Kiana and the Captain's Bizarre Adventure

"Wow, I never expected that one of the people Xiao Fu knows is my best friend!"

Fu Hua looked at Hu Tao with a puzzled expression. She couldn't understand how Hu Tao knew Kiana and the others when they had only been in this world for less than a week.

Then Fu Hua saw the blond boy with braids next to Kiana and a little girl flying in mid-air, and realized that Kurumi was actually talking about the two people next to Kiana.

"Hu Tao! What a coincidence to run into you here!"

Paimon waved and greeted Walnut, "Are you planning to leave the city?"

"Tsk tsk tsk." Hu Tao shook her finger and said, "Actually, I came here with my new employee. Let me introduce you. This is my new employee, Fu Hua. She said she came to pick up her friend. I guess you are the people she is picking up, right?"

As she spoke, Hu Tao looked around. Apart from Paimon and Kong, there were two other people she didn't recognize, but she figured they were also Fu Hua's friends. Since they were Fu Hua's friends, they were her friends too, and she would naturally do her best to be a good host.

"Xiao Fu, since your friends have come from afar today, and I happen to have some business to attend to at Wuwangpo, I'll allow you to rest for an extra day. When you come back, go to Xinyuexuan and invite them to a nice meal so you can get to know your two friends better."

After saying this, Hu Tao left without waiting for Fu Hua and Paimon to explain anything, heading towards Wuwang Slope without looking back.

"I'm sorry, I should have explained sooner."

“It’s alright, we understand Walnut’s personality, we can explain it later,” Paimon said.

"But it seems you two know Hall Master Hu?"

“That’s right! We’re really good friends with Kurumi! It’s just that we didn’t expect Kiana’s friend to be an employee of the Hall of Rebirth. Oh, right, we haven’t introduced ourselves yet. My name is Paimon, and his name is Sora, a traveler.”

"Actually, I'm also a new employee who recently joined the Rebirth Hall. I wonder how you two came to know Kiana and the others?"

"Actually, it's nothing. We just happened to run into Kiana, who had gotten separated from Bronya, back in Mondstadt..."

As Paimon recounted their encounter with Kiana, he followed the group into Liyue Harbor.

Before they knew it, it was noon. Seeing that the sun was high in the sky, Paimon suggested that they have lunch at Wanmintang.

"Speaking of which, it's been a while since we've been back to Liyue Harbor. It's almost lunchtime, and I wonder if Xiangling is at Wanmin Hall."

"Wanmintang... just hearing the name makes it sound like a good restaurant. Paimon, I'll go with you. Let's go!"

Kiana naturally knew about the Manmin Hall, but in front of Sora, she still had to pretend that she was unfamiliar with Liyue Harbor.

Besides, it's lunchtime now, and Kiana can use her Herrscher of Knowledge powers to exchange statements with Fu Hua and Bronya while they eat. The rest can be explained to Mei using the Hyperion's communication system later. As for why Mei isn't included in the discussion...

It's because her powers have been limited since arriving in Teyvat. For example, her Herrscher of Knowledge powers can only be used when she's face-to-face with someone; they become unusable from a distance. This is likely because her current strength far surpasses that of this world. Without restrictions, any mission would be meaningless for Kiana. Fortunately, her current combat power is still comparable to the Demon Gods of this world.

Unfortunately, Kiana traveled through time too early and didn't know that in the later story, the power of the Demon God was no longer the representative of top-tier strength. In fact, when she used her full strength, she was enough to rival a perfect dragon, making her arguably the strongest person under heaven.

After a quick lunch, the group began discussing how to get to Inazuma.

First, Fu Hua, according to their statements, first expressed her apology, and then directly said that the immortals would not provide assistance in this regard.

Next is Sora. Although Sora is unable to go to Inazuma yet, he knows that there is someone who can help them get there.

That is the uncrowned dragon king, the North Star of the Southern Cross fleet.

According to Ningguang, the seas outside Inazuma are now teeming with thunderstorms, and reaching Inazuma would require extraordinary courage and a sturdy ship.

Currently, only Beidou and her Deathstar in Liyue meet both of these conditions. If you want to go to Inazuma, you need to find a way to get Beidou's help.

The reason Kong returned to Liyue now is because he heard that Beidou would be docking her ship near Guyun Pavilion soon, seemingly planning to hold a martial arts tournament.

“I’ve heard people mention that martial arts tournament in the last few days,” Fu Hua said. “It seems to be a tournament specifically for people who don’t have the Eye of God.”

"A martial arts tournament specifically for those who don't possess the Eye of God, which means..."

“Those who went to participate were all ordinary people without the God's Eye,” Kong added from the side.

"Yes."

"But why...?"

At this moment, Xiangling came out of the kitchen and answered Paimon's question.

"It seems that this time, Sister Beidou accidentally obtained an unclaimed God's Eye, and the champion's reward is that unclaimed God's Eye. Sister Beidou also held the martial arts tournament for that God's Eye. If all the participants were people who possessed God's Eyes, wouldn't the champion's reward be a waste?"

"Indeed, if the champion's reward is an unclaimed Eye of God, then the contestant certainly cannot be the owner of the Eye of God. After all, legend has it that as long as an unclaimed Eye of God is activated, that person can also become the owner of the Eye of God. This reward must be quite tempting."

