I, the Rock King Emperor with 21 billion in power, have joined the chat group.

"Dartaria, the Executor of Winter's Kingdom, as the secretary of the Liyue Septim, I hereby declare: [You... deserve to die!]"

Whoosh!

The arrow was shot out, unstoppable.

"He can't die here." A charming voice suddenly appeared, and the power of frost froze the ice elemental arrows that had been fired, causing them to fall to the ground.

The eighth seat of the Fools, the Lady, emerged from the darkness with elegant and proud steps.

Her long, slender, fair legs stomped loudly on the floor of the golden house.

A deep black rose mask covered one of her eyes, while the look in her other eye was haughty and rude.

"【Miss】?"

Paimon exclaimed in surprise.

The traveler tensed, took a step back, and raised his sacrificial sword again, aiming it at the lady and the young master.

“What a sorry sight, young master.” The lady walked up to Dadalia, a mocking smile on her lips.

"Ha! Are you here to watch the show, madam?" Young Master D'Artagnan sneered. "However, I am not yet at my wit's end."

“Alright.” The lady chuckled and said to the traveler and Gan Yu, “The purpose of D'Artagnan and our Fools is nothing more than the Heart of God within the body of the Rock King. Since there is no Heart of God in the body of the Rock King, our purpose and plan have completely failed.”

"So instead of arguing with us here, you two would be better off going to Lonely Cloud Pavilion to fight the Demon God."

As soon as he finished speaking, a violent blizzard suddenly began to rage inside the golden house.

In the wind and snow, the lady pulled on the young master's clothes, gradually pulling them back.

Gan Yu and the traveler looked at each other but neither made a move.

A few seconds later, the figures of the lady and the young master disappeared into the snowstorm.

The lady left behind only one meaningful sentence: "I hope you Liyue people can safely pass through the test of the Geo Archon."

"So, we Fools will retreat behind the scenes just as this grand spectacle has begun."

These meaningful words made Gan Yu frown slightly.

She looked at the young traveler, hesitated for a moment, and then slowly said, "Traveler, you seem to have many questions you want to ask. Since we first met tonight, you have been hesitant to speak."

"Hmm..." The traveler nodded slightly.

“Of course.” Paimon, who was standing next to her, asked the question on her behalf: “Let’s just ask directly.”

"Do you know that the Rock King Emperor faked his death to escape?"

"Do you know that Mr. Zhongli of the Hall of Rebirth is actually the Rock King Emperor himself?"

"Do you know everything that happened this time?"

As expected, Gan Yu hesitated for a moment before nodding slightly.

This acknowledges the question raised earlier.

"Yes."

Chapter 48 Beginning (3)

Gan Yu nodded in agreement to Paimon's and the Traveler's questions.

"Yes, I know that the Geo Archon's incarnation in Liyue is Mr. Zhongli of the Hall of Rebirth. I also know that the Geo Archon's faked death was to test the Seven Stars of Liyue and the people of Liyue."

"The Emperor told me that he wanted to see if the people of Liyue could still maintain basic order in Liyue Harbor and cope with difficulties in the event of the Emperor's sudden death."

"Difficulties?" The young traveler looked up at the distant direction of Lonely Cloud Pavilion and narrowed her eyes.

"This... the Emperor didn't tell me whether or not to release the Whirlpool Demon God Osel. However... I think there's no need to worry." Gan Yu spoke with a matter-of-fact tone: "Even if the demon god is unsealed, no, even if it's the Whirlpool Demon God Osel in his prime, it's impossible for him to cause any trouble for the Emperor. Perhaps when the Emperor is considering this, he's also taking the power of the immortals into account."

"After all, in the past, the Emperor often said that he wanted to build a world where immortals and mortals of Liyue were indistinguishable, but it was very difficult. This time, perhaps he was thinking of having the people of Liyue and the immortals join forces to fight against the threat of the demon god."

When Gan Yu spoke, she spoke with an unconditional trust in the Emperor.

The traveler still felt something was off. She frowned slightly, her pretty brows furrowing, and after a few seconds of contemplation, she exchanged a glance with Paimon.

He then recounted in detail to Gan Yu what he had seen in the Tomb of Return to the End and what Zhongli had said.

At first, Gan Yu just nodded slightly, but by the middle of the story, she had already frowned.

Upon hearing the ending, her expression was filled with uncontrollable doubt.

She voiced her doubts directly to the traveler.

"Impossible. His Majesty the Emperor has never mentioned such a thing to me."

"Moreover... what His Majesty took was not 'Past Memories' at all. As far as I know, the 'Past Memories' required for the Sending-Off-Immortals Ceremony must be items belonging to the Emperor himself. By a narrow measure, the 'Mortal Lock' could be used as a sacrifice, but the glass lily and the 'Forged Iron Gathering' could absolutely not be called 'Past Memories'."

"What is the Emperor hiding?"

"Could it be... that this feigned death hides a secret I'm unaware of?"

Gan Yu's doubts are the same doubts that travelers have.

The traveler frowned, thinking and thinking, but couldn't come to a conclusion.

