Mr. Zhongli, we can't slack off anymore!

The deep darkness of night swallowed up the last trace of noise in Sumeru City. In the final moments of preparation before setting off, the traveler plunged into the Dust Song Pot and began a thorough "plundering" of his own grotto.

The sky in the pot is forever frozen in a breathtaking twilight, with a warm orange halo gently enveloping the meticulously arranged courtyard.

The traveler had no time to appreciate the tranquility; she was like a hamster in a hurry to move, scurrying between rooms, rummaging through drawers and cupboards, preparing the equipment she might need for her trip to Fontainebleau.

The clattering of bottles and jars, the clattering of drawers, and her occasional mutterings of "This should be useful" or "Where did I put that?" broke the usual tranquility of the cave.

Zhongli, who had intended to help, was standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling wardrobe in the bedroom.

He opened the cabinet door, examined it briefly, and then took out several thick pieces of clothing.

He turned around and displayed the clothes to the traveler who had just rushed into the bedroom carrying a pile of potentially useful daily necessities. He did so with composure, as if he were taking out equipment for climbing Mount Longji, not luggage for Fontainebleau.

"I'm going to Fontainebleau, not Winter's End." The traveler stopped, his gaze sweeping over the pile of thick clothes, and his lips twitched slightly.

I think he took out these clothes because he wanted to make me swelter so he could become the deputy leader.

“Fontaine is located by the sea, with abundant moisture, and the temperature difference between day and night may be significant. Wear more layers, just in case, to avoid catching a cold.” Zhongli answered in a serious and methodical manner, and even handed over the thickest-looking cloak.

I wear either my work uniform from the funeral parlor or adventure gear that allows for easy movement every day. I only wear pretty little dresses occasionally, so it would be a miracle if I caught a cold.

The traveler decisively walked past him, dumped the pile of things in his arms onto a large tea table in the center of the room with a "whoosh," and began to sort them. Suddenly, he remembered something: "Speaking of which, you don't usually cook, so pack up all the vegetables, fruits, and meats you keep at home for me. In case they go bad from being stored for too long."

She didn't want to experience the predicament of "putting everything in the Dust Song Pot, only to find that the key was temporarily disabled due to an accident, leaving her helpless when she urgently needed supplies."

Although it was later confirmed that Zhongli was indeed behind the talisman's failure in the desert last time, the temporary closure of the Dust Song Pot's entrance due to interference from a more advanced spatial technique had no direct connection to him.

Various spatial techniques can be roughly classified. The most commonly used method, teleportation via talismans, is considered a basic level one. The Dust Song Pot, with its ability to create independent grottoes and achieve stable spatial folding and storage, is at least level twenty in complexity. As for the "reincarnation" phenomenon that previously swept through Sumeru, its involvement in time-space reversal and regional coverage makes it a super-specification level one hundred.

Considering the wide-ranging impact of the Sumeru Reincarnation event, perhaps a rating of 150 wouldn't be an exaggeration.

If... it's not just Sumeru, if the entire Teyvat was once shrouded in some kind of unnoticed "cycle"... then its level is probably unimaginably high.

Spatial magic has a rule similar to "rank suppression".

When higher-order spatial phenomena are superimposed on the same region, they can hinder or even temporarily block lower-order spatial operations.

This is why she couldn't enter the Dust Song Pot in the core area affected by the cycle of reincarnation. Even if she could use talismans to teleport short distances within the desert, directly crossing kingdoms to Liyue or Fontaine became an impossible task.

"Ok?"

A deep question pulled the traveler back from his jumbled thoughts.

She looked up and found that Zhongli had returned from the kitchen area at some point, carrying several wicker baskets filled with fresh fruits and vegetables.

He was looking at her with his head slightly turned, his golden eyes questioning her, clearly noticing her thoughtful expression as she frowned and stared at him earlier.

The traveler brought up the old grudge again: "In the desert, you deliberately prevented me from using the talisman to teleport... I will never forgive you for that."

Upon hearing this, Zhongli did not argue. Instead, she gently placed the basket on the ground, stood up, and gracefully cleaned the bits of dirt that had stuck to her fingertips while she was cleaning the potatoes.

He looked at the traveler, a slight smile playing on his lips, revealing what could be described as an "innocent" smile, and offered a solution that sounded very practical:

"Hehe, I didn't think that through. How about... I treat the Deputy Hall Master to a simple meal as a token of my apology?"

“Okay!” The traveler’s eyes lit up, and he agreed almost without thinking, his face instantly brightening. But the next second, she immediately stopped smiling, her face hardening, completely shattering his hopes that “a meal can make amends”: “However, I still won’t forgive you. One thing at a time, we’ll eat as usual, and I’ll stay angry as usual.”

Zhong Li chuckled, shook his head, seemingly having anticipated her reaction, and said no more before turning back to help her organize other supplies she might need to take.

*

At the end of the Sumeru Desert, instead of gradually flat sand dunes, there is a nearly vertical cliff that looks as if it were cleaved by a giant axe.

Below the cliff lies the ocean.

Looking up, the Milky Way stretched like a ribbon across the deep blue velvet night sky. The soft moonlight shone down selflessly, illuminating the small patch of sand at the top of the cliff as if it were covered with a layer of fine gold leaf. Every grain of sand shimmered and glowed, creating a tranquil and dreamlike scene.

Across the sea from this shimmering sandy beach stands a towering cliff, but instead of sand and rock, it is... a seawater resembling a giant sapphire wall.

The seawater maintained its surging momentum at the top of the cliff, yet was stopped at the edge by an invisible boundary, plunging vertically into the lower sea below.

The sounds of water, a mix of crisp and muffled, could be heard even across the sea route that shimmered in the moonlight.

The traveler's gaze extends beyond this spectacle, reaching into the distance.

Beside countless cascading waterfalls, a warm glow of lights quietly shone.

That is the gateway to Fontaine – Harbour Halu.

"Let's leave it here." The traveler turned his gaze to Zhongli, who had been silently accompanying him, and said softly.

The sea breeze ruffled the stray hairs on her forehead, and also brought the moist and cool mist from the waterfalls opposite.

“…” Zhongli did not respond immediately. He stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the lights of Hailu Harbor in the distance, his brows furrowing almost imperceptibly, as if he were lost in some kind of reluctant contemplation.

After a moment, he spoke slowly, his voice steady, yet more distant and solemn than usual: "Your journey has reached its halfway point. The land ahead is full of mountains and rivers, with wonders and dangers coexisting. If you feel tired or encounter setbacks, there is no need to force yourself."

"Know that the moonlight in Liyue is always bright enough to illuminate your way home."