The Embers of King's Teyvat Journey

Ningguang looked at her exquisitely decorated Qunyu Pavilion. Perhaps Yu Jin was also a person who appreciated beauty? Maybe he wanted to study art?

“I’m not learning from you, I’m learning from Montgomery.” Clearly, Ningguang was overthinking it; Ember wasn’t the kind of person who liked art at all.

"Learn from me?" Mongot was somewhat surprised. Could it be that Ember had changed his ways?

“Yes, didn’t you tell me to learn more about human relationships? There’s a case coming up soon, can you tell me about it? I’ll learn from it.” Yu Jin nodded. For the sake of his shaky throne, he felt it was time to work harder.

He felt it was somewhat unreasonable for a king to be unaware of his subordinates' thoughts.

"Alright! Since the king has said so, I will definitely do my best!" Menggete nodded, a sense of confidence welling up inside him.

He looked at Ningguang intently, as if trying to see through her completely.

Ningguang felt the intense gaze of Montgomery and shuddered. "What are you two trying to do? Let me warn you, I finally managed to find time to meet with Ying, so don't cause trouble."

"It's okay, Ying and I are very close. Even if I mess it up, it won't be a problem," Yu Jin patted his chest, saying nonchalantly.

Ningguang was furious, but after glancing at Mongot's burning gaze and Ember's craning head to look down, she sighed helplessly.

"You two can look around as you please, but don't cause trouble!" After making this meaningless threat, Ningguang automatically ignored Mongot and Ember.

As the sun gradually rose from the east, and near noon, a new change finally appeared at Qunyu Pavilion.

The humming of the floating stone gradually became clearer. Below the Jade Pavilion, Ying and Paimeng ascended on a stone platform made of the floating stone.

"Huh? Tianquan... wait, why is it you guys?!" Paimon had vaguely seen the figures on the Jade Pavilion from below. She had thought it was Tianquan waiting for them, but it turned out to be Ember and Mongot.

"You're all ignoring me. I'm just here to observe." When Ember saw Ying and Paimon approaching, he voluntarily gave up his seat.

Meanwhile, Mongot, who was standing next to him, also turned his head, his intense gaze sweeping over Paimon and Ying.

The two women shuddered; they felt as if Montgomery had seen right through them.

"Well... alright then." Ying nodded, wiping the fine sweat from her forehead. She felt no longer surprised to see Ember anywhere.

Embers always seem to pop out from the most unexpected places.

Just as Ying was looking around for the so-called "Tianquan Star", the main hall door opened in the distance, and Ningguang came out with her three followers.

"Why haven't you gone down yet?" Ningguang asked in surprise when she saw Ember and Mongot still standing to the side.

Are these two guys so free? They can sit outside Qunyu Pavilion all morning even when nobody pays them any attention.

“Why go down? I’ve been waiting for this moment! Please—” Yu Jin bent down and gestured for him to go.

"Ahem...ahem, I've been waiting for you for a long time, you who have returned from Jueyun." Upon hearing this, Ningguang forcibly turned her head and greeted Ying and Paimon.

"Ning...Ningguang, nice to meet you. This is a gift we prepared. We hope you like it," Paimon said, also offering his greeting.

Ember looked up at Montgomery. Montgomery's gaze lingered on Luminous, Paimon, and Ningguang for a moment before he said calmly:

"I can't tell what the deeper meaning is; it's probably just a simple greeting."

"..."

"..."

"..."

Upon hearing this, the three turned to look at Montgomery. The latter, not to be outdone, retorted with a gleaming gaze.

"Oh, I see." Yu Jin nodded, a notebook suddenly appearing in his hand, and he was writing something.

After finishing writing, Yu Jin looked up and saw the silent crowd.

"Hmm? Why are you being so formal? Let's keep chatting," Yu Jin greeted him familiarly, acting as if he were no stranger to the conversation.

"call--"

Ningguang took a few deep breaths, then smiled at Ying and said, "Ying, right? I've been exchanging quite a few letters with that acting captain of Mondstadt, and she's praised you highly!"

"So, as soon as you arrived in Liyue, I deployed my spies. Finally, at Wangshu Inn, I gained complete control over your movements."

Ningguang crossed her arms and slowly revealed that she had been tracking Ying and Paimon.

"Is the owner of Wangshu Inn, Philgoldette, one of your people?!" Paimon asked in shock.

“No.” Ningguang chuckled lightly, then raised her head and said seriously, “The entire Wangshu Inn is staffed by our people.”

"Didn't you meet with [Yuheng] at Guizhongji before?" Ningguang recounted Ying and Paimon's experiences a few days ago, and coupled with her previous words, the aura of a mastermind was overwhelming.

"$＃%..." Paimon became incoherent. So they'd been under someone else's nose for all this time?

“This is an act of goodwill. Ningguang can see Ying, but Ying cannot see Ningguang. Now she is making this clear and giving up her intelligence advantage, which is an act of goodwill.”

Mongot tapped the floor with his cursed sword and continued, "There might be an underlying threat. If Seven Stars could track Firefly once, they could track it twice."

"If she's still involved with the Fools, she'd better think about whether she can evade assassination attempts while she's relaxing these days."

"Oh, I see." Yu Jin was impressed but didn't quite understand. Wasn't this just overinterpreting things? But since it was Meng Gut's speculation, it shouldn't be too far off.

"..."

"..."

