Arriving at Liyue Harbor, Mu Yang's first stop was to meet Ningguang.

He wanted to organize a major event, and securing a venue for such an event through Liyue's official procedures would be troublesome.

Mu Yang hated troublesome matters.

This was precisely why he had initially followed Lumine to meet Ningguang in the first place.

Now, not only had he firmly established his image through Ningguang, but he had also made her owe him a favor.

This was a win-win—he won twice by himself.

With a favor in hand, things would be much easier.

Mu Yang decided to go straight to the Yuehai Pavilion to find her.

Not wanting to bother with formalities, Mu Yang concealed his presence and leapt down from Mt. Tianheng, reappearing at the Yujing Terrace.

It was evening, and the Yujing Terrace was crowded.

Mu Yang's sudden appearance startled the people nearby.

However, some quickly recognized him—he was one of the Adepti who had appeared at the harbor that day.

The onlookers whispered among themselves, speculating about the Adeptus' purpose for coming here, but no one dared approach him.

Mu Yang strode straight toward the Yuehai Pavilion.

Addressing the Millelith guard at the entrance, he said:

"Kindly inform the Tianquan, Ningguang, that Mu Yang wishes to see her."

"Do you have an appointment?"

"No."

The guard hesitated.

From the young man's demeanor, he could tell this was no ordinary person.

However, the Qixing had their own rules.

To request an audience with Tianquan Ningguang, one needed to make an appointment in advance and submit a formal meeting request before being granted entry.

But this young man carried only a peculiar sword—there was no sign of him producing any documents.

In the end, the guard decided to stick to protocol.

If he had to report to Ningguang every time someone made such a request, wouldn't that lead to chaos?

The guard straightened his posture.

"My apologies, Mr. Mu Yang. To meet with the Tianquan, please follow the proper procedures to schedule an appointment."

Encountering such an upright guard made things a bit troublesome again.

"Mu Yang?"

Mu Yang turned—it was Ganyu.

…

"...That's how it is. Please place these on my desk first—I'll handle them when I work overtime tonight."

Ganyu handed some documents to her assistant, then hurried over to Mu Yang.

"How's your condition? Have you recovered?"

She asked with concern.

"I'm fine now."

"Then what brings you here?"

Ganyu didn't know why Mu Yang had come to the Yuehai Pavilion—in fact, he rarely even visited Liyue Harbor.

The guard, seeing Ganyu, explained:

"This gentleman wished to see Lady Ningguang, but he neither had an appointment nor a formal request. I could only follow protocol."

Ganyu assumed Mu Yang simply wasn't familiar with the rules.

After briefly explaining the situation to the guard, the man immediately became respectful.

"So you're the Adeptus who rescued the fishermen—my apologies for the oversight."

Mu Yang admitted he had been too abrupt and praised the guard's professionalism.

Afterward, he followed Ganyu into the Yuehai Pavilion.

——————

Ningguang's Office.

She and Yelan were playing a game of chess—"Liyue Millennial."

This was a board game Ningguang had designed herself.

The board was a scaled replica of Liyue Harbor's streets and terrain, complete with stalls, teahouses, shops, inns, and sundry stores.

It also came with dice of various sides—six, ten, twelve, and so on.

Players rolled the dice to determine their moves, landing on different locations to trigger events.

The winner was decided by the final amount of chips each player held.

In simpler terms, it was Monopoly but with a Liyue map.

So far, no one had ever beaten Ningguang—because she made the rules.

The calculations and chip distributions were so complex that most people couldn't even understand them without sufficient knowledge.

Most people in Liyue didn't play—it was too demanding.

However, because the pieces and board were exquisitely crafted, many bought it as a collector's item.

Ningguang casually rolled two dice.

"So, what have you found?"

"Mostly ancient legends, but they all seem to point to the same person."

Yelan flipped through the intelligence she had gathered over the past few days in Qiaoying Village and Yilong Wharf.

"A young Adeptus, swift as the wind, peerless in swordsmanship..."

She handed one document to Ningguang.

"This is the earliest record I could find—dating back to the catastrophe five hundred years ago."

Yelan raised an eyebrow.

"From that time onward, there were clear accounts of him protecting Chenyu Vale."

Ningguang took the document and read:

"The Millelith were held back by monsters... yet he alone, with a single sword, defended Qiaoying Village and Yilong Wharf."

"Those two places aren't exactly close to each other."

Yelan rolled the dice, and her piece landed on the former location of the Jade Chamber.

"If he could slice off all of the Vortex God's heads in one strike, this shouldn't be surprising, no?"

"What a shame—I didn't get to witness that scene myself."

Ningguang reached the end of the document.

"Once fought side by side with a four-armed Yaksha who called himself Bosacius..."

"The two drank three bowls of wine together before parting ways..."

Yelan's expression shifted slightly.

"About that, I also have—"

Knock knock—

A sound at the door interrupted them.

"Lady Ningguang, do you have a moment?"

It was Ganyu's voice.

Yelan stood up.

"Looks like we'll have to continue another time."

Ningguang nodded, tucking away Mu Yang's file.

"Come in."

As Ganyu opened the door, Mu Yang caught sight of Yelan leaving.

Yelan nodded politely at Ganyu and him.

However, Mu Yang still noticed something off.

Though Yelan's eyes had flickered with surprise upon seeing him, feigned expressions were still feigned.

As she herself had once said: "The eyes are the easiest to betray a person."

Mu Yang was certain—Yelan and Ningguang had already discussed him.

Maybe earlier, maybe just now.

He couldn't help but grumble internally:

"If possible, could you print out a copy of the files you dug up on me? Thanks."

"I'd like to learn more about myself too."

Ningguang had thought Ganyu was the one looking for her—she hadn't expected Mu Yang to be with her.

She had to admit, Mu Yang was impressive.

With an elusive Adeptus like him, no amount of intelligence networks would be of any use.

But this was nothing she couldn't handle.

Mu Yang wasn't the difficult type.

She stepped forward to greet him.

"My apologies for not receiving you properly, honored Adeptus."

"Just call me Mu Yang. I'm the one intruding—I came to ask for a favor."

Ganyu, standing to the side, spoke softly.

"Then I'll take my leave."

Mu Yang stopped her, hoping she could stay and offer her input.

So Ganyu remained.

Ningguang led them to the reception area, where the unfinished chess game still lay on the table.

"Forgive the mess—this is my old office, a bit cramped. I'll have Baiwen clean it up."

Mu Yang glanced at the board.

"This is...?"