Kiana and the Captain's Bizarre Adventure

Chapter 316 Kinich's Trip to Liyue

"Is this Liyue? It definitely feels completely different from Nata."

As a black-haired boy with green eyes and a turban disembarked at Liyue Harbor, he exclaimed this, and the sailors next to him greeted him warmly.

"Is this your first time in Liyue Harbor, young man?"

“Yes, my name is Kinich. I came from the Streamers by boat.”

"The people of Liuquan? Oh, the Nata people, right? Judging from your appearance, you are indeed from Nata. It's my fault for not recognizing you at first glance, as Nata people rarely travel abroad."

"It's alright. After all, due to the invasion of the Abyss, we have to be fully prepared for the Abyss all year round."

"Yes!"

At this point, the sailor recalled the earth-shattering battle a year ago. After all, even the Emperor himself had gone to provide support. The strange phenomena in the sky over Nata were clearly visible even in Liyue.

Adding to the news revealed by the Thousand Rock Army returning from Nata, even just thinking about it is terrifying. Fortunately, Nata won, and now that I think about it, it seems that from that time on, more and more Nata people began to appear in other countries.

"But judging from your appearance, you're probably not here for tourism. Sorry for keeping you here chatting for so long."

"It's okay, I'm waiting for someone too. I'm just killing time anyway, so having someone to talk to is a good thing."

After all, since leaving Nata, the low concentration of pheromone in other places had prevented Joe from maintaining his form for long periods, so Joe mostly slept inside Ginitch's body. Having gotten used to having a noisy guy in his ear, Ginitch was now finding it a bit strange without Joe's chatter.

A short while later, a long-haired, ice-blue girl with horns on her head arrived next to Kinich.

“Mr. Ginich?” she asked. When Ginich nodded in response, she continued, “I am Gan Yuli, the secretary of the Seven Stars of the Moon. I have come here specifically to invite you to a gathering at the Jade Pavilion, following the instructions of Lord Tianquan Ningguang.”

"Understood, lead the way."

And so, amidst the sailor's dazed gaze, Kinich followed Gan Yu away.

A short while later, Gan Yu brought Kinich to the Qunyu Pavilion. As soon as they arrived, they saw Ningguang already standing by, waiting for them.

"I never expected that Lord Tianquanxing would come to greet me personally. Please forgive my lack of courtesy."

Ningguang did not blame Ginitch for this. Instead, she waved her hand to dismiss the guards who were following her, and then invited Ginitch to the inner room for a detailed discussion.

"Mr. Kinich must know why you were sent here, right?"

As soon as Ningguang sat down, she began to discuss business with Kinnage, while Gan Yu bowed and took his leave. Ningguang's personal secretary then took over the recording of the remaining discussions.

"I know, but I didn't expect the Abyss invasion to take place in Liyue this time. Lord Vulcan sent me here to assist you all as soon as he heard about it."

"It is thanks to Lord Vulcan for his trouble, but this invasion of the Abyss has been resolved by the immortals of Liyue."

"It's already resolved?" Kinich frowned as he looked at Ningguang, but he quickly relaxed.

He had heard of the renowned Liyue Immortals, and since it was an Immortal in action, defeating them would naturally be a piece of cake. However, this also created an awkward situation!

There was another reason why Mavica called Kinic to come and provide support this time: Mavica wanted to amend the agreement that was signed a year ago.

After all, although they had tried their best to avoid losing out, it was ultimately Liyue who benefited.

Over the past year, Liyue has made a fortune by establishing factories in the Echoing Children and utilizing their high-quality ores and processing technology. Although Nata also took this opportunity to develop, it ultimately ended up picking up the scraps left by others. It would be ideal if Nata could earn all or most of the profits, which is why Mavka sent Kinich to Liyue to provide support as soon as possible.

However, no matter how fast Ginjic rushed, he still couldn't catch up. Moreover, Ningguang brought up this matter with Ginjic right away, which clearly showed that the other party had seen through her true purpose. The following conversation would undoubtedly become very tricky.

Lady Mavica has really set herself up for a tough problem! Kinich thought with a headache.

