Genshin Impact: Watch me turn the tables and kill my servants at the start!

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Bu Yun stood at the southernmost end of the pier extending into the water at the southernmost point of Liyue Harbor. He wore a dark gray robe, the hem of which was slightly lifted by the night breeze, and carried an unlit lantern in his hand.

As Fanes approached with Funina and Hu Tao, Bu Yun's gaze swept over the three of them in turn, lingering a little longer on Funina before moving on: "You've all arrived. Please follow me."

The floating stone rested on the water at the end of the pier. Bu Yun didn't explain much, but simply gestured for them to stand on it. Hu Tao was the first to jump onto the stone slab. After her feet landed, she gently stepped on it twice with a sense of novelty, as if checking its weight-bearing capacity and balance.

Funina stepped forward next, her posture of lifting her skirt more restrained than Hu Tao's.

Fanes walked at the back, and Little Black jumped off his shoulder, landing on the edge of the floating stone, curling into a small ball the size of a palm. After confirming that everyone was in position, Bu Yun raised his hand and gestured in a certain direction, and the floating stone began to rise steadily.

The lights of Liyue Harbor gradually spread out beneath our feet, the rooftops and streets shrinking into a fine grid in our view, with occasional warm light rays shining through the windowpanes and flashing through the gaps. The wind grew clearer as it rose, carrying moisture and the scent of pine trees from the distant mountains, brushing against the edges of the floating rocks and the hems of everyone's clothes.

As the outline of the Jade Pavilion emerged into the night, Hu Tao let out a short gasp: "Wow."

Walnut's voice wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally clear in the quiet wind high up. She stood on the edge of the floating stone, peering out—the Jade Pavilion was bathed in warm light, the copper bells hanging from the eaves tinkled softly in the night breeze, the ground was paved with dark-colored stone slabs, and translucent crystal lamps were embedded between the pillars. Beyond the edge of the terrace, she could see the myriad lights of Liyue Harbor below, like a star net inverted under the sky.

Walnut took two steps from the edge of the floating stone toward the terrace, then stopped and looked back at Funina: "Funina, have you been to a place like this before?"

Furina stopped beside her, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear, and said in a low voice, "No. I usually only move between Momang Palace and Fontaine. There aren't many buildings this tall in Fontaine."

Hu Tao didn't ask any further questions. She turned her gaze back to the Jade Pavilion in front of her, as if using the entire terrace as a reference point to calculate the spacing between the column bases and the distribution of light and shadow in her notebook, preparing for subsequent recording.

Ningguang stood by the open door on the inner side of the terrace, holding a cup of tea she hadn't yet drunk.

Ningguang watched as the three people on the floating stone descended one by one. Her gaze lingered on Fanes for a moment before settling on Funina and Kurumi, without saying a word.

When Fanes reached the center of the terrace, he greeted her in a casual tone, as if they had arranged to meet for tea: "Alright, I've brought my people with me."

Ningguang, holding the cup of tea, leaned against the doorframe and looked at him: "I didn't say you could bring people."

Fanes sat down in the chair opposite her: "You didn't say we couldn't bring people."

After circling the edge of the terrace, Hu Tao suddenly stopped. She turned her head to look at Ningguang, then at Fanes, and then at Funina, as if she were retrieving the chapters on social occasions from her internal manual one by one, comparing them with the current seating arrangement and the direction of gazes.

Hu Tao leaned close to Furnessa's ear and whispered, "Furness, I have a feeling we've been tricked."

Funina turned her head to look at her: "Is that so?"

Hu Tao turned slightly to the side, gesturing with her chin towards Ning Guang: "Look at this scene, it's obvious that Lord Tianquan Star wants to take down the boss. The boss brought us here to draw attention. Our current function is like being a lively accompaniment at a dinner table, except we're just humanoid figures filling the table."

Fryna's gaze darted back and forth between Ningguang and Fanes, as if re-examining the incomplete sequence of conversation already laid out on the table: "...Oh, is that so?"

Frynn paused slightly. "Then wouldn't this prove an old saying in Liyue?"

Hu Tao blinked: "What old saying?"

Funina shifted her gaze back to Ningguang, her tone remaining calm: "I was born before you were born, and you were born after I had grown old."

Hu Tao's expression brightened slightly when she heard the poem, as if she were using it as a reference to search for a previously saved but uncategorized note in her favorites. Then she waved her hand and said, "I thought you were going to say 'an old cow eating young grass'."

Funina paused slightly in her teacup when she uttered those four words. She turned to look at Hu Tao, her gaze carrying a subtle scrutiny that seemed to say, "You've only lived for a little over ten years, do you even know what I'm talking about?" But she didn't directly refute her; instead, she picked up her teacup and took a sip: "...Are you being polite? I'm already five hundred years old."

Hu Tao visibly paused when she heard "five hundred years old." She turned her head to look at Fu Ningna, her gaze carrying the air of someone readjusting parameters in a calculation: "...Ah? Then you really are...a very old blade of grass."

Fañes sat opposite him, not interrupting at all, as if using the crystal lamp as background noise and the rhythm of the entire conversation as a reference point, continuously watching the direction of the conversation.

Fanes picked up his teacup, took a sip, and then put the cup back on the table: "So tonight is just for tea and conversation, don't overthink it."

Ningguang leaned back in her chair, watching his composed demeanor. The corners of his mouth were still curved, but the curve itself remained unchanged, as if it had been stable in place for a long time.

"You must have a reason for bringing them here, right? It's the middle of the night, it can't just be to introduce my friends to me."

Fanes sat up straighter and held the teacup in his palm: "The first reason is that Hu Tao happened to be at Qiaoying Manor. She heard that Qunyu Pavilion had a good view of the night, so she came along. The second reason is that Funina has never been to Liyue before. I felt sorry for her being cooped up at home all the time, so I brought her here to broaden her horizons."

Ningguang leaned back in her chair and looked at him: "So you mean...?"

Fanes looked at her: "This is a good opportunity for you to meet the people from Fontaine."

Ningguang's gaze shifted from Fanes' face to Furnessa, lingering on her silhouette for a moment before returning to her own. She picked up her now-cold tea and took a sip. "Fine. I'm already here anyway."

Frynn sat in her chair and turned her head to look at Fanes, as if she were using the end of his previous words as a reference to recalibrate her own position: "...So you brought me to Liyue not just to see the tea plantations in Shenyu Valley."

Fanes leaned back in his chair: "Sinking Jade Valley is indeed nice, but it's worth it to visit Jade Pavilion while you're in Liyue. You've never been here before, and Hu Tao is here too, so we've got everyone together."

Funina sat in the chair, looking at the slowly burning candle on the table: "Fine. We're already here anyway."

Walnut was squatting on the edge of the terrace, taking pictures of the night view with her terminal. Her voice came from several meters away: "Boss! You can see the whole Liyue Harbor from here! Come and take a look—that row of lights in the harbor really looks like a glowing line, extending all the way to the breakwater before breaking off. And the density of lights between the rooftops and the streets is much denser than I imagined. I've counted several times and still can't get the exact number of lights—it's even denser than the street in front of the Hall of Rebirth!"

Fanes didn't get up, but simply responded in her direction, "I saw it. I'll have to figure out how to get a similar one when I get back!"