Mu Yang's Side
On the day of the Rite of Descension, Mu Yang arrived at Yujing Terrace early and found a relatively inconspicuous spot to wait quietly for Lumine's arrival.
Can't let the "Honest Truthseeker" down, right?
When Lumine finally arrived at Yujing Terrace, finished making her wish, and tried to squeeze through the crowd to witness the Rite of Descension, Mu Yang began his move.
His goal was to position himself at an angle where Lumine could see him—making it seem like a "coincidence" that she witnessed his actions.
Since the crowd watching the Rite of Descension was massive, Lumine might not have been able to see clearly from the back. So Paimon led her through the throng, trying to get closer.
"Excuse us, could you let us through to the front?"
After pushing through the crowd, Lumine finally caught sight of Ningguang, who was presiding over the ceremony, and… a familiar young man.
Lumine nearly gasped aloud. "Mu Yang?!"
Paimon, hearing this, asked, "Where?"
She followed Lumine's gaze and, sure enough, there he was.
The Rite of Descension was about to begin, so the two didn't dare make too much noise. They could only wave, hoping to catch Mu Yang's attention.
But he seemed completely focused—he didn't respond to their greetings.
Silver Wolf's Livestream
"It's starting, it's starting! The cutscene's playing!"
Silver Wolf rubbed her hands together eagerly, finally getting to the part she'd been waiting for.
Then, following Lumine's line of sight, she spotted the young man she'd been dreaming of day and night.
"Holy crap, Mu Yang?!"
"Am I seeing things? Hubby, what are you doing here?!"
[No way, is he really here to assassinate someone?]
[Scared the "hubby" right out of the streamer's mouth, lol.]
[This is exactly what I came for—I want to see bloodshed!]
[We're waving at him and he's ignoring us?]
[You think assassinating a god doesn't require concentration?]
["Honest Truthseeker" was right all along!]
[Prophet status achieved—quick, kill him before he reveals more!]
Silver Wolf couldn't accept it. As a lore-heavy player, she argued:
"Come on, I literally debated that 'Honest Truthseeker' guy."
"I refuse to believe Mu Yang would do something like this."
[Wow, even now the streamer's in denial.]
[Just wait till reality slaps you in the face.]
Ningguang looked up at the sky. Seeing that the time was right, she took a small step forward and announced:
"The auspicious hour has arrived."
The two secretaries beside her stepped back as Ningguang channeled elemental energy to summon the Tianquan's Jade.
After a brief display in the ceremonial space, the jade flew into the sacrificial cauldron.
A beam of golden light shot into the sky.
Everyone's eyes followed the light upward—only for the clear sky to suddenly darken with swirling storm clouds.
Lumine sensed something was wrong and tore her gaze away from the sky to look around.
Sure enough, the Liyue locals all wore varying degrees of confusion on their faces.
Instinctively, she glanced toward where Mu Yang had been standing—but the young man was already gone.
Just then, Paimon's scream snapped Lumine's attention back to the sky.
Amidst the thunder and lightning, the dragon form of Rex Lapis—the Geo Archon worshipped by Liyue—came crashing down.
He landed heavily on the sacrificial cauldron, shattering it completely.
Ningguang rushed forward to inspect the scene, her expression growing increasingly grim.
Then she turned and commanded with a sweep of her hand:
"The Geo Archon has been slain! Seal the premises!"
A large contingent of Millelith stormed into Yujing Terrace, surrounding the crowd.
Silver Wolf's Livestream
[Streamer, any last words?]
[They even showed Lumine's POV—Mu Yang was already gone.]
["Honest Truthseeker" is a legend.]
[He actually killed the Geo Archon?! Mu Yang's insane!]
[Absolute madlad! Mu Yang's built different!]
[Welp, there goes his chance of being playable. All my Primogems saved for nothing.]
Silver Wolf ignored the chat. She was deep in thought.
Something didn't add up.
But what?
Then it hit her.
"Listen up, guys. I still stand by my take."
"Mu Yang isn't the killer."
