The next day, the Moonchase Festival ended, and the Chef Showdown also determined its winner.
The final winner was still Xiangling. Xianyun's opponent in the semi-finals was Ying; that's right, Ying also participated this time, and in the end, Xianyun was defeated by Ying and eliminated.
It's worth mentioning that yesterday, Keqing found Lin Qiu and said "thank you" to him. Lin Qiu treated him to a meal of golden shrimp balls.
Before the competition began, they spent some time together. If Lin Qiu and Keqing were merely acquaintances before, they could now be considered friends.
Having talked about yesterday's events, let's discuss today's: Lin Qiu's new book was released today.
"Chapter of the Golden-Winged Peng King: Act I: The Butterfly Dream of Huai Ke, The Dream of Nuo You"
The story tells of the Traveler arriving near Wangshu Inn and discovering several Hilichurls behaving strangely, seemingly exuding an evil aura.
Paimon felt that these Hilichurls might harm passersby, so as kind Adventurers, they should eliminate these monsters.
"Traveler, for my sake, use your element on them!"
The Traveler eliminated some Hilichurls tainted with evil, then noticed a masked person on the other side who seemed to be "casting a spell."
The masked person held a "talisman" and dispelled all the Hilichurls tainted with evil.
Paimon: "Looking at his 'ritual' just now, he seems more like an Adeptus than Xiao. How about we go talk to him?"
The Adepti scoffed, dismissing it as 'fake at first glance.'
How could this charlatan, who was merely a fox borrowing a tiger's prestige, compare to the Conqueror of Demons?
Yet Xiao had no reaction. In fact, in Xiao's own view, performing rituals was indeed not his strong suit.
However, Xiao noticed that this person merely drove away the monsters and did not deal with them.
"...Only adding to the trouble," Xiao sighed.
Unlike the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, Xiao's method of dealing with God remnants was much simpler and cruder, which was more efficient but came at a higher cost.
God remnants were not so easy to eliminate; they eventually became part of the 'karma' that entangled Xiao.
Speaking of the masked person in the story, ordinary people couldn't tell if the masked person was a true Adeptus or a fake, but they recognized Xiao.
Could this mysterious masked person really be more powerful than that short Adeptus? Not even ordinary people thought so.
Don't let that Adeptus's short stature fool you; his abilities were heaven-defying.
Everyone was still very curious: who exactly was this masked person? Was he really an Adeptus?
Masked Person: "Ah, no need for thanks. Exorcising demons and helping the world is an Adeptus's duty, not worth mentioning, not worth mentioning…"
"Oh? You two seem to be unfamiliar faces. I, this Adeptus, thought you were 'believers.'"
"It is only proper that I, this Adeptus, introduce myself."
"I, this Adeptus, am the 'True Lord of Star-Snatching and Constellation-Seizing,' also known by my believers as the 'Starsea Soother.'"
"This time, I, this Adeptus, have descended the mountain to aid the world. Since we have met by chance, if you two have any wishes, feel free to tell me."
Ordinary people who didn't know the truth felt a certain closeness to this True Lord of Star-Snatching and Constellation-Seizing.
However, those who knew a bit more instantly recognized him as a fraud.
"Star-Snatching and Constellation-Seizing? I've never even heard of such a name. Hmph, impersonating an Adeptus, I, this Adeptus, should punish him!" Xianyun said.
Don't think you're an Adeptus just because you call yourself some kind of True Lord!
"Exactly, what good Adeptus refers to himself as 'I, this Adeptus' so often?" Guizhong nodded.
"Hm?" Xianyun felt that Guizhong was excluding her, but she had no evidence.
"Isn't Master a good Adeptus who loves to refer to herself as 'I, this Adeptus'?" Shenhe answered bluntly.
...Xianyun fell silent. Shenhe shouldn't have mentioned her; now there was evidence.
From now on, I, this Adeptus, will not let you use the automatic cooking divine machine made by I, this Adeptus!
Paimon: "Starsea Soother, you... can also help people fulfill wishes? I thought the Adepti of Liyue were only good at fighting…"
As soon as these words were spoken, MacArthur—oh no, as soon as these words were spoken, Xianyun immediately declared:
"What I, this Adeptus, am best at is not fighting, but mechanisms!"
She said this, thinking no one would refute her, because Paimon and the Traveler had gone with Yanfei to gather materials for the Serenitea Pot.
Even if they were reading, they should be reading outside and wouldn't be here to complain about her.
Yet, unexpectedly, even without Paimon, someone still refuted her.
"Mm-hmm, just a little bit worse than me." Guizhong nodded, even extending her small hand from her long sleeve to make a tiny gesture.
...Xianyun always felt that Guizhong was targeting her.
Guizhong covered her mouth and chuckled, thinking that Xianyun was indeed the most fun to tease; the other Adepti's personalities weren't as interesting as Xianyun's.
Xianyun also couldn't refute Guizhong, because Guizhong was indeed a little bit better than her in the art of mechanisms, so she could only obediently continue reading.
In the book, the True Lord of Star-Snatching and Constellation-Seizing laughed: "Heh heh, after all, 'Starsea Soother' is one rank higher in Adeptus status than 'True Lord.'"
"Presumptuous!" Xianyun couldn't help herself again and 'whoosh' stood up.
Finally, Lin Qiu helplessly soothed her, "Alright, alright, can you calm down and finish the story first?"
This story involved impersonating an Adeptus, and Xianyun's fiery temper truly made her angry with every sentence she read.
Although everyone wasn't reading the same book, her boisterousness really affected others.
"Hmph." Xianyun gave Lin Qiu face and sat down to continue reading.
In the book, the Traveler began to inquire about the opinions of the "believers" around him.
Male Believer: "Did you see the Starsea Soother perform his ritual? Truly divine! My father's illness must have hope now…"
"I previously sought a prescription for my bedridden father, and it was vastly different from Bubu Pharmacy's formula. When brewed, it even had a faint mist floating from it, very Adeptus-like! Though it might also be because of the Mist Flower Corolla added…"
"As for the antiques offered to the Starsea Soother as tributes, they are nothing compared to my father's life!"
As the saying goes, bystanders see clearly. People who were reading before didn't know if this True Lord of Star-Snatching and Constellation-Seizing was real or fake, but when they saw the words 'antiques offered as tributes,' they instantly understood.
One can only say this child was filial, just a bit foolish.
However, this couldn't be blamed on him. Sometimes, when a loved one is seriously ill and difficult to treat, people will pin their hopes on some inexplicable 'medicine.'
"Alas, delaying treatment…" Baizhu sighed.
From the description, it seemed the man's father was seriously ill, and with the misuse of medicine, he would be even harder to treat now.
"How can someone lie about such things!" Barbara was also very displeased; as a Deacon, she was also a healer.
Keqing frowned, already considering how to apprehend the person, but had this person in reality committed a crime?
Dehya also felt angry. She found it very difficult to accept such behavior of deceiving patients, giving them hope, only for it all to be a lie.
"This scoundrel, I really want to go to Liyue and beat him up!" Dehya clenched her fists.
Dinazade held Dehya's fist with her hand and softly said, "Alright, I believe Liyue will handle it well."
Just the first believer's experience of being deceived already displeased everyone, and they wondered what else the later people had been deceived about.
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Character Voice Line · Xianyun: About the True Lord of Star-Snatching and Constellation-Seizing
"Hmph! While other Adepti are magnanimous, I, this Adeptus, will not let this fellow off so easily.
However, I, this Adeptus, am not a bad person. I merely placed a mechanism beside him that