"Have you heard? I heard a major event happened in Inazuma."
"What major event happened in Inazuma? Isn't it because the sakoku decree was lifted that there are many Inazumans in Liyue Harbor now?"
"Inazuma's Raiden Shogun was assassinated and died, just like Rex Lapis..."
"Inazuma's Raiden Shogun was assassinated? How could that be? Isn't that Inazuma's God?"
"I don't know."
At this moment, as they walked along the roads of Liyue Harbor, many Liyue locals were discussing those matters.
"Is the news only reaching here now?" Raiden Makoto heard those Liyue people discussing matters related to Inazuma. They had already been here for several days before the news finally arrived.
"Ah, Inazuma actually had something happen just like Liyue..." After hearing the surrounding Liyue people's discussions, Xiangling said thoughtfully, "Master... is Inazuma's God also like the Lord of Geo?"
"I heard that Inazuma's Raiden Shogun is very cold and ruthless... but rumors say the Raiden Shogun is very powerful, how could she be assassinated?" Xiangling was also somewhat curious, and she stared straight at Raiden Makoto.
"Master, you are from Inazuma, so you must know the Raiden Shogun very well, right?" Xiangling looked at Raiden Makoto with a face full of curiosity.
"The Raiden Shogun?"
"Hmm..." Raiden Makoto smiled, "You're not from Inazuma, why are you paying so much attention?"
"Whatever happened in Inazuma doesn't have much to do with Liyue anyway."
"I just feel that the person who assassinated the Raiden Shogun might be the same person who assassinated the Lord of Geo," Xiangling said thoughtfully. "Otherwise, who else would dare to touch the Raiden Shogun?"
"If you think it's one person, then so be it." Seeing Xiangling's gossipy look, Raiden Makoto didn't reply much but instead said, "Since something is happening over where Keqing is, why don't we go take a look?"
"Eh?"
"Sure."
...Liyue Plaza.
"You guys are here too? Did Grandma Ping tell you any information about the God of Stove?" Keqing looked at Xiangling with some expectation.
"Grand Master said the God of Stove was her good friend and also a good friend of the Lord of Geo, and that maybe he'll return one day."
"Hmm..."
But Keqing continued, "You've come at the right time. A crack has appeared in that giant rock... it appeared naturally and has nothing to do with us."
"How did it crack?" Xiangling stared wide-eyed at that big rock. "Wasn't it said that the rock was invulnerable? No matter what you did to the rock before, it was perfectly fine."
"The power of a God is converging." Raiden Makoto discovered that the power of a God within that rock had become even denser. Part of a God's power is related to the faith and activities of humans.
"Eh?" Raiden Makoto's voice wasn't quiet, so the others heard her words.
"The power of a God is converging? What does that mean, Master?" Xiangling blinked at Raiden Makoto, her face full of curiosity.
"The God of Stove is not an adeptus... he should be a God... A God's power is related to the natural environment of their birth, but part of it also comes from people's faith and worship," Raiden Makoto said calmly. At the very least, she could feel a surge of faith and power regarding the almighty narukami ogosho, god of thunder.
That part of the power would also transform into her own power.
"But didn't Grand Master say... that people don't really remember the God of Stove anymore?" Xiangling asked with a face full of confusion, "Master..."
"That might be because your current activities are precisely related to the God of Stove... Reuniting with family during the Moonchase Festival, cooking delicious food—all of these are related to the God of Stove."
"If I'm not mistaken, the God of Stove should be the one who spread the method of using fire to the people of Liyue and taught you how to cook," Raiden Makoto said thoughtfully.
"Yes." Keqing nodded. "In the notes left by my grandfather, it was recorded that the God of Stove helped people in thousands of households start fires and cook, teaching them how to make fire and how to cook."
"But what confuses me is, how could there be a God of Stove in every single household? My grandfather's notes are also incomplete, so I don't quite understand." Keqing then looked at Raiden Makoto with some curiosity, "Makoto, how do you know so much about Gods?"
One must know that in Liyue, very few people are familiar with Gods; those are matters from the era of the Archon War.
They only knew that Rex Lapis was the Geo Archon and nothing else. There were no records of how many Gods there were in ancient Liyue.
