Inside the Northland Bank.
Tsaritsa was listening as Childe and La Signora reported their work.
La Signora spoke first:
"Lord Tsaritsa, as per your orders, we've been strictly managing our subordinates and making sure they haven't caused any trouble."
Tsaritsa smiled slightly.
"Thank you for your hard work, Rosalyne."
La Signora shook her head.
"It's my duty, Your Majesty."
Childe curiously asked:
"Your Majesty, may I ask what brings you to Liyue in person? If there's anything that needs to be done, we'll take care of it. You didn't need to come all this way yourself."
Tsaritsa looked at Childe, feeling gratified.
Among the Fatui, the ones most loyal to her were La Signora and Childe.
"There are some matters I must handle personally. Have you noticed anything unusual lately?"
Childe replied:
"Yes, there's been a large influx of visitors from other worlds in Liyue recently."
Tsaritsa was surprised.
"Visitors from other worlds?"
Childe nodded.
"That's right. The Director of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, Hu Tao, has recently started a new business called an 'internet café,' and the equipment used there comes from another world."
Hearing this, Tsaritsa grew curious about the internet café.
"Where is this internet café located? Take me to see it."
La Signora answered:
"Right next door."
Under the guidance of La Signora and Childe, Barnabas arrived at the Wangsheng Hall Internet Café building next door.
With the Lantern Rite Festival approaching, many people were on holiday, and the internet café was packed with business. The lobby on the first floor was crowded wall-to-wall with people.
Some couldn't get a seat, so they just stood behind others watching and even offering game tips while spectating.
As Tsaritsa, Childe, and La Signora entered, the receptionist girl immediately recognized Childe and La Signora—two of the café's VIP customers.
The two quickly booked two e-sports rooms on the third floor for the entire month.
"Welcome, esteemed guests, to the Wangsheng Hall Internet Café."
Childe nodded at the receptionist.
"No need to bother with us—we know the way."
He dismissed her to avoid any disturbance to Her Majesty.
Meanwhile, La Signora was explaining to Tsaritsa what a computer was.
Tsaritsa found it fascinating and wanted to try it.
"Sounds interesting. I'd like to try, but it seems there are no free spots."
La Signora smiled and said:
"No worries, Your Majesty. I have a private e-sports room on the third floor. I'll take you there."
Tsaritsa was pleasantly surprised.
"Then let's go have a look."
Led by La Signora, Tsaritsa went up to the third floor.
Compared to the noisy first floor, the third floor was much quieter.
At the stairwell, there was a staff member—only those who had reserved a room were allowed to enter.
With La Signora's guidance, Tsaritsa was smoothly admitted.
As Tsaritsa walked down the corridor, the door to a room at the far end on the right suddenly opened, and Nahida stepped out.
Tsaritsa vaguely heard Nahida call into the room:
"Lady Calestia, I'm going to get lunch."
From inside, a familiar voice responded:
"Get me something too. I want grilled Tigris fish from Old Liu's, a roast chicken from Old Li's, and fried rice from Old Zhao's."
Nahida nodded and agreed.
As the internet café business grew, more and more food stalls popped up nearby.
Calestia was quite pleased with this—these vendors made surprisingly good food.
Most importantly, it was convenient—just downstairs.
Nahida turned and noticed Tsaritsa.
"Lady Tsaritsa?"
Tsaritsa nodded and replied:
"Lady Buer, where are you off to?"
Nahida explained:
"It's almost lunchtime—I'm going to buy some food."
Tsaritsa nodded in understanding, then asked:
"That one... is she here?"
Nahida nodded slightly.
"Yes, Lady Calestia is a guest consultant of Wangsheng Hall. She said she's currently in charge of digging foundations and managing the café's security."
Tsaritsa twitched at the corners of her mouth. She hadn't expected that the exalted Sustainer of Heavenly Principles, the ruler of the Void, would be working at an internet café?
This was truly beyond anything Tsaritsa could have imagined.
Nahida glanced at La Signora and Childe behind Tsaritsa and understood why she was here.
"I'll go get food first—enjoy yourselves."
Tsaritsa stiffly nodded and stepped aside to let her pass.
La Signora was a little puzzled—why did Her Majesty become so awkward after seeing that young girl?
"Your Majesty, who was that girl?"
Tsaritsa replied:
"She's the Archon of Sumeru—Buer."
The Lady and Childe were instantly stunned.
"What?!"
Childe suddenly caught a detail.
"For the Dendro Archon to be taking a food order... that can only mean—"
Tsaritsa looked at him, surprised by how sharp he was today.
"That's right."
Both La Signora and Childe sucked in a breath.
"Then, Your Majesty... should we still play games?"
Tsaritsa looked toward the end of the corridor and thought for a moment.
"No problem. We'll just do our own thing."
Then, she walked into La Signira's private room.
La Signira and Childe exchanged glances and quickly followed, carefully closing the door behind them as if afraid to disturb that one.
Tsaritsa looked at the two anxious ones and said:
"No need to be nervous. The past is water under the bridge. From now on, we just follow the rules. Understand?"
La Signora and Childe nodded.
No wonder Her Majesty had ordered a halt on collecting Gnosis and told them to keep their people in check.
So she had returned.
Nahida left the café and made her way through the crowd to Old Liu's grilled fish stall across the street.
"Boss, I'll take two grilled Tigris fish—one spicy, one not."
Old Liu responded cheerfully:
"Got it! Just a moment."
Seeing the long queue, Nahida figured it would take a while, so she found a seat to wait.
As soon as she sat down, she noticed two girls performing nearby—Guinaifen and Sushang.
Sushang was lying on a table with a stone slab on her chest.
Guinaifen stood beside her, banging a gong and shouting:
"Don't miss it, don't miss it! Chest-smashing stone show starting soon!"
The crowd gathered, intrigued.
They had seen chest-breaking performances before—but never by a little girl.
Nahida, curious, walked over to watch.
Sushang lay nervously on the table.
"Little Gui... are you sure this is safe?"
Guinaifen gave her a thumbs-up.
"Totally safe!"
Then she raised a big hammer and swung it down at the stone on Sushang's chest.
Nahida quickly used her power to create a cushion between the stone and Sushang without anyone noticing.
The hammer came down, and the stone shattered.
"Whoa!" someone in the crowd cheered, and the whole crowd burst into applause.
Guinaifen's donation bucket was instantly filled to the brim with Mora.
***
After a performance ended, the two of them walked to a quiet corner.
Sushang was still feeling lingering fear—when Guinaifen slammed down earlier, her soul nearly flew out of her body.
Luckily, she was unharmed, and surprisingly, she didn't feel anything at all during the whole thing.
Just then, a voice came.
"Don't do such dangerous things again next time, okay?"
Guinaifen and Sushang looked up to see Nahida walking over slowly.
Sushang was a bit surprised to see her.
"Nahida? What are you doing here?"
Nahida smiled and replied.
"I just came down to buy food and saw you doing a very dangerous performance. Next time, it's better to have some safety precautions."
Only then did Sushang realize what had happened.
No wonder she didn't feel anything—Nahida must have helped her out.
"Nahida, was it you who helped me just now?"
Nahida smiled gently.
"Yes. Why were you doing something so dangerous? I don't understand."
Guinaifen took out her phone.
"I was recording the whole time. I was planning to upload the video online to get some followers."
Nahida looked puzzled.
"Online?"
So Guinaifen explained the concept of live streaming to her.
After listening, Nahida said:
"I see. But still, it's best not to do such dangerous things. Getting hurt can be very unpleasant."
Guinaifen and Sushang nodded.
"Okay!"
Seeing this, Nahida nodded in satisfaction.
"Then I'll be going now. I still need to get my food."
Guinaifen and Sushang watched her leave.
Guinaifen looked at the video on her phone and felt quite pleased.
"Come on, Shang Shang, let's go get something to eat."
After buying her food, Nahida returned to the Calestia eSports room.
As she pushed open the door, she heard Calestia's unrestrained laughter.
"Heh heh! Another newbie dares to challenge the invincible Lord Calestia! Watch how I crush you!"
Nahida glanced at the computer screen. Calestia had set up another 1v1 room, and the other player's name was:
[The Queen Who Loves Again]
Nahida immediately guessed the person's true identity—it could only be Lord Tsaritsa.
In the bamboo forest near Qingce Village…
The six little ones were working together to gather high-quality bamboo.
Hook and Bailu each held an axe.
