In Genshin Impact, I'm really not Muzan.

So, after observing the Stone Gate for two more days without finding any trace of Muzan Kibutsuji, they set off back to Liyue Harbor, leaving only about ten Thousand Rock soldiers to guard the area, which was already quite a number of men.

Starting from Stone Gate and heading south, it will take at least three days to reach Liyue Harbor.

However, that applies to ordinary people. For powerful individuals like Suzumiya Yu and the Sage, traveling at full speed from Stone Gate to Liyue Harbor would only take a day.

They left Shimen in the morning and Liang Gongyou and the others arrived at Dihuazhou at noon.

Because it is covered with lush reeds all year round, it got its name from the reeds. It is a scenic spot in Liyue, and you can also see the Statue of the Seven, the Geo Archon Morax, here.

The terrain is not much different from that in the game, and there are not many monsters around, because the General Affairs Department regularly sends the Thousand Rock Army to wipe out the monsters in the area to prevent passing merchants from being attacked.

Even so, every year in Liyue, many merchants are attacked by monsters. If they are lucky, they can survive; if they are unlucky, they will perish along with their goods.

Daytime is relatively safer than nighttime. After all, monsters also possess a certain level of intelligence. They know that daytime activities might lead to encounters with the Thousand Rock Army, so most of the time they schedule their activities for nighttime.

There are very few inns or similar places in the outskirts of Liyue. To prevent merchants from having nowhere to rest at night, Wangshu Inn was created.

On the surface, Wangshu Inn is a place for merchants to rest and pack their belongings, but behind the scenes, it is a meeting place used by Tianquan Star Ningguang to gather intelligence.

In places like taverns and inns, it's very easy for casual conversations to reveal information unknown to ordinary people, and Wangshu Inn is no exception.

Suzumiya Yu really liked Ningguang's words: "The entire Wangshu Inn is staffed by our people."

Of course, if we include that guardian yaksha, we might have to exclude him, since even the Seven Stars of Liyue don't have the authority to directly command immortals.

Besides Gan Yu...

......

Night fell quickly, and to prevent any unforeseen circumstances, Suzumiya and the others arrived at Wangshu Inn before dark. After making some preparations there, they set off for Liyue Harbor, as there were no other places to rest along the way.

To ensure they got enough sleep, the other members of the Chiiwa Army went to bed early. Since Suzumiya Yu was a demon, he didn't need to rest. To avoid being discovered by the guardian yaksha, he chose to take a walk outside the inn.

The nights in Liyue are very peaceful. Since the rainy season has just ended, there is a hint of earth in the air, and even the yellow soil on the ground is not yet completely dry.

Liang Gongyou wandered aimlessly, not going too far, but just moving between Guili Plain and Dihua Island.

Suddenly, he saw a familiar figure on a large tree in the distance. Because the demon had the ability to see at night, he quickly recognized it as Keqing, who had been with him during the day.

Keqing's appearance puzzled Suzumiya Yu. It was already late at night, and Keqing should have been resting long ago. Why was she here?

Judging from the aura, it should be Keqing herself, not some kind of monster in disguise.

Since no one was around, Ryou Miyako walked up and deliberately made a noise to attract the other party's attention.

Keqing turned around warily, but when she saw it was Suzumiya Yu, her tightly furrowed brows relaxed, and she then revealed a slightly forced smile.

"Can't you sleep either?" Ke Qing asked.

"Why did I say 'also'? Because you can't sleep either, right?"

Isn't it obvious?

Keqing turned her head back and looked at the distant sky, which was in the direction of Liyue Harbor and always gave her a strong sense of belonging.

"There must be a reason why you can't sleep." Ryou sat down next to Keqing without permission, causing the thick tree branch to creak as if it might break at any moment.

Keqing sighed softly upon hearing this: "I've been wondering why Muzan Kibutsuji came to Liyue. What is his motive? I still can't figure it out."

Keqing voiced the confusion that had been building up in her heart for a long time.

She was well aware that Muzan Kibutsuji was a powerful enemy, which was why she took it so seriously. But she couldn't understand why he, who was doing so well in Inazuma, would come to Liyue.

She hoped that Suzumiya Yu could answer this for her, since he possessed a great deal of information about Kibutsuji Muzan.

“Who knows?” Unfortunately, Suzumiya Yu’s answer disappointed her. “Kibutsuji Muzan is a very mysterious person. He has great ambitions. If he weren’t weak, he probably would have overthrown the Shogun’s rule.”

"You mean he came because Liyue has lost the protection of the gods?" Keqing drew a conclusion from Suzumiya Yu's words, not knowing whether she was joking or serious.