Lumine and Paimon were not confused. Raiden Makoto was the Electro Archon, so she was a God herself, right? They figured she must be the Electro Archon.
Raiden Makoto just smiled, and Keqing subsequently knew she shouldn't ask more.
"So my point is, if people continue their activities, the crack should get bigger and bigger, eventually revealing the original form of the giant rock."
"That should be the original appearance of the God of Stove." As Raiden Makoto spoke, she glanced at Guoba. She felt that what would appear before them would definitely be a Guoba divine statue.
"You are absolutely right." Along with Grandma Ping's voice, they saw Grandma Ping walking over from that direction, a smile on her face. "The various folk activities are the source of the God of Stove's power—the passion for cooking, the joy of reunion."
"Everyone, keep up the hard work. I believe the truth will come to light soon."
"The God of Stove... my grandfather's notes also said the God of Stove is the deity in charge of cooking," Keqing said thoughtfully.
"Could it be because someone is cooking desperately?" For some reason, Raiden Ei's figure flashed through Paimon's mind. In her impression, Raiden Ei seemed to have been practicing cooking desperately.
Except... she had blown up several kitchens.
"Hmm."
"The theme of this year's Moonchase Festival is food and the landscape, so it's likely because of this that all those chefs are practicing..." Keqing nodded, fully agreeing with that reasoning.
"Young friend, can we talk?" Grandma Ping didn't know Raiden Makoto's specific identity, but she felt that Raiden Makoto should be like the Lord of Geo, a fellow God... "Xiangling, I have something I want to discuss with your master," Grandma Ping said with a smile.
"Grand Master... then you guys chat." Xiangling blinked. She thought Grand Master probably wanted to talk to her master about her? After all, her master didn't know about her past deeds.
"In short, this year's Culinary King Competition will adopt a format of indoor preliminaries and outdoor finals. At that time, there will surely be many people, and the atmosphere then should allow the giant rock to reveal its original form." Keqing stood straight and gazed at the giant rock that already had a crack.
"Mm-hmm."
Meanwhile, Raiden Makoto and Grandma Ping walked to the side. Grandma Ping's gaze was somewhat profound as she observed Raiden Makoto.
"You should know him, right?" Grandma Ping said with a smile. "Although I don't know which one you are... I imagine your relationship with him shouldn't be bad?"
Raiden Makoto knew who Grandma Ping was referring to by "him," so she nodded and said, "I am Raiden."
"Morax and I are indeed friends." Raiden Makoto's words made Grandma Ping freeze for a moment. The name Raiden was slightly familiar to her. After a moment of contemplation, she realized Raiden Makoto's identity.
The Electro Archon of Inazuma, one of the Seven Sovereigns of the World, Raiden.
"I quite like that girl Xiangling, and taking her as a disciple was also to teach her culinary arts, so you can rest assured." Raiden Makoto had a smile on her face. "I also came here to ask Morax for a small favor."
"Hmm."
Grandma Ping could tell just from her appearance that Raiden Makoto was a gentle person, so she had never worried that Raiden Makoto would be a threat; she just wanted to confirm Raiden Makoto's identity.
"Then it seems you have already met him." Grandma Ping smiled. Seeing that smile, Raiden Makoto knew that Grandma Ping was likely the adeptus with the best relationship with Zhongli.
"Speaking of which, do you know who Morax's sweetheart is?" To be honest, she was quite curious. The Geo Archon Morax could be said to have a heart as solid as a rock, yet when Morax mentioned that "her," his emotions actually fluctuated slightly.
One must know that because of erosion, he had lost most of his emotions, right? When she first met Morax two thousand years ago, he wasn't as "cold" as he is now.
"His sweetheart?" Grandma Ping was stunned for a moment, then she shook her head and said with a smile, "How would I know?"
"No one can see through the Lord of Geo's thoughts."
Seeing Grandma Ping's smile, Raiden Makoto decided not to ask further; she was only a little curious.
"Regarding my existence, I hope you won't spread the word." Raiden Makoto looked at Grandma Ping seriously. She didn't want the news that the Electro Archon was still alive to leak elsewhere; that would be completely detrimental to her plan.
"Hmm."
