Cross through Teyvat, and you'll become stronger by taking the hits!

"?!?!"

Upon hearing Lu Li's words, Ying's eyes widened suddenly, and she instinctively reached out to grab Lu Li's sleeve.

"Don't get agitated. As you all know, I used to be a member of the Fatui Clan. I got the information about your brother from them."

As Lu Li spoke, he tugged at his sleeve and snatched it back from Ying's hand.

Ying had no choice but to lower her arms, but she kept looking at Lu Li.

"Really? That's great. Actually, we still don't have any clues about the Traveler's brother. The Traveler did sense a familiar presence when we were in Mondstadt, but we still couldn't find him."

"Traveler, calm down first. Let's hear what Lu Li's intelligence is."

Paimon moved closer to Ying and waved to calm her down as she became agitated.

The two then looked at Lu Li together.

"Ahem, about your brother, I actually recognized him after I saw the missing person notice you had Amber put up in Mondstadt, but I wasn't quite sure."

Lu Li coughed lightly.

He had stayed in Mondstadt for a few days and had indeed seen those missing person notices.

"You should have heard of your brother; he is now a prince of the Abyss Order, and is called His Highness by the monsters of the Abyss Order."

Then, Lu Li revealed Ying's brother's current identity.

Regarding the Abyss Order, the seven kingdoms of Teyvat actually know very little about it, so Lu Li's information is definitely unique.

Although Ying will soon find out for herself.

But intelligence is like this: the intelligence you know in advance is the most valuable.

"The Abyss Order's...Prince?!"

Paimon was taken aback at first, then covered his mouth and let out a gasp.

"Isn't that... the leader who seduced those abyssal monsters in Dvalin?"

Realizing this, Paimon cautiously glanced at Ying's expression.

Previously, they only knew that the group of monsters came from an evil organization called the Abyss Order, but they did not know who the leader of the Abyss Order was.

"elder brother……"

Ying's eyes flickered, reluctant to believe that her brother had become the leader of a group of abyssal monsters.

But recalling the familiar aura he sensed in Mondstadt, he found that it could be explained.

At that time, she was searching for clues about the Abyss Order and eventually found herself in the Wind Dragon Ruins. After defeating some monsters, she sensed her brother's presence.

"Why did my brother... join the Abyss Cult?"

Having come to believe Lu Li's information, Ying couldn't help but press for more details.

"Well, you'll have to ask him. I just happen to know who the leader of the Abyss Order is."

"The Abyss Order's activities are not very frequent, at least they are rarely seen, so there is very little information about them. However, if you pay more attention to the Abyss Order's movements, you may be able to see them soon."

Although Lu Li knew perfectly well what was going on, he didn't intend to tell her everything at once.

If I were to reveal everything, I would appear suspicious, since some secrets are not something that fools can know.

"It seems we'll have to pay more attention to information about the Abyss Order from now on."

Hearing Lu Li's name, Paimon knew this, and he shrugged and said to Ying.

"yes……"

Ying had no choice but to give up asking further questions, and nodded with a somewhat complicated expression.

Although she already knows her brother's current identity, finding him is still a problem. Ying also wants to know why he joined the Abyss Order, but she has no way of knowing.

"Now that you know your brother is now a prince of the Abyss Order, then what is your name...?"

Lu Li gave a quiet reminder.

He didn't want to know Ying's name for any ulterior motive; after all, he already knew it all along.

However, there is a subtle sense of satisfaction in being believed by the protagonist you once "manipulated" and told the name that should have been a secret.

"Although the traveler just agreed, let me tell you beforehand, once you know, you're not allowed to tell anyone else."

After exchanging a glance with Ying, Paimon looked around to make sure no one was there, and then gave Lu Li some instructions.

Lu Li nodded repeatedly in agreement, promising not to tell anyone.

"My name is... Ying."

Ying told Lu Li her name.

This should be the second time she has mentioned her own name in this world.

"The 'ying' in 'firefly'?"

"The 'Ying' in 'Yinghuo' (荧惑)."

……

Ying initially called Lu Li out to ask him to help her break the seal. Although she failed, she learned information about her brother, so it wasn't a complete loss.

The three returned to Liyue Harbor, and Lu Li bid farewell to Ying.

"If you find anything related to the Abyss Cult next time, feel free to call me. Maybe I can help you."

"However, the compensation will be calculated separately."

Before leaving, Lu Li remembered something and turned back to remind him.

