Chapter 122 – 122: Tianquan, So It Really Was You

Under the relentless flames, the envelope—faintly glowing with some mysterious light—was gradually reduced to ashes.

By the time the fire was extinguished, the entire accounting room was unrecognizable.

A few individuals who had witnessed the scene exchanged glances before quietly slipping away into the crowd of people working to put out the fire.

Meanwhile, the Millelith soldiers who had been stationed nearby—along with the backup forces arranged by Ningguang—swiftly took control of the scene under the guise of a fire investigation.

Other than those few individuals who had vanished at the very beginning, no one else was allowed to leave.

“Now this is an interesting surprise.”

Standing atop the Jade Chamber, Ningguang gazed down at the dwindling flames in the southern district, her beautiful eyes reflecting a contemplative expression.

She hadn’t expected them to move so quickly.

“So… that man who calls himself Himura Kenshin really is suspicious?”

Holding a wine flask in her hand, Beidou hesitated to open it.

Right now, she was feeling uneasy.

If that man was truly such a dangerous figure, was it really wise to let him remain on her ship?

“Not necessarily.”

Compared to Beidou, Ningguang had far more information at her disposal.

Six months ago, members of the Fatui had been sighted in the southern shipyard.

If her deductions were correct, that location must have been one of their strongholds in Liyue.

She had originally intended to use it as bait to lure out whoever was behind Himura Kenshin.

But unexpectedly, the ones who took the bait first… were the Fatui.

Like little ducks playing in the shallows, thinking they were safe.

She had planned to drain the entire pond before capturing them all in one fell swoop.

But it seemed they had jumped onto the hook of their own accord.

She never once suspected that Himura Kenshin might be aligned with the Fatui.

After all, the Fatui had been searching for him everywhere.

And judging by how furious Childe had looked, that man must have seriously pissed them off.

The whole excuse about “urgent matters back home”? More likely, he was simply avoiding the Fatui.

As for why the letter had ended up in their hands—well, that was easy to explain.

Even when pretending to cooperate, the Fatui always had their own underhanded schemes.

Intercepting letters in secret? This wasn’t the first time.

According to Yelan’s investigations, the Fatui had been pulling stunts like this because they were afraid Liyue might be forming alliances with other nations behind their backs.

Initially, Ningguang had assumed that this frail-looking man would only attract the attention of whoever was behind the Battousai.

But it turned out the Fatui were insane enough to go after someone who could barely take three steps without looking like he might collapse.

Still, this incident served as a warning to the Fatui—

A reminder that Liyue was not a place they could manipulate at will.

“So, does that mean my ship can set sail with him on board?”

After a brief moment of hesitation, Beidou finally asked the question that had brought her here.

“Of course, my dear Captain Beidou.”

Ningguang exhaled a wisp of smoke from her pipe, a smirk playing at her lips.

“But I’d feel a lot more at ease if you personally ensured he set foot on Inazuman soil. That way, we can all sleep soundly at night.”

She had more or less pieced together the puzzle regarding Himura Kenshin’s origins.

If her guess was correct—

Himura Kenshin had likely wounded the Raiden Shogun before secretly fleeing Inazuma aboard a Fatui ship.

And perhaps, during his time on that ship, he had obtained something crucial.

Something the Resistance had long sought—

Definitive proof that the Fatui were trying to control Inazuma.

And that would explain why the so-called “Ausbilder” from Mondstadt had also followed his trail to Liyue.

Baizhu had told Ningguang about the three wounds on that Ausbilder’s body.

Those injuries were unlike anything caused by an ordinary blade.

Rather…

They bore the unmistakable marks of an Inazuman katana with its edge reversed.

So, Himura Kenshin had even fought against the Ausbilder—almost killing him in the process.

Perhaps this was another reason why the Fatui had been desperately searching for him recently.

Even someone of Childe’s rank had been alarmed by his presence.

That explained why Kenshin was so eager to leave Liyue within three days.

Right now, Liyue and Snezhnaya were still in their honeymoon phase diplomatically.

If Childe requested assistance from Liyue, then even if Kenshin had wings, he wouldn’t be able to escape.

“Alright, leave it to me. I’ll go make the arrangements now.”

Beidou nodded and, unlike her usual playful banter with Ningguang, left the Jade Chamber immediately.

The moment she realized that Battousai was entangled with multiple powerful factions, she could no longer sit still.

Until the Crux left Liyue, she wouldn’t be leaving her ship much, if at all.

She had a feeling she would need to personally oversee this one.

“Still… what exactly does he have that’s important enough to make two Fatui Harbingers hunt him down?”

Ningguang leaned against the railing, gazing at the Alcor, which rested quietly in the harbor.

Despite the peaceful glow of the banquet fires onboard, beneath it all, the tides surged violently.

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“Are you certain?”

Inside the Northland Bank, Childe examined the intelligence report handed to him, a thoughtful expression on his face.

“Yes, Lord Harbinger. The magma appeared suddenly and vanished just as quickly. The impact was so strong that it blew the roof off. Everyone at the scene witnessed it.”

The person kneeling before him was one of the Fatui operatives who had escaped from the shipyard fire.

Originally, his task was to retrieve classified documents and deliver them to the intelligence department for decryption.

He hadn’t expected a disaster to occur the moment he arrived.

So, naturally, he ran straight to the highest-ranking Fatui officer in Liyue—Childe.

Technically, the Ausbilder would’ve been a more suitable contact for intelligence-related matters, since he specialized in espionage and assassinations.

But the Ausbilder was notoriously elusive.

Even Childe himself didn’t know where that guy disappeared to most of the time.

So, really, there was no other choice.

“You’re telling me that the moment the letter was delivered, the hideout exploded?”

Childe glanced down, as if checking whether the floor beneath him was still solid.

He already had a vivid mental picture of what had happened.

He could imagine the intense heat of the magma, the force of its eruption, how high it could launch a person into the air—

Because he had experienced it firsthand.

Ever since that day, he didn’t dare spend more than thirty seconds in a restroom.

Every time, he instinctively kept one hand on his belt, afraid that some mysterious magma blast would send him flying again.

Falling into the ocean? Worst case, he’d get wet.

Falling into an outhouse? Well… that would be a hard reset on life itself.

Originally, he thought he had been too reckless that day, and that Morax had simply decided to mess with him.

After all, magma was just burning rock.

It was only natural to associate it with the Geo Archon.

But no.

Ningguang—that sly, sharp-eyed fox—had been the one pulling the strings all along.

“Yes, sir. That hideout was abandoned after Liyue and Snezhnaya established diplomatic relations.”

“It hadn’t been used in over six months.”

“The only thing that had been delivered there in that time was a copy of that letter.”

“Six months, huh…?”

Childe walked over to the window and looked up at the Jade Chamber floating in the sky.

He had his answer.

On the continent of Teyvat, there were devices capable of delayed explosions.

There were elemental abilities with similar effects.

But for the sake of stability, such methods usually didn’t exceed a week in delay.

Nothing takes six months to detonate.

And especially not something that had just blown him up recently.

“Tianquan, so it really was you.”

. . . . .

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