Bailu wiped her nose.
"Yaoyao, which one should we chop? Say the word!"
Yaoyao carefully examined each stalk and quickly pointed one out.
"This one! And this one!"
Upon hearing that, Bailu and Hook rushed over with their axes, taking turns chopping at the bamboo.
"Heave-ho! Heave-ho!"
Both of them were quite strong, and soon the bamboo was felled.
As it fell, Yaoyao quickly called out to Klee and the others to move aside.
"The bamboo's falling—watch out!"
Klee quickly dodged and even pulled the dazed Qiqi out of the way.
The bamboo hit the ground with a loud thud, stirring up a cloud of dust.
Yaoyao took out a small knife and trimmed off the branches, then called Klee, Bailu, Hook, Diona, and Qiqi to help carry it.
The six of them lined up, and under Yaoyao's command, they lifted the bamboo—over ten meters long—together.
With their little short legs, they carried it back toward Liyue Harbor.
"Heave-ho! Heave-ho!"
The bamboo was too long, and the six of them were spaced far apart. As they ran while carrying it, the bamboo swayed up and down.
Finally, after over an hour, they brought it back to Liyue Harbor and found Grandma Ping.
Seeing so many adorable children chattering in front of her, Grandma Ping was overjoyed.
"Come, childrens, gather around. Grandma will teach you how to make Xiao Lanterns."
The six little ones obediently sat around her, each on a small stool, ready to learn.
Seeing that they were about to start barehanded, Yaoyao quickly took out several pairs of gloves.
"Hold on, everyone. Put on gloves first so you don't hurt your hands."
Klee and the others took the gloves and put them on.
Each glove had a laurel design embroidered by Yaoyao herself.
Once they were gloved up, they officially began learning how to make lanterns.
In the southeastern part of Dihua Marsh, Stelle, Hu Tao, March 7th, and Lumine arrived at a dilapidated village.
March 7th looked at the abandoned village below and was speechless.
"This is the ruin? It's just a pile of rubble!"
Hu Tao said,
"Don't worry, our final destination is not here, it's on the other side of the mountain.
Hehe, let me tell you, don't underestimate this place. I found lots of treasure chests here. Let's do some treasure hunting first."
Stelle's eyes lit up.
"Treasure chests! Primogems! Star coins! Let's go!"
Hu Tao pulled Stelle back and took out a bunch of pickaxes from her spatial ring.
"Hold up, everyone gets a pickaxe. A lot of treasure chests are buried under the ruins."
Stelle took a pickaxe and nodded.
Then, the group rushed down into the ruins.
Once inside, they split up to search.
Before long, Amber cried out in excitement.
"I found a chest! Wow! It has two primogems in it!"
Hearing this, Stelle picked up the pace with his digging.
"Dig dig dig dig dig!"
Stelle swung his pickaxe faster and faster, quickly carving out a tunnel.
Suddenly, with one swing, a bright light shone from ahead.
Overjoyed, Stelle shouted:
"Ohohoho! A secret chamber!"
One more swing, and a cave appeared before him.
Inside the cave sat three luxurious chests.
Stelle rushed over and opened them all—he found 30 primogems in total.
She stuffed the primogems into her bag with satisfaction.
"Hehe~ I got rich! I got rich! I don't even know how to spend it!"
After storing the primogems, Stelle picked up his pickaxe and kept digging.
Soon, March 7th, Hu Tao, and the others joined her.
Stelle asked,
"Why are you guys here? Finished searching up top?"
Hu Tao nodded with a grin.
"Pretty much done. Found quite a few primogems. How's it going here?"
Stelle replied,
"I just found 30 primogems. I'm going to keep digging—maybe there's another secret spot!"
Everyone got excited and joined in.
Stelle, Lumine, Hu Tao, Eula, and Seele kept digging.
Amber and Huo Huo handled moving dirt out with their storage rings.
Since none of them were ordinary people, they dug very fast.
They dug deeper and deeper.
Suddenly, with one strike, Seele felt a powerful rebound and was knocked back.
She fell to the ground.
Everyone rushed over.
Stelle helped her up.
"Seele, are you okay?"
Seele shook her head—she was fine.
Just then, Hu Tao exclaimed:
"Whoa! Did we just dig into a ruin?!"