Suddenly, Little Paimon, noticing her and Gan Yu's expression, interjected with a somewhat strange look: "Hmm... if Mr. Zhongli is indeed the Rock King Emperor, then isn't he currently holding the [Sending Off the Immortals Ceremony] at Jade Capital Terrace? Why don't we just go and ask him directly?"

"It should be eight o'clock in the morning now. I see the sky is already bright. The [Sending Off the Immortals Ceremony] is in progress."

Little Paimon's words jolted the traveler awake. She looked at the bright sky outside the room and exchanged a glance with Gan Yu.

The two immediately strode towards Yujingtai.

......

Yujingtai.

The scene of the sending-off ceremony for immortals.

Zhongli stood in the center of all the prepared items, waiting for the time to arrive.

Among these offerings were the finest night-blooming jasmine, a fragrant balm that a fresh-faced young woman would love, and seven kites representing different elemental deities.

Placed on the central altar were naturally a [Worldly Lock], a glass lily, and a [Collection of Iron Forging for the Common People].

Many ordinary people, who cherished the memory of the Rock King Emperor, stood together in dense crowds, discussing the situation in hushed tones.

"The [Sending Off the Immortals Ceremony] actually started. Does that mean the dragon corpse that fell down during the [Inviting the Immortals Ceremony] that day was really Prince Yan himself?"

"No!! No!! No!!! Absolutely not!!"

"Impossible, I don't believe it, I don't believe it."

"Your Majesty...Your Majesty..."

"This must be a lie from those carnivores of the Liyue Septate. How could the Geo Archon possibly have returned to the heavens?! I absolutely do not believe it!"

"Alas! I never imagined I would witness the passing of Lord Rock King in my lifetime... Alas! Father, Mother, I am so tired..."

"Grandpa... Lord Rock King, is he really gone?"

"I heard from the Thousand Rock Army's announcement that His Majesty the Emperor died from a lightning tribulation. Is that possible?"

"No, I heard it was an assassination. It was a girl dressed as an Inazuma shrine maiden who assassinated her during the [Summoning Ceremony]. She even claimed to be some kind of [Third Apostle]. It's all so mysterious, it's hard to understand."

"That's true, but... sigh! In any case, Lord Geo has indeed passed away and will never return. In the decades since Lord Geo left the affairs of state, Liyue has changed a lot. I thought that even if things got worse, at least we would still have Lord Geo to fall back on, but I never expected that even he would pass away. Life is unpredictable! From now on, Liyue will probably be in the hands of the Seven Stars of Liyue. I wonder what kind of Lord Geo will appear next."

"Hmm... that's too pessimistic. I do think there's some truth to what Keqing from Yuheng Star said. Do you remember what she asked us during the [Ascension Ceremony] last year? She said that the Geo Archon and the Grand Monarch cannot protect us for 40 millennia. We can only rely on ourselves to build our own Liyue, and that will never waver."

"Now that the Rock King has passed away, there's no other way but to follow Keqing of Yuheng Star. To be honest, I prefer working in Keqing's merchant guild to working for Lady Ningguang. At least Lady Keqing pays a lot for overtime, and the benefits she provides are things that people like us really need."

"Alright, I still think Ningguang is more approachable. It's too tiring working with Keqing."

"Yes, that's true. There's just too much overtime and it's exhausting. But to my surprise, quite a few people seem to enjoy working overtime with Lady Keqing. They're still full of energy even after working for a long time!"

"Wow! Is this the victory of overtime pay?"

The conversation gradually drifted away from the Rock King Emperor and went in other directions.

Zhongli stood with his hands behind his back, listening to the words of the crowd.

Then, he glanced at the sun in the sky and sensed that it was about time.

He coughed softly, drawing everyone's attention.

"Today, we will hold the [Sending Off the Immortal Ceremony] for Lord Rock King..."

He had barely uttered his words when a tremendous roar suddenly came from not far away.

Then, the entire Yujingtai trembled violently.

Following the tremor, someone looked in the direction from which the roar came.

A colossal, eight-headed, azure-blue serpent, blotting out the sky, was struggling and twisting its body.

"What...what is this?!"

Chapter 49 Development (1)

The enormous eight-headed dragon roared to the sky.

On the Jade Capital Platform, Zhongli calmly adjusted the ritual items for the Sending-Off-Immortal Ceremony.

Countless voices gathered noisily below the stage.

"What...is that??"

"Your Majesty~~~~! Your Majesty~~~! Waaaaaah~~~~!"

"What are we going to do now that you're gone?!"

“That thing, that thing in the distance seems to be an evil creature suppressed in the Lonely Cloud Pavilion. How did this strange thing get out? It hasn’t made a sound for thousands of years.”

"Could it be... because the Rock King Emperor has passed away? So, all sorts of cats, dogs, gods, and ghosts have come out."

"Hey, be careful... the Thousand Rock Army is still here."

"What's there to be afraid of... I didn't say anything bad about Seven Stars... I just told the truth a couple of times, how could anyone arrest someone like that??"

"They arrested him just for telling the truth... Alright, let's continue watching the ceremony where Yan Wang came to visit. I think that evil thing from Guyun Pavilion is still far away. I guess the Seven Stars and the immortals will deal with it soon."

"I hope nothing serious happens! Things have been a bit tough lately."