“Alright then,” Lumine replied, narrowing her eyes slightly. While she trusted Jia Changjiang wouldn’t lie to her, she still had her doubts. “So where do we find Zhongli?”
“Zhongli… isn’t he the consultant for the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor?” Paimon chimed in, clapping her hands together. “We can just head to the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor and look for him there!”
Jia Changjiang nodded. “Good idea. Now the real question is—where is the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor?”
After some asking around, they finally located the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, tucked behind an unassuming building.
During their inquiries, several people sighed or even grimaced at the mention of the place, which left Lumine feeling curious.
Standing outside the parlor was a woman dressed in traditional mourner’s attire. She glanced up from her work as the trio approached and asked, “What brings you here? The Wangsheng Funeral Parlor isn’t currently open to visitors.”
“And you are?” Lumine asked.
“I’m the parlor’s undertaker,” the woman replied. “You can call me Ferryman. Do you have an urgent matter with the funeral parlor?”
“Not exactly urgent,” Lumine replied. “We’re here to find Zhongli.”
“Zhongli… Oh! Are you the ones who helped him organize the Rite of Parting?” Ferryman’s face lit with recognition. “If you’re looking for him, he mentioned he was heading to the Northland Bank before leaving.”
“The Northland Bank? Isn’t that run by the Fatui?” Paimon frowned. “Wait a minute, didn’t the Fatui finance the Rite of Parting? Could it be that Zhongli doesn’t know about the ancient god’s attack on Liyue?”
Lumine’s eyes widened as she followed the thought. “Zhongli might not know, and he’s gone to the Fatui for funding?! What if he’s in danger?”
Without waiting for further discussion, Lumine grabbed Jia Changjiang’s arm. “We have to save Zhongli! Sure, he’s a walletless freeloader in society, but we can’t just let him walk into danger!”
“Uh…” Jia Changjiang winced, still sore from the recent battle, as Lumine’s boundless energy dragged him forward. Protect Zhongli? he thought incredulously. He’s literally Morax, the Geo Archon! The Fatui couldn’t harm him even if they tried.
Despite his doubts, Lumine and Paimon hauled him along, leaving him no choice but to go along with their rescue mission.
As they departed, Lumine waved back at the Ferryman. “Goodbye, Miss Undertaker! I’ll come visit you again sometime!”
“Uh… okay…” the Ferryman replied, blinking in surprise. Watching the group disappear down the street, she found it odd that Lumine was so unbothered by the funeral parlor’s nature. What an unusual girl.
Reaching the Northland Bank, they saw guards stationed at the entrance. Without hesitation, Lumine led Jia Changjiang to scale the building’s walls and slip through a window.
Her ease and familiarity with such actions made Jia Changjiang wonder just how many times she’d done this before.
“Hurry up!” Lumine hissed, pulling him up. “Let’s see if the Fatui captured Zhongli!”
“I doubt Zhongli’s in any trouble…” Jia Changjiang muttered. “He’s pretty strong, you know.”
“Shh!” Lumine clamped a hand over his mouth. “Keep it down! We’re sneaking in here, so don’t let the Fatui hear us!”
Flying low to the ground, Paimon hovered alongside them as Lumine stealthily advanced along the railings inside the bank. Jia Changjiang sighed in resignation and followed.
—
Soon, they reached a vantage point above the bank’s main hall. Below, they heard voices in heated discussion.
Lumine leaned in to eavesdrop and immediately recognized the speakers.
One was Tartaglia, his voice tinged with anger. “You call this cooperation between Harbingers? Collaboration at least requires sharing information!”
“Ha,” came a familiar, icy laugh—La Signora’s voice echoed through the hall. “Why fuss over details? In the end, you ignored deals and calculations and simply caused a ruckus. Isn’t that your style? Pure chaos?”
Hearing both Tartaglia and Signora together, Lumine couldn’t suppress her anger. She leapt from the balcony, landing dramatically in the center of the hall.
“So you two are behind Liyue’s chaos!” she accused, pointing her blade at them. “Signora, after ruining Mondstadt, now you’ve come to ruin Liyue? You puppeteers hiding in the shadows—I’ll—!!”
She froze mid-sentence.
Standing alongside the two Fatui Harbingers was… Zhongli?!
“Zhongli, why are you standing with the Fatui?!” Lumine exclaimed, her mind racing. “Don’t tell me… you’ve betrayed Liyue?!”
Her thoughts flooded with confusion as she stared at him.
Zhongli met her gaze calmly, seemingly unsurprised by her arrival. Turning his head, he spotted Jia Changjiang casually walking down the stairs behind her.
“Well, well…” Signora’s eyes narrowed at the sight of the two. “It seems you remember my name. How delightful.”
“Signora!” Lumine growled, raising her sword. “Return Venti’s Gnosis!”
Paimon quickly flew in front of her. “Traveler, calm down! Let’s figure out what’s going on first!”
Grumbling, Lumine reluctantly lowered her sword. She muttered under her breath but refrained from charging forward.
Tartaglia broke the tense silence with a wry smile. “Oh, look who it is! Meeting again after all that’s happened. I’d say the atmosphere here is… a bit awkward, wouldn’t you?”
“I knew you were trouble from the moment I saw you!” Lumine snapped, glaring at him. “The Fatui can’t be trusted!”
“Now, now, that’s not fair,” Tartaglia replied, shrugging. “True, I misled you a little before, but it wasn’t personal. I have no ill will toward you.”
He spread his arms, as if to diffuse the tension. “Sure, things ended on a sour note, but our earlier cooperation was enjoyable, wasn’t it? It’s just a matter of differing allegiances. I don’t hold any grudges against you, though feel free to hold one against me if you wish.”
Despite her frustration, Lumine recognized the truth in his words. With two Harbingers present and Zhongli’s involvement unclear, their current position was precarious.
Tartaglia shook his head with a rueful sigh. “But as for Signora and Zhongli here? They’ve completely duped me.”
“Zhongli tricked you?” Lumine’s gaze darted between him and Tartaglia before settling on Zhongli. “Alright, someone needs to explain what’s going on!”
“Why is everything here so… layered?!”
—
This is a fan translation of 武器大师在原神绝不死于徒手 by 徐人双 All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!
Reader discussion
0 Comments
Be the first reader to share a thought about this chapter.