"Speaking of which, Sister Makoto, the Rite of Descension was held in that place at that time. When we first entered, a huge dragon fell to the ground, which really gave us a fright."
"Is that so?"
Along the way, Xiangling interviewed several more passersby. As they walked along, they arrived at Liyue Plaza.
"The venue for the Culinary King Competition is also in that place. Why don't we go over and take a look now? See how the venue setup is going."
"We can also interview more people about their tastes while we're at it."
When Raiden Makoto stepped into Liyue Plaza with them, he saw a familiar figure—it was Beidou, who had brought them over.
Beside Beidou, there were also two other figures.
One was naturally a Lady with light purple hair and clothing leaning towards purple. He had two hair accessories on his head resembling ears, and he wore black stockings on his legs.
That Lady seemed to be the Keqing he had thought was his sister at the time.
The other was a mature woman with long platinum-blonde hair, pinned up by a black and gold hairpin, split at the back and hanging down to her calves.
The vermilion tassel hanging from his forehead echoed his eye color. He wore black sleeves and gold finger guards on both arms, with wide and long sleeves hanging down naturally. A white scarf was wrapped around his neck, and he wore a qipao with a mix of gold, white, and black. The hem was shaped like a bird's tail, and the collar had a golden phoenix pattern.
There was a deep gold fan-shaped decoration at that mature woman's waist, with a Geo Vision hanging from it as a pendant.
Different from Keqing, his legs were bare, with a red tattoo on his left leg.
Raiden Makoto guessed that the mature woman should also be one of the Seven Stars, very likely the Ningguang they had mentioned.
"Hmm? Traveler, Paimon, and Xiangling?" Keqing looked at them with a puzzled expression, then turned his gaze to Raiden Makoto and Raiden Ei beside them, the pair of twin sisters.
Raiden Makoto had a gentle smile at this moment. Keqing felt that Raiden Makoto was somewhat familiar. As for Raiden Ei beside her, she gave him a cold and aloof feeling that made her seem difficult to get along with.
"You're back from Inazuma?"
"Yeah, I'm the one who brought them back." Beidou's voice was very loud, almost audible throughout the entire plaza.
"Everyone, it's been a long time." Ningguang said with a smile. He only glanced over Raiden Makoto and Raiden Ei, thinking they were just ordinary Inazuman twin sisters, and paid them no more attention.
"Yo, what wind blew you guys here?" Beidou asked with a look of curiosity, his arms crossed.
"Did something happen? Why is everyone together?" Xiangling looked at everyone with a puzzled expression.
In front of them was the site of the Culinary King Competition, which was currently decorated with many ornaments. Behind Ningguang and Keqing, there was a huge rock.
Guoba tilted his head and looked at the large rock.
"Hmm?" Raiden Makoto glanced at the large rock. The egg-shaped rock emitted a faint power of a God, which was somewhat similar to Guoba's power.
Could that be Guoba's former original body? Or a rock related to Guoba?
Not only Raiden Makoto noticed the large rock, but Paimon also discovered it.
"Eh, why is there such a huge rock here?"
As for Raiden Ei, she looked at the large rock and only felt that it had a very faint power of a God. She couldn't distinguish the specific details. Since Morax was the Geo Archon and there was an egg-shaped rock in front of her, Raiden Ei was somewhat puzzled.
She then looked at Raiden Makoto with a puzzled expression and asked in confusion, "Sister, I don't remember Morax laying eggs?"
Because Raiden Ei said those words subconsciously, everyone present heard her.
"How dare you!" Keqing's expression was the worst. He looked at Raiden Ei indignantly. "Not only did you call the Lord by his name, but you also..."
Saying the Lord... laid an egg? As Rex Lapis's number one fan, Keqing didn't care how he criticized the Lord himself, but if someone else insulted the Lord, it directly provoked Keqing.
Although Ningguang didn't say anything, there was a hint of anger in his gaze as he looked at Raiden Ei.
"Inazumans... Are you the Traveler's friends?" Ningguang's tone was also slightly unpleasant.
"I'm sorry..." Raiden Makoto glared at Raiden Ei. If those words were said in front of Morax, it would just be a joke to them, but right now, they were in front of the Liyue Seven Stars.
