Chapter 6: The Conversation on the Jade Chamber

Chapter 6: The Conversation on the Jade Chamber

The Jade Chamber—a magnificent palace floating high above the skies of Liyue, suspended by geo-infused levitation stones.

It wasn’t just a marvel of engineering; it was the private stronghold of one of Liyue’s Qixing, the Tianquan, Ningguang herself.

On a clear day, standing at the edge of the deck outside its gates, one could gaze upon nearly the entirety of Liyue Harbor.

Its glittering elegance, coupled with the divine height it soared at, left no room for doubt—Ningguang stood at the pinnacle of Liyue’s merchant elite.

Once no larger than a modest chamber, the Jade Chamber had now grown to rival the moon itself, casting its shadow across the city beneath.

Much of Ningguang’s seemingly boundless wealth had gone into its continual expansion, employing the best artisans in Teyvat to transform it into a symbol of grandeur and power.

To Ningguang, the Jade Chamber was more than just a palace.

It was her legacy, a declaration of her authority, and a monument to the strength of her vision.

Normally, outsiders were forbidden from stepping foot here.

But today… a special guest had arrived.

“You went to Inazuma, didn’t you? Why are you back so soon?”

Ningguang asked, eyeing the woman standing before her—one hand resting casually on the hilt of a massive Blackcliff Slasher, the other carrying a wooden crate.

Beidou.

The Captain of the Crux Fleet.

The mere fact that she could walk freely aboard the Jade Chamber spoke volumes of the trust—and familiarity—between the two women.

“Ran into something on the way. Figured it was worth coming back to tell you in person.”

Without waiting for permission, Beidou reached for the tea on the table and downed it in one swift gulp.

She grimaced immediately.

Yeah… still can’t beat a good bottle of wine.

“The Fatui?”

Ningguang sat by the railing, gazing down at the moonlit harbor as she asked the question softly.

“…Huh? How’d you know?”

Beidou blinked, pausing mid-sip as she stared at her host in surprise.

She had planned to tease Ningguang a little—build up some suspense.

Didn’t expect her to guess it that quickly.

“The rebel movement in Inazuma is no trivial matter. You and I both know that,” Ningguang said with a small, knowing smile.

“If you’ve turned back early, there’s really only one possible reason: the Fatui.”

Beidou had originally set sail for Inazuma under the pretext of assisting the resistance.

But in truth, her mission was to investigate the Fatui’s activities there.

And from the look in her eyes now… the intel she’d brought back was far more valuable than any battlefield report.

“The Fauti got a new Harbinger, did you know about that?”

“Of course I did.” Ningguang gave a slight nod. “I’ve never been careless when it comes to information gathering.”

The Fatui were infamous for slipping agents into every nation under one pretense or another—but the other six nations weren’t idle, either.

Spies moved in both directions.

In fact, one hour after the Fatui officially announced the Twelfth Harbinger’s appointment, Ningguang already had the intel.

All she knew, however, was that this mysterious new Harbinger was the Ausbilder of the Pyro Agents.

His name, appearance, and capabilities were still under wraps.

“Did you know,” Beidou said, lowering her voice, “that he’s actually from Liyue?”

Ningguang’s expression shifted.

That… was unexpected.

“…Liyue?”

“Yeah. Judging by his accent, he’s from the Lisha outskirts. Not only does he speak Liyue dialect fluently—he still has contacts here. That crate over there is something he asked me to bring back.”

Beidou nudged the wooden box by her feet forward.

Her crew had already checked the contents, and there didn’t seem to be anything dangerous.

Still, with someone like Qiqi involved, Beidou wasn’t about to take chances.

Better let Ningguang give it one last look.

“…Coconut milk?”

Ningguang pulled out a bottle from the crate and gave it a sniff.

She didn’t drink the stuff herself, but thanks to a certain peculiar individual in Liyue, she was no stranger to its distinctive aroma.

“…He knows Qiqi?”

For the first time that evening, Ningguang frowned.

On the surface, Qiqi was just a simple herb gatherer and apprentice at Bubu Pharmacy.

But in truth… she was something far more rare—

A girl that is blessed by the adepti with a body that cannot die.

But judging from what she knew of Qiqi, Ningguang couldn’t recall the girl ever mentioning knowing someone from Snezhnaya, much less a Liyue native who ended up there.

Then again…

Qiqi was immortal.

As someone whose age far surpassed even Ningguang’s, it wasn’t unreasonable to think she might have known people Ningguang herself had never even heard of.

“Did this ‘Ausbilder’ say anything else?”

Ningguang’s gaze turned back to Beidou as she sealed up the crate of coconut milk.

She needed more information—any clue that could help her understand who this man truly was.

“He said: ‘A gift. For Qiqi. When you see her, just say… it’s from Xiao Bai.’ That was his exact wording.”

Beidou recited the message word-for-word, knowing full well how crucial even the smallest detail could be in such situations.

Especially… that nickname—Xiao Bai.

“A relative of Baizhu?”

Just like Beidou, the moment she heard the name, Ningguang immediately thought of Bubu Pharmacy’s mysterious owner—Baizhu.

He had close ties to Qiqi, and he bore the character ‘Bai’ (白) in his name.

“I’ve never heard of Mr. Baizhu having any siblings,” she continued, frowning slightly, “but if this man calls himself Xiao Bai, there’s a good chance he has some kind of connection.”

However—

Beidou raised another possibility, one she’d been hesitant to voice until now.

From her belt, she pulled out a small hip flask and took a quiet sip before speaking.

“—What if he’s just pretending to know Baizhu? Or Qiqi? Maybe he just gathered enough intel to fake a connection, hoping to throw us off?”

“Impossible.”

Ningguang cut her off immediately.

She didn’t even need to think about it.

“Qiqi likes coconut milk. That’s something almost no one in Liyue Harbor knows. Only a very select few close to her are aware of it.”

“For someone to know that… they must have actually known Qiqi. There's no way that part was faked.”

Xiao Bai.

Knew Qiqi.

Lisha outskirts...

Wait.

Lisha?

“You said he had a Lisha accent?”

“Yep,” Beidou nodded firmly. “And not just that—southern Lisha, to be precise. I’ve got people from there in my crew. I’m familiar with that tone—I’d stake my ship on it. No way I’m mistaken.”

Ningguang’s eyes narrowed as she turned her gaze toward the direction of Lisha.

“…Could it really be him?”

A name stirred faintly in her memory.

She remembered once asking Qiqi why she liked coconut milk.

At first, she thought someone from Liyue Harbor had handed the girl an odd drink.

But Qiqi gave her a surprising answer:

"Friend from Lisha... gave it to me. Cold... tasty."

That memory was suddenly all too vivid.

She had even led a small Millelith unit to search around Lisha, hoping to find this so-called “friend.”

All they found were a few scattered Treasure Hoarders—not a trace of Qiqi’s mysterious acquaintance.

But what if… that "friend" was this very same Xiao Bai?

The Twelfth Harbinger, the one who once lived in Lisha—who now claimed to be an Instructor of the Fatui’s Pyro Agents.

“Let’s go,” Ningguang said, standing up with a wave of her hand.

With a soft hum of geo energy, a floating stone tray formed beneath the crate of coconut milk, lifting it gently into the air.

“We’re going to Bubu Pharmacy.”

There was no point in speculating further.

If Xiao Bai truly knew Qiqi, there might be something left in her journals, in her notes.

Qiqi’s memory might not be the best… but she had the habit of writing everything down.

That could be the key to uncovering this mysterious man’s past.

“You’re taking it there without another inspection? Shouldn’t we have someone double-check the contents first?”

Beidou raised an eyebrow. Her reason for bringing the crate here in the first place was precisely because Ningguang had better resources for detecting hidden threats.

Especially when the package came from a Fatui Harbinger.

“Is there anyone in all of Liyue Harbor,” Ningguang asked calmly, “more qualified to examine it than Baizhu himself?”