Genshin Impact's Incense Burner Of Liyue [609]

“I think I’ve got a pretty good idea what you’re thinking.”

Zhongli patted Gu Sanqiu’s head. “Fighting is fine, but go easy on the place. You wouldn’t want the Grand Master coming back and looking for trouble, would you?”

“I’m the West Wind Saint, aren’t I? Breaking a few bits of terrain—do they really care about that?”

Gu Sanqiu grinned smugly. “If anyone’s got a problem, they can take it up with Venti. Not my responsibility.”

“Have you forgotten what your dear uncle is like?”

Zhongli shook his head. “If you go too far, he might just pull something like dreamwalking again—send Jean straight into your dreams to deal with you.”

Dreamwalking... wasn’t that the trick Dad used back in the day? That whole ‘I entered my own dream’ bit had been nothing short of brilliant.

Still, Gu Sanqiu made sure not to let anything show on his face—he didn’t want Zhongli catching on.

Yup. These things are way more fun when you keep them to yourself.

Because saying it out loud was a good way to get smacked.

“Now that you mention it,” Gu Sanqiu said, “that Grand Master Jean seems like a pretty powerful human, doesn’t she?”

He hesitated. “Dad, doesn’t Mondstadt have any formal ranking system for combat strength?”

“Hmm. As far as I know, purely in terms of strength, Jean would be a bit weaker than you. Physically and mentally, she’s gifted—but nothing extraordinary.”

Gu Sanqiu immediately puffed up with pride. So that meant Dad considered him one of the truly exceptional ones?

Excellent. Very excellent.

“But if the two of you really fought—and you didn’t use the Dominus Lapidis spears—you wouldn’t be able to take her down quickly.”

Zhongli continued, “Jean’s current path is similar to that of the young god from back then—she’s chosen to walk the road of mastery in weaponry.”

“But unlike the young god, Jean is Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius. She’s the de facto leader of Mondstadt in this age.”

“As battle heats up, she can call upon wishpower. Whether it’s the wish of a knight or the northern winds, I don’t know—but she’s a formidable little one.”

Gu Sanqiu got the picture. Knights with unwavering convictions didn’t just boast impressive combat stats—their emotional weight, their sense of duty as leaders, was often what kept them fighting when others would fall.

In short, if he ever had to go up against someone like Jean, the best move was to go all in right from the start. Don’t give her a second to recover or gather momentum.

Because even a small lapse might trigger a full-on “blood-lock burst combo” out of nowhere.

“As for the ranking system you mentioned, Mondstadt used to have one back in the day. Something about Windwalkers, or was it Agents of Freedom?”

Zhongli shook his head. “I never paid much attention to that drunken poet’s territory. After Mondstadt was ruled by the Lawrence Clan, most of the old records disappeared.”

“I see. Then I’m off.”

Gu Sanqiu tucked away the stone and was about to head out. “Oh, right—Dad, mind if I ask something? When you chose our clan’s ancestor to serve under you, establishing the bloodline we now call your retainers... did it ever cross your mind that we might turn out like the Lawrences?”

“Not even once.”

Zhongli’s voice was warm. “Trust is the foundation of command. If you doubt those under you, you’re already lost.”

Gu Sanqiu turned and made a silly face. “Okay, but say it plainly.”

Zhongli’s tone became even gentler. “If your family ever gets out of line, I’ll bury you all deep in the ground until you come to your senses.”

“Got it, bye.”

Gu Sanqiu bolted. He wasn’t sticking around long enough for his dad to get interested—he had no desire to be flattened before departure.

Zhongli clasped his hands behind his back. “Youngsters these days really don’t understand. How could the Lawrence Clan compare to your family?”

The difference between the Gu Clan and the Lawrences was vast. To put it simply—there was still a Geo Archon watching over the Gu Clan.

But during the Lawrence era in Mondstadt, Barbatos had gone into slumber for certain reasons. He could only break free briefly when the situation grew dire.

“The gods cloaked the shapes of desire in seven radiant colors... An interesting theory.”

Zhongli chuckled softly. “Seven colors of brilliance. But beneath that brilliance lie seven deadly sins, lurking in the shadows.”

If the Lawrence Clan had been twisted by pride and greed, magnifying their desires to the extreme—then the Gu Clan was something far more peculiar.

They were a family capable of holding all seven deadly sins in shadow, yet somehow danced constantly just beyond their reach—skirting, testing, provoking. Probably not even the one seated on the throne had expected such a thing.

Delusional, eccentric, and unpredictable—the Gu Clan could barely be read even by their own liege. And yet, strangely enough, they’d never succumbed to the corruption of sin.

Was it luck... or misfortune?

Zhongli sighed. In this world, very few could see the end of fate with just a glance—much less humans, the avatars of uncertainty.

As for the path ahead...

Forget it. What was the point of overthinking it?

Zhongli smoothed his robes and stepped out the door, ready to wander the streets and perhaps find a lucky soul to join him for tea.

The life of a wayfarer in the mortal realm—still ongoing.

Many had likely wondered: when you leave one place, does everything elsewhere pause in stillness until you return? Like time itself only resumes when you reenter that space?

A classic solipsistic worldview. But at least in Teyvat, it didn’t work that way.

Gu Sanqiu rode atop a white cloud, bringing Kaeya and Albedo back to Mondstadt. Along the way, he casually probed them about any recent developments.

After all, this was probably a commission from Venti himself—so some degree of secrecy was in order.

But the responses he got were mostly the same: Mondstadt was peaceful, the Knights of Favonius had flexed their strength during the Dragonspine battle, and no one was looking to pick a fight. Even treasure hoarders had seen a drop in crime.

So it’s not an external threat? Or maybe the intel hasn’t reached the Knights’ network yet?

Then again, it was entirely possible these two were just feeding him nonsense—for the sake of the kid traveling with them.

Gu Sanqiu mulled it over. If this was something serious, he’d have to ask that guy—the cold-faced flame himself. The Darknight Hero probably had a better handle on these things.

From what he knew of Mondstadt’s intel structure, Diluc might not beat the Knights in precision... but when it came to the deeper, shadier threads, his reach was serious.

After all, before becoming the Darknight Hero, Diluc had built a name for himself across the continent. He’d simply reined it in after returning home.

Outwardly cold as ice, but if he chose to unleash it, his flame could rival the fury of molten lava.

The city of Mondstadt was just ahead. The little loli asleep on his back looked impossibly peaceful—no trace of the chaos-loving, explosion-happy maniac she really was.

“What an interesting trip this has been,” Kaeya yawned, stretching lazily.

“Sanqiu, are you sure there’s not some particularly important reason you’ve come to Mondstadt?”

Even Kaeya, who rarely dug too deep, could sense something was off—especially with a trip from Liyue like this, at this timing.

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T/N: daddy zhoingli

This is a fan translation of 原神之璃月奉香人 by 淡白蛋清. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!