"My sister is immature and speaks without thinking." Raiden Makoto's gentle smile made Keqing feel a bit better. Moreover, Keqing felt that Raiden Makoto gave him a strange sense of familiarity.
He didn't know why he felt an Inazuman was somewhat familiar.
Raiden Ei knew she had made another slip of the tongue, but with her personality, she would definitely not apologize for it. After all, Morax was originally the Geo Archon's true name, and nothing would happen no matter how she called him. Besides, as old friends, making a joke wasn't a big deal.
But making her sister angry was a big deal.
"Ah, she's my master... Lord Ningguang, Lord Keqing." Xiangling also hurriedly said a few words for Raiden Makoto and the others.
"It's fine."
"Be careful next time." Because of Raiden Makoto's gentle smile, Keqing stopped blaming Raiden Ei. If anyone else dared to call the Lord by his name and "insult" him, he would definitely not be so polite.
"It's a long story. Anyway, let me be clear first: I'll handle this rock of unknown origin. Do you two have any objections?" Keqing scanned the rock and spoke somewhat aloofly.
"Keqing has always been vigorous and resolute in his actions. I'm relieved to leave it to you." Beidou nodded seriously.
"What are you saying? Are you not confident in my methods?" Ningguang rested his chin on his hand and spoke in a strange tone.
"Ah? Keqing is always running around outside regardless of the weather, which is very different from you. Besides, you don't care about these things anyway, so why be so petty?"
"Just a joke..."
However, Paimon was very gossipy at this moment and whispered beside Sister Makoto, "Sister Makoto, don't you think the two of them are like a young couple bickering..."
"A little bit."
Raiden Ei was somewhat envious. She also wanted to bicker like a young couple with her sister, but if her sister scolded her, she wouldn't dare talk back.
"Did we come at a completely wrong time?" Paimon said with a smile, his gaze becoming increasingly gossipy.
"How could that be? If you want to know about the large rock, then let the Great Navigator, Captain Beidou, introduce it to you."
"This woman... Hmph... fine." Beidou snorted somewhat tsundere-ly, then said with some seriousness, "It's a pretty big rock, right? It really looks like an egg. The surface is very smooth. I thought there was some big treasure inside."
"This thing was salvaged from the shallow sea by fishermen. Looking at its appearance, it must have been submerged in the water for many years and washed into its current shape." Keqing said thoughtfully.
"What's inside the rock?" Xiangling was a bit curious. "Aren't we going to open it and see?"
"Knives, spears, clubs, and staves have all been tried. It can't be split or smashed." Keqing shook his head. "This thing is definitely not as simple as it looks on the surface."
As for Guoba, he was still quietly looking at the rock.
Raiden Makoto walked up to Guoba, knelt down, and stroked Guoba's head. She whispered, "Does Guoba think it's the same as you?"
Guoba turned his head to look at Raiden Makoto and blinked, as if responding to Raiden Makoto's words.
"It seems that just like Little Snakey, you've lost your past memories, but you can still recall what you looked like back then." Raiden Makoto sighed slowly.
Back then on Ba Yun Island, beside Orobashi's skull, hadn't Little White Snake also been hiding inside Orobashi's skull? Little White Snake knew the skull could protect it.
It was also familiar with its own scent.
Orobashi had fallen back into the cycle of reincarnation because he was severed by Ei's sword, losing all his memories.
As for Guoba, he must have chosen to lose all his power himself, right? Just from Guoba's appearance, Raiden Makoto could judge that Guoba should be a God with humanity.
"Hiss hiss hiss..." Seeing Raiden Makoto mention it, Little White Snake crawled out of her sleeve and flicked its tongue.
It leaned towards Guoba as if to comfort him.
"Master... why are you with Guoba?" Xiangling, who had planned to ask Keqing and Ningguang what they liked to eat, suddenly found his master looking at the large rock with Guoba.
"Master, come over here for a moment."
Raiden Makoto rubbed Guoba's little head and then said to Little White Snake, "Little Snakey, stay with Guoba for a while, okay?"
"Hiss hiss..." Little White Snake came out of the sleeve and began to wrap itself around Guoba's neck, and Guoba didn't mind at all; he even seemed a little happy.
"Jili gulu."
As Raiden Makoto walked towards them, she heard Xiangling asking Keqing and Ningguang what they liked to eat.
