Deep in a mountain forest somewhere in Liyue—even Su Xuan wasn't sure exactly where—a flat, slender skiff hovered in midair before Yelan.
"This is the flying ship you mentioned?" Yelan blinked. At a glance… yes, it truly was flying.
Circling it with keen curiosity, she muttered, "It's so different from Fontaine's airships. There aren't even any glider fins…"
Su Xuan rubbed his temple and eyed the countryside "village girl" before him who—despite her looks and figure—insisted on playing it rustic.
He could reconstruct a Starship through his Authority of Law, but the Workshop Bureau itself could not be reproduced that way. Understandable: the Workshop was a system-born artifact—the kind of thing no power in Teyvat could fully analyze.
The Starship was different; it merely rolled off the Workshop's assembly line. Worlds apart.
Watching Yelan circle the skiff with sparkling eyes, Su Xuan quietly snapped a photo.
[Queen Yelan, Curiosity Overload.jpg]
"Instead of orbiting the Starship, maybe strike a nice stretch pose and let me take a proper promo shot? Think of it—brand ambassador for the Starship!"
"...?"
He posted it. Yelan's cheeks heated. A "stretch pose," of all things…
After last night's "dungeon runs"—plural—her every step still felt a touch too warm. A stretch in this condition? Her muscles would protest in very unladylike ways.
This man is trouble through and through, she grumbled inwardly.
Across the diary network, none of the other girls paid attention to Yelan's curious expression. Every gaze locked onto the skiff hovering a man's height above the ground.
"What is that?"
"A ship… in the sky?"
Out in Inazuma's waters aboard the Death Omen Star, the one-eyed pirate queen herself leaned over the rail, stunned. If her flagship could soar through the clouds—what freedom that would be.
Su Xuan's captions scrolled on:
This is called a Starship. No weapons installed by default—its main roles are passenger transit and cargo haulage.
Anti-gravity flight; unlimited power. I've loaded a world map for Teyvat.
Just speak your destination. It self-pilots safely in all directions and ignores weather.
Eyes widened across nations.
Back at the Jade Chamber, Ningguang actually staggered a step, lips parting.
"Airborne transport…?"
Liyue, the economic heart of Teyvat, lived on logistics. Land routes suffered monsters and Treasure Hoarders; sea routes did better against beasts and pirates, yet the weather remained a tyrant. One storm could cost more than a dozen ambushes. And timing—more precious than Mora—decided profit and loss.
Setting aside any other functions, for transport alone this Starship dwarfed every system in Teyvat.
"A destination-precise, all-weather, fully automated carrier?" Ningguang rubbed her brow. "Just how many miracles can one man stack?"
More lines from Su Xuan:
As for manufacturing: I have an automated Workshop Bureau.
Place it on open ground and it produces one Starship every ten days.
Before rollout, Starships can be fused to increase size.
The Workshop has independent defenses; no attack can breach it. Only I—and those I appoint—may enter and handle pre-delivery operations.
Not sure if Teyvat will even accept this product…
Honestly, in my hands it's only good for selling. Otherwise… pretty useless to me.
Yelan glanced toward Liyue Harbor—toward the floating palace above it. A silver-haired, crimson-eyed beauty presided there: the one and only Ningguang.
Just picturing her expression right now made Yelan want to laugh.
Su Xuan's subtext was obvious: he was looking for an agent for the Workshop Bureau. And the woman who dreamed of building bigger and higher than anyone—the richest Tianquan of Liyue—there was no chance she'd pass this by.
"Immortality not yet in hand, and now a miracle factory drops out of the sky," Yelan mused. "She must be beside herself."
Still… she squinted at Su Xuan. "So the Workshop and the Starship are why you're in such a good mood?"
"Of course not." He guided her up the gangplank with an easy motion. "I'm happy because I'm now a swordsman."
"...A swordsman?" Yelan arched a brow.
He nodded. "A very special style. I point, it cuts. Exactly there."
Yelan: "...Right."
"You'll see when the time comes. For now, let's take the Starship for a spin." He spoke lightly and tugged her aboard.
"This one rolled off the line bound to me," he added. "For unclaimed units, the Workshop can assign a new pilot via voice verification after a scan."
Yelan looked around the cabin. Aside from a faint light-screen, there was no control panel at all. The deck was also quite spacious—ample room for cargo. And if the Workshop could fuse hulls, the capacity could grow even larger.
She was still thinking when Su Xuan said, calm as water: "Destination: Jade Chamber, Liyue Harbor."
The hatch sealed. The Starship rose. Caught off balance by the sudden lift, Yelan stumbled straight into his arms.
"So eager?" he murmured. "Don't tell me you want to try something thrilling mid-flight. At this speed, we'll reach the Jade Chamber soon. No time."
Yelan stared. Two seconds later, she rolled her eyes. "Have you ever considered… dignity?"
In Liyue, nothing outranked the Rite of Descension.
Ningguang sat at her desk, working through the ceremony's files—until her pen paused. Irritation pricked her composure.
"Where did Su Xuan take Yelan?"
At first, her wish from Su Xuan had been immortality. Power was important, yes, but everything began with the plea to him. If power came along the way—perfect. If not, longevity remained her first priority.
Now, with this Workshop Bureau, her heart itched.
Most crucially, Su Xuan had said someone other than him could be appointed to operate it.
From what she knew, Su Xuan had no taste for grand enterprises. With his power, he didn't need to bother with time-consuming, headache-inducing ventures. If he said the Workshop and Starships were "useless" to him beyond selling, then to him, they truly were.
But to others… they were treasures that could reshape the world.
"If the Workshop falls into someone else's hands…" she murmured.
The Starship alone could overturn Teyvat's entire logistics industry. And it wasn't only freight; it was a perfect vehicle for exploration and travel. Given Su Xuan's mysteries, what else might the Workshop be capable of producing tomorrow?
A single factory, unassailable, churning out impossibilities—its influence on every sector would be seismic.
"To be the appointed agent… Can I be the one?" The thought ran circles in her mind.
As a practical visionary with ambition to match, she knew she wouldn't sleep soundly until she secured that position. She sought immortality to buy time—to build, to realize, to achieve. But if someone else leapt even further ahead, what meaning would eternity have?
"Lady Ningguang! Lady Ningguang!"
Her secretary Baishi burst in, yanking her from thought.
"What is it?" Ningguang asked.
"Lady Yelan—Lady Yelan has landed in the Jade Chamber on a strange ship!"
Before the sentence finished, Ningguang was already on her feet, long legs carrying her out at speed.
In a quiet corner of the Chamber, she found it: a skