Arriving at the Jade chamber

"Um, Mr. Zhongli, do you know why Ningguang of the Tianquan constellation is asking us to meet at the Jade Chamber?"

After Ganyu left, Lumine had no choice but to ask Zhongli. Zhongli gave a faint smile, then shook his head.

"Perhaps it's because she heard about your activities in Mondstadt, and since she has already gone to the Cloud Recesses in search of adepti, Ningguang probably wanted to meet you," he said.

Hearing Zhongli's explanation, Lumine thought that made sense.

Even though she had indeed met Ningguang at the Ritual of Inviting the adepti, that wasn't a real meeting and now Ningguang had taken the initiative to invite her, so she probably had something important to discuss.

"Lumine, should we go see Ningguang?"

"The most successful merchant in Liyue!" Paimon leaned in close to Lumine, curiosity in her voice.

As for such a successful merchant, who even built a palace in the sky, Paimon wondered what the view would be like from the Jade Chamber. Paimon was very excited.

"Here we are in Liyue, and Ningguang is a Tianquan star. No matter what, since she invited us, we should go and see Ningguang," Lumine said after a moment of thought.

"Right, I think so too," she added.

After having a meal with Zhongli, Lumine and Paimon started looking for ways to get to the Jade Chamber.

"Oh, right!, We forgot to ask Ganyu how to get to the Jade Chamber and we also forgot to ask Mr. Zhongli." Lumine said.

"Oh, Lumine, what should we do?" Upon hearing this, Paimon was a bit disappointed.

Although Ningguang invited them to the Jade Chamber, they didn't know how to get there!

" Lumine, what should we do? If we don't know how to get to the Jade Chamber, wouldn't Ningguang's invitation be... wouldn't she think we've stood her up and get angry, maybe even send the Thousand Qixing Army after us?"

Paimon was a bit worried.

After all, they were in the territory of the Seven Stars of Liyue and it's Ningguang of the Tianquan star. If they offend Ningguang, it might not be easy for them to move around in Liyue.

"Paimon, don't worry, I'm sure there's a way to get to the Jade Chamber."

"Or, shall we go back and ask Mr. Owner?"

"Ask Mr. Owner? Does Mr. Owner know how to get to the Jade Chamber?"

"Paimon, don't forget, Mr. Owner is very knowledgeable about Liyue. How else would he know about Qiqi's past?"

"I believe if we ask Mr. Owner, he should know how to get to the Jade Chamber."

'Well... then let's go ask Mr. Owner.'

Although Paimon was somewhat doubtful, what Lumine said made sense. Soon after, the two returned to the New Century Comic Store.

"Mr. Owner, we're back."

"Oh, Paimon, Lumine, has Zhongli treated you to a meal yet?" Seeing Lumine and Paimon return, Takarou gave a faint smile.

"Yes, Mr. Owner, we've eaten already. What about you?"

"We've eaten as well."

"Well, Mr. Owner, we've encountered another issue and we need your help." Paimon flew in front of Takarou, looking to win him over.

Seeing Paimon's eager look, Takarou laughed, reached out his hand, and patted Paimon's cheek.

"Haha, what's up?"

"Mr. Owner, do you know how to get to the Jade Chamber?"

"We had dinner with Zhongli tonight, and then Ganyu delivered an invitation. Ningguang invited us to the Jade Chamber."

"But Ganyu left in a hurry and didn't tell us how to get to the Jade Chamber."

"So that's what it's all about," Takarou responded with a knowing smile.

He had initially thought Lumine was facing some other difficulties. However, he conceded that Ganyu had indeed overlooked explaining this aspect.

"Even in the game storyline, Lumine wouldn't need to repair the return device if Ganyu just mentioned it," Takarou speak in his mind.

"To get to the Jade Chamber, you need to go to the Plaza of the Ritual of Inviting the adepti. You'll see a palace there, and on its left, an old man. His name is Buyun and he serves as a guide to the Jade Chamber in Liyue."

"When you meet him, he'll speak a passphrase: 'Clouds darken and shadows fall light, but the moon lingers in the chamber.' To this, you should casually respond: 'Hello, do you sell moons here?'"

"After that, Buyun will pay you a compliment, recognizing you as honored guests. Then, he will guide you to the Jade Chamber."

"Mr. Owner, is it that simple?" Paimon asked, shocked at the simplicity of the passphrase. She had assumed that getting to the Jade Chamber would be a difficult task for regular folks.

"Haha, Paimon, it only seems simple because I told you. Most people don't know about this passphrase."

"I see... In that case, Lumine, we should go find Buyun right away. But wait, we should prepare a gift for Ningguang first."

"A gift?" Lumine was taken aback by her companion's sudden idea. This was the first time she'd seen Paimon being so generous.

"Of course, we're about to meet a Tianquan star of the Seven Stars of Liyue, and Ningguang is the wealthiest merchant in Liyue."

"If we give Ningguang a gift, she will surely remember our kindness, and who knows what could happen then..." Paimon's eyes twinkled with excitement as she said this.

Seeing her partner's excited expression, Lumine quickly caught on. The gift was just a pretext, it was the reward Paimon was truly after.

"That's it! I dreamt of a supremely elegant dessert last night – the Sugar-Frosted Slime!"

"I have a feeling that this dessert would be perfect for a tycoon of Ningguang's stature. We should use it as our gift!"

"Paimon, that's just something you dreamed about. How do we make it? I don't even have a recipe," Lumine shook her head.

"No problem! We just need to use the 'excited' feeling to make it!"

"Lumine, let's hurry and gather the ingredients! We have no time to lose; wealth and glory await us!" With that, Lumine nodded helplessly. If Paimon wanted to do this, then she would let her.

"Mr. Owner, do you think Ningguang will like the Sugar-Frosted Slime that Paimon wants to make?" Lumine asked, unsure.

"Ningguang will like it," Takarou reassured with a smile.

"Lumine, see? Even Mr. Owner thinks Ningguang will like it. Let's go gather the ingredients!"

"Okay, okay, okay," Lumine responded, her voice tinged with helpless amusement as she watched Paimon's impatient excitement.

______

"So, let's first go to find some Slime Condensate."

"Alright, then Mr. Owner, we'll be off for now."

"Sure, go ahead." Takarou nodded his head.

Following this, Lumine and Paimon left the New Century Manga Store, and embarked on their search. After a long time, they finally found a Slime.

"Look, Lumine, that Slime over there looks particularly translucent and delicious! Let's get rid of it!"

Upon seeing these slimes, Lumine didn't wait for Paimon's prompt, she moved forward and took out the Slimes. After dealing with the Slimes, they obtained the Slime Condensate.

"Hm? There's a strong sweet scent in the air."

After dealing with the Slimes and obtaining the Slime Condensate, Lumine and Paimon continued their search for the next item.

After a long while, Paimon suddenly stopped, sniffed the air, and said, "Sweet smell?"

Hearing Paimon's words, Lumine also sniffed the air and found that, just like Paimon said, there was indeed a sweet scent in the air.

"Could this be... Sweet Flower?"

"Exactly, this is the scent of Sweet Flower!" Paimon nodded in satisfaction.

"But, Lumine, do you hear anything?"

"It seems like someone is calling for help."

"It sounds like... it's coming from that ruin..."

"Ah, did those treasure hoarders lock up someone?"

"Lumine, let's quickly save that person!"

"Even though I don't know why the treasure hoarders captured that person, since we came across this, we can't just stand by. Let's save him."

Upon finishing, Lumine took out her Sword and attacked the treasure hoarders. In no time at all, Lumine defeated the treasure hoarders. Seeing Lumine's strong power, the treasure hoarders naturally knew that they were no match for her and they quickly scattered and fled. Seeing the treasure hoarders all leave, Lumine and Paimon finally came to the person who was locked in the cage. They also got a key from the treasure hoarders.

When they came to the person who was locked up, the man begged them: "Please save me, heroes."

"No need to say, we will save you."

Paimon said to the man. Then Lumine used the key to unlock the cage.

"Thank you for saving me, my name is Meng Dan. If it weren't for you two, I would have been stuck in this cage! Those treasure hoarders, when they're in a good mood, they tend to the Sweet Flowers, but when they're not, they take it out on me..."

"It's nothing, it's a trivial matter~ Don't thank us too much~"

Paimon suggested with an implying tone. Lumine was speechless hearing Paimon's words.

"Haha, I understand, I understand, I will certainly prepare a thank-you gift."

"You really don't need to."

Lumine shook her head.

"Don't say that! Thanks to you, I was able to escape. I'm a supplier for the Mingxing Jewelry in Liyue Harbor, I usually move around in the mountains, collecting antiques everywhere. Unexpectedly, this time I crossed paths with the treasure hoarders at the same ruin, and carelessly... I got captured and locked up, sigh! Benefactor, is there anything you need? Antiques, curiosities, ornaments... As long as you want it, as long as I have it!"

"I appreciate your kindness."

"Wait, wait, we are indeed looking for something!"

Upon seeing Lumine refusing to accept the reward, Paimon couldn't help but feel anxious and quickly intervened.

