So here we are again. Liyue Harbor. Back like we never left—except this time, instead of chasing suspicious flowers or getting slapped by sentient plants, we're dressed up for a funeral. A fancy one. Like, the "I hope no one notices I'm wearing the same pants as yesterday" kind of formal.
Today's agenda: The Rite of Parting.
Sounds simple, right? Wrong. This is Teyvat. Nothing is ever simple. Especially not when you're rolling with me, Lumine, and Paimon—the chaos trio with a Zhongli-shaped babysitter.
The ceremony itself? Actually kinda beautiful. There were lanterns floating on the water, incense burning in the wind, and Zhongli speaking so poetically that I'm 89% sure he writes fanfiction on the side.
"Contracts are the bones of the city, the soul of its people..." he intoned.
Meanwhile, I was standing there like: Does this incense make my hair smell weird?
Lumine nudged me mid-ceremony. "Stand still. And stop humming the Mondstadt tavern jingle."
"Sorry," I whispered. "My brain auto-defaults to bardcore when I'm nervous."
Zhongli just glanced back once and nodded slightly—either in approval or complete disappointment. The man's facial expressions are like 500 layers of polite poker face.
And yet, somehow, we didn't screw it up. The ceremony ended with only minimal chaos (a record for us), and afterward, Zhongli turned to us with a faint smile.
"Would the three of you care to join me at the Third Round Knockout?"
My brain short-circuited.
"The what now?"
"The diner," he clarified.
"…That's the actual name?"
Paimon shrugged. "Paimon thinks it sounds kinda cool."
"Cool? It sounds like someone got punched so hard, they made a restaurant about it."
Lumine smacked my arm. "Just say yes, idiot."
I said yes. Obviously.
—
Turns out The Third Round Knockout was actually kinda vibey. There were lanterns, low tables, tea so strong it could revive the dead -fitting, considering the day,- and Zhongli already had food waiting for us like the classy grandpa sage he is.
As we sat, I half expected a guard to pop out of nowhere and yell, "You there! Stop right now!" because, you know, we are technically fugitives after the earlier... uhhh... dead lizard incident. But for now, all was peaceful.
Zhongli passed us some plates with practiced grace. "Please, help yourselves. This is a local favorite."
"Wait—this one's called... Tianshu Meat?" I raised a brow. "Is this named after someone or did someone name themselves after food?"
Lumine groaned. "Eat it. Don't name-drop it."
"Paimon thinks it smells amazing!" she chimed in, already shoving dumplings into her cheeks like a tiny food vacuum.
Just when I thought the evening couldn't get any more bizarre, a raspy-yet-theatrical voice echoed from the corner of the diner.
"Ah... the tale of the Jade Chamber, you say? That is a story worth telling!"
I turned slowly. Iron Tongue Tian. The dramatic story man of Liyue. A living podcast.
He launched into the story, waving his arms like he was summoning a dragon made of pure drama, dramatically describing how Lady Ningguang, the brains, boss, and beauty of Liyue's Qixing, commissioned a floating fortress—I mean, the legendary Jade Chamber—as both a radiant beacon and a bold business flex. According to Iron Tongue Tian, it wasn't just some rich-lady project; no, this was her grand declaration: "I control the skies."
He detailed how Ningguang pulled strings, called in favors, bent contracts into origami cranes, and somehow convinced an entire city to help her yeet a mountain of resources into the sky—all with elegance, poise, and heels that probably cost more than my entire net worth. Tian described the construction like it was a divine opera: stone and steel danced under her command, cloud retainers adjusted altitude, cranes bowed in respect, and Liyue Harbor paused in collective awe.
And then… it hovered. Majestically. Defiantly. Casting a shadow over Liyue like a silent message to every other nation: Try me.
"The Jade Chamber," Tian proclaimed, eyes practically glowing, "is not merely a floating palace. It is Lady Ningguang's greatest creation. A structure that serves as her watchtower, her stronghold, and most importantly, a symbol of her relentless ambition."
He even described the moment when it first took flight: how the clouds parted, how the waters rippled with reverence, how every merchant in the harbor stopped mid-haggle just to stare. Tian claimed someone cried tears of pure gold. Probably an exaggeration, but hey, I bought into it.
In short: business is booming, the rich stay rich, and gravity got told to sit the hell down. That Jade Chamber? It didn't just float. It flexed.
"Paimon thinks it's soooo cool!" she whispered loudly. "It floats! In the air! That's amazing!"
"She's rich-rich," I said, nodding. "Like, not just Mora-rich. She probably bathes in silk and makes tea out of endangered flowers."
"Shigeru..." Lumine warned.
I put my chopsticks down and looked to the heavens.
"If fate allows me... I will GLADLY become her sugar baby."
Lumine choked on her dumpling. "You are the dumbest person I've ever met."
Zhongli, to his credit, did not spit out his tea. He simply gave a very dignified little cough and said, "Lady Ningguang's taste is... discerning."
"You hear that?" I said, elbowing Lumine. "I got a chance!"
"No, you don't!" she hissed.
Just as we were mid-banter, a voice called out—from the freaking roof.
"I believe you're making quite a ruckus down there."
We all froze. I mean, who wouldn't when a voice randomly descends from the sky like some divine narrator?
"…Oh no," I whispered. "I know that voice. Don't tell me—"
I looked up.
There, perched on the roof like a majestic goat goddess, was none other than—
"COCOGOAT?!"
Yup. Ganyu.
Lumine facepalmed so hard I swear I heard her forehead crack.
"Not again," she muttered.
I scrambled to my feet, knocking over my tea. "I KNEW I FORGOT SOMETHING! We're in the part of the story where Ganyu shows up! How did I forget the Cocogoat part?!"