"..."

Ningguang experienced what it meant to be drenched in sweat for the first time. She smiled at Ying and Paimon and said, "Just ignore what they say. Don't take it to heart."

"Okay...okay." Ying nodded stiffly. Seven Stars truly lived up to their name; even in just a few words, they conveyed so much profound meaning.

But without Montgomery's interpretation, would she really be able to understand it? Ying scratched her head, thinking that she probably wouldn't understand it.

“You first sought immortality, and then had a lot of contact with the Fools, so you must have many misunderstandings about us Seven Stars.” Ningguang composed herself and continued the conversation.

Ying nodded; she was still in a slightly dazed state.

From fleeing in panic, to the chance encounter with the young master, to seeking immortals in the mountains, to the ceremony of sending off immortals, and now to the Jade Pavilion, everything happened too fast, and people changed too quickly. Ying didn't even have time to sort out her thoughts.

Do you know about the [Demon God War]?

"I'm not quite sure." Ying shook her head. The Demon God War was too long ago, and many records have been lost to time.

“I remember that what’s called ‘Demon God’ here is dangerous after death, right?” Mongot asked Ember.

"Probably? There are remnants of a demon god after it dies, which are very dangerous," Yu Jin replied, as he had never witnessed a demon god die.

However, given the danger level of the demon god's remnants, if the demon god's remains are not handled properly after death, they will leave a poisonous legacy for future generations.

“That’s right,” Montgomery said knowingly.

"What did you mean?" Yu Jin asked.

"This statement is a test, a test to see if Ying's trip to Jueyun to seek the immortal was a misunderstanding."

"If she knew about the war between the demon gods, then she must have some knowledge of the dangers that demon gods pose after their deaths."

"Knowing that the Rock God is not dead, going to seek out the Immortal is deliberately cooperating with the Fools to cause trouble for the Seven Stars."

“But Ying just said she didn’t know,” Yu Jin added.

"So Ying was misled. She's not really an enemy of Qixing. There's still room for negotiation between Ying and Qixing."

Montgomery casually offered his interpretation.

“Oh, I see.” Yu Jin nodded, feeling that he would never be able to learn Meng Gut’s ability to read people.

Ningguang glanced at Montgomery, then at Ember, and remained silent for a long time.

She couldn't hold it in any longer.

Chapter 295 I've decided on you, Montgomery

2023-11-15

"Da da da!"

The sound of high heels clicking on the ground was so rapid. Yu Jin looked up and saw Ning Guang with bulging veins, and besides the bulging veins, she also had a creepy smile on her face.

"You don't need to tell me, I'll go by myself." As soon as Yu Jin saw that Ning Guang was about to lose her composure, he decisively threw away the paper and pen in his hand and ran into the main hall with Meng Gut.

As for learning to read people's minds? What a load of rubbish! If someone is stubborn, just take their soul out and examine them; there's no need for all that trouble.

With that thought in mind, Yu Jin quickly ran into the main hall of the Jade Pavilion. He had a good idea: he wanted to use the magnificent Jade Pavilion.

……

"Tsk! A rich woman is a rich woman indeed!"

As soon as Yu Jin entered the main hall of Qunyu Pavilion, he was attracted by its magnificent and resplendent decorations.

Bonsai, calligraphy and paintings, porcelain vases... countless exquisitely crafted antiques and paintings are displayed in the main hall of Qunyu Pavilion, subtly conforming to a certain pattern.

Of course, this pattern cannot be seen in the embers.

He looked at them from left to right, touching them here and there, occasionally letting out a sigh of admiration. However, it wasn't for the beauty of these things, but rather for his amazement at Ningguang's wealthy status.

To be honest, Ember hasn't really seen many wealthy women. He has some wealthy men, though; Sulley was probably one of the richest, but he was killed by Ember.

Later, Marika should have easily become a wealthy woman, but her boudoir was full of books, showing none of the regal bearing of a queen.

It's fair to say that Ningguang is the richest woman Ember has ever met.

Ember looked around, trying to find a suitable place to put his good idea into practice. Unexpectedly, he saw Montgomery carefully looking at something at a table.

"What are you doing?" Yu Jin leaned closer.

Montgomery looked up, holding up the journal in his hand, and said, "Your Majesty, I'm looking at this. I didn't realize that the Seven Stars' control over the Fools was even more thorough than I had imagined."

"Let me see!" Yu Jin didn't shy away from it at all, and directly took the log and started flipping through it.

The first thing that catches the eye is a summary that seems to have nothing to do with the Jade Pavilion:

"...The newly ordered 'Liyue Customs and Culture: Welcoming the Gods' has been sent to the Jade Pavilion. Please check it, Lady Ningguang..."

"What the heck? Ningguang likes Liyue's local customs and culture so much? She even sent someone to collect them?" Yu Jin flipped through the log and complained.

"Your Majesty, please look here." Montgomery casually flipped through the pages, and a few more lines of text appeared.

“...sentence three, two; sentence seven, eight; sentence eight, five; sentence four, four; sentence three, one…”

"What? What is this? Is it a couplet?" If the initial summary puzzled Yu Jin, then this sentence completely baffled him.

"Couplets? I don't know what couplets are, but if these coded messages are arranged like this, it should be this sentence..."

Montgomery's enormous, long fingers were unusually nimble; with each page he turned, he circled a word according to the code. In no time, he had finished the entire journal.