"So, you beat those guys half to death and only managed to find out the whereabouts of the kids? You still have no idea who's behind all this?"
"To be fair, getting the kids back safely was already quite an achievement," Gu Sanqiu rolled his eyes. "Be thankful those idiots wanted to gather them all in one place. If not, we might not have been able to recover any of the children."
Keqing frowned, "So even you have no clue where they're from?"
"They used an ancient method, something that can be traced back to the previous era," Gu Sanqiu said seriously. "Back then, some minor evil gods—basically low-level idiots who deceived their followers—used these kinds of methods to get pure children for blood sacrifices."
"In my family's records, these fools have been wiped out over and over again, but there are always people willing to take the crooked path for power. Maybe some of them managed to pass down these methods."
"Passed down? Would people desperate for power really leave behind a legacy?"
Gu Sanqiu shrugged, "By the later stages, most of these guys had already become mere extensions of the evil gods, with no sense of self left. Their souls were probably devoured. The 'legacy' is really just something the evil gods left behind. Even if some of them were crushed by the Adepti or the Geo Lord himself, their methods for wielding power would survive, waiting for someone to use them."
"That makes sense," Keqing nodded, then looked at him expectantly, "So, can you track down these legacies?"
"If I were an Adeptus, maybe I could. But unfortunately, I'm just a mere human." Gu Sanqiu gave Keqing a look that said she was out of her mind. "You can't seriously think I have that kind of power."
"To be fair, while times have changed, some things are still best left to the experts," Keqing brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "I heard that little secretary wanted to invite you to work at Yujing Terrace. What do you think?"
"If you're interested, I could directly promote you to my personal secretary. There wouldn't be much work, and you wouldn't have to deal with all the political games."
"Thanks, but no thanks," Gu Sanqiu chuckled. "With the wealth my family has accumulated over the generations, plus the fact that we don't exactly have a big family, I could easily squander it for a couple of centuries without a problem."
"Ugh," Keqing shook her head. "The Seven Wealthiest Merchants in Liyue might as well be the Eight Wealthiest, considering nobody's ever properly assessed your family's assets."
"There are only seven stars. You're overthinking it," Gu Sanqiu said with a grin. "By the way, I've got a question for you: Is Beidou one of the Seven Stars?"
"Why are you asking that?"
"Beidou... Seven Stars... For the longest time, I thought she was the leader of the Seven Stars before getting overthrown by that certain someone. Now, she sails around with the Crux Fleet, probably plotting her return." Gu Sanqiu pointed to the sky. "After all, it's the era of 'All Know, Tianquan Reigns Supreme.' I'm just curious about the backstory. Call it gossip."
"I wouldn't know. I usually don't pay attention to things like that unless they're of utmost importance," Keqing replied with a smile. "If you're that curious, you could ask her yourself. I'm sure she'd be more than happy to tell you."
"Heh, I'm afraid of women."
"Oh, and another thing. I noticed that the Millelith have doubled their patrols recently. Something happen?"
"You noticed that?" Keqing looked surprised. She frowned slightly—clearly, the Millelith officers in charge of covert operations needed to step up their game.
"It's nothing major. Recently, another batch of Fatui arrived from Snezhnaya. What's unusual is that their Harbinger, Tartaglia, personally went to receive them," Keqing explained. "Considering what the Fatui have done in Mondstadt, the fact that a Harbinger is personally receiving this squad has us worried."
"To be honest, when the child trafficking cases started, our first reaction was that the Fatui were behind it. We even initiated some emergency combat preparations." Keqing's gaze grew cold. "We are not Mondstadt. If the Fatui think they can abduct Liyue's citizens, we'll wipe them out."
"Alright, alright, don't get too worked up. From the timeline, it doesn't seem like these idiots are connected to the Fatui," Gu Sanqiu poured Keqing a cup of tea. "Besides, from what I know of the Fatui, they wouldn't even bother using fools like the ones we caught as cannon fodder."
"Fair enough. I suppose this matter is settled for now. Over the next couple of weeks, the Millelith will remain on high alert, but it looks like you're off the hook for now," Keqing looked at Gu Sanqiu, "How about joining me for dinner?"
"Nah, head to the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. I'll head home and prep some ingredients. Since you actually have time to eat together for once, let's grab Hu Tao and have a proper meal."
Gu Sanqiu cracked his knuckles. It was time to pull out something special from his pantry.
---
"Wow, the busy bees have arrived!" Hu Tao exclaimed, surprised to see Keqing and Gu Sanqiu arrive together. She eyed them with curiosity.
"You two showing up at the same time? What's going on?"
"He's been helping me with a case," Keqing handed her coat to the attendant at the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, nodding at Gu Sanqiu as he headed home to prepare. Then, she turned back to Hu Tao.
"And you? Haven't left Liyue Harbor lately?"
"Nope, been on vacation. I don't work 24/7, you know," Hu Tao shook her head, then perked up. "What kind of case? Can I hear about it?"
By the time Gu Sanqiu returned with the ingredients, he found the two of them deep in a game of cards at opposite ends of the table.
"Three of a kind," Keqing said, slapping down her cards.
"Beat that," Hu Tao countered, adding her own cards to the pile.
Keqing's face was already plastered with several forfeiture slips, while Hu Tao only had two, showing their lopsided performance.
Unlike before, Keqing had control of two decks, but under Gu Sanqiu's mischievous influence, this variation of the card game put her, as the beginner, at a significant disadvantage.
"Hey, hey, don't bully the newbie with weird rules!" Gu Sanqiu knocked on Hu Tao's head. "How's the kitchen coming along?"
"All ready! You're so fussy, Sanqiu," Hu Tao stuck out her tongue. "We'll just sit tight and wait for the feast!"
(•̀ω•́)✧
"Acting cute won't hide the fact that you're doing nothing to help," Gu Sanqiu muttered.
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