I, from the Celestial Empire, have parachuted into Teyvat.

"Uh, that's true..."

At this moment, Ningguang walked over hurriedly and asked, "Mr. Ivan, what exactly happened?"

Ivan was taken away by the Emperor and was the last person to see the Emperor, so now only Ivan knows what really happened.

Ningguang wouldn't suspect that Ivan had murdered the Emperor. First, Ivan had no reason to harm the Emperor; second, as the last person to see the Emperor, Ivan was far too suspicious, and Ningguang believed that Ivan wouldn't be that stupid; furthermore, Ivan was chosen by the Emperor himself, and Ningguang had complete faith in the Emperor's choice.

When Ningguang asked him a question, Ivan knew it was his turn to perform.

Ivan sighed, his tone slightly regretful, "At that time, I saw a white light before my eyes. After the light dissipated, I found myself in a space made of rocks. Then I saw the Dragon Emperor coiled in the sky, with countless bolts of lightning gathering and brewing. The Emperor told me that he was preparing to undergo a great tribulation, and that the matter of the divine decree would be told to me after the tribulation was over."

"But the Emperor failed his tribulation... I watched helplessly as he was struck down by the lightning..."

Ivan recounted the entire process of the Emperor's "tribulation" with great emotion and tears in his eyes. His story was so well-constructed and logical that Ningguang couldn't help but clench her fists, eventually letting out a helpless sigh.

"So, the Emperor didn't die in a murder, but rather failed to survive the Heavenly Tribulation?"

Ivan nodded: "Yes."

While saying this, Ivan was inwardly complaining. With the Emperor's physical body being so tough, even a hundred heavenly tribulations probably wouldn't be able to shake it in the slightest. It was quite a miracle that his lie had managed to fool everyone.

After a moment of reflection, still feeling somewhat saddened, Ningguang waved her hand to dismiss the Thousand Rock Army. Standing on the incense burner altar, she loudly proclaimed, "It has now been ascertained that the Emperor died in the Heavenly Tribulation, not from human homicide. The Emperor's soul has returned to the Nine Realms, but his spirit will forever linger on the land of Liyue. Therefore, the Sending-Off Ceremony will be held in three days."

"Let us remember the Emperor."

Chapter 104 Ivan's Plan

Despite Ningguang's order to temporarily suppress the news of the Emperor's passing, the news somehow managed to spread and instantly caused a huge uproar.

In less than half a day, the entire Liyue Harbor was plunged into an unprecedented upheaval.

Merchants had no heart to open their shops, pedestrians had no heart to go out, workers had no heart to go to work, and soldiers had no heart to stand guard.

The usually bustling Liyue Harbor was suddenly almost deathly silent.

The news of the Emperor's passing was too unexpected for the people of Liyue, and for a time, everyone was unable to accept it.

It wasn't until the next day, when Yujingtai issued a notice that a ceremony to send off the immortals would be held for the Emperor in three days, that the people gradually accepted the fact and began to take to the streets and become more active.

After all, life goes on.

At the early morning market, a soy milk vendor pushed his cart past a nearby stall and stopped.

"Hey, Fifth Brother, are you setting up your stall yet?"

The man called Fifth Brother shook his head: "No, you've set up your stall?"

"How could that be? I wasn't in the mood to set up a stall yesterday. Besides, no one would buy anything from me. There wasn't a single person on the street yesterday."

"Sigh... do you think the Emperor really is..."

The vendor sighed, "It must be true! Yujingtai has issued a notice that a farewell ceremony for the Emperor will be held in three days. For thousands of years, Liyue has only held farewell ceremonies when immortals depart. It's been so many years since we last held one, and I never expected it to be for the Emperor..."

"Do you think Liyue Harbor can survive now that the Emperor is gone?"

"Hey..." the vendor shrugged. "Business still has to go on, life still has to go on, don't think too much about it."

Just then, a customer dressed in Mondstadt attire walked up to the vendor's stall and threw a few Mora coins onto the counter.

"Boss, give me a cup of soy milk."

"Hey, good."

The vendor quickly served a cup of soy milk, and the customer picked it up and turned to walk into the Wanghaige Inn.

On the second floor, at the door of room number one, the Heavenly Vermilion Bird, Xiang Feng knocked on Ivan's door. The door opened, and Ivan appeared in the doorway, yawning.

Xiang Feng held up the soy milk in his hand and said, "Commander Yi, I've bought you breakfast."

"Ah, thank you..."

Ivan yawned again, took the soy milk from Xiang Feng and casually placed it on the table next to him, then began to change his clothes.

Xiang Feng said, "It seems that the Emperor's death has had a significant impact on Liyue Harbor. I overheard the vendors talking about it when I bought soy milk earlier."

Ivan put on Mondstadt civilian clothes and turned to say, "The Emperor is the spiritual totem in the hearts of all the people of Liyue. The impact of the Emperor's death will still exist for a short time, but people still have to live their lives, and this sense of anxiety will disappear sooner or later. The ones who will be really greatly affected are the governing class of Liyue. I think the immortals in Jueyun should have also heard the news of the Emperor's death by now. The Seven Stars will soon face pressure from the immortals."

Xiang Feng blinked and said, "So you mean Liyue Harbor is going to descend into chaos?"

Ivan shook his head: "Not necessarily, it depends on how Seven Stars responds."

Just then, a member of the Orca Squad appeared at the door.

"Report, Ms. Ningguang has arrived and says she needs to speak with the commander."

"Ningguang?"

Ivan raised an eyebrow: "Please invite her in. I'd like to speak with her alone."

