Yujing Terrace, Tea Stall.
As they gazed at the bright and familiar surroundings, Nolan and the others realized they had left the Realm Within the Teapot.
"You young ones are really quick; you found it so soon," Granny Ping remarked, her face showing a hint of nostalgia as she looked at the bell inside the box Lumine was holding.
"So this bell is the 'Cleansing Bell'?" Paimon pointed to the box in Lumine's hand and asked.
"That's right. Alright, children, go ahead and take it to the one who needs it. Don't delay," Granny Ping said with a kind smile.
"Thank you, Immortal Granny," Paimon responded politely.
Since they had successfully borrowed the "Cleansing Bell," Nolan and Lumine had no other business to attend to, so they prepared to head back to Zhongli.
"Come and visit again next time!" said Yaoyao, the little girl with a bun hairstyle and two large bells, waving them goodbye.
Yanfei, who was also waving to her new friends, suddenly remembered something and said, "You know I work as a legal consultant, right? If you ever need any help with that, don't hesitate to come to me."
She took the opportunity to advertise her services.
"Of course, we will," Nolan and the others nodded politely.
After leaving Yujing Terrace, they found Zhongli at the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor and presented the "Cleansing Bell" to him.
"This is indeed the 'Cleansing Bell,' and it's been well-kept," Zhongli nodded calmly.
"By the way, you mentioned you're friends with Granny Ping. Does that mean you're also an Immortal?" Paimon asked, voicing her curiosity.
"Hmm, not quite like the 'Adepti,' but rather a peripheral figure who has lived a bit longer," Zhongli responded.
"Please keep this between us. If too many people find out, I might not be able to peacefully continue my role as a guest consultant at Wangsheng Funeral Parlor," Zhongli added, neither hiding nor fully revealing the truth.
"Paimon knew it!" Paimon exclaimed, spinning excitedly in the air before patting her chest. "Don't worry, we'll keep your secret safe and won't let anyone disturb you!"
Having been in Liyue for some time, Paimon knew how obsessed Liyue's people were with finding Immortals. If everyone learned that an Immortal was at the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, they'd likely flock there, blocking the place entirely, and causing significant trouble.
Nolan almost laughed when Zhongli called himself a peripheral figure among the Immortals. He thought to himself, This guy is even better at pretending than I am. Then he asked, "Now that we have the 'Cleansing Bell,' what's next?"
"The next steps for the ritual include preparing a kite, crystal butterflies, everlasting incense, and a glaze lily. Then, we wait for the Qixing to retrieve the Emperor's body from the 'Golden House' and bring it to the ceremony site," Zhongli explained briefly.
"There's still so much to do?" Paimon's shoulders drooped, feeling tired just thinking about it.
"Hehe, you won't have to do everything," Zhongli said, crossing his arms and letting the wind play with his robes as he continued with a smile. "I'll take care of the kite and crystal butterflies. As for the everlasting incense and glaze lilies, I'll leave those to you."
"What are everlasting incense and glaze lilies?"Lumine asked, her slender white fingers adjusting the long sleeves on her left arm, her amber eyes filled with curiosity.
"The first is a special incense needed for the ritual, which you should be able to purchase at Bubu Pharmacy. The latter, glaze lilies, are flowers. However, most of them are now artificially cultivated. True wild ones are rare, so you'll need to spend some extra effort searching for them in the wild," Zhongli explained with a gentle nod.
"I see," Lumine murmured thoughtfully. She understood that the glaze lilies must be wild to show proper respect to the Geo Archon.
Although it was a bit troublesome, it was understandable. Since the everlasting incense could be purchased directly, obtaining it shouldn't be too difficult.
"Alright, since it's still early, let's head to Bubu Pharmacy and see if we can buy the everlasting incense," Nolan suggested after thinking it over, addressing Lumine.
It was almost noon, so the search for wild glaze lilies could wait until the afternoon. For now, they could focus on buying the everlasting incense. If all went well, they might be able to complete the preparations for the ritual today.
"Okay," Lumine responded, indicating she had no objections.
With that, Nolan, Lumine, and Paimon made their way to Bubu Pharmacy, while Zhongli went off to buy a kite and prepare the crystal butterflies.
...
Bubu Pharmacy was a well-known pharmacy in Liyue Harbor, and its owner, Mr. Baizhu, was highly praised by the people of Liyue for his exceptional medical skills.
