Chapter 217

Outside Liyue Harbor!

Looking at the bustling city across a bridge in the distance, the two figures, one big and one small, were amazed but also let out a sigh of relief.

"Lumine, we finally arrived!"

Where the eyes could see was the wooden bridge leading to Liyue Harbor; Paimon could be said to have had a journey full of bitterness and tears.

Heaven knows what they had experienced on this journey.

Coming from Mondstadt to Liyue, the two had initially traveled together through Springvale, borrowed the path of the Dawn Winery, and entered the Stone Gate on the merchant road.

As a result, because they got lost, they encountered an elemental creature, an Oceanid, for no reason; the other party thought they were assassins, and it was only after a fight that they realized it was a misunderstanding.

Subsequently, that spirit kindly told Lumine the direction to Liyue.

Immediately after, the two walked through the marsh-filled Dihua Marsh and finally reached Wangshu Inn with great difficulty.

There, merchants and travelers finally started to become more numerous.

The two, who weren't very clear about the road conditions, followed them to Liyue.

"If I had known, I shouldn't have accepted the task; it would have been better to just come with Hearing Luo Li and the others." Little Paimon floated, hands on her hips, complaining.

The two had been sleeping in the open during this period and had lived extremely pitifully.

Walking in the wilderness, they had to go and rob Hilichurls of their things when they were hungry.

Occasionally they picked some wild fruits or ran into the lake to catch a few fish to roast and eat.

If they didn't get close to a civilized city, they would probably be assimilated into savages.

Lumine nodded silently, but it was a pity that she was too embarrassed to refuse when others asked for help.

"By the way, Lumine, when we were eating at Wangshu Inn, did you see that there was always someone standing on the roof?"

After a little complaint, Paimon brought up the previous question again.

"Someone standing on the roof?" Lumine fell into deep thought, and after a long while, she shook her head.

"Alright, maybe I saw it wrong. Hehe, the landlady over there, oh no, it should be the boss, was quite enthusiastic."

"Yeah, she added a small dish for us for free."

"Shall we go eat Shi Laimu ice cream later?"

"Do you have Mora?"

Paimon patted her chest with a giggle and said proudly: "Hehe, I secretly hid some before."

"..."

"What kind of look is that? You are not allowed to have designs on my Mora; this is mine. Hmm... at most, I'll buy some and let you have a bite later."

The two chatted as they approached Liyue Harbor.

Before long, they finally stepped onto the wooden bridge.

However, unlike the city in the lake that was disconnected from Mondstadt, Liyue Harbor was surrounded by mountains on three sides and the sea on one.

There was only an extremely narrow passage leading to the port, which could be said to be easy to defend and difficult to attack.

Paimon floated beside Lumine, looking at the streets ahead hung with countless red lanterns, and couldn't help but exclaim.

"Wow! So lively! So grand!"

Looking around, the towering and solemn ancient city walls stretched in a continuous line; at the port near the sea, ships were coming and going, and laborers unloading cargo were running constantly.

The watchtowers responsible for guarding stood in all four directions, and there were golden crane statues standing on the sea surface below, holding fluttering silk ribbons in their mouths.

And the soldiers guarding the streets patrolled back and forth with solemn expressions.

Even though they were only on the outskirts of the city, they could see lively markets set up on both sides of the road.

Most of them were small stalls and vendors; of course, the goods sold were not expensive, but they were numerous in variety, enough to dazzle anyone.

Lumine and Paimon walked all the way, simply overwhelmed.

Not just snacks and toys, but even antiques, paintings, daily necessities, minerals, and seafood—everything was available.

The hawking and the fragrance that kept wafting over made Paimon bite her fingers and drool.

"Too... too fragrant! I'm so hungry!"

The little one looked pitiful, struggling over whether to use her private Mora to buy Shi Laimu ice cream or enjoy the snacks.

Lumine touched her stomach, lamenting that it was truly difficult to move an inch without Mora.

Fortunately, she had earned quite a bit by completing tasks for the Adventurers' Guild and wouldn't be as strapped for cash as when she first went to Mondstadt.

Just as she was thinking this, she was stopped by a waitress from an inn.

"I am Xiuhua, a waitress at the White-Horse Inn. May I ask if this guest would like to dine or stay the night?"

White-Horse Inn?

Lumine thought for a moment, looked at the slightly grand inn, pondered for a long time, and agreed.

Coming to a strange place, one must first find a place to stay.

... Seeking flowers 0...

Moreover, this girl looked quite gentle.

Seeing her agree, Xiuhua was very happy, but halfway through her smile, she suddenly remembered something and said.

"By the way, my twin sister will swap shifts with me tonight. Please don't be surprised by her words and actions when the time comes."

Lumine: "..."

Is it too late to leave now?!

She always felt that she often encountered some strange people.

Lumine sighed and ultimately followed her inside.

During this time, Paimon asked curiously: "When we came in just now, we saw many foreign travelers and soldiers, and many of them were running toward the pavilion at the very top. Why is that?"

Xiuhua explained: "That is because today is the annual Rite of Descension of the Liyue Qixing. The Millelith are guarding the order, and the travelers all want to see the true appearance of the Geo Archon; maybe they will be touched by some divine energy when the time comes."

"Eh, today is the Rite of Descension?!"

Paimon was taken aback and shouted to Lumine, who had just reacted beside her: "Let's hurry and join in the fun; maybe we can even run into Hearing Luo Li and the others."

Lumine was also very interested, not just because of Hearing Luo Li, but also because she could see the Geo Archon and confirm whether the other party was the culprit who had separated her and her brother back then.