Kiana and the Captain's Bizarre Adventure

Kiana's answer made Sora narrow his eyes. It has to be said that Daines Reibu's warning made Sora vigilant at this moment.

Why did you go to Inazuma?

Kiana could tell from Sora's suspicious look that Daines Reeb must have said something he shouldn't have yesterday, which made Sora doubt her.

It seemed the only option was to find a way to deceive her, so Kiana used her powers to tell Bronya what to do next.

"Um... you know about Inazuma's isolation edict and the eye-hunting edict, right?"

Paimon nodded.

"We have a friend named Inatsume who lives in constant fear because of the Eye Hunting Order. She wants to escape but can't because of the national lockdown order. So she went to great lengths to send a letter asking us to help her figure out a way to escape."

Although it sounds hard to believe, according to Zhongli, Inazuma is indeed suffering greatly, and there are indeed Inazuma people willing to risk their lives to escape, but…

"Since you're planning to go to Inazuma, why did you go to Liyue first?" Sora asked.

"I heard that there are immortals in Liyue. My friend from Liyue isn't very skilled, but she knows a lot about strange and unusual things. So we were thinking of going to her first to find out how to meet the immortals and have them help us get to Inazuma."

The immortals… that’s certainly a good idea. But Kong knows that given the immortals’ personalities, they definitely won’t help with this. After all, the immortals are Liyue’s immortals, and asking them to send someone to another country is simply a pipe dream.

"Well, I think you'd better give up on this plan as soon as possible."

As soon as Paimon spoke, Bronya jumped in at the opportune moment: "Why?"

"Well, I know a few of those immortals you're talking about, but they've all chosen to live in seclusion and no longer interfere in mortal affairs. Not to mention you're planning to have them send you to another country, which is impossible no matter how you look at it."

Is there really no way at all?

After they finished speaking, both of them showed a disappointed expression, which made Paimon feel sorry for them and quickly went forward to comfort them.

"Don't be sad. Although we don't have any way to get to Inazuma, we have a clue that leads there. And it's in Liyue. How about you come with us to Liyue?"

Kong intended to stop him, but before he could even utter a word, Paimon had already made the decision for him.

After breakfast, Sora led Kiana and the others to Liyue, taking care of a few buried flowers along the way and successfully resolving the issue of travel expenses.

Two days later, the weary group arrived at the Wangshu Inn in Guili Plain.

According to Paimon, this is an inn that you must pass before entering Liyue. After passing this inn, it will take no more than two days to travel south to reach Liyue Harbor, the most prosperous port city in the entire Teyvat continent.

However, none of this had anything to do with Kiana for the time being. After traveling day and night for the past few days, Kiana felt unbearably itchy all over, and the dry food she carried had been used up.

The main purpose of our visit to Wangshu Inn was to replenish our food supplies, and secondly, to get some rest.

However, Wangshu Inn was ultimately a place where humans, immortals, and demons met. Not long after checking in, a shadowy figure slid past Kiana's eyes.

"who?!"

"What's wrong? What's wrong?" Paimon asked.

"I think I just saw a strange shadow drift past in the corner of my field of vision."

"A strange shadow...could it be that child?"

Paimon came close to Kong's ear and whispered something while covering his mouth with his hand.

Kong recalled that Xiao Ming had indeed not been released from suffering yet. So much time had passed and Hu Tao hadn't come to help with the release.

"It seems like Xiaoming hasn't had anyone to play with in a long time. What should we do? Should we go and tell Xiaoming not to come out and scare people?"

After a moment's thought, Kong realized it made sense. After all, Xiao Ming was the ghost that Xiao had entrusted to the people at Wangshu Inn for care. Even though he hadn't harmed anyone, others didn't know! It wouldn't be good if something unexpected happened.

Especially Yan Xiao, the cook. What if she gets scared again and can't cook well? Wouldn't that ruin the reputation of Wangshu Inn?

It's definitely not because I want to have a nice meal that I think this way!

At this moment, Sora and Paimon reached a consensus, and after making an excuse to leave, Sora returned to the Demon-Subduing Seal and activated it again according to the method taught by the landlady last time.

Kiana, watching Kong bustling around in the room, immediately understood the reason. It seemed that the little ghost she encountered in the Liyue main storyline still hadn't been exorcised.

It's unclear whether the proprietress simply forgot to inform the temple about this, or whether she deliberately kept Xiao Ming for another purpose. At least Hu Tao definitely knew of Xiao Ming's existence, since the song "Qiuqiu Ballad" that Xiao Ming sang was composed by Hu Tao herself.

