"Alas—
Autumn swans part, never to pair again—
Fools mired in obsession, resentment, and madness—
…"
…
"The crane returns, yet the old splendor is gone—
Spider silk weaves in vain as soul-banners drift—
Cause and effect in the mortal dust, distant and dim—
Smoke fades…"
As the lyrics of Divine Damsel of Devastation gradually reached their end,
on the stage, Yun Jin formed a lotus gesture with her fingers, slightly bent her knees, and gave a gentle salute to the audience.
Then the curtain fell, and a walking three-colored dumpling (Yun Jin) slowly disappeared from everyone's sight.
Yet even as the curtain closed, her final, exquisite figure remained etched into the minds of everyone present.
Her penetrating voice and beautiful operatic tone still echoed in their ears.
However, no matter how lingering the aftersound—said to last three days—it too must eventually fade.
Beautiful moments always pass quickly.
With the first satisfied sigh from someone in the audience,
the barely tidied second floor of Heyu Teahouse finally grew lively again.
"As expected of Lady Yun Jin,"
Tartaglia said with feeling, gazing deeply at the spot where she had departed. As someone who genuinely loved opera, he sighed,
"At moments like this, I can't help but envy the teahouse owner—being able to hear Lady Yun Jin sing first-hand every time…"
"Hahaha, who wouldn't?" Bai Ge agreed from the side.
After coming to Liyue, thanks to Yun Jin, even someone like him—who never listened to opera—had started enjoying it. That alone spoke volumes of her charm.
Truly worthy of being the woman who came with her own sound system in the game—five voice actors all to herself!
For a time, Bai Ge and Tartaglia took turns praising Yun Jin, exchanging their impressions and thoughts.
But soon enough, the topic naturally returned to business.
"Though I come from Snezhnaya, I know Liyue customs," Tartaglia said.
"In Liyue, people often say 'Let us raise a great white cup' to express joy."
"Today, although there was some unpleasantness earlier, overall it was still a pleasant day."
"Bai Ge, why not raise a cup with me?"
After preparing himself for quite some time, Tartaglia finally extended the invitation.
"So here it comes,"
Bai Ge nodded inwardly when he heard Tartaglia's words, not surprised at all.
Earlier—before Yun Jin even started singing—Tartaglia had already hinted at this intention.
If not for Yun Jin's performance being so captivating and temporarily drawing Tartaglia's attention away, he might have come over to invite him halfway through.
That said, as mentioned before, taken as an individual and setting aside positions, Tartaglia was actually a decent person.
But there was a hidden condition: you had to be his friend—and have strength equal to his own.
Whether in terms of stance or actual power, Bai Ge had neither.
It was just that Tartaglia thought he did.
From the very beginning, Bai Ge had never intended to go along with Tartaglia!
Fortunately, Bai Ge had long since prepared how to refuse.
"Hahaha, no problem at all!"
Facing Tartaglia's invitation, Bai Ge agreed immediately.
"How about Xinyue Pavilion? I'll order a table—we can chat about Signora," Tartaglia asked, pleasantly surprised.
"Roger that," Bai Ge agreed again, just as readily.
"Hm?" This time, Tartaglia was truly surprised. Bai Ge hadn't seemed this easygoing before.
Could it be that he was actually the kind of person who was very easy to talk to?
So…
"By the way, Bai Ge, when is your vacation? I've just arrived and have long admired Liyue—could you take me around places like Yujing Terrace?"
Tartaglia asked.
This question was a bit sensitive.
Yet Bai Ge's answer remained unchanged.
"No problem. I'm a government employee—when the time comes, I'll take you straight in."
"Really?" Tartaglia was shocked.
Liyue was a land of contracts. Liyue people valued promises immensely and rarely broke their word.
Had he, Tartaglia, truly encountered a benefactor?
As if hearing Tartaglia's inner thoughts, Bai Ge replied with mock displeasure:
"Those who break contracts shall suffer the wrath of the rock. Why would I lie to you?"
At that, Tartaglia felt completely reassured.
It seemed he had truly met a bold and generous person.
Thinking back, from the moment Bai Ge arrived—him offering tea, Bai Ge offering wine—it already reflected his character.
Thus, Tartaglia fully relaxed.
The more he looked at Bai Ge—who agreed to every request—the more pleasing he seemed.
But the young Tartaglia clearly didn't realize that at this very moment, he had already fallen into Bai Ge's thousand-layered scheme.
Just as Bai Ge and Tartaglia were chatting happily—
"Brother Bai, please wait!"
Behind them, Yun Jin—having quickly removed her makeup—ran after them.
"Brother Bai, you can't leave! Didn't you promise to help me finish the latter part of Divine Damsel of Devastation?"
As she spoke, Yun Jin directly grabbed onto Bai Ge's sleeve.
"Ah… this…"
Being held like that, Bai Ge looked at Tartaglia with a troubled expression.
At this point, his meaning was crystal clear.
Look—I've already agreed to so many things for you. This concerns a brother's lifelong happiness. You can't possibly ask me to turn Yun Jin down, right?
As for Tartaglia's dinner invitation, touring Liyue, talking about Signora…
Did he not know of a technique known as "Let's definitely do it next time"?
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