Finding the pharmacy was easy; they just asked a passerby for directions.
By the time Nolan and the others arrived at Bubu Pharmacy, some time had passed.
In front of them was a long, wide stone staircase, with the pharmacy located at the top.
They took their time climbing the stairs, not in any particular rush.
To be honest, Nolan felt that it was somewhat inconvenient for Bubu Pharmacy to be built in such a high location. After all, many of the people who came here were already feeling unwell and exhausted, and having to climb such a long staircase might leave them even more drained.
Of course, Nolan was just making a casual complaint. The location of Bubu Pharmacy likely had many influencing factors, such as lower property prices or good feng shui.
Besides, Dr. Baizhu seemed to make house calls frequently, so it wasn't likely that severely ill patients would have to come to the pharmacy themselves.
"Huh, why is there no one here?" Paimon, who had flown ahead into Bubu Pharmacy, looked toward the counter at the front and remarked curiously.
Having flown up to the pharmacy with flying, Paimon didn't feel tired at all.
A few seconds later, Nolan and Lumine finally arrived and began to casually observe the interior of the pharmacy.
"Excuse me, is the owner here?" Lumine called out softly, her voice as gentle as a breeze.
"Welcome," a voice responded from ahead, but no one was visible.
"Could it be someone invisible, like the big radish?" Paimon wondered, placing her index finger on her lower lip as she speculated.
"Let's take a closer look," Lumine said, blinking as her amber eyes briefly flickered, then reappeared. She stared at the counter in front of them, sensing that the voice had come from behind it.
"Uh, Lumine, you and the big radish should go first," Paimon said nervously.
Lumine gave Paimon an exasperated look. Paimon only seemed to charge ahead when there was a feast involved.
Nolan chuckled softly and then walked forward.
If he remembered correctly, Qiqi, who was watching over the shop, was so short that the counter perfectly obscured her, which was why they hadn't seen her.
Sure enough, as they got closer, they naturally saw a little girl wearing a hat through the gap in the counter.
"So you're not even taller than the counter? And you have a talisman stuck to your forehead?" Paimon, relieved to see that the voice belonged to a little girl, commented with curiosity.
"Could she be a zombie?"Lumine, who had traveled through many worlds and seen much, voiced her speculation.
"Yes, hello. I am Qiqi. I died once and was saved by an Adeptus, so I am a zombie," Qiqi said, looking up at them.
"Wow, she just casually drops such shocking information," Paimon remarked, a bit surprised.
"Well, considering this is Liyue, where there are Adepti, it's not that strange," Lumine said, hands on her hips.
"Um, Qiqi, we would like to buy some everlasting incense. Could you help us with that?" Nolan, who was familiar with Qiqi from the game's storyline, wasn't surprised by her being a zombie and directly asked about the item they wanted to purchase.
"Everlasting incense... You need a prescription. Qiqi can only help if you have a prescription," Qiqi responded, her pale red eyes showing no emotion as she looked at them.
"Everlasting incense isn't a medicine, so why would we need a prescription?" Paimon spread her hands, confused.
"You need a prescription. Qiqi can only help if you have one. This is an 'edict' Qiqi gave herself," Qiqi explained, shaking her head slightly, causing the talisman on her forehead to sway.
"What's an 'edict'?" Paimon asked, once again encountering something she didn't understand.
"Even though we don't have a prescription, we still want to ask for your help in getting the everlasting incense. Is that possible?" Lumine guessed that the 'edict' was something specific to zombies, but now wasn't the time to delve into it. The priority was obtaining the incense.
"Alright," Qiqi nodded, her hat and talisman bobbing with the motion.
"Huh? So now we can just get it?" Paimon was bewildered. They had just been told they needed a prescription, but now it seemed they didn't.
"But you must help me with something as well, to be fair," Qiqi continued, ignoring Paimon's confusion, her voice steady and emotionless as always.
"A shopkeeper helping customers is unfair?" Paimon was too tired to even comment.
"Hehe, alright. If it's a small favor, we don't mind helping," Nolan said, recognizing this conversation from the game's storyline and remembering what Qiqi wanted them to do.
"Coconut Milk. Please go to Mt. Tianheng and use the 'Guizhong Ballista' to hunt for 'Coconut Milk' for me," Qiqi stated her request.