Regardless of the circumstances, this matter has nothing to do with Kiana. Let's figure out how to coordinate our stories with Fu Hua first.

However, according to Fu Hua, she seemed to have encountered Zhong Li, who immediately recognized her as an outsider. After some explanation, for some unknown reason, Zhong Li bestowed upon Fu Hua the status of an immortal, a fact that had already been communicated to the immortals of Jueyun Realm.

Although the immortals of Jueyun Mountain did not understand Zhongli's intentions, they still accepted Fu Hua's identity as an immortal according to the contract and uniformly declared to the outside world that Fu Hua had not recently ascended to immortality, but was a reclusive immortal who had just emerged from seclusion.

To further enhance credibility, Liu Yun Jie Feng Zhenjun even created a grotto for Fu Hua and placed many of her discarded mechanical devices inside.

In any case, mortals can't understand the structure of these things, and they are all ancient relics. It's just right to put them in the cave heaven as proof that the cave heaven has existed for a long time. Moreover, True Lord Liuyun Jiefeng is more interested in the Cangxuan Book that is with Fu Hua.

After repeatedly assuring that it would not be disassembled or damaged and that it would be taken good care of, and even after asking Zhongli to act as guarantor, Fu Hua finally agreed to Liu Yun Jie Feng Zhenjun's request to study the Cangxuan Book.

Recalling the reluctant expression on Cangxuan Zhishu's face, Fu Hua couldn't help but sigh after turning off the communication. Seeing this, Zhong Li, who was sitting next to her, asked, "I wonder if my friend is worried about Cangxuan Zhishu again?"

"Yes, after all, it is the last work left by my deceased friends, so that it can accompany me in my journey after they pass away. I lost her once, and now that she has returned to my side, I do miss her and worry about her after not seeing her for a long time."

"If it's just longing and worry, Miss Fu Hua can naturally visit the Book of Cangxuan at Liuyun's cave at any time. As for worry, Liuyun will handle it properly because of the contract."

"Since Mr. Zhongli is the God of Contracts, I naturally trust the contract you made. However, I can't help but worry about whether she is eating and sleeping well, and I am also curious as to why True Lord Liuyun cares so much about Xiao Xuan?"

After listening, Zhongli put down his teacup and looked at Tiezui, who was telling stories on the stage, with a look of reminiscence in his eyes.

"Miss Fu Hua once said that the Book of Azure was a mechanical puppet created by your old friend using your appearance and personality, right?"

"Yes. Xiao Xuan's appearance is taken from the older of the twins, but her personality is like the younger sister's."

"If I were to say that Liu Yun saw the shadow of a person named Gui Zhong Gu Ren in the Book of Cang Xuan, would Miss Fu Hua understand?"

Fu Hua's eyes flickered for a moment before she said, "Mr. Zhongli, do you mean... that my two old friends look very much like that Gui Zhong?"

“That’s not the case,” Zhongli denied. “The appearance of the Cangxuan Book is not similar to that of Gui Zhong. It’s just that the personality shown by the Cangxuan Book is somewhat similar to that of Gui Zhong. Besides, you also mentioned that your two old friends are very skilled in mechanical arts. Perhaps Liuyun Envoy might use this to study whether he can create a puppet with the appearance of Gui Zhong.”

"But... a doll is still just a doll..."

“I understand, and Liu Yun naturally understands as well. But even if it’s just a doll that only shows the appearance, it would still give Liu Yun a way to see Gui Zhong’s appearance. Moreover, I hope that this will help people remember the deeds of Dust King Gui Zhong.”

"From what you're saying, if Liu Yun really makes the Gui Zhong doll, you plan to revive the legends about Gui Zhong from the past? But couldn't such things have been passed down from the beginning?"

Zhongli fell silent, then he called the waiter to refill the pot of tea.

“Miss Fu Hua, you may not know this, but a war between demons once broke out on the continent of Teyvat. It was a war in which many demons fought for the seven thrones that governed the mortal world. In that war, Gui Zhong was my ally. We jointly ruled Liyue, which was then known as Gui Li Ji. Later, she died in the war, and all the stories and legends about her were blurred by the laws of nature. People could only rely on vague memories to piece together history. In the end, all the historical legends about her were lost, while those related to me were integrated into my legends. To be honest, that feeling was not pleasant.”

"I see. But if that's the case, a single doll can't solve the problem, right? Besides, if it really worked, why didn't we set up a statue to worship it before?"

