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Chapter 80: Childe Tartaglia
🕑 Added 2025-04-25 07:00:04 +0000 UTCYun Fan didn’t directly answer Xiao’s question. Instead, he asked him a question in return.
“Xiao, how would you describe Rex Lapis’s strength?”
“Rex Lapis’s martial prowess is unparalleled in the world. Even all the adepti of Liyue combined would not be a match for him,” Xiao answered truthfully.
“Exactly. So why do you still think Rex Lapis has truly fallen?” Yun Fan sighed inwardly. Xiao was truly a devoted follower of Rex Lapis.
“But…” Xiao was still confused. He believed that the Divine Lord wouldn’t lie to him, but if what the Divine Lord said was true, then why would Rex Lapis fake his death?
“Are you wondering why Morax would do such a thing?” Yun Fan continued.
“Please enlighten me, Divine Lord.”
Yun Fan’s lips curled into a slight smile, but his focus remained entirely on the Fenghuang Downs. The evolution charge of the Fenghuang Downs had already reached 90%. It wouldn’t be long before it evolved.
Once the evolution was complete, he would challenge the second trial, bringing him one step closer to the power of the Divine Lord, who could pluck stars from the sky.
“You don’t need to worry about this. Rex Lapis has his reasons for doing what he did. Just pretend you don’t know about it and observe quietly.”
After hearing Yun Fan’s words, Xiao nodded. Indeed, Rex Lapis’s thoughts were beyond their comprehension. He must have his reasons for doing this.
………
“Traveler, did we forget something?” Some time later, the two travelers arrived at the Heyu Tea House that Hu Tao had mentioned. Looking at the bustling crowd, Paimon’s voice trembled slightly. It seemed they had overlooked something very important.
Standing at the entrance of the Heyu Tea House, Lumine and Paimon stared at each other in confusion.
It seemed, perhaps, maybe… they didn’t actually know what Zhongli looked like. How were they supposed to find him? They couldn’t just shout, “Zhongli, where are you!” That would be way too embarrassing.
“Let me think,” Lumine said, closing her eyes and recalling the information Ningguang and Hu Tao had given about Zhongli. Ningguang had said that Zhongli was mature, steady, and upright, so his demeanor must be extraordinary.
With this in mind, Lumine opened her eyes and began scanning the crowd of tea house patrons. After a few passes, her gaze finally settled on a man sitting in the front row with a long braid, dressed in a suit-like outfit, exuding an air of elegance and grace.
Lumine’s intuition told her that this person was likely the Zhongli they were looking for, and the man sitting next to him was probably the Tartaglia Hu Tao had mentioned.
Taking a deep breath, Lumine nervously walked over to Zhongli’s table.
“Excuse me, are you Mr. Zhongli?” Lumine asked, her heart pounding. If she had the wrong person, this would be incredibly awkward.
“Hmm?” Hearing the voice behind him, Zhongli turned around and looked at the golden-haired girl and the floating creature in front of him.
“Mr. Zhongli, are these your friends?” Tartaglia’s eyes flickered slightly as he asked Zhongli. He naturally knew that Zhongli didn’t know these two, as he wasn’t deaf. But with such distinctive features, they must be the outlander travelers who had appeared in Mondstadt, right?
“You must be Miss Lumine. Please, have a seat.” Zhongli’s golden eyes showed no trace of surprise at Lumine’s sudden appearance.
“Mr. Zhongli, you know me?” Lumine was curious. They had never met before.
“I had the pleasure of seeing you two at the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. Our Director Hu has been well taken care of by you. Allow me to offer you a cup of tea in gratitude.” Zhongli picked up his teacup and raised it in a toast to the two of them.
“No, no, we’re the ones who have been taken care of by Hu Tao,” Lumine said, flustered by Zhongli’s politeness. She wasn’t good at handling such formalities.
“Hey, hey, don’t forget about me,” Tartaglia finally interjected, unable to hold back any longer. “I’m the one treating you, after all.”
“Ahem, my apologies. This is Mr. Tartaglia,” Zhongli said, lightly coughing to introduce Tartaglia to Lumine and Paimon.
“Mr. Tartaglia, hello. I’m Lumine.”
Lumine smiled and extended her hand to Tartaglia, who didn’t refuse and shook her hand with a bright smile.
“Hello, Miss Lumine. I’m Tartaglia. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“Oh? What do you mean?” Lumine was intrigued. Was she already that famous?
“Well, in Mondstadt, you must have already met one of my colleagues.”
“Colleague?”
“Yes, La Signora.”
Hearing Tartaglia’s words, Lumine’s hand holding the teacup trembled, almost spilling the tea onto the table.
“You’re Childe!” Lumine exclaimed, slamming the table and standing up, her eyes filled with caution as she glared at Tartaglia. Her voice was so loud that it drew the attention of the other patrons, and even Yun Jin, who was performing on stage, paused for a moment.
“Miss Lumine,” Zhongli said, glancing around and signaling for her to sit down.
Taking a deep breath, Lumine sat back down, but the wariness in her eyes didn’t fade. She never expected that this man named Tartaglia was actually the Fatui Harbinger Childe! She had just met Zhongli and already encountered her target.
“Miss Lumine, please calm down. Although our codenames are similar, I’m not like La Signora. That woman is always so irritable, hardly acting like a lady. I deeply apologize for the bad impression she left on you.”
Tartaglia apologized sincerely, his attitude genuine and not feigned. This left Lumine and Paimon unsure of what to think. This person didn’t seem at all like what Ningguang had described.
Of course, Lumine wasn’t naive, and she didn’t fully trust him either. She simply nodded in response.
“Mr. Tartaglia, there’s no need to apologize. We believe you.”
“Haha, thank you for your trust, Miss Lumine. How about we go to Xinyue Kiosk for a meal after the opera? I’d really like to be friends with you.” Tartaglia put down his teacup and made the suggestion.
“Sure, thank you, Mr. Tartaglia,” Paimon chimed in, seizing the opportunity to speak up and agreeing on Lumine’s behalf.
“Then we’ll trouble you, Mr. Tartaglia,” Lumine said, not refusing. She had been wondering how to get closer to Childe, and now it seemed like things had fallen into place.