"I thought something world-shattering had happened, but it turns out you're just asking us what we like to eat." Ningguang looked at Xiangling.
"What do I like to eat? That's quite a sudden question." Keqing pondered for a moment. He was a bit surprised that he was being asked those questions.
"My taste is very simple: Refined, Concise, Pure, and Delicate. That will do." Ningguang smiled.
"Tsk, you call that simple?" Beidou rolled his eyes. He sometimes felt that Ningguang's way of speaking was really unpleasant.
"Isn't it simple? It can be summarized in four words." Ningguang blinked, acting quite normal.
"Then what about Sister Beidou?" Xiangling looked at Beidou again. Beidou was slightly stunned for a moment.
"Me? Just fresh hot dishes. If you add some chili, that'll be fine." Beidou said casually.
"What about Keqing?" Paimon was also curious about Keqing's taste. It was said that Keqing was a Demoiselle from a prestigious family, so his taste must be very picky, right?
"I... for me, it would have to be seafood." Keqing gave an answer after some thought.
At this moment, not only was Xiangling listening intently, but Raiden Ei was also listening very carefully. Of course, she was participating in the Culinary King Competition now not to win, but to cook a table of good food for her sister.
After listening carefully, she found that Ningguang's taste seemed to be the most similar to her sister's. Her sister liked "simple" home-cooked food, while Ningguang liked "Refined, Concise, Pure, and Delicate" dishes.
She would secretly seek advice from Xiangling later and cook a table of "simple" dishes at the Culinary King Competition to make her sister happy.
"Master, tell me a few dishes. Like Ningguang likes Refined, Concise, Pure, and Delicate things; Keqing likes seafood; and Big Sister Beidou likes fresh, hot, and spicy dishes to go with wine." Xiangling looked at Raiden Makoto seriously. "Master, which dishes do you think are suitable?"
He was a bit curious about Raiden Makoto's answer.
As for Raiden Ei, she was also very curious about Raiden Makoto's answer at this moment. She knew that whatever dish her sister recommended for Ningguang would be the dish her sister liked.
"Ningguang likes Refined, Concise, Pure, and Delicate? Then a simple dish of Steamed Cabbage in Consommé will do."
"Steamed Cabbage in Consommé?" Xiangling blinked. He had never seen such a crude-sounding preparation.
"Is there such a crude preparation?"
"Don't look down on Steamed Cabbage in Consommé. Ordinary people can't make it well." Raiden Makoto smiled.
In her previous life, Steamed Cabbage in Consommé was a state banquet dish.
And she felt that the dish perfectly met Ningguang's requirements. It could be seen that Ningguang likely came from a poor background, unlike Keqing, who was a wealthy Demoiselle.
"Mm." Ningguang nodded. When he was just starting out, he was penniless and indeed made do with very simple food.
Back then, boiled vegetables in water, thin pancakes wrapped in meat—what dish hadn't he eaten?
"As for Keqing..."
"golden shrimp balls are quite good... Of course, Salt-baked Shrimp and Garlic Roasted Oysters are also fine."
However, Keqing only noticed the golden shrimp balls. He even widened his eyes a bit and looked at Raiden Makoto. Was he really fated to be with Raiden Makoto? From the moment they first met, he had felt that Raiden Makoto was very kind.
Now Raiden Makoto had actually named his favorite dish all of a sudden.
"As for Captain Beidou, Spicy Chicken is very suitable." Raiden Makoto said with a smile.
"Spicy Chicken? That sounds delicious." Beidou nodded. "I think it works."
"It sounds like it would go great with wine." Beidou was already a bit hungry. "I kind of want to eat it right now if I could."
"Master..."
"You're truly amazing." Xiangling looked at Raiden Makoto with some admiration. Except for the golden shrimp balls, the other two dishes were things Xiangling had never heard of or seen before.
"Except for the golden shrimp balls, I've never heard of the other dishes. Master is so incredible!" Xiangling's pale gold eyes were full of admiration.
"Teach me how to make them, Master!" Xiangling was also a bit excited. Raiden Makoto said she could cook for them tonight, and he was very thrilled.
"Sure."
Raiden Makoto was also quite satisfied to be able to make Chinese cuisine flourish in another world.
"Sister... I want to eat too..." Ei looked at Raiden Makoto expectantly.
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