"That's a possibility, but if I were Muzan Kibutsuji, my first target would definitely be Mondstadt, not Liyue."

"Why do you say that?" What Suzumiya Yu said piqued Keqing's interest.

Suzumiya Yu replied, "Grand Master Falgar of the Knights of Favonius has led four-fifths of the Knights of Favonius on an expedition, leaving Mondstadt vulnerable, with only an acting Grand Master and the Dragon of the East who recently betrayed Mondstadt."

"That wind god who pursued freedom has not appeared for a full thousand years. Who knows if he perished in that place? In comparison, although Liyue has lost the Geo god, it still has many immortals who participated in the Demon God War. Its overall combat strength is much stronger than Mondstadt."

"So, if I were Muzan Kibutsuji, my first target would definitely be Mondstadt rather than Liyue. As for why he abandoned Mondstadt and chose Liyue... I have no idea. Who knows what that guy was thinking?"

Chapter 168 Conversation Under the Moon

Although that's what she said, Suzumiya Yu's inner thoughts were completely different from what she showed on the surface.

In his view, Mondstadt's overall strength is indeed much lower than Liyue's, but it should be noted that Mondstadt and Liyue are connected.

If something happens in Mondstadt that they cannot handle, they will inevitably ask Liyue for help, and Liyue, unwilling to let go of this opportunity to establish diplomatic relations, will naturally not refuse.

At that time, Yui Suzumiya will have to deal with both Mondstadt and Liyue at the same time, and the difficulty of the dungeon will be no less than that of Inazuma.

On the contrary, if he chooses Liyue, given Liyue's overall strength, it would not easily ask Mondstadt for help. Moreover, Mondstadt itself is short-handed, so how could it possibly have the spare capacity to help Liyue?

Suzumiya Yu knew this very well, which is why he chose Liyue as his second target. If he could clear Liyue, then Mondstadt would be a piece of cake.

Having defeated Morax, the Rock God, why would he be afraid of Barbatos, the Wind God who spends all his time slacking off?

“What you said makes a lot of sense. However, Liyue has entered an era of rule by men. The Liyue that used to live only under the protection of the Emperor and the immortals no longer exists.” Keqing agreed with Ryou's point of view, and then refuted it.

"But if... Muzan Kibutsuji's strength is enough to rival a demon god, can the Seven Stars of Liyue really deal with him?" However, Yui Suzumiya's soul-searching question left Keqing speechless.

Before the Geo Archon fell, she would definitely have said without hesitation, "No matter who it is, we, the Liyue Seven Stars, can easily defeat them."

But things are different now, because two years ago, she faced the Vortex Demon God Oser, who had been resurrected by the Fools using the Unfettered Talisman, together with the immortals.

The battle was extremely fierce. Osel was at sea, and they couldn't get close at all. The ranged attacks had very little effect.

Even when they joined forces with the immortals, they only managed to reseal Oser at the cost of the Jade Pavilion.

The Jade Pavilion, which Ningguang spent so much time building, has been destroyed. This is a huge loss for Liyue. Even the seven stars of Liyue would find it incredibly difficult to rebuild the Jade Pavilion.

Because it requires a lot of financial and human resources, some of the materials needed to build the Qunyu Pavilion are already very difficult to find.

Having had that experience, Keqing no longer dared to underestimate the Demon God, because she knew that it was a power that mortals could not contend with. If it weren't for the help of immortals, Liyue Harbor would probably have been submerged by the sea long ago.

Of course, that's only if the Rock King Emperor doesn't intervene. If Oser really defeats the Seven Stars and the Immortal, then the Rock King Emperor will personally take action and suppress it again.

“You’re right…” Keqing lowered her head slightly. “Without the help of immortals, we wouldn’t be able to contend with the demon god with our own strength.”

"However, I only say such things when I am Keqing. If I were the Seven Stars of Yuheng, I would never say such discouraging words."

After saying that, Keqing raised her head again: "Speaking of which, have you ever had any direct contact with Muzan Kibutsuji? Or... have you been chasing him all along without ever encountering him?"

“That’s not the case,” Yuu Ryou shook her head. “I have encountered Muzan Kibutsuji at least three times and fought him at least three times, but each time he would escape before dawn and I could not catch up with him.”

"Even you can't defeat him?" Ke Qing was somewhat surprised. Liang Gongyou was so strong, yet he couldn't defeat Kibutsuji Muzan. Could it be that he really possessed the strength of a demon god?

But if that were the case, Suzumiya Yu would have died long ago. After all, he was just an ordinary person, and no matter how strong he was, he could never be a match for a demon god.