"However, as far as I know, the Liyue immortals have decided to no longer interfere in mortal affairs. I wonder what price Lady Ningguang paid to get the immortals to intervene?"

"Haha, Mr. Kinich is joking. The immortals have always been free-spirited and chivalrous. They were the first to discover this Abyss invasion incident, so they naturally didn't need to ask us for an explanation when they helped resolve it. By the time we found out, the matter had already been resolved."

This old fox completely discredited the Liyue government with just a few words. Now, who is in charge of Liyue? It is none other than the Seven Stars of Liyue. Even the immortals only have the authority to handle matters on their own.

Saying you don't know? Who are you trying to fool?

But what Ginitch didn't know was that things really were as Ningguang had said; by the time Ningguang and the others learned the news, the matter at Shenyu Valley had already been resolved. It was precisely because of this that Ningguang was certain that the immortals had intervened, and moreover, an informant had reported that Miss Xianyun and Miss Fu Hua had visited Shenyu Valley some time ago.

They said they were going to Qiaoying Manor to buy tea, but shortly after they left Chenyu Valley, news came that the Abyss had invaded and had been dealt with by an unknown person. Ningguang was a million times skeptical that it wasn't the two of them who had dealt with it.

But seeing that the boy in front of her seemed to have misunderstood her, Ningguang didn't mind letting the misunderstanding continue.

In the following period, the two engaged in a series of open and covert struggles surrounding the Abyss invasion incident, and finally decided that Kinich would be in charge of investigating the aftermath of the Abyss invasion incident, and in return, Liyue would give a portion of its profits in Nata to Nata.

"...It's getting late, Mr. Kinich, we should end this matter here after your long journey."

Kinic instinctively looked out the window, where the afterglow of the setting sun shone through. Kinic then realized that the discussion had indeed been going on for quite some time.

"so be it."

"In that case, I have reserved a table at Crescent Moon Pavilion. If you do not mind, Mr. Kinich would be kind enough to join me for dinner at Crescent Moon Pavilion."

“Alright.” Kinich nodded.

After dinner, Kinich checked into the inn Ningguang had arranged for him, from which he could see most of Liyue Harbor. Gazing at the brightly lit Liyue Harbor below, Kinich clenched his fists, secretly resolving that one day he too would make Nata as prosperous as Liyue.

The next day, Ginitch was strolling along the Tiger Rock, where the famously delicious and affordable Wanmintang restaurant was located. Ginitch had already learned about the local delicacies in Liyue through group chats, and if Ningguang hadn't invited him the day before, he would have actually wanted to try Wanmintang yesterday.

After all, this was a shop that even Mr. Zhongli praised highly, and Kinich had also inquired about Xiangling's recent stay at Wanmintang, which further strengthened his resolve to try the legendary Wanmintang's craftsmanship.

As soon as he entered the store, he saw Xiangling pulling her friend to try the new dishes. Seeing the blue-haired boy wearing the unique Liyue shaman outfit looking troubled, Kinich instinctively took a step back.

He then bumped into a white-haired woman with a somewhat blank expression. Ginitch felt as if he had crashed into a mountain. Although the recoil was not strong and Ginitch regained his balance in just a moment, he was still surprised by the woman's lower body skills.

"Sorry, I wasn't looking behind me while I was walking," Kinic apologized.

"It's alright. My name is Shen He, and I'm a waiter at this restaurant. Is this gentleman here to dine at Wanmintang?"

“Yes, but…” Ginitch glanced in the direction of Xiangling, then looked at the already full restaurant and shook his head, “but it seems this restaurant is already full.”

This is not surprising, since Wanmintang has been packed with customers every day since Zhongli’s identity was exposed and it was Zhongli’s first recommendation to try it.

Even outside of mealtimes, customers come in droves, and when it's mealtime, the queues become incredibly long. To ensure that every customer can have a meal, Chef Mao has no choice but to limit the number of customers. In addition, Ningguang's help prevented Chef Mao and Xiangling from collapsing from exhaustion at the stove.

"It's alright, a guest outside has already left. We've had fewer customers these past few days, so please just wait a little while and you'll be able to eat."

"There aren't many customers?" Kinich looked at Shen He with some doubt.

