Under Su Bai's expression, Cloud Retainer knew her flimsy illusion had been seen through. The adeptus, who always valued her dignity in front of the younger generation, finally lost her composure. With a loud cry, she shouted:
"How dare you! Laughing out loud in an adeptus's sacred ground!"
Su Bai took several deep breaths, trying hard to compose himself. But when his eyes fell on Cloud Retainer again, he still burst out laughing. He really couldn't help it. Cloud Retainer's current state was simply too hilarious.
"I'm sorry, Cloud Retainer. I really... I really can't help it..."
"Lumine, hahaha, you... you tell Cloud Retainer what happened... in detail... let me... let me catch my breath first..."
Lumine laughed for a while and then stopped. She couldn't figure out why Su Bai was laughing. So she narrated the events at Yujing Terrace to Cloud Retainer while observing her.
Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Lumine muttered to herself. But seeing Su Bai turning his head away to avoid laughing, she felt utterly baffled.
After hearing Lumine's account, though Cloud Retainer knew the truth, she feigned anger. The surrounding Anemo energy grew restless.
"Hmph! The Liyue Qixing! Trying to suppress news of such a grave matter as Rex Lapis's assassination? It seems they truly have no regard for us adepti."
"It appears this adeptus must make a trip to Liyue Harbor. I want to see what game the Qixing are playing."
"Um, Cloud Retainer, Brother Xiao asked you to come to a meeting. Would you like to go to Wangshu Inn first?"
Su Bai asked tentatively. But given Cloud Retainer's current state, she probably wouldn't want to show her face to the other adepti. She was about to agree when she hesitated, thinking of her appearance. If Rex Lapis happened to be at Wangshu Inn, would he form a bad impression of her?
Her thoughts grew muddled. After all, Rex Lapis was free. He could appear anywhere in Liyue at any time.
Moreover, that good-for-nothing Anemo Archon was also in Liyue lately. With him around, Rex Lapis's movements became even harder to predict. Several times, Cloud Retainer had tried to arrange an "accidental" meeting, only to have the bard ruin her plans.
If Venti knew what Cloud Retainer was thinking, he would have laughed heartily. After wandering Liyue for a while, he had lost all desire to travel further. Besides, following Zhongli around Liyue Harbor meant fine wine without paying Mora. With such a good deal, why would he want to go anywhere else?
In the end, under Su Bai's persuasion, Cloud Retainer reluctantly agreed to fly to Wangshu Inn to find Xiao. This had been prearranged among the adepti, so even if she didn't want to go, she had to.
"Oh, by the way, little Su Bai."
"I see you've visited Azhdaha before. The next time you meet her, you must tell me her whereabouts. It will be of great use to me."
Suddenly remembering something, Cloud Retainer straightened her posture and spoke to Su Bai seriously. Though Su Bai didn't know why she wanted to find Azhdaha, he thought it might have something to do with their thousand-year history. Not wanting to get involved, he nodded in agreement.
"Excellent. Shenhe, you stay here in Jueyun Karst to meditate. You may go traveling again after this adeptus returns."
Cloud Retainer treasured her disciple greatly. For Shenhe's safety, she didn't want her involved in this messy affair. Though curious, Shenhe nodded in agreement. Cloud Retainer nodded with satisfaction, then flapped her wings and vanished.
Watching Cloud Retainer fly away, Su Bai let out a long breath. Finally, he had managed to send all three elders to Wangshu Inn. With Brother Xiao's authority and strength, he should be able to keep them under control.
"Ah~ finally done. Su Bai, can we go to Liyue Harbor to eat now?"
"Not yet. There's still one more important thing to handle before that."
"Huh? Important thing? But Paimon is so hungry."
Paimon tilted her head. She couldn't think of anything more important than food. She hadn't eaten all day and her stomach was about to cave in.
Grrrrrrr~
"What's that sound?"
Paimon looked around. Nothing strange. Lumine's face reddened as she covered her stomach. Having eaten nothing all day and trekked for hours, her stomach was already protesting.
Before, with commissions to complete and the adepti's strong presence to endure, she hadn't paid attention to her hunger. Now that things had calmed down, her stomach began to rebel.
"So it's Lumine's stomach. Good thing mine is hungry too. Do you have any food?"
Paimon's eyes lit up. So Lumine was hungry too. Now she had an excuse to ask her to cook.
Hearing Lumine's stomach, Su Bai patted his own. He hadn't eaten much today either, but being an adeptus, he didn't feel as hungry.
"Why don't we eat something here before heading back? I have some pork and pigeon. Let's just make some barbecue."
Su Bai took out some ingredients and handed them to Lumine. Of everyone present, only Lumine had the cooking skill. He trusted her with the ingredients.
Watching Lumine's movements, Shenhe's eyes sparkled with interest. She observed carefully, frowning occasionally as if puzzled by something.
Su Bai sat on a piece of broken rock. He didn't help Lumine. He needed to think. He pieced together the entire sequence of events. Though his intuition told him something was hidden beneath the surface, he found nothing unusual after going over it all.
"Something's not right. There must be something off."
"But what? Everything seems so normal."
"Wait, normal? Yes, isn't it too normal? As if... as if it were a play scripted in advance. As if everything unfolded exactly as someone expected."
This realization made Su Bai's fur stand on end. But he quickly dismissed the thought. If the assassination of Rex Lapis could truly be exploited by someone, then his own little schemes were nothing but childish tricks.
"Perhaps on Rex Lapis's divine body, I might find some answers."