"The evidence? Rex Lapis fell after the whirlwind and lightning."
She replayed the scene in her mind—the sudden storm clouds, the tornado, the purple lightning.
None of that matched Mu Yang's abilities.
"Mu Yang uses a Cryo Vision—that's confirmed info. At most, he's got sword skills."
"Even that sword slash earlier was Cryo-based!"
[Streamer's got a point…]
[We didn't see any Cryo attacks.]
[Oh please, are you dumb or am I dumb? You think an assassin would use their signature move? You want the Qixing to track you down?]
[You don't need a burst to kill a god? Then the Geo Archon must be weak as hell.]
[Maybe it was the Fatui's doing?]
[Stop arguing, the cutscene's over. Just follow the quest.]
[Keep playing, hurry up!]
Lumine's Side
Paimon was panicking.
"Wh-what just happened?!"
"When she said 'the Geo Archon has been slain'…"
Lumine's voice was grim. "She meant it literally."
Her expression was dark.
While everyone was looking up at the sky…
Mu Yang had vanished.
Where had he gone?
Paimon grew more frightened the more she thought about it.
"The Geo Archon… just died like that?"
Lumine tried to calm her down.
"Don't panic, Paimon. Fly up higher."
"See if you can spot Mu Yang anywhere."
"O-okay!"
Paimon obeyed, hovering up to scan the area for that familiar head of white hair.
After a full circle, she returned to Lumine's side, shaking her head in disappointment.
"Nothing… What do we do?"
"If only we had a strong ally here, we wouldn't be so scared…"
But Lumine wasn't thinking the same way.
She pointed out that while everyone was distracted by the sky, Mu Yang had already disappeared—right before the Geo Archon's death.
"I suspect Mu Yang might be connected to this."
Paimon gasped.
"You're saying… Mu Yang is the killer?!"
Realizing she'd spoken too loudly, Paimon clapped her hands over her mouth.
"No way! Our friend… could he really be that kind of person?!"
Lumine: "I just think he's involved somehow."
"Besides, some things don't line up."
"For example, Mu Yang uses Cryo, but there were no Cryo traces in the sky earlier."
This only made Paimon more nervous. She glanced around.
"So you're saying… the real killer is still among us?!"
An archon-killing murderer—who wouldn't be scared?
Lumine looked toward Yujing Terrace's exit.
The Millelith were making attendees line up for interrogation one by one.
Only after being cleared could they leave.
Paimon eyed their own outfits.
"Uh… don't we stick out like a sore thumb?"
But Lumine's thoughts were elsewhere.
If the gods were the enemies they'd encountered in the sky that day…
Then falling into the hands of their "devotees" could be dangerous.
"Shh—Paimon, we need to slip away quietly."
Paimon nodded vigorously.
"We didn't do it, but…"
"Your identity's special. Who knows how Liyue's people will treat you?"
"We can't get caught!"
Lumine carefully maneuvered around the Millelith's sightlines.
They were this close to escaping—
When some idiot's discarded porcelain shard ruined everything.
CRACK.
[Classic.]
[Of course, the obligatory "step on something loud while escaping" moment.]
[Right up there with tripping over nothing and bumping into the love interest around a corner.]
The noise alerted the Millelith.
"They're over here!"
"Seize them!"
Lumine bolted down the stairs, scrambling to flee—
Only for another squad of Millelith to block the path.
"Nowhere to run!"
With no other choice, Lumine summoned her Dull Blade, ready to fight her way out.
Then a voice called from behind:
"Miss, careful—don't move."
A volley of arrows knocked the weapons from the Millelith's hands.
Tartaglia made his grand entrance, twin Hydro blades materializing as he moved to finish the disarmed soldiers.
The Millelith raised their arms to shield their heads—
But the expected strike never came.
Instead, the sound of a sword's hum echoed, accompanied by a chilling aura.
When they lowered their guard, they saw—
A black-clad, white-haired young man standing before them, gripping the Skyrider Sword in a reverse grip.
He had intercepted Tartaglia's twin Hydro blades!