Afterwards, Lu Li returned to Feiyun Slope, intending to go back to the Hall of Rebirth. After all, he had only said that he wanted to go out for some fresh air, and Columbia and Hu Tao might still be waiting for him to come back and taste the food.

But as soon as Lu Li entered the alley, he saw Zhong Li walking out of the Hall of Rebirth. His steps seemed as unhurried as usual, but in fact, the moment Lu Li saw him, he had already teleported to the outside of the alley.

Good morning, young friend.

After greeting Lu Li, Zhong Li resumed her normal pace and walked towards Feiyun Slope.

"?"

Lu Li scratched his head, not understanding why Zhong Li would use this seemingly shrinking-the-ground-to-inch-distance-travel method just to go out. Wasn't he afraid of being seen?

With these questions in mind, Lu Li returned to the Hall of Rebirth.

"Lu Li, you're finally back! I've passed on all my life's skills to Colombia. Come and try our special dish made in collaboration with Yue Ling Youyou!"

Hearing the noise, Hu Tao poked her head out of the kitchen and waved to Lu Li as soon as she saw him return.

As she spoke, Columbia also came out of the kitchen carrying a plate.

"...A collaboration on specialty dishes?"

Lu Li's lips twitched, and he suddenly understood why Zhong Li had to rush like that just to go out.

He wanted to turn around and run away, but Hu Tao, who was quick-witted and agile, ran over and grabbed his hand, forcibly dragging him to the dining table and making him sit down.

Wearing a white apron, Columbia floated over, placed the plate in front of Lu Li, and then stood beside him expectantly.

Lu Li swallowed hard, glanced at the plate, and found that it was still a plate of vegetarian abalone, but it no longer only had round-headed ghost-shaped vegetarian abalone, but also moon-shaped vegetarian abalone that looked like twin ponytails. Because of the careful plating, they looked like they were happily gathered in a circle.

Columbia was clearly terrified of vegetarian abalone before, and I don't know how Walnut managed to convince her.

"It's actually quite pretty."

Looking at Youyou and Yueling on the plate, Lu Li's hand holding the chopsticks trembled slightly.

"Of course, ghosts are usually only active at night, making them a perfect match for the moon's darlings."

Walnut, standing to the side, said smugly.

She didn't know Moon Spirit before, but Columbia had just told her about Moon Spirit, so she knew a little about her.

"Lu Li, you should try it. If Yue Ling and You You complement each other, it should taste really good."

Columbia urged them on.

"OK……"

After pursing his lips, Lu Li had no choice but to carefully extend his chopsticks.

After pausing for a moment, Lu Li finally reached for Yue Ling with his chopsticks.

Just by looking at the shapes, he could guess who made the two types of vegetarian abalone. Compared to the ones made by Walnut, Colombia's were still within acceptable limits.

Picking up a whole piece of abalone shaped like a moon spirit, Lu Li brought it to his mouth and bit off its head.

"Hmm?"

The first bite had a meaty, plump texture, and the savory aroma, similar to abalone, exploded in Lu Li's mouth, leaving him somewhat taken aback by the rich flavor.

It's actually quite delicious, unlike what I expected...

Lu Li's eyes gradually brightened, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

"No, no, you have to eat Yue Ling and You You together. It doesn't taste right if you eat them like this."

Seeing this, Hu Tao quickly pointed at Youyou and reminded her.

"All right……"

Hearing Hu Tao's reminder, Lu Li had no choice but to put down the Moon Spirit he had taken a small bite of, place it on top of another piece of Youyou, and then pick up both of them and took a bite.

"...!"

Sour, sweet, bitter, salty, and umami—five intensely strong and terrifying flavors exploded in Lu Li's mouth in an instant.

Just as Lu Li was about to take advantage of the situation and lean into Columbia's arms again, he found that the five flavors were quickly suppressed, and then they began to appear in turn in order, from sour, sweet, bitter, salty and umami, with each bite changing the taste in his mouth...

It's like licking five different flavors in turn with your tongue; the feeling is subtle, but it doesn't knock you out instantly like you would after taking the "Great March of the Ghosts."

"Hey, this feeling...it's quite strange, how did you do that?"

Feeling the taste of the food in his mouth constantly changing, Lu Li chewed and asked curiously.

"It's lunar torque; I added lunar torque."

"We just need to use the lunar torque to alternately block each different flavor."

……