"Don't think of Muzan Kibutsuji as the thieves or the fools. He's smart. All his actions are for his own purposes, and he always leaves a backup plan, so you can never figure out what he'll do next."

“I’ve been dealing with him for several years, so I know his personality very well. As long as he can survive, he doesn’t care if all his subordinates die for him.”

Upon hearing this, Keqing couldn't help but frown. Suzumiya Yu's description made her feel contempt for Kibutsuji Muzan from the bottom of her heart.

If he could generously accept defeat or die, I could respect him as a strong person. But to resort to any means to survive is truly disgusting.

Yuu Suzumiya read Keqing's thoughts from her changing expressions, but he didn't pay any attention to it.

In his view, Muzan Kibutsuji and Yui Suzumiya are not just two names, but also two different versions of himself.

No one would consider Muzan Kibutsuji and Yui Suzumiya to be the same person, not even himself.

"Speaking of which... what exactly was your purpose in chasing Muzan Kibutsuji all the way to Liyue? Even if General Raiden trusts you, he wouldn't necessarily specifically name you to carry out this mission."

Keqing voiced her doubts: if she were the Thunder General, she would never have let Suzumiya Yu go to such a far place to take risks.

After all, Muzan Kibutsuji is a very cunning enemy, and one could easily lose their life at his hands if they were not careful. If Yui Suzumiya were to die, it would be a huge loss for the Inatsuma Shogunate.

"You're asking me this question?" Ryou Miyako smiled slightly. "Before that, I'd like to hear your answer. You are now one of the Seven Stars, but before that, did you ever have a thought?"

"I was born into this world to benefit the land of Liyue, which is why I became one of the Seven Stars. So I must fulfill my mission no matter what."

Ke Qing was slightly taken aback when she heard this. She did not expect Liang Gongyou to say such a thing, and for a moment she even found it difficult to understand his meaning.

"It is true that it is my mission to benefit Liyue, but I do not believe, as you say, that I was born into this world to benefit Liyue."

Keqing answered Suzumiya Yu's question, and now, the roles of the answerers should be reversed.

“Not a bad answer, but you must be very curious, right?” said Ryou Miyako. “Why did I become famous overnight, when I was just an unknown nobody who never showed my face in public before?”

"This brings me to my childhood. I wasn't born in the bustling city of Inazuma, but rather lived with my parents in a remote mountain on Hachiyun Island."

Chapter 169 Suzumiya Yuu, Targeted by Xiao

“My family has been warriors for generations, all of us have practiced martial arts. This tradition has been passed down to my generation, and I happen to have some talent in swordsmanship, so I have achieved some success at a young age.”

"That day, I left home alone to go out for a trial, and then I encountered Muzan Kibutsuji for the first time in Kannazuka. At that time, he was about to kill two passers-by. I mistook him for a sea monster, so I drew my sword and attacked."

"What surprised me was that Muzan Kibutsuji was very strong. Even I found it quite difficult. Fortunately, it was almost dawn, and Muzan Kibutsuji, who could not move in the sun, had no choice but to leave."

"After that, I learned about him from those two passersby. At that moment, it was as if by some unseen force that I had the idea that I must have been born into this world to destroy Muzan Kibutsuji."

"So I went home to say goodbye to my parents and then joined the shogunate. At that time, the Eye Hunting Edict and the Isolation Edict had not yet ended. I could not bear to see the people living in misery, so I took this opportunity to face the shogun directly."

"You know what happened next. The general announced the abolition of the Eye Hunting Edict and the Isolation Edict, and I also made eliminating Muzan Kibutsuji my life goal."

Suzumiya Yu had to admire her own storytelling ability. Although some of the content was based on Yoriichi Tsugikuni's life experiences, most of it was her own idea.

Keqing was also somewhat shocked after hearing this. She did not expect that Suzumiya Yui would make eliminating Kibutsuji Muzan her life goal after only fighting him once.

This made her understand why Suzumiya Yui would chase Kibutsuji Muzan all the way to Liyue.

"I really admire you; you have such extraordinary perseverance." Ke Qing looked up at the full moon in the sky, and her profile was extremely charming under the bright moonlight.

It seems that Keqing completely took Suzumiya Yu's words seriously and didn't consider whether they were true or false at all. If it were Ningguang, she would probably be thinking about a lot of things.

"However, as your friend, I would prefer that you prioritize your own life. If you die with regrets, what is the point of all you've done? How will future generations judge you?"

"I haven't thought about such things, but I can consider it. Maybe what you said makes more sense."

......

"It's getting late, I'm planning to go back and rest, you should go back early too."

It was already past midnight. Suzumiya Yu and Keqing had been chatting in the tree for a long time, but unable to bear the fatigue, Keqing decided to go back first.