"Oh? What is it?"

"Do you have a box for gifts? It should be beautiful, um, the kind used for pastries."

"Of course, as an antique dealer, how could I not have gift boxes? The Mingxing Jewelry here offers the best gift packaging in all seven nations. Wait here, I'll go notify the boss. Whenever you need it, just come and collect it from her."

"Lumine, great! Our Sugar-Frosted Slime now has a luxury packaging box!"

"Kind benefactor, I'll take my leave first."

"Alright, take care and thank you for your help."

"Not at all, not at all."

Meng Dan shook his head, then bid farewell and left. As for Lumine and the others, they needed to find the ingredients for the Frosting Slime next. However, these ingredients were nearby. Lumine and Paimon came to the Sweet Flowers.

"Um, Lumine, these Sweet Flowers smell so good. Was the fragrance we just smelled coming from here?"

"There's nobody around here now, and we've driven away the treasure hoarders, so we should harvest the Sweet Flowers and then go to the Mingxing Jewelry in Liyue Harbor to ask the boss for the gift box, right?"

"But considering Meng Dan's speed, I'm afraid he might not have returned to Liyue Harbor by the time we get back."

Lumine shook her head. After all, she can use the rainbow sword to achieve sword flight, and naturally return to Liyue Harbor quickly. But Meng Dan is different, he's an ordinary person without the vision, and naturally would travel slower.

"Um, you're right. In that case, should we stay nearby for a while?"

'Maybe help koromon increase its power a bit?'

Paimon thought for a moment. Although a little anxious, wanting to make the Frosting Slime, without the packaging box at hand, there was no way to present it. So they had to wait until Meng Dan returned, and then go to Mingxing Jewelry to get the gift box.

"Okay, let's just hang around here for a bit?"

"Listening to what Meng Dan just said, there seems to be a ruin nearby, shall we?"

"If there's a ruin, there might be treasures. But if we delay too long, will Ningguang be angry?"

Paimon was a little worried. After all, it's Ningguang. If their delay caused Ningguang to become unhappy, that would be bad.

"How about this, we mark the location of the ruins, but don't go in to check. When we have time, we'll come back?"

"Um, that works."

'Then let's set off.'

Then, Lumine and Paimon started looking around. In the meantime, they let the Koromon fight some slimes and other monsters. Half an hour later, they had cleared all the slimes in the area. The location of the ruins was also marked down.

"Alright, Lumine, looking at the time, we can start heading back."

"Perhaps when we return, Meng Dan will have just reached Liyue Harbor."

"Okay, Paimon, let's go!"

Lumine waved her rainbow sword, then jumped onto it, taking the Koromon and Paimon, and they set off for Liyue Harbor.

Before long, they arrived at Liyue Harbor and found a place to land. Then they headed towards Mingxing Jewelry.

"Hello, boss, has Meng Dan returned?"

"Meng Dan? What do you two want with Meng Dan?"

'Boss, the thing is, a person named Meng Dan said we could come to the shop to collect a beautiful box...'

_______

"Apologies, but Meng Dan hasn't returned yet. Could you explain the situation to me?" The owner of the Mingxing Jewelry asked Lumine and Paimon.

Lumine proceeded to tell the owner about their encounter with Meng Dan.

"Oh, I didn't expect that Meng Dan had been saved by you two. That makes you both not just benefactors to Meng Dan, but to us at the Mingxing Jewelry as well."

"In that case, please feel free to select a box."

"Um, aren't you afraid we're trying to deceive you?" Paimon asked, surprised that the owner didn't even question the truthfulness of their story before allowing them to choose a box.

"I've heard rumors about the Traveler, and I've also heard that Ningguang herself is planning to invite you to her Jade Chamber. Given the weight of such an invitation, it seems unlikely that you'd lie about such a small matter." Just as Lumine was chatting with the owner, Meng Dan arrived.

"Benefactors, I didn't expect you'd be back so soon!"

"Ah, Meng Dan, we thought you'd already returned to Liyue Harbor, so we came to check with the owner here."

"I'm nowhere near as fast as you. You must have already informed Xingxi about the situation, right?"

"Yes, Meng Dan, the Traveler has told me everything."

"Good. Benefactors, feel free to pick out any gift box you want. Many of the best items in this shop were found by Meng Dan himself. If anything were to happen to him, I wouldn't be able to continue my business. So, as Meng Dan said, you're free to choose any gift box you want."

"If you need a recommendation, here's a box that's actually an antique, at least 140 years old and has been thoroughly cleaned. Do take a look... is it suitable?"

Xingxi placed a delicate and beautiful gift box in front of Lumine and Paimon. Upon seeing the box, Paimon nodded vigorously.

"Yes, yes, it's perfect! But, can we also borrow something else?"

Xingxi smiled slightly, "Of course, everything is on the shelves. Feel free to pick anything you need."

"Traveler, this big pottery jar looks amazing! If we use this antique as a mixing bowl, the dessert we make will definitely be delicious!"

"Um... Owner, could we borrow this jar?"

"Of course." Xingxi fetched the antique pottery jar that Paimon had chosen and placed it before Lumine and Paimon.

Now, it was time for Paimon to shine. She put the Sweet Flowers and the slime together in the big pottery jar and began to mix. Lumine watched this scene, pondering if Ningguang would even accept the Frosting Slime if she knew how it was made.

Soon enough, Paimon turned to Lumine, "It's done! The unique Frosting Slime! Carefully put it in the gift box, sprinkle some sugar powder..."

Following Paimon's instructions, Lumine carefully placed the slime in the box and sprinkled sugar powder.

At this moment, Xingxi, the owner of the Mingxing Jewelry, offered, "Here are some freshly picked flowers. Put a couple of them on."

Lumine took the fresh flowers and placed them on the Frosting Slime.

"Great, it's beautiful! The Sugar-Frosted Slime is finished!!" Paimon exclaimed excitedly.

However, Lumine was somewhat nervous. But since it was done, it was time to take it to the Jade Chamber and give it to Ningguang.

"Hopefully Ningguang will be pleased with this Sugar-Frosted Slime we've prepared for her."

"Okay, our glory and wealth is in this box. Let's go find Ningguang at the Jade Chamber!"

After thanking the shop owner, Lumine picked up the gift box, and with Paimon, they left the Star Snack. Following Mr. Owner's instructions, Lumine and Paimon arrived at a palace at Yujing Terrace. They found an old man nearby.

"Hello, are you Buyun?" Paimon asked.

"Oh, who might you two be?"

"Hello, we are going to the Jade Chamber."

"Going to the Jade Chamber?"

"Hello, do you sell the moon here?"

Buyun looked at Lumine and Paimon, paused for a moment, then nodded, "Yes, how many do you want?"

Paimon continued, "The quantity is not convenient to disclose."

Seeing that Paimon had uttered the password, Buyun bowed slightly to them, 'Good answer, you can go now to Jade chamber. By the way, are you the guests that Lady Ningguang arranged for today?'

"Hehe, correct!"

"(But this is not the password for 'guests', but for Ningguang permit'. What's going on?)" Buyun fell into thought. "(Could it be that Lady Ningguang herself told these two guests?)"

"You two, please stand on the platform and it will take you up," Buyun said, looking at Lumine and Paimon.

On hearing Buyun's words, Lumine and Paimon nodded and stood on the platform. Soon, the stone, carrying Lumine and Paimon, rose directly upwards.

"Wow, Lumine, this stone is so amazing!" Paimon exclaimed.

"Indeed, this stone from Liyue is remarkable."

Though Lumine could use her sword to fly to the Jade Chamber, such an act would be impolite. If they suddenly flew up and were spotted by the Millelith, they could be arrested under some pretext, which would be very problematic. And when in Rome, do as the Romans do. Since they're in a different place, they should follow the local customs.

So, Lumine and Paimon complied with the rules of Liyue Harbor. Just as Lumine and Paimon were about to reach the Jade Chamber, Baishi entered the room and found Ningguang.

"Lady Ningguang, the Traveler is about to reach the Jade Chamber."

"Oh? They're here? Let's go meet them."

Ningguang stood up with a slight smile and walked out of the room. As Ningguang reached the outside of the Jade Chamber, Lumine and Paimon arrived.

"We've been expecting you, traveler from the Endless Clouds."

Ningguang walked towards Lumine and Paimon, stopping about a meter away.

"Ah, it's Ningguang!

We've prepared a gift for our first meeting. We hope you like it!"

Saying this, Lumine handed the Sweet Frosty Slime gift box to Ningguang.

Ningguang placed her hands in front of her, "For me? Thank you so much. I invited you two here and instead put you through the trouble."

Paimon quickly waved her hands, "No trouble, no trouble, hehe."

"But, Ningguang, there's a big black object displayed here at your Jade Chamber, what is it?"

After presenting the gift, Paimon noticed a big black object on display at the Jade Chamber and asked curiously.

"Oh, that. It's a weapon I got from Mr. Owner."

"Weapon?" Paimon Surprised by Ningguang reply.