin Mo into an office within the Ministry.
Inside the dimly lit room, Ningguang stared at Lin Mo with resentful eyes.
Her reddened eye rims showed just how hard she was struggling not to let the tears fall.
Seeing her like this, Lin Mo felt a pang of pain in his chest.
"Lady Ningguang… are you all right?"
"Lin Mo."
"Tell me—during those years in the dream, when you got close to me and stayed by my side for over a decade…"
"Was it because I carry that person's shadow?"
"Did you treat me as her replacement?"
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T/N:
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