"Does that mean Kong can participate in that martial arts tournament?" Bronya asked.

"But even without the Eye of God, Sora can still use elemental power. Wouldn't that be unfair to the others? And since Sora can use elemental power without the Eye of God, what's the point of him participating in that martial arts tournament?"

"We can discuss giving Beidou a reward," Kong said.

"Oh right! How come I didn't think of that? Well then, let's get going without further ado!"

So the group took a boat to Guyun Pavilion, which was already crowded with people who had come to participate in the competition. After asking around among passersby, they arrived at the registration area.

"Let me ask first, besides Kong, who else among you can participate in this martial arts tournament?"

Kiana and Bronya exchanged a glance and silently demonstrated their hastily created Vision. Of course, the Vision was modeled after the Mondstadt style; Bronya had only ever seen Mondstadt Visions, while Kiana only knew the Mondstadt and Liyue Visions. However, to maintain their personas, they could only use the Mondstadt style to create their Vision. As for Fu Hua…

"I don't have the Eye of God."

So Kong and Fu Hua signed up for the martial arts tournament together. However, compared to Fu Hua, who had previously lived deep in the mountains and only recently emerged from seclusion, and who belonged to the completely unknown Taixu Sect, Kong's achievements were quite impressive.

This also alerted Beidou, who was not far away, as well as the provider of the Eye of God without a master—Kaedehara Manyo.

"You must be the famous Sora, right?"

The speaker was a woman wearing a bright red cheongsam and an eye mask.

"I've heard about you from Ningguang, and seeing you today, you certainly have the aura that's been rumored. By the way, my name is Beidou, and I'm the organizer of this conference. It's a pleasure to meet you! The brother next to me is Fengyuan Wanye, who is the provider of the conference's prizes."

"Hello, it's nice to meet you all," said Kaedehara Manyo with a smile.

"Kaedehara Manyo... This name sounds like a name from Inatsuma's side."

"I am indeed a woman from Inatsuma."

Kaedehara Manyo readily acknowledged Paimon's guess, and Hokuto also took the opportunity to explain how he and Kaedehara Manyo met.

"Because of the Eye Hunting Order, he's now considered a wanted criminal by Inazuma's side."

Upon hearing this, Sora also noticed the Eye of God hanging from Kaedehara Manyo's waist.

"However, if you're interested in the specific reasons, you can ask Brother Wanye yourselves. In short, I took pity on him and let him join my ship as a crew member. To repay me, he gave me the Eye of God as a token of his gratitude. However, I already possess the Eye of God myself, and the other crew members have all tried to reactivate it but have been unsuccessful. That's why I held this martial arts tournament, hoping that the Eye of God wouldn't be left to languish."

After hearing the reasons for holding the conference, Kong seized the opportunity to step forward and say, "Actually, there is something we really want to discuss with you."

"What could possibly require someone as famous as you to come and discuss it with me? That's piqued my curiosity."

"If possible, after the lady next to me and I win, could the reward be changed from the Eye of God to a chance to go to Inazuma?"

"I've heard of your exploits. It's said you can manipulate elemental power without using the Eye of God. If the rumors are true, you certainly don't need the Eye of God. But why doesn't this young lady want the Eye of God? Wouldn't activating it allow her to reach an even higher level?"

“The Eye of God is nothing more than an external thing to me,” Fu Hua replied. “The reason I want the opportunity to go to Inazuma is simply because I promised my friends that I would take them there to save another friend who is in danger. So, the condition that I am given is the reason I am participating in this competition.”

"You rescued a friend in distress. Is that friend also a possessor of the Eye of God?"

Kaedehara Manyo asked, "After all, although Inazuma's isolation has led to widespread suffering, as long as you are not the possessor of the Eye of God, you will not be in any danger. In Inazuma, the only one who could be associated with danger is probably the possessor of the Eye of God."

"Yes, at first it was just a closed country, and although life was poor, it was still manageable. But with the issuance of the Eye Hunting Edict, she had no choice but to leave the city and flee into the deep mountains. Because she had had enough of Inazuma's situation, she tried her best to send us a letter, hoping that we could help her escape Inazuma."

"But even if the country is closed off, there are still ways to smuggle people out if one wants to. Why did your friend only send a letter instead of choosing to escape on his own?"

Kaedehara Manyo's question reminded Sora that if someone truly wanted to escape, there were ways to do so illegally. After all, there was an Inazuma who had chosen to smuggle himself out of Inazuma because he couldn't stand the oppressive atmosphere at the Liyue docks. If what Kiana and the others said was true, and their friend really couldn't stand it anymore, why didn't he choose to smuggle himself out?

Fu Hua knew from the suspicious looks on the three that she would have to find a way to smooth things over again. Fortunately, Bronya had anticipated this situation and had already prepared a story.

"Because of her unusual appearance, she would cause unnecessary disturbance if she appeared in public. To avoid trouble, my friend usually keeps to herself."

"If your friend is to cause a riot the moment he appears in public, is he some kind of heinous criminal?!"

After saying that, Paimon shrank back in fear, while Maple Leaf recalled the wanted posters he had seen before, wondering if there was anyone who matched Fu Hua's description.

"I wonder what your friend's name is...?"

"She said her name was Mei."

"What about the last name?"