"Yes."

A moment later, Ningguang appeared in front of Ivan, and she was alone; her personal secretary, Chang Yue, did not come with her.

Similarly, Xiang Feng left Ivan's room and closed the door behind him.

Ivan poured Ningguang a cup of tea and asked with a smile, "Did you come to see me for something, Ningguang?"

Ningguang looked at Ivan, her eyes sharp, and asked, "Is the Emperor really dead?"

Ivan raised an eyebrow, inwardly marveling at the other's accurate intuition, but still said, "Your Excellency Ningguang has already seen the Emperor's body, so I think you should know more about this issue than I do."

Ningguang didn't speak, staring straight into Ivan's eyes as if trying to see through his soul.

However, Ivan remained unmoved, turned around and sat opposite Ningguang, staring at her calmly, showing no sign of weakness.

Anyway, the matter of the Emperor faking his death is an absolute secret. You can look all you want. With my Oscar-winning acting skills, if you can even make me waver, I'll admit defeat.

After staring at Ivan for a while, Ningguang finally sighed, "It seems the Emperor has truly gone..."

Ivan offered a perfunctory consolation: "Please accept my condolences, Your Excellency Ningguang. But why do you believe the Emperor is not dead?"

Ningguang glanced at Ivan and said helplessly, "In the annual ritual of inviting immortals, the Emperor has never chosen anyone other than the Seven Stars as the recipient of the divine decree. You are the first exception, and the time you were pulled into the Emperor's divine consciousness space was not short. I think there must be some hidden reason behind this."

It has to be said that Ningguang's ability to rise from poverty to the position of Seven Stars is truly remarkable, demonstrating exceptional observation and judgment. No matter the situation, a mere one or two details can reveal almost the entire truth to her. It's almost a shame that she didn't become a detective with such insight.

"I came here only to verify what I thought. I apologize for disturbing you. I will take my leave now."

Just as Ningguang was about to get up and leave, a brilliant plan suddenly popped into Ivan's head.

"Wait a minute."

Ningguang took a step and slowly turned around to look at Ivan, who had called out to her.

At this moment, Ivan put on an extremely serious expression and said in a heavy voice, "You are right. In fact, there are other hidden reasons for the Emperor's death."

Ningguang raised an eyebrow and returned to the house.

Ivan continued, "The Emperor actually suffered severe internal injuries during the previous demon god campaign and was already on his deathbed. During the ritual of summoning immortals, he was already nearing his limit with a final burst of energy. The guiding light leading to the divine consciousness space was also used by him with his last strength. At that time, the Emperor had no strength left to distinguish or specifically select a particular person. I was chosen randomly, and I only found out about this after I met the Emperor."

Ningguang asked in shock, "The Emperor was already injured?"

Ivan nodded without batting an eye, almost believing his own string of lies.

Damn, I really have a talent for making up stories.

"The Emperor randomly selected someone to go in, just to give his last words. But these words were too important. Before he died, the Emperor instructed me not to say them unless I met someone I could trust enough."

Ningguang was startled.

If Ivan is willing to tell her now, doesn't that mean she is someone Ivan trusts enough?

A warm feeling welled up in Ningguang's heart.

"What did the Emperor say before he died?"

Ivan squinted and said, "The war against the demon gods is far from over. There are still demon gods hiding, such as the Dragon King Ruotu."

Ningguang asked in surprise, "Has the Dragon King Ruotu also broken the seal? When?"

"The Dragon King Ruoduo did not join the main battle, but instead went into hiding. His whereabouts are currently unknown."

Ivan omitted the process of Liu Yun Jie Feng Zhenjun's interception and continued, "The Emperor said that these demon gods are currently waiting for an opportunity to release other demon gods to conquer Liyue."

"what?"

Ningguang frowned. If what Ivan said was true, then Liyue was now facing a huge potential threat.

Ivan said, "We should find the whereabouts of these demons as soon as possible, otherwise this will be a ticking time bomb."

Although she didn't know what the time bomb Ivan was talking about was, Ningguang agreed with Ivan's approach and nodded, saying, "I will investigate as soon as possible."

Ivan added, "Furthermore, we must never reveal the Emperor's true cause of death or his last words, or we will alert the enemy."

"Do not worry."

Ningguang sensed the seriousness of the situation and hurriedly left.

Inside the room, Ivan stroked his chin, a slight smile playing on his lips.

The Emperor's death was too suspicious; the Seven Stars and the immortals probably wouldn't believe that the Emperor really died from the Heavenly Tribulation.

As the person who saw the Emperor for the last time, he would surely be approached by many people in the next few days to inquire about the Emperor's death. At that time, Ivan would repeat what he had told Ningguang today.

At that time, everyone who came to Ivan believed that he was the "only" person Ivan trusted, and also the only person who knew the "truth" about the Emperor's death.

Ivan had done a huge favor.

Besides doing them a favor, the Seven Stars and the Immortals, facing the potential threat of the Demon God, will surely try to investigate their whereabouts, as their fate is intertwined with that of Liyue.

However, if there is a lack of proactive investigation, or even inaction...

That would most likely mean he's a traitor within Liyue Harbor.

Chapter 105 Daily Life of "Hanging Out" with Zhong Li

"Commander Yi, Lady Yuheng Star has arrived."

In Ivan's room, Xiang Feng knocked on the door, interrupting Ivan who was reading a book.

"Keqing?"

Ivan put down his book, stood up, and said, "You came very quickly. Ningguang just left less than half an hour ago."

"Would you like to come in?"