Genshin Impact's Incense Burner Of Liyue [505]

"Make sure to be mindful of your technique when painting the markings," Albedo instructed. "If you’re not confident in this sort of thing, you can just tell me where you’ve set up the traps."

"No need. Now that I have a template, I’ve got this covered. As long as no professionals come poking around, no one will be able to tell the difference."

Please. Did Albedo really think so little of him?

His family had a whole collection of antiques. He had spent years surrounded by them—if nothing else, he had at least learned the art of forgery.

If the old man couldn’t instantly spot a fake, Gu Sanqiu would have flooded his collection with counterfeits and drained his savings.

...Wait.

The old man didn’t have savings.

Never mind, then.

With the traps in place, they finally moved on to dismantling the nearly scrap-metal remains of Maguu Kenki.

"There are quite a few islands scattered around. How do we distribute the parts?"

Albedo considered it. "Since we’re aiming to mimic Lady Alice’s methods, we should spread more pieces across the larger islands. But we should also do the opposite—place a few important parts on isolated islets."

Oh.

Oh, this was just like those cursed treasure chest placements.

I like it.

He wasn’t the one who had to search for these, anyway. If not for the fact that scavenger hunts could get frustratingly tedious, he’d have suggested throwing some pieces into the ocean just to crank up the difficulty.

Not a bad idea, really.

Might as well give Klee and the musclehead something to burn their excess energy on—those two acted like they never needed rest.

"This is the last island. Aside from the one Lady Alice clearly sealed off, we’ve done all we can," Albedo noted.

He tapped the ground beneath them. "Also, you’ve noticed by now, haven’t you? This entire landmass is just the visible tip of the iceberg."

"Purely mechanical in nature, huh? Then we’ll leave it for them to figure out."

Gu Sanqiu waved a hand dismissively. "Go ahead and signal them. I want to see what kind of fun things that sealed island is hiding."

Wait a minute.

Gu Sanqiu suddenly had a realization.

If the reason behind this archipelago’s existence remained unchanged, then wouldn’t that mean the ending wouldn’t change much either?

…

Could he see swimsuits?

Excellent!—No, wait.

He immediately dismissed the thought.

If the people coming to the Golden Apple Archipelago remained the same, that meant one was a hardcore Diluc fangirl, and the other was his own student.

Neither of them were exactly prime candidates for swimsuit appreciation.

Ahem. Time to be serious.

Once Albedo had finished setting up the alchemical device, Gu Sanqiu grabbed a handful of sand and unceremoniously chucked it at him.

"Oh, right. When we meet up with them, we should make sure we look a little worse for wear. That’s an important part of our cover story."

"Ah. Playing for sympathy?"

Albedo scooped up a handful of sand and retaliated. "A sound approach. Though, I didn’t bring a change of clothes."

"I did."

Gu Sanqiu produced several identical sets of clothing with a flourish.

"You’ve seen my titan form in battle. I always keep spare clothes ready, so don’t worry about it."

"I see."

Gu Sanqiu smirked. "Yep, that’s right."

Albedo pondered for a moment, then raised a hand.

A massive wave surged toward them.

"Compared to falling into a sandpit, getting drenched in seawater will make us look far more pitiful," he reasoned.

"You absolute—!"

Gu Sanqiu’s curses were swallowed by the wave.

By the time the water receded, both of them were lying on the beach, soaked and breathless.

Gu Sanqiu burst out laughing. Even Albedo had a faint smile on his face.

Albedo turned to him seriously. "Sanqiu, thank you for coming."

"Enough with the sentimental talk. Why do I feel like you’re about to confess to me?"

"Sunshine. A beach. Two people lying side by side on soft sand. If I had to guess, you’ve been reading too many romance novels."

"...Fair point. The setting does invite certain thoughts."

Gu Sanqiu ruffled his wet hair. "What do you think about Diluc and Jean? I feel like they’d be a good match. I remember Kaeya trying to set his brother up recently."

Albedo mulled it over. "Knowing Kaeya, he probably did it just for amusement. I doubt there was any deeper meaning behind it."

"As for Diluc and Acting Grand Master Jean…" Albedo paused. "Honestly, no matter how ‘well-matched’ they seem to others, that holds no weight in their personal relationship. Whether they end up together depends entirely on how they see each other."

"That said, from a political standpoint, a marriage between Mondstadt’s commercial leader and its acting grand master could certainly strengthen the city’s unity."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa."

Gu Sanqiu hurled another handful of sand at Albedo’s face. "I’m talking about romance gossip, not some high-level political strategy! Is that really what you should be thinking about right now?"

"And what about you?"

Gu Sanqiu scoffed. "Please. Women would only slow down my path to godhood."

It wasn’t even an exaggeration.

With Decarabian having relinquished his authority to him, the throne of the Tempestuous King lay vacant. If he wished, claiming the seat was merely a matter of time.

"I see."

Albedo stood up, brushing sand off his clothes. "The ship is almost here. Let’s put this conversation on hold for now."

Gu Sanqiu got up as well. "Fine. I was going to ask if you had any romantic interests, but…"

If anyone fit the bill, it’d be that green-haired scholar with glasses.

But considering they were both research fanatics, would they even recognize their own feelings?

Probably not.

In fact, pairing those two up seemed way more challenging than getting Jean and Diluc together.

Even if they were placed at the same table for a matchmaking dinner, the conversation would inevitably derail into academic discourse within three sentences.

And even if Mondstadt introduced a "couples restaurant" concept in the future, people would just assume Albedo and Sucrose had simply chosen a poor location for their research meeting.

Honestly, did Teyvat even have a god of love and prosperity?

Even if such a deity existed, Gu Sanqiu suspected they’d just throw their hands up and yell, "These two are beyond saving!"

He stroked his chin.

This might be an interesting challenge for the future.

---

"Dodo-King! Klee’s coming to get you! Ahaaa!"

A fierce little battle cry rang out from the ship’s bow.

The moment Klee spotted them on the beach, she eagerly spread her wind glider, ready to leap down.

"Klee!"

Jean’s Mom Voice activated instantly, halting the overexcited child in her tracks.

"...Klee understands! Klee will behave!"

The tiny knight obediently sat back down.

Meanwhile, a white-haired muscular man rose to his feet.

"HAHAHAHAHA! So this is the enemy’s base, huh? It’s even bigger than our Arataki Gang headquarters!"

Arataki Itto puffed out his chest, bellowing loud enough to shake the island.

"The one and oni, the great Arataki ‘The Undefeatable’ Itto has arrived!"

---

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!