Genshin Impact's Incense Burner Of Liyue [568]

With the help of talismans, Gu Sanqiu effortlessly floated beneath the ceiling, silently trailing behind the Fatui researchers. As he moved, he gradually mapped out the entire facility’s layout.

It was a rather amusing scene—a completely oblivious person walking forward according to their routine, while right above them, an amorphous shadow with no discernible features lurked silently on the ceiling.

If they suddenly turned around, even if Gu Sanqiu didn’t deliberately morph into some horrifying form, the sheer shock of seeing something behind them would be enough to scare them out of their wits.

Gotta hand it to Snezhnaya—their construction skills are impressive.

Gu Sanqiu was mildly surprised. A hidden research facility built inside a mountain, and in such a short time too? If their engineering wasn’t up to par, this place would’ve turned into a giant mass grave by now.

Then again, it was Snezhnaya. This level of infrastructure was to be expected.

Military tech—accept no substitutes.

“Technical Research Lab… Counterfeit Experiments Lab… Wait, they even have a bathhouse here?”

Gu Sanqiu raised an eyebrow. Not because he had any interest in peeping on female researchers, but because he was mentally reconstructing the underground water flow in this area.

Going on a killing spree might be troublesome—but what if he poisoned the water supply at its source instead?

One little flick of the wrist, and the job’s done.

“Well, now that I’ve got the layout down… that’s that.”

Gu Sanqiu silently pressed himself behind one of the researchers, blending into their shadow as he slipped into the storage room where the finished products were kept.

Thud!

A muffled sound echoed as the researcher collapsed. Gu Sanqiu casually tossed aside the weapon he’d used—he wasn’t really trying for a stealth mission, so he didn’t even bother covering up the scene.

Not every situation needed some convoluted locked-room murder setup.

“…That’s a lot.”

Looking at the neatly packaged Sigil Of Permissions lined up on the shelves, Gu Sanqiu twitched slightly. The whole setup gave him the odd sensation of walking into some big-shot hermit’s hidden convenience store.

Picture this—Master Zhongli, shades pushed up onto his forehead, lounging on a deck chair, playing some handheld game. Next to him, Xiao, wearing a cashier’s apron and a uniform cap, scanning items with the cold, detached precision of a serial killer.

Surrounding them? A bunch of lovestruck girls with hearts in their eyes—and maybe even a few shy, blushing guys.

…Yep, I can see it now.

Suppressing a chuckle, Gu Sanqiu glanced at the unconscious researcher on the ground. Without hesitation, he grabbed the person’s hand and used it to lift one of the talismans from the shelf.

No reaction?

He let go of the researcher and tried picking one up himself.

“Well, well… not even the most basic alarm system?”

“Whatever. That just makes my job easier.”

At ease, Gu Sanqiu swept the entire stock into a bag like a thief raiding a house, slinging the full load over his shoulder.

Now, he had to decide—should he turn this facility into a mass grave?

It’d certainly be a good way to send some extra business to her.

Sure, the Fatui would inevitably retrieve their dead, but someone still had to handle the cleanup before that, right?

And just like that—boom, new business opportunities!

If there’s no demand, we’ll create demand! (Cross that out.)

…No, this wasn’t the kind of demand he should be casually creating.

After some thought, Gu Sanqiu decided to let it go. Keeping his allies in Liyue Harbor was the safest bet—under the watchful eyes of powerful figures, nothing could go too wrong. Out in the wild? Not so much.

A golden cage?

No. They were more like sweet glutinous rice dumplings in the Gu family’s soup bowl.

“Aaah, this makes things so much easier. So many talismans—it’s practically a jackpot.”

“A jackpot, huh? You don’t strike me as someone who gets excited about wealth.”

…?

Gu Sanqiu narrowed his eyes and turned his head. “Why is it that people always feel the need to interrupt my self-reflections? Don’t you know that’s rude?”

The voice belonged to an ordinary-looking researcher. And yet, despite standing before a massive shadowy figure, they showed no fear—in fact, they were smiling.

“The first guest of this research facility… and possibly the last. By the way, could you return my colleague to me?”

“In your dreams. This guy’s my hostage.”

Gu Sanqiu lifted the unconscious researcher. “And you are? Some hidden bigshot?”

Was this Rosalyne’s doing?

To be honest, he had Childe locked down so tightly in Liyue that his productivity here couldn’t possibly match La Signora’s. The sudden appearance of some mysterious figure with major presence? Had to be her arrangement.

“No, no, no. That’s not a hostage, because we don’t have an actual conflict of interest.”

The researcher slowly put on a silver mask. “Isn’t that right, my friend—Gu Sanqiu, the Incense Burner?”

“…The Doctor. Dottore?”

“Correct. This must be our first meeting, yes?”

Dottore spread his arms wide and let out a wild laugh. “For the sake of our friendship, I traveled all the way to Liyue just to see you! Hahahaha!”

“Oh, wonderful. Fantastic. You actually had the guts to show up on my turf.”

Without hesitation, Gu Sanqiu dropped his disguise. There was no point playing tricks against someone this intelligent.

Besides, he couldn’t be bothered to play dumb.

“Alright then—how do you want to die?”

His Pyro-charged armor gleamed a radiant Geo gold. One hand wielded the gale-force winds, the other rested on his shoulder, gripping a craggy spear. The sheer force he emanated sent violent tremors throughout the facility!

“No, no, my dear friend. We are kindred spirits! Why must we resort to such barbarism upon our first meeting? I am not a bloodthirsty lunatic like Tartaglia.”

“Before you call someone else a lunatic, maybe take a good hard look at yourself.”

Gu Sanqiu’s tone was flat. “And by the way—I can switch seamlessly between being a brute and a madman.”

Dottore’s eyes gleamed with both amusement and curiosity. “Oh? And which are you now?”

“A brute with serious mental issues.”

A fusion of three elements surged into Gu Sanqiu’s right fist—before he launched a devastating, explosive punch straight at Dottore’s head!

“My, my. No need for such hostility. It’s not like we’re mortal enemies.”

Dottore dodged effortlessly, only to find himself trapped as massive Geo pillars erupted from all sides, sealing him in.

“You do realize where this facility is, don’t you?”

Gu Sanqiu’s Delusion pulsed, his Geo energy stabilizing while suppressing the other two elements. The entire mountain range became his domain.

“This is my territory.”

“And yet, that has nothing to do with me, does it?”

Dottore shrugged. “If not for Liyue’s adeptal arts being mildly intriguing, I wouldn’t have lingered here at all. After all, inferior minds never solve great mysteries.”

“Oh, by the way—this isn’t actually me. If you really want to kill me, then come to Snezhnaya. I’ll be waiting.”

Dottore’s grin widened. “One last question—was the content of your letter true?”

“You already suspect the answer, don’t you? Otherwise, you wouldn’t have been so generous in handing me a Delusion.”

“Hah. Fascinating. Looks like stopping here on my way through Liyue was the right choice.”

Dottore burst into laughter. “Oh, and you wanted those talismans? Take them! Take them all! But I must be off now. Until next time, my friend.”

“The day you face the real me… I shall bring you a gift unlike any other.”

Dottore’s figure vanished just before Gu Sanqiu’s next attack landed. His expression darkened.

These talismans… were just spares?

Dottore wasn’t concerned at all. Could it be that the Fatui’s final operation… had already begun?

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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!