Paimon blinked. "Wait… you know her?"
"Paimon, my girl, I prayed for her. Pulled for her. Spent primogems I didn't have. She was my DPS Queen before Hydro Daddy Ayato showed up!"
Zhongli raised a brow. "You seem quite... passionate."
I collapsed back into my seat. "You don't understand... I once lost the 50/50 to Qiqi three times."
Ganyu gracefully leapt down and landed without a sound. Seriously. No crunch. No thud. Just elegance.
She approached our table with a soft smile. "You're the Traveler's companion, correct?"
"I'm the emotional support disaster," I replied without thinking.
Zhongli cleared his throat. "Ganyu, it is good to see you. As always, your timing is impeccable."
"I overheard your conversations from the rooftop," she said calmly, sipping tea that somehow appeared in her hand. "Also, someone yelled 'sugar baby' at full volume."
"That was him," Lumine and Paimon said in unison, pointing at me.
Look. I didn't ask to be this iconic.
So, after the whole Cocogoat debacle—seriously, who jumps down from a roof like that, and why did she land so quietly?—Ganyu got all formal on us.
You know, the whole "Emissary of the Liyue Qixing, Secretary of the Yuehai Pavilion" speech. I wasn't really paying attention though. I was too busy recovering from the shock of my favorite Genshin character being so graceful.
Like, who does that?
Anyway, she then dropped the bomb. "Lady Ningguang has requested to meet you."
For a moment, everything went silent in my head. Did I hear that right?
"The Jade Chamber?" I asked, practically jumping out of my seat. "Is that where we're going? Is that where we're headed right now? Because, uh, YES. YES, A THOUSAND TIMES YES!"
I mean, it's the Jade Chamber. It's like a floating fortress, a gigantic flex of wealth, power, and probably magic. It was definitely on my "Things To Do Before I Die" list, and guess what? Apparently, I was about to check it off.
Lumine shot me a look that was 60% exasperation and 40% concern.
"Shigeru, do you have to be this excited about it?" she muttered.
"Uh, yes. Because... THE JADE CHAMBER!" I shouted, throwing my hands up like I was about to burst into a song about ancient relics. Honestly, I was already picturing myself strolling in there, acting all cool, maybe even accidentally knocking over something priceless. You know, casual things.
Paimon, the actual idiot of the group, started grinning from ear to ear like she had just discovered the secret to immortality. "So exciting! Paimon is so excited!"
But me? I have a different battle plain.
"Ohohoh, the plot is progressing smoothly, huh? Just a bit more and we're meeting the legendary cat lady herself!" I shout-whispered to myself.
My thoughts immediately derailed into a whole other tangent. "Keqing. The almighty Yuheng. The prettiest cat lady. Lightning violet Pikachu, you know?" I muttered under my breath, obviously lost in my own delusions.
Lumine sighed deeply. "You are the worst, you know that?"
But I wasn't listening, not really. In my mind, I was already crafting an entire backstory for Keqing, in which she was, of course, the most majestic, mysterious, and borderline unreachable woman to ever walk the land. She controlled the very lightning that crackled across Liyue's skies. I was basically in love already.
"You're saying some weird things. Again." Lumine said, and I realized I might have said that last part out loud. Oops.
Before I could spiral further into my own thoughts, Ganyu, the professional and overly-polite person she is, continued. "Lady Ningguang requests your presence. She said, 'Together, we shall snip every one of these entwining dark threads.'"
"…What?" I blinked. "What dark threads? Are we cutting the bad guys out? Like, literally?"
"I doubt you'd understand, but it's poetic," Ganyu said, her tone so patient that it almost sounded like she was explaining something to a very dumb child. Probably because she was. Me.
I scratched the back of my head. "Sure, sure. Poetic. Snip dark threads... Sounds cool, I guess? But, uh, I still don't get it."
Paimon was already off in her own world, nodding enthusiastically. "It's deep, it's mysterious, it's poetic! So cool!" she squeaked, already eyeing the leftover dumplings on my plate.
"Yeah, I get it," I said, waving my hand like I was conducting an orchestra. "We snip some threads, save the world, and then maybe get a reward. No big deal."
At this point, I was more focused on the idea of meeting Ningguang and not accidentally setting something on fire while I was at it. But of course, Paimon couldn't just leave it there.
"So, when we meet her, we get to become her sugar babies, right?" she asked with that innocent yet devilish grin. "You know, in exchange for... I don't know, something valuable."
I paused. I stared at her. "Sugar baby? I am not signing up for that. Not anymore."
"Well, you're the one who mentioned how much you love Ningguang," Paimon smirked, clearly enjoying herself way too much.
I deadpanned. "Keqing is my one true love. Ningguang, while powerful, will have to fight me for her spot on the pedestal."
Lumine looked like she wanted to slam her head into a wall. "Stop before you make things worse."
But at least, Ganyu seemed unfazed by all of this. As usual. "Shall we proceed?" she asked, her voice smooth as ever.
"Yes," I said eagerly, nearly sprinting out the door. "To the Jade Chamber! Let's go, go, GO!"
We said our goodbye to the old lizard eating with us as he reminded us that we still have to meet at Dihua Marsh because apparently, the rite of parting is not over yet. But who cares?! I'm going to meet the Leaders of Liyue Qixing! Was I ready? Probably not. But was I going to enjoy the chaos that would follow? Absolutely.
Next stop: To the Jade Chamber!
______________________________
End of Chapter 24
Quest Completed: Make it to Jade Chamber's Guest List, and Initiate the start of the Rite of Parting.
Rewards: +1 Ningguang Curiosity Points, +200 Friendship XP with Ganyu, 10,000 Mora and +7000 XP.
Achievement Unlocked: "I Survived Ganyu's Formality"