Human joys and sorrows are not interconnected.
While Mondstadt was actively preparing, Lin Qiu had just returned home from a party in Fontaine.
The second act of the novel had already been given to Charlotte.
He would help him submit it to the editor for printing after she finished reading it, which shouldn't take many days.
"I wonder if the book has been sent yet?"
Lin Qiu thought of this while playing with a hydro element illusion.
He had mentioned to the editor that after the book was printed, a few copies should be sent to his friends in Liyue.
By his calculations, it should be arriving soon.
The palm-sized hydro element illusion changed into various forms in Lin Qiu's hand.
He had become much more proficient in controlling hydro element power.
"I wonder when I'll accumulate enough," Lin Qiu sighed.
First, I'll exchange for a Pocket Waypoint. After all, choosing between a slight increase in strength and instant teleportation with no cooldown is a no-brainer, right?
He had lived in Liyue for a long time, and working at Wangsheng Funeral Parlor naturally earned him some Emotion Points.
The reason he didn't have much left when he came to Fontaine was that he had exchanged for a Pocket Waypoint and placed it in his home in Liyue.
The first Waypoint had a discount, making it cheaper. One thousand Emotion Points wouldn't make Lin Qiu much stronger, but a teleportation Waypoint could truly save his life.
If I can't beat you, can't I at least outrun you? What about instantly casting 'Hearthstone' to Zhongli's side?
Fortunately, the Pocket Waypoint produced by the system had no time limit, otherwise, it would be too much of a scam.
However, the first and second acts of this story didn't have many emotionally stirring moments.
So, Lin Qiu began to consider writing some Story Quests.
"I'll name the Story Quest series 'love and teyvat,'" Lin Qiu declared, writing down the title 'If You Are Trapped in a Windless Land' with a flourish.
The next day, Lin Qiu went to the opera house to 'watch a show.' Unlike Lin Qiu's relaxed demeanor, Mondstadt was in tense preparations.
Originally, they planned to visit the Four Winds' temple first, but the news of the Traveler's arrival made the Knights of Favonius temporarily halt their steps.
It was better to deploy defenses in the city first to stop Stormterror.
One must know that the real Teyvat is vast, and going to the Four Winds' temple is not a round trip that can be completed in a single day.
If Stormterror arrived while the Knights of Favonius were en route, it would be a disaster.
Meanwhile, the Traveler and Paimon, as the protagonists, were still in the forest with Amber.
This forest was vast, and there were monsters within it.
Even with Amber leading the way, it would take a long time to get out, unless they flew.
"Wait, you mean this book was only released yesterday?" Paimon said, reading the 'prophecy book' in her hand.
The book was half her size, making the scene particularly amusing.
Just now, Paimon and Lumine finished reading the book. Lumine was fine, reading rather silently.
But Paimon's small mouth never stopped, exclaiming 'Wow' one moment and 'Huh' the next.
"That's not right? Wasn't Amber at Windrise yesterday? How did she buy the book?" Paimon noticed a crucial detail.
Given the distance between Windrise and Mondstadt City, even riding a monster wouldn't allow for a round trip in one day, unless it was a dragon!
"Kaeya bought it for me and sent it over with a Wind Eagle," Amber explained.
Wind Eagle is a monster trained in Mondstadt specifically for transmitting critical intelligence.
It is extremely fast, possesses a certain combat ability, and can also determine the location of allies based on the Anemo element.
Such a monster was used by Kaeya to deliver books.
Not only did he send one to Amber, but he even sent a copy to Eula.
However, Eula was busy keeping an eye on the Fatui and temporarily had no time to read it.
"Kaeya?"
Paimon tilted her small head in thought for a moment, then made an 'aha' expression.
"Oh, oh, is that the person who seemed a little bad when he appeared?"
"He's that pirate," Lumine also recalled.
"Although Kaeya likes to tease people, play pranks, and occasionally cause trouble, he's not a bad person, and he's not a pirate; he's the Cavalry Captain!"
"Eh? Not a pirate?" Lumine seemed a little disappointed.
"But he wears an eye patch, and his skin is very dark. Doesn't that mean he can only be a pirate?"
"Mm-hmm, and listening to Amber's description, he really does seem a little bad, very much like a pirate," Paimon nodded in agreement.
Amber was almost convinced and finally said helplessly, "You two really have me beat."
Meanwhile, at the same time in Liyue, Hu Tao received a letter and a package.
The package contained Lin Qiu's book, and the letter read:
'Dear Hall Master, Greetings as if we meet in person.
Still alive.'
"Oh my, it seems the luxurious funeral I prepared for little Qiu Qiu won't be needed for now," Hu Tao said with a giggle, looking at the letter in her hand, folding it neatly, and putting it away.
In fact, she was still very worried about Lin Qiu.
After all, Lin Qiu was just an ordinary person without a Vision.
Such a long journey was very dangerous; he might die if he encountered a monster on the way.
Now that she saw this letter, the worry in her heart was finally put to rest.
Zhongli sat beside her, also holding the letter and book sent by Lin Qiu.
The content of the letter was different, but it also only had one sentence, which read:
'Brother Zhongli, I'm sorry!'
This sentence made even the well-informed Zhongli a bit confused.
Had Lin Qiu done anything to offend him? No, he hadn't.
Not only that, but they usually got along very well.
Of course, he didn't know that Lin Qiu felt he would expose Zhongli's identity, so he apologized to him in advance.
In Zhongli's eyes, Lin Qiu was a remarkable person, capable of telling many interesting stories that even he had never heard of.
For instance, there was a story Zhongli particularly enjoyed about a monkey God who rebelled against Celestia.
He was eventually sealed and suppressed, and after five hundred years of various hardships, he was recruited by Celestia.
Although the ending was not perfect, Zhongli greatly admired this spirit of resistance.
Perhaps Barbatos would like it even more than he did?
"Hall Master, generally speaking, Mr. Lin is older than you," Zhongli took a sip of tea.
"But I'm the superior, so a little privilege isn't too much, right?"
Hu Tao leaned back in her chair, resting her neck on the backrest, and looked at Zhongli upside down.
"This..." Zhongli was speechless.
Hu Tao remained in that position without sitting up, holding up the book and saying,
"I didn't expect little Qiu Qiu to be writing books too. Does everyone whose name contains 'Qiu' excel at writing?"
"consultant, if my pen name were 'Hu Qiu,' do you think I could write good books?"
"It must be possible, right? This Hall Master is already so talented, and if my name also contains 'Qiu,' wouldn't that be a strong combination!"
Hu Tao's peach blossom eyes sparkled with light.
"...It probably has nothing to do with the name," Zhongli said helplessly.
Having lived for so long, only Hu Tao gave him a sense of being unfathomable.
"Irrelevant? That's a pity."
"Then how about I tell little Qiu Qiu all the things I encounter, and let him write them? He'll definitely write interesting stories."
Hu Tao thought of another brilliant idea.
"This Hall Master is also very generous; no need for a byline, just an advertisement for Wangsheng Funeral Parlor will do. Wouldn't that allow us to open up the international market?"
"Oh dear, oh dear, could this Hall Master truly be a business prodigy?" Hu Tao smiled radiantly.
She never imagined that in the future, Lin Qiu would indeed write a story for her.
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Character Voice-Over · Zhongli: About Hu Tao
"The current Hall Master? Hmm... I can't handle that child."