As expected, just like in the game's storyline, Qiqi made this strange request. If Nolan and the others had just gone to Mt. Tianheng to find some "Coconut Milk Yak," they would have ended up wasting their time.
Even Zhongli, who has lived for a long time and is one of the most knowledgeable beings in Teyvat, was fooled by this in the story.
So, it's crucial to clarify what exactly Qiqi means by "Coconut Milk Yak" and what she intends to do once it's found.
"Guizhong Ballista, Coconut Milk Yak? Uh, Lumine, am I supposed to go back to school? I feel so dumb," Paimon said, closing her eyes and lowering her head in frustration.
Lumine sighed slightly. She had been in Liyue for a while but had never heard of such things, so she directly asked, "Qiqi, what is this 'Coconut Milk Yak' you're talking about, and why do you want to hunt it?"
"'Coconut Milk Yak' is a legendary half-Adeptus beast. I want to drink coconut milk, so I need the 'Coconut Milk Yak,'" Qiqi replied, her voice carrying a hint of anticipation despite her expression remaining neutral.
However, upon hearing "coconut milk," both Paimon and Lumine fell silent.
If they weren't mistaken, coconut milk comes from coconuts that grow on coconut trees. Could Qiqi be talking about some special breed of animal?
Seeing the puzzled looks on Lumine and Paimon's faces, Nolan quietly chuckled and then explained to Qiqi, "Qiqi, there's no half-Adeptus beast called 'Coconut Milk Yak' in Liyue. The coconut milk you're thinking of comes from coconuts that grow on coconut trees. You can buy them at a fruit shop."
That's right—Qiqi just wanted some coconut milk. However, due to her poor memory as a result of becoming a zombie, she had forgotten that coconut milk comes from coconuts and had instead imagined a mythical creature called the "Coconut Milk Yak."
She believed that coconut milk was the milk from this "yak," and in the game's storyline, Zhongli, without clarifying this, ended up wasting time by taking the Traveler on a wild goose chase.
It's a bit ironic, really.
The mighty Geo Archon, fooled by a "child." Nolan almost laughed out loud when he first saw this in the game.
"Ah…"
After realizing that coconut milk doesn't come from a "Coconut Milk Yak," Qiqi lowered her head, seemingly lost in deep thought.
"What should we do? Should we go buy some coconuts for Qiqi and then have her get the everlasting incense for us?" Paimon asked, looking at Nolan and Lumine.
"That seems like the only option. You two wait here, and I'll go to the market to buy some," Nolan suggested after thinking it over.
Just as he turned to leave, he noticed a man with green hair and glasses walking into Bubu Pharmacy. The man also had a small white snake wrapped around his neck.
"Haha, thank you for taking care of Qiqi. Buying coconuts is something customers shouldn't have to do. You can tell me what you need, and I'll take care of it," the man said with a warm smile.
"Oh? And you are?" Nolan, of course, recognized the man as Baizhu, the owner of Bubu Pharmacy, but he pretended not to know and asked.
"Haha, sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Baizhu, the owner of Bubu Pharmacy," the man with glasses replied, still smiling.
"Ah, I thought Qiqi was the owner here. Uh, is this where I'm supposed to say 'pleased to meet you'?" Paimon said, suddenly realizing the situation.
"No need for the courtesy from someone who almost got tricked!" The voice came from the small white snake wrapped around Baizhu's neck.
"Wah! A talking snake!" Paimon instinctively hid behind Lumine.
"Hmph, such a fuss over nothing!" The white snake continued its sarcastic remarks.
Lumine also looked a bit surprised. It was her first time seeing a talking animal.
"Changsheng, don't be rude!" Baizhu scolded the white snake before turning back to Nolan and the others with a smile. "Changsheng means no harm. Now, what can I help you with today?"
Paimon stuck her tongue out at the white snake and then explained their situation to Baizhu, mentioning that they needed to buy everlasting incense.
After hearing this, Baizhu nodded and chuckled, "We do have everlasting incense in stock. It's top quality and costs only 3 million Mora."
"Three million Mora?! You might as well go rob the 'Golden House'!" Paimon exclaimed in shock, unable to comprehend why a few sticks of incense could be so expensive.
(End of Chapter)
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