Bonus Chapter!
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"I can't make that decision on my own... I need to ask my master for her approval..."Shenhe lowered her head, looking elsewhere, as though she was unwilling to meet Luo Qing's gaze.
Though she claimed she needed to consult her master, deep down, she knew that her master had always encouraged her to reintegrate into the mortal world. Staying in Liyue wouldn't be something her master would oppose.
"Do whatever you want. Anyway, that's my request for you. You can break your word if you like."
Luo Qing rose to his feet, pulling the Millelith Spear from the sand and storing it in his system backpack. Brushing the dust off his clothes, he continued.
"If you decide to stay, you can always go to Northland Bank if you run into any trouble. They'll help you out."
With that, he turned and headed back toward Liyue.
After all, he would be leaving Liyue soon. Whether Shenhe stayed or not didn't really matter to him. He figured he would just leave a note at the Northland Bank for them to keep an eye on this clueless girl from the mountains after he was gone.
After Luo Qing's departure, Shenhe sat on the beach for a long time, gazing at the distant, dark-blue horizon.
Finally, as though she had made up her mind, she grabbed her spear and began walking in the direction of Jueyun Karst.
...
Returning to Northland Bank
The lights in Luo Qing's room were still on. When he opened the door, he saw Natalia waiting at his desk, seemingly there to greet him.
"Natalia, why are you still up this late?"
"Luo Qing, Lady La Signora sent you a letter. She said it's related to the next phase of our mission."
Natalia pointed to the envelope on the desk, still marked with the burning red moth.
"Where is she?"
"Lady La Signora left on a merchant ship for Snezhnaya this evening. She asked me to deliver the letter to you before she departed."
"Do all witches love being so mysterious?"
Luo Qing sat down, picking up the letter and glancing at it. Natalia, always intuitive, started to leave and whispered:
"Yawn... Luo Qing, I'll head to bed now if that's okay?"
Luo Qing had returned late, and Natalia had been waiting for hours. She was already exhausted. If she hadn't lost the game of rock-paper-scissors with the other three earlier, she would have been enjoying her beauty sleep by now instead of pulling an all-nighter.
A good night's sleep was key to maintaining beautiful skin!
"Go ahead."
Luo Qing absentmindedly responded, tearing open the letter and beginning to read its contents.
The letter outlined the current power dynamics in Inazuma: which factions were friendly toward the Fatui and which were hostile. It also detailed where Delusions were being distributed and areas needing deeper infiltration.
Luo Qing's task was to maintain the operations listed in the letter, ensuring they continued smoothly until La Signora returned.
"Delusion distribution... setting up a second Delusion factory... infiltrating and controlling various factions... inciting conflict between the Resistance and the Shogunate... and... investigating the one at Narukami Shrine..."
Luo Qing mumbled as he scanned through the key points, thinking to himself how truly twisted La Signora's schemes were.
After reading the letter's main contents, he flipped it over and noticed a line of small text written on the back:
"By the way, a future colleague of yours has already arrived in Inazuma ahead of you. He's quite special, so I hope you two get along~"
"..."
Luo Qing was speechless.
Of course, he knew who this "colleague" was.
And getting along with him? Sure, that'll go smoothly.
But come to think of it, with that brute's straightforward nature, it could be pretty easy to milk some frustration value out of him.
Who knows, maybe this could work in his favor...
...
A month flew by, and soon, the day of departure arrived.
During this time, since the Gnosis of the Geo Archon had already been secured, the Fatui's main objective in Liyue was complete. The control of Northland Bank had been handed back to the wealthy merchant far off in Snezhnaya.
With both La Signora and Childe having left, there was no one with a higher rank than Luo Qing left in Liyue, which meant that he and his group enjoyed a rather leisurely month (since no one dared order him around).
Theresa, who used to be stationed year-round at Guyun Stone Forest without a break, was so moved by the unexpected reprieve that she nearly cried. She almost knelt down to thank Luo Qing for giving her this rare rest.
Oddly enough, during that whole month, Luo Qing didn't run into Ganyu or Shenhe, the two sisters-in-training, not even once. It seemed like they were purposely avoiding him.
He figured one was probably busy with work and the other had returned to Jueyun Karst, so their absence wasn't unusual. Luo Qing didn't dwell on it.
He did, however, make another trip out to the ruins beneath Guyun Stone Forest to visit Osial and, while he was at it, farm some frustration value.
But Osial, apparently shocked by the overwhelming power Luo Qing had demonstrated last time, was giving up fewer and fewer frustration points.
By the end, no matter how much Luo Qing insulted Osial's family tree, the creature couldn't summon a single point of frustration. He managed to scrape together just 952 points—48 short of a full ten-pull. It seemed even Osial had become desensitized to him.
Tomorrow would be the day of his departure.
Knowing he'd be in Inazuma for almost half a year, Luo Qing decided to settle some unfinished business before leaving.
In other words, he wanted to do something reckless before he left Liyue for good.
That afternoon, Luo Qing made his way to Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, hoping to catch Hu Tao and Zhongli for a final meeting.
As he entered, he saw Hu Tao sitting at the counter, engrossed in a book.
Approaching her, Luo Qing noticed the title on the cover: Liyue Cuisine: From Beginner to Master.
"Hey, Hu Tao, learning to cook?"
"Why, is that a problem?"
Propping her head up with one hand, Hu Tao lazily glanced at Luo Qing and yawned. "Ahh... if you're looking for Zhongli, you're out of luck. He's not here today."
"He's not, huh..."
Luo Qing looked disappointed. Too bad. He had been planning to test his new emotion manipulation items on Zhongli before leaving. Ever since the last gacha pull, his system backpack had been filled with all sorts of emotion-related items, and he had been itching to try them out.
After all, the effects of the emotional manipulation tools couldn't be traced back to him, and he doubted Zhongli would suspect him.
If it worked... imagining Zhongli singing Learning to Meow was...
Ahem... Anyway, if it did work, it might come in handy should he inadvertently provoke a certain someone in Inazuma.
But with Zhongli absent, there was no use thinking about it now.
"Come on, Hu Tao. You don't think I came here just to see Zhongli, do you?"
"Pfft, as if. When have you ever come to Wangsheng Funeral Parlor just to see me?"
Hu Tao rolled her eyes, clearly not buying Luo Qing's act. After all, every time he visited, it was always to fish with Zhongli. Did he really think he could fool her?
As they spoke, footsteps echoed from outside.
Luo Qing turned around and saw Zhongli strolling in, hands behind his back, as if he had just returned from a leisurely walk.
Seizing the moment, Luo Qing mentally activated his system, selecting the item from his backpack: Let's Learn to Meow Card.
In an instant, the card locked onto Zhongli.
The next second, Zhongli froze in place.
He tilted his head slightly, hesitating for a few seconds before continuing his walk into the parlor.
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