"Well... Xiangling likes to invent new dishes, but her new dishes are often full of whimsical ideas. Although her friends are the ones who taste the dishes, Xiangling never hides them from anyone. This has led some customers to reduce their visits to Wanmintang after seeing those unusual new dishes, even though these new dishes never actually end up in their mouths after they fail..."

"This, this is it..."

Although he only glanced at it briefly, Kinic still vaguely recognized the ingredients of the dish.

If he remembered correctly, it contained not only slime condensate but also the nectar of the Slimeflower. If he wasn't mistaken, the decoration next to it was the shell of a Hearthstone Weasel, and it seemed to contain some phlogiston. Could that really be used as a decoration?

It is important to know that phlogiston has a certain degree of toxicity to the human body. If the Nata people had not learned how to use phlogiston correctly from the dragons and had not lived in an environment where phlogiston was active for many years and had not been fully adapted to the effects of phlogiston on their bodies, their bodies would have had problems long ago.

Fortunately, the person who tried the food was a holder of the Eye of God, so this level of phosphorus was not enough to affect a person's body. However, I should still talk to the person about this after the meal.

Just then, perhaps due to the influence of the phlogiston drifting over from Xiangling's side, A Qiao was also able to wake up, but as soon as she woke up, she started making a big fuss.

This forced Ginitch to push him back into his body, but thankfully it didn't affect anyone else's meal, which secretly relieved Ginitch.

After finishing his meal and having a brief chat with Xiangling and the others, Ginitch couldn't refuse Xiangling's request and taught her and the others some methods of manipulating phlogiston. At this, Ajo, who had appeared next to Ginitch at some point, mercilessly mocked him.

After leaving Wanmintang, Kinich packed some snacks for Ajo to eat on the way. Kinich was strolling around and there was still plenty of time before the agreed time with Ningguang. During this time, Kinich could take a good look around the market in Liyue Harbor and experience the local customs and culture.

Then he heard a familiar voice coming from beside him.

“Ginich? What are you doing here?” Paimon asked in surprise.

“Kong, Paimon, it’s been a long time,” Kinich greeted. “I’m here because of Lady Mavka’s mission, and I’m just waiting for my informant in Liyue.”

"An informant? Can you tell us what kind of mission it is?"

"This... isn't that a bit inappropriate? Ultimately, this is a matter between us and the Liyue official team. Wouldn't it be against the rules to just let you know?"

"It doesn't matter if they know, since they are Ningguang's distinguished guests."

“That voice is… Nightlan! Could it be that you are the informant Ginitch mentioned?” Paimon turned to a woman beside him and asked.

"You two know each other?" Kinich asked.

“Yes, her name is Night Orchid, and she is… um… an intelligence agent,” Paimon replied.

Judging from Kong and Paimon's reactions, Kinich realized that Yelan might be more than just an intelligence agent as Kong had claimed. Thinking of this, Kinich began to be on guard, but on the surface he still extended his hand in a friendly manner.

Yelan could see through Ginitch's little schemes, but she didn't care and instead shook hands with him with a smile.

"So what exactly made you decide to act together?" Paimon asked, unable to contain his curiosity.

"Should you speak or should I speak?" Ye Lan asked.

"I'll do it."

Then Kinich recounted in detail what had happened in Shenyu Valley some time ago to Kong and Paimon...

"So that's how it is... I didn't expect that these things would happen in Shenyu Valley while we were in Nata..."

Paimon then suggested, "Since you're going to investigate this matter, could you include the two of us?"

Kinich gestured to Yelan, who readily agreed to Paimon's suggestion. After all, Kong and Paimon's connections in Liyue were far beyond her own, and with their involvement, they would likely learn the specifics soon.

"Great!" Paimon stomped his foot happily. "Since it's about immortals, let's set off to find them right away! But speaking of immortals, we really have to find that woman first."

Upon hearing this, Ginitch looked at Paimon in shock. Although he knew that Paimon sometimes said surprising things, wasn't it a bit too rude to directly refer to the Liyue Immortal as "that woman"?

Yelan could only shake her head at this, helplessly explaining to Kinich just how terrifying Kong and Paimon's connections were in Liyue.