“Miss Fu Hua, setting up statues might be a common thing in your world, but it’s different here.”

Zhongli sighed and said, "Only the victors of the Demon God War, who were chosen to manage the gods of the mortal world, are qualified to erect statues here. Most of the other statues that remain today are statues that existed during the Demon God War. The victors write history, and the losers return to dust. Because of this, the history of the Demon God War is somewhat distorted in the historical records of various countries, which is why there are countless lost civilization ruins on the continent of Teyvat."

"In other words, this is also an experiment by Mr. Zhongli. If it succeeds, Mr. Zhongli will probably ask True Monarch Liuyun to make more puppets, right?"

"If I weren't forced to do this, wouldn't I also want to inherit the legends of the deceased? History should be an objective and accurate record of the past, and it cannot tolerate any falsehood. If this attempt succeeds, I will have all the immortals spread the correct historical legends, and it's time to let Liyue's history get back on track."

"Then I wish you all the best, but there's something I'm concerned about."

"Oh? I wonder what it is that Miss Fu Hua is concerned about?"

"Since I'm new here and don't have any of this world's currency, I'm incredibly grateful to Mr. Zhongli for taking me in to work at the Hall of Rebirth. But is it really alright for Mr. Zhongli to bring me here to listen to storytelling and drink tea on my very first day of work? And what about the cost of the tea…?"

"Miss Fu Hua should have already learned about what kind of organization Wang Sheng Tang is yesterday. She should also understand that in our line of work, we live off our first business for three years. As for the tea money, you can simply send the bill to Wang Sheng Tang."

"Send it to you, you big dummy!"

Suddenly, a delicate hand struck Zhong Li on the back of the head. A woman with twin ponytails and peculiar plum blossom eyes, dressed in dark brown clothing, stood behind Zhong Li.

"Greetings, Master Hu."

Yes, she is Hu Tao, the 77th head of the Wangsheng Hall. It is said that her parents passed away early, and she was raised by her grandfather. In gratitude, Hu Tao held a grand funeral for her grandfather after his passing, giving him a dignified burial.

Since then, Hu Tao has inherited the position of head of the Hall of Rebirth, and also inherited the Hu family's unique view of life and death.

Perhaps because of their long-term dealings with the dead, the Hu family had long since become indifferent to life and death, but Hu Tao saw it even more clearly than her ancestors.

Hu Tao's unconventional views on life and death caused her to run into obstacles everywhere in promoting her business at the Rebirth Hall. After all, telling everyone that everyone is going to die sooner or later, and that it's better to buy a coffin and prepare well while you're still alive, so that it won't be too late after you die, would make anyone feel uncomfortable.

Rather, it's more accurate to say that the entire funeral industry is simply not suited to promoting that business model. I don't know why Hu Tao is so keen on promoting the services of the Hall of Rebirth, even though the Hall of Rebirth has already monopolized the entire funeral industry in Liyue and has no shortage of orders for them.

Moreover, the Hall of Rebirth has intricate connections with the immortals and is an organization that maintains the balance between the Yin and Yang realms. It receives funding from the Seven Stars of Liyue both overtly and covertly, so there's no need to worry about it being suddenly shut down. I don't understand why Hu Tao would do this.

Of course, these are just Fu Hua's thoughts. If Hu Tao knew, she might pat Fu Hua on the shoulder and tell her the reason in a heartfelt way.

However, Hu Tao had no idea what Fu Hua was thinking. She only knew that if she didn't step in now, the new employee might be corrupted by Zhong Li and start sending all the bills to Shengtang.

"Xiao Fu, I'll let it slide since you're new here. But you need to know that not every bill can be sent to Changsheng Hall. Zhongli is only being lenient with me because my grandfather specifically instructed me to take good care of him, his guest retainer, before he passed away. You mustn't go astray!"

Seeing Hu Tao's serious expression, Fu Hua had no choice but to agree. However, considering that Kiana and the others would be arriving soon, she decided to ask Hu Tao for leave first.

"Master, there's something I need to tell you first."

"What's the matter? Tell me."

"I have two friends coming later, and I would like to ask the head of the hall to grant me half a day off to welcome them."

"Is that all? I approve, but on the condition that I, the hall master, go with you."

"this…"

"Why, isn't it possible?"

"Of course, please follow me, Master."

And so, Fu Hua, accompanied by Hu Tao, arrived at the gates of Liyue Harbor in a grand procession. Soon after, Kiana and the others came into view.