..."Master, did Grand Master talk to you about me?" Xiangling's pale gold eyes landed on Raiden Makoto as she asked curiously.
"Hmm." Raiden Makoto nodded. She couldn't possibly tell Xiangling that she and Grandma Ping were discussing the topic of Rex Lapis Morax, could she?
"Master..." Xiangling's face turned slightly red. The things she did as a child were indeed a bit embarrassing; she had been far too mischievous back then.
"Did Grand Master say anything else?" Xiangling intended to confirm once more. "For example, about my past..."
"Xiangling, Grandma Ping isn't like Moon Carver; how could she reveal things about your childhood everywhere?" Keqing said from the side. "She probably spoke with Makoto about your future."
"Alright then."
"Moon Carver indeed likes to tell us about Ganyu's childhood during casual chats." Paimon nodded seriously.
"Are you guys really not curious about Ganyu's childhood..."
Keqing glared at Paimon. "I'm not interested in those things either... you'd better not talk nonsense... talking about others' past behind their backs... is a matter of politeness..."
"Okay..."
"Then Keqing, shall we head back first? It's getting late."
"Hmm... okay."
...Wanmin Restaurant.
"Lady Beelzebul... I remember you used to be Lady Raiden's Shadow Clone, didn't you? How could you..."
Watching Raiden Ei tinkering with those so-called electric heating instruments, Ganyu was a bit curious. How was she somewhat similar to Moon Carver?
"Little Sheep, I'll have you know I also know Mechanics..."
With Ganyu's help, the materials she wanted were all available, and she was now almost at the critical step.
Compared to making a puppet, making an Electric Stove that could generate heat was very simple; it was just that she didn't know the principles. She only knew that if she could conduct electricity into a coil, the coil would heat up.
"I... I'm not a Little Sheep... I'm a qilin... Lady Beelzebul." Ganyu's voice was intermittent, her tone low, and her face a bit flushed.
She was a bit embarrassed.
"Task complete!" Raiden Ei looked at the object before her that was somewhat similar to a stove, and a sense of achievement welled up in her heart. As expected of her, she really was suited for making delicate objects.
"Lady Beelzebul, can this really be used for cooking?" Ganyu looked curiously at the strange-looking object before her, which looked like a stove but wasn't a stove, feeling somewhat doubtful.
"Of course..."
"As long as electricity can be conducted into it... it will heat up. As long as it can heat up, it can be used for cooking." Raiden Ei was already impatient for her elder sister to return and praise her.
She would be able to cook in the future too!
"Alright then."
"Little Sheep, thank you." Raiden Ei was quite happy. After a day's time, she had finally finished making the electric stove. She already planned to name her new invention the electric stove.
The inspiration came from Raiden Makoto casually mentioning an "induction cooker," although she didn't know what an induction cooker was.
"Ugh... Lady Beelzebul, I really am a qilin... a qilin! Not a Little Sheep..." Ganyu looked like she was about to cry, staring at Raiden Ei with pleading eyes, "Lady Beelzebul..."
"But aren't those two sheep horns?"
"As soon as I get back, I see you bullying Ganyu. Ei, you've grown bold." Along with Raiden Makoto's voice coming in, Raiden Ei trembled slightly.
"Sister... I... how am I bullying Ganyu?" Raiden Ei looked at the incoming Raiden Makoto pitifully, "Sister... wasn't I just telling the truth..."
"Isn't Ganyu a Little Sheep?" Raiden Ei said with an innocent face, "It's not like I'm really bullying her."
"Makoto..." Ganyu's watery eyes blinked and blinked, her pitiful appearance causing Raiden Makoto to glare at Raiden Ei.
"Look at you, making this child feel so wronged." Raiden Makoto stepped forward and hugged Ganyu, saying gently, "Tell me, did Ei bully you? I'll teach her a lesson for you."
"..."
"Sister... am I still your good sister?" Raiden Ei looked at Raiden Makoto like that, not knowing what to say.
How could her elder sister teach her a lesson for the sake of an outsider?
"I really... really didn't bully Ganyu..." Raiden Ei said very seriously, "Sister, believe me."
"Is it finished?" Raiden Makoto also noticed the object before her that was somewhat similar to a "stove."
"Hmm."
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