A light blue vortex appeared, and Lin Tian's figure materialized in a small room inside a tavern in Sumeru City on the continent of Teyvat.
"Welcome."
"Lin Tian!"
As soon as Lin Tian stepped out of the vortex, Paimon threw herself onto him, rubbing against his chest with a look of longing.
Seeing Paimon's actions, Lumine, who had just been welcoming Lin Tian, suddenly looked crestfallen. "Paimon, I was clearly the one who met you first, yet you're so clingy with Lin Tian. That's too much!"
"Oh my, Lumine, are you jealous?"
Yae Miko, who was still sizing up Lin Tian, heard Lumine's words. She turned her head to look at her temporary master, and seeing Lumine's jealous expression, she immediately started teasing her.
"Oh! Lumine is jealous? Wait! Eight-God Bug, why are you here?"
Hearing Yae Miko's words, Lin Tian also looked at Lumine in surprise, not expecting her to be jealous of him! But then, Lin Tian realized Yae Miko was also here. He looked blankly at the pink-haired fox perched on Lumine's shoulder. Why was this trashy fox here?
"Hey! What 'Eight-God Bug'! I am the great Lady Yae Miko, who possesses both beauty and wisdom! Are you doing this on purpose!"
"Also, who are you? Why did you suddenly appear in Lumine's room?!"
Hearing Lin Tian's name for her, the pink-haired fox's fur stood on end, and she whimpered and howled at Lin Tian.
"Why am I here? Lumine, you didn't tell this trashy fox?"
Hearing Lin Tian's question, Lumine stopped bickering with Paimon and began to explain Lin Tian's origins to Yae Miko, as well as the source of those revival coins.
While Lumine was explaining, Lin Tian rubbed Paimon's belly and sensed his current location.
"This is the Grand Bazaar, so the Sanctuary of Surasthana must be above. If I remember correctly, that idiot Grand Sage is hiding somewhere in the Akademiya, secretly researching Gundams with 'Big Gun' Lei, right?"
"Purrr... Lin Tian, what are you talking about?"
Paimon lay in Lin Tian's arms, thoroughly enjoying the belly rub. She heard Lin Tian muttering about 'Grand Sage,' 'Big Gun Lei,' and 'Gundams,' and was completely confused.
"It's nothing. I'll show you a performance later."
Lin Tian didn't explain. Instead, he quickened the rubbing, precisely finding all of Paimon's sensitive spots, rubbing her until she was dizzy and disoriented.
After a long while, Lumine finally finished telling Yae Miko about the chat group. Yae Miko had a dazed expression, as if everything suddenly made sense.
No wonder Lumine had the power to revive gods. No wonder Liyue had undergone such incredible changes recently. Even Mondstadt had begun to learn from Liyue, and the relationship between the two nations was gradually becoming closer.
She had originally thought it was because the Geo Archon and the Anemo Archon had the best relationship, so Liyue was helping Mondstadt advance. Now, it seemed Mondstadt had boarded Lumine's big ship. Just the points the Anemo Archon had earned were enough for Mondstadt to develop for quite some time.
"Anyway, there's only a week and a half left of the promised month. When I go back, I must tell Makoto about these things. I believe with Makoto's intelligence, she will definitely understand the priority of this matter."
"Moreover..."
Yae Miko's gaze shifted to Lin Tian, who was playing with Paimon. This person's identity was extraordinary. To him, resurrection was an extremely common thing, as common as eating or drinking.
And it was said that when Liyue was attacked by the Overlord of the Vortex, Osial, he was defeated in one blow by a mysterious powerhouse. That was probably this person. But when Lumine went to Inazuma, she didn't see anyone from another world. It seemed people from other worlds already knew about this world.
Lin Tian's arrival this time was likely for that "non-existent" new Dendro Archon. This meant Lin Tian was interested in the new Dendro Archon, so Sumeru would likely also board Liyue's big ship.
Yae Miko only knew the gist of the Khaenri'ah affair, but she understood that Teyvat was likely fraught with danger. If Inazuma fell one step behind the other nations, it would truly be left behind!
As a great yokai who had lived for 500 years, Yae Miko's wisdom was terrifying. Just from Lumine's words, she understood the future changes in Teyvat. This was an excellent opportunity! With Lumine's help, Inazuma would far surpass its prosperity before the isolation, even reaching a new stage!
"I understand. It seems your fortune is quite deep, Lumine. As expected of an outlander."
Yae Miko seemed to be thinking for a long time, but in reality, only a few seconds had passed. She pointedly alluded to Lumine's identity.
"I wonder when we can establish contact with other nations. The people of Inazuma would also have an easier time."
"Miko, telling me is useless. You have to rely on yourselves to talk to them."
Lumine, having been influenced by everyone in the group, was no longer the girl who only knew how to be lewd and trashy. She had now learned to read people. Although Yae Miko was currently in her fox form, Lumine could still see the foxy charm and cunning nature.
Hearing this, Yae Miko could only sigh helplessly. As expected, this kind of scheming was not suitable for a simple, cute little fox like her. It was better to wait and tell Makoto later, and let them handle the discussion.
As for herself, she would just be a good little fox for now. Although she was forced to be a hug pillow for Lumine to sniff and cuddle every night, Lumine had promised to resurrect Kitsune Saiguu after this was over. This was why she was willing to follow Lumine, and even let Lumine snuggle her intensely without making a fuss.
"Are you two done talking? Since you are, then let's... get started!"
Lin Tian snapped his fingers. Everyone in the room instantly vanished and reappeared high above Sumeru City.
"Spatial teleportation!"
Seeing her location, Yae Miko was horrified. She hadn't felt any energy fluctuations or ley line energy just now. This meant Lin Tian had completely displaced space itself!
Lin Tian ignored Yae Miko's shock. He was carefully sensing the exact location of that old fossil, the Grand Sage. After all, the innocent shouldn't be harmed, and the other people of Sumeru were just being kept in the dark.
"Found you."
Lin Tian's eyes lit up. He stared intently at the underground area of the massive tree-like structure. It seemed the Grand Sage and 'Big Gun' Lei were researching their Gundam.
"Hmm, how should I play with him?"
But just as Lin Tian was about to punch a hole in the ground and drag the Grand Sage out for a thorough beating, he suddenly found himself in a dilemma. What method should he use to toy with him?
'Maybe I should let a zombie bite him first, then see if he's conscious, and try feeding him the flesh of a death row inmate?'
'After I've had enough fun, I could cut off his limbs, sprinkle itching powder on him, or smear him with honey and throw him into an ant nest?'
'Or I could try that "Jin Renfeng" method, and just replace his blood with water? Or maybe just force-feed him some "divine water"!'
'Force-feed him a pound of aphrodisiacs used for breeding pigs, then throw him into a boar pen?'
...
What Lin Tian didn't know was that while he thought he was just imagining these things, his mouth was unconsciously saying his thoughts aloud.
Lumine had, at some unknown point, silently started a live broadcast.