Genshin Impact, all those behind-the-scenes big shots are me

Right.

You, Old Rock King, can't go back on your word.

"You say so, and I'll do my best." Consider it just taking care of the younger generation.

Without hesitation, Funina replied, "Give Ryder back to me."

Su Chen and Zhong Li: "..."

"Ahem~ Miss Frynn, the Ryder you speak of is none other than the Emperor of Liyue." The Great Tree King coughed lightly.

"Even if he's the Human Emperor, he's still Ryder. Who cares what he's called? I'll just call him Ryder." Funina looked at Su Chen and said angrily, "Ryder, you clearly said you'd always be with me, hmph!"

Su Chen felt embarrassed. I meant I would always be there for you if you had any difficulties, and... I shouldn't have said that, right?

"When did the Human Emperor become yours?" Liu Yun asked, somewhat displeased. "The Human Emperor has protected Liyue for thousands of years, and you probably weren't even born then."

Fu Ningna said, "The Rock King Emperor made a promise, he can't go back on his word, can he?"

Zhongli remained silent... When did I agree to that?

The immortals below the stage lowered their heads and ate melons.

Gui Zhong laughed and said, "From a purely rational perspective, Zhongli has no right to give you the Human Emperor."

Funina stopped talking and just looked at Su Chen.

Su Chen then looked at Vilette.

You brought this guy all the way here, right? And now you're not saying a word?

However, Villette clearly intended to remain silent. He realized that this matter would definitely not be resolved easily. He had sensed some kind of danger earlier and now regretted not deciding not to enter the port. Now he was trapped inside and unable to leave, feeling extremely uncomfortable under Su Chen's watchful eye.

If possible, he would rather go to a corner and have a chat with the Dragon King Ruoduo.

Wait... Could it be that the Dragon King intentionally stayed there and didn't come over, having already anticipated this scene?

"Su Chen~"

Funina started to act coquettishly.

Anyway, she's human, and even among the Seven Gods, she's the youngest. What's wrong with her acting cute? It's perfectly legitimate, and none of you Seven Gods uncles and aunts can say anything about it.

Su Chen felt a bit of a headache. He glanced at his old friend and saw that the latter was turning his head towards Gui Zhong, seemingly chatting. But judging from Gui Zhong's expression, he was clearly laughing uncontrollably.

Hey, hey, hey, Lao Zhong, who just said 'I'm here, everything's fine'?

Sigh... After thinking for a moment, Su Chen was about to speak, suggesting they wait until after the Lantern Festival to go to Fontainebleau, when the Great Tree King suddenly pulled out a great treasure.

"The Lantern Festival is here, but I didn't bring any gifts." The Great Tree King placed the World Branch on the table and looked at Su Chen with a smile: "Your Majesty, this is a festival gift for you. Hmm, it was personally selected by Marikata."

"Uh... what is this?"

"A branch of the world."

"I know, what I mean is... won't it be a problem if we just break it like this? This thing is connected to the whole of Teyvat, isn't it?"

"There's nothing we can do about it," the Great Tree King sighed softly. "Who told this branch to keep growing in the wrong place? Although it's very valuable, we have no choice but to bear the pain for everyone's sake."

Su Chen's lips twitched slightly. "Buyer, are you making veiled accusations here?"

The immortals all cast sympathetic glances their way.

Even Liu Yun fell silent.

She could retort to Funina, but she still held the Tree King in awe, as he was not only the god of wisdom but also a prominent figure of the same era as the Emperor.

At this moment, Fanan asked in confusion, "But what can you do with a branch of the World Tree?"

"That's a good question." The Great Tree King smiled slightly. "I've also been considering what to do with it. How about letting the Emperor answer this question?"

Su Chen: "..."

It's over.

Buyer, please don't turn evil!

Gui Zhong said 'kindly', "Xuanyuan, would you like me to get you a towel? I see you're sweating profusely while you're eating."

Su Chen glared at her.

Just then, Gan Yu walked in.

"Brother Xuanyuan, someone is looking for you."

Su Chen was taken aback, and suddenly had a bad feeling: "Who are you looking for?"

Gan Yu understood and said, "I'm looking for you, Brother Human Emperor."

Human Emperor?

Who would come looking for you at this time?

Wendy got arrested again for owing money?

Never mind, as long as they're not looking for Ryder.

Given the current situation, whoever comes, let him catch his breath first.

Thinking of this, Su Chen immediately said, "Let him in."

Gan Yu nodded, turned around and walked out.

Su Chen smiled and said, "Great Tree King, Funina, you can see that we have guests visiting. Liyue has always been a land of etiquette, so we cannot neglect our guests. We can talk about other matters later."

The Great Tree King hesitated for a moment, then silently put away the World Tree branch.

I brought it out before because everyone present was family, but now that outsiders are visiting, I can't let my husband lose face in public.

Although I did lose face a bit before.

But if we don't do this, we can't give Marikata an explanation.

Seeing her like this, Funina also calmed down.

After all, they're in a competitive situation now, and she can't afford to lose to the Great Tree King.

In the middle of it all, Su Chen smiled to himself. It seemed that the goddess of fate was on his side; at least the Crystal Palace hadn't collapsed.

Therefore, everything else, including destiny, can only come about with a stable order.

"Should we thank this person who suddenly visited? Is it Wendy?" Su Chen looked towards the entrance of the courtyard and vaguely heard footsteps approaching. Out of curiosity, the immortals also looked in that direction.

Fa Nan: "Who do you think it could be? Coming at this critical juncture?"

Yingda: "It must be Barbatos. He never misses a festival, so he must be here to freeload again."

Fu She: "Perhaps he is a demon god who admires the Human Emperor."

Mi Nu: "No matter who it is, the Human Emperor must be overjoyed. I broke out in a cold sweat just looking at him like that."

Fa Nan: "By the way, Jin Peng, what were you trying to say earlier?"

elf:"..."

The immortals then held another small meeting.

However, Xiao didn't speak, because there was no need. Actually, he wanted to talk to Su Chen earlier, but no one gave him the chance to speak.

In this way, the visitor passed through the archway of the courtyard and came into everyone's view.

Su Chen's smile froze.

Funina looked surprised.

Although the Great Compassion Tree King was somewhat different, after a little thought, it seemed perfectly reasonable.

Navelette lowered her head and drank silently.

Zhongli put down his teacup, sighed, and then shook his head.

"Huh? Why are there two water gods?" Fa Nan asked, voicing the confusion in the hearts of the immortals.

"Oh dear~ Great Tree King, what are you doing here... Hmm? Funina, what are you doing here too? And that one with her head down... is that Vilette?"

Looking at the banquet filled with distinguished guests, Fukalos was taken aback.

So she was actually the last one!

...

ten minutes later.

Fukalos sat down next to Funina.

The awkward atmosphere was finally eased a little, but the immortals' attention was no longer on the Lantern Festival.

After all, the Lantern Festival happens every year, but big news is rare, especially when it involves the Emperor. Isn't that more attractive than the fine wine and delicacies on the table?

However, since the main characters didn't speak, they patiently pretended to eat while secretly holding a meeting and exchanging information. Only Xiao looked a little uneasy. He felt guilty, because if he had told the Human Emperor about this earlier, the latter might have been able to avoid this situation in advance.

"So, Funina, you actually asked Vilette for help? You didn't even tell me, even though you promised to trust me," Fucaros said, somewhat displeased.

She and Funina are the same person, so they can communicate with each other through telepathy, a situation that even Su Chen cannot perceive.

"No, it's not that I don't trust you, it's just that I suddenly realized the Great Tree King definitely wouldn't just sit idly by. You see, it's all thanks to me, right? Otherwise, by the time you arrived, Ryder would have already been kidnapped by the Great Tree King." Funina was a little guilty, but she still argued her case forcefully, even though she wasn't entirely right.

Look, look, the other me, it's all thanks to me!

"Is that really what you think? I have a feeling you just want to sneak away?"

"No, no, I just wanted an extra layer of insurance... Anyway, now that you're here, it's perfect. The two of us against one still have an advantage."

Fu Ningna quickly changed the subject.

"This isn't just an extra layer of insurance; it's good that I found it."

"Oh, don't worry about the details, Fukaros. Our enemies now are the Great Tree King and the Liyue Fairies."

Furina felt that now was not the time for infighting. In any case, having another Fucarus was a good thing. As for Vilette? He was unreliable.

Fukaros didn't press the matter further. She hadn't actually arrived late; she had simply gone to investigate the matter of the Human Emperor. Originally, the Human Emperor Xuanyuan and the Water God's Messenger were two completely unrelated individuals.

But after the claim that 'Ryder is the Emperor of the Desert' came out, Fukaros felt that anything was possible, and there was also proof of that: the Xuanyuan Sword. She had seen no less than a hundred replicas of that thing along the way.

But here's the problem: He had planned to secretly visit the Human Emperor and then tell Su Chen that someone in Fengdan was waiting for him to kneel on the World Tree Branch. Su Chen definitely wouldn't go back, so they could travel the world together. After ten or twenty years, when they returned to Fengdan, the Great Kindness Tree King would definitely be gone.

What?! I didn't lie to Funina. Of course I'd send her letters along the way!