Genshin Impact's Incense Burner Of Liyue [597]

After the banquet, Liyue Harbor settled into a different kind of quiet. Even the youth who usually thrived in nightlife had burned out their energy. The calm that blanketed the city created a still and almost poetic beauty.

Albedo and Kaeya were staying at Xingqiu’s home. Our Second Young Master of the Feiyun Commerce Guild had long dreamed of meeting a high-caliber artist, and now that Albedo was here, he couldn’t wait to pull him and Kaeya into a night of deep conversation.

As for Kaeya, social king that he was, he hit it off surprisingly well with Xingqiu’s older brother. One struggled with a troublesome younger sibling; the other felt perpetually exasperated by his sworn brother. It was the perfect storm of mutual venting—two kindred spirits meeting in a foreign land.

Klee had been taken back to Wangsheng Funeral Parlor by Hu Tao. Gu Sanqiu didn’t bother stopping them—he only hoped those two little maniacs wouldn’t cause any major disturbance in the middle of the night.

As a makeshift jiejie, Hu Tao subconsciously imitated Gu Sanqiu’s past behavior. At least he didn’t need to worry about Klee picking up any weird knowledge… but there was one catch.

That kind of mimicry might lead Hu Tao to pick up Sanqiu’s particular brand of soft-heartedness. And if that happened, the odds of explosions echoing through the night would rise by at least two levels.

Gu Sanqiu hadn’t gone to sleep yet. He was still waiting to confirm one thing—whether Paimon possessed some kind of “instance-dungeon shaping ability.”

That strange fusion of dreams and time… and at the end, a Ley Line Blossom would bloom. The principles behind it were endlessly fascinating.

Given their current relationships—and the potentially terrifying figure who might be backing Paimon—Gu Sanqiu couldn’t very well toss her onto a lab bench. All he could do was quietly observe and wait.

Still, there were warning signs. Like the last time, after resolving the issue on Dragonspine, when Paimon’s appetite had suddenly skyrocketed and she devoured a ridiculous amount of food. That might’ve been a sign that a domain was under construction.

In the end, it was thanks to Venti’s reminder that Gu Sanqiu finally encountered his first proper trial domain. Andrius didn’t count—whether he let anyone in was entirely up to his mood.

If the Golden House battle could somehow be solidified into a domain, that would be both a blessing and a curse.

If the domain appeared somewhere remote, Gu Sanqiu could easily hand the land over to the blond—no problem. But the real issue was that the most likely place for this domain to form was right in the heart of Liyue.

That said, he couldn’t deny he was curious.

The next day, after hearing rumors of a “tiny glutton causing a stir at Wanmin Restaurant,” Gu Sanqiu abandoned his original plan to go fishing with Uncle Tian and made a beeline for Xiangling’s turf instead.

There, he saw the golden-haired boy looking like his wallet had just been emptied—or more likely, completely gutted.

That helpless, tortured expression was almost identical to the time Master Hu had gone on another spree of buying useless junk and then insisted it came out of the parlor’s public funds.

Nope. This problem’s too advanced. I give up.

“Back again?”

Seeing Gu Sanqiu, Aether let out a huge sigh of relief. Having someone familiar around meant that even if his wallet couldn’t handle the damage, he could always shamelessly borrow some Mora. He’d pay it back! Eventually!

Well… now that he thought about it, he still hadn’t paid back the last time…

Never mind, then.

As a moderately well-known adventurer, and an Honorary Knight receiving monthly stipends, Aether shouldn’t have been this broke.

But his little Paimon was just too good at eating. And every now and then, she’d insist on a lavish feast.

What could he do? He doted on her like family. When she asked for a feast, she got a feast. As a result, it was almost impossible to save any Mora long-term.

“But this time… she ate even more than usual.”

Aether pulled a pained face. Now that he remembered he still had an outstanding debt, he was too embarrassed to ask for more. Maybe Wanmin Restaurant allowed customers to open a tab… or repay their debt through part-time work?

He was pretty capable, after all. He could take commissions from the Adventurers’ Guild during the day, and then come back to Wanmin to work at night. Just one meal a day in return—that was all he needed.

The only problem was… would the owner think he was trying to scam free meals using Paimon as an excuse to bankrupt the place?

“Squad Leader, you came because you heard the rumors too, didn’t you?”

Xiangling grinned proudly. “Hehe, the fact that someone can eat this much just proves how delicious our Wanmin food is!”

With Paimon—the ultimate bottomless pit—sitting there as evidence, even though it wasn’t meal time yet, the crowd couldn’t help but feel their stomachs rumble. More likely, it was just plain temptation. Even nearby street stalls were seeing a mysterious uptick in sales.

An hour later, Paimon was lounging with a round, satisfied belly, digesting in bliss. Xiangling and Chef Mao were calculating the bill, while Aether stood nearby with a tortured look, trying to discuss sponsorship with the shopkeepers in the area.

They wanted to jointly hire Paimon as the official mascot of the Chihu Rock Culinary Association.

No ulterior motives—really. It was just that Paimon’s “combat power” was too terrifying. Onlookers were baffled. Where the hell had all that food gone? How could someone that small eat that much?

The pile of food towered several times taller than Paimon herself. The sheer contrast made a lasting impression. That alone was reason enough for the food vendors to want her as their face.

Thanks to the influence of the God of Contracts, most Liyue locals were practical, grounded people. Sure, there were the occasional nouveau riche or egomaniacs with bizarre behavior—but none of those would ever run a food stall.

Their motto: do honest work, earn honest pay, live a real life.

Getting sponsorship might mean hosting Paimon regularly at Chihu Rock events or food fairs, but hey—it was better than having an empty wallet.

“You could even sell her image rights too,” Gu Sanqiu suggested. “Mascot pins and badges, for example. They don’t even have an official association badge yet.”

As for what image to use?

That was easy. Little Paimon hugging a Sunsettia. Or anything like that, really.

Small-scale badges had to stay simple. If the design got too complicated, people would just stop looking at it altogether.

Simple, clear, memorable—that’s what made a badge worthy of representing an identity.

Whether Paimon could one day become the official mascot of all of Liyue Harbor’s culinary associations… well, that remained to be seen.

Being a competitive eater at high-end places like Liuli Pavilion or Xinyue Kiosk would probably break Aether wallet entirely.

High-end restaurants already had a reputation—they didn’t need a mascot. The whole “pile the table with food and have Paimon go wild” trick wouldn’t work for their branding.

So, yeah. It was going to be a long road.

After some hesitation, Aether finally shook his head. “Things like image rights… I’ll talk to Paimon once she wakes up. It’s important.”

When it came to things like this, Aether was always careful. He never made decisions for Paimon.

If it were just a temporary name-drop to ride today’s popularity wave, that’d be fine. But when it came to her image, it was a different story. They needed to have a proper conversation first.

Paimon was his partner—not his property.

“Fair enough. I can’t offer you much support, but I can hook you up with a decent lawyer,” Gu Sanqiu said, patting him on the shoulder. “By the way, did anything occur to you about this latest domain? Got any idea where it might appear?”

“The Golden House?”

---

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!