I, the Geo Archon Morax with 2.1 Billion Mora, Have Joined a Chat Group [83]

The lanterns of Liyue continued to glitter, their soft glow dancing in the night.

The agile Traveler darted through the bustling streets, pulling Paimon along as a group of rough-looking men dressed in Liyue’s traditional short-sleeved garb chased after them.

Initially, the Traveler planned to lose them by blending into the dense crowd. However, to her dismay, the pursuers loudly declared, “Official business from the Stone Gate Teahouse. Stand aside!” 

The mere mention was enough for most Liyue citizens to step aside without question.

“Hey, what’s going on?” Paimon exclaimed, half carried along by the Traveler. “Is that Stone Gate Teahouse part of the Fatui? Is Childe trying to capture us for interrogation?”

“And another thing—what’s wrong with Liyue’s people? A whole group of thugs chasing a single person down the street, and no one does anything to stop them?”

No one was there to answer her questions.

After several more minutes of running, the Traveler, now slightly out of breath, suddenly spotted something ahead and her eyes lit up. Without hesitation, she pulled Paimon into a bustling restaurant with an inviting glow.

She quickly found an empty table, sat down, adjusted her clothes, and casually waved to summon a server.

“What are you doing?” Paimon asked, still dizzy from the sudden chase. She clutched her head, trying to shake off the spinning sensation. “Weren’t we running away? Why stop now?”

The Traveler simply gestured toward the restaurant’s entrance.

The group of thugs that had been chasing them stood hesitantly outside the restaurant, their aggression tempered as they loitered at the door, unwilling to come in.

“This place... it seems safe?” Paimon turned her head, confused.

“Looks like it,” the Traveler said with a faint nod.

At that moment, the server arrived—a young woman with a warm and friendly voice.

“Welcome! What would you like to eat?”

The Traveler looked up in surprise, her gaze landing on the cheerful server.

The girl was brimming with youthful energy, her braided hair tied neatly with floral accessories. Her bright eyes sparkled with sincerity and confidence. She wore practical yet stylish attire, with a skirt that fell just above her knees, revealing even shorter shorts underneath. Her fair, smooth legs, wrapped in skin like jade, were adorned with a single red ribbon tied delicately on one side.

The effect was far more striking than bare legs alone, sparking a fleeting thought in the Traveler’s mind: Thank you for the feast for the eyes.

As the Traveler silently took in the sight, the girl suddenly beamed with recognition.

“Ah! Traveler, you’re finally here in Liyue!”

“Oh, it’s Xiangling!” Paimon greeted her enthusiastically. “So this is the famous Wanmin Restaurant you told us about.”

Xiangling puffed up with pride and gave her chest a light pat. “That’s right! This is my master Chef Mao’s Wanmin Restaurant, and it’s also the place I’m most proud of. So, Lumine, what would you like to eat today? Anything you want, I’ll whip it up for you! Well, except for Wind Dragon meat or raw Cloud Whale octopus. Master and Yaoyao would scold me for serving those.”

Her face suddenly lit up with excitement. “By the way, I heard you helped the Knights of Favonius in Mondstadt take down Stormterror and even became an Honorary Knight! Did you happen to save a piece of Stormterror for cooking? I’d love to make a dragon steak out of it—it must taste amazing!”

Hearing this, the Traveler was momentarily pulled back to the memory of battling Stormterror. The image of turning the majestic dragon into a steak dish popped into her head.

It might taste good...

No, no! Focus, now’s not the time for that!

The Traveler shook her head, forcing herself back to the present. She looked at Xiangling seriously and gestured toward the thugs lingering outside the restaurant, recounting everything that had just happened.

Xiangling listened carefully, her cheerful expression giving way to surprise.

“So the Stone Gate Teahouse is tied to the Fatui?” she mused, frowning as she glanced toward the doorway. “I heard that the Fatui have had trouble operating in Liyue because Lady Ningguang of the Qixing keeps them tightly restricted. I guess they’ve resorted to these underhanded methods.”

“Well, as long as you’re in Wanmin Restaurant, you should be safe. But if you leave, those guys probably won’t let you go.”

“What about reporting them to the Millelith?” Paimon suggested.

“That might not be easy,” Xiangling replied thoughtfully. “Since the news about Rex Lapis spread, security in Liyue Harbor has been a mess. Most of the Millelith are stationed near Rex Lapis’ remains to guard them. The ones left in the city are busy protecting major businesses and guilds. Ordinary people... well, they’re mostly left to fend for themselves.”

“Normally, only merchants operating in gray areas would keep bodyguards. The Stone Gate Teahouse you mentioned—it’s infamous as an underground casino.”

“A casino?!” Paimon exclaimed. “Liyue allows gambling dens like that?”

“It’s a gray area,” Xiangling admitted, shaking her head in disapproval. “You know how Liyue is founded on contracts. Places like casinos take advantage of loopholes in the law. I remember Lady Ningguang once mentioned revising the laws to close these loopholes, but for some reason—whether she got too busy or prioritized other legal reforms—this gap has been left open for years.”

“Ugh, it’s so frustrating! When I was a kid, I never heard of places like this,” Xiangling muttered under her breath.

“Uh...” The Traveler hesitated, unsure how to respond.

From her perspective, Lady Ningguang likely had her reasons for leaving such loopholes untouched. Everything the Traveler had learned about Ningguang so far suggested she was all-knowing and nearly omnipotent within Liyue Harbor.

“Not so fast!”

A clear, firm voice suddenly interrupted her thoughts, coming from a nearby table.

“Ningguang is not omniscient, nor is she omnipotent,” the voice continued. “She is, after all, no Rex Lapis. She can’t always get everything right.”

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This is a fan translation of 我，21亿岩王帝君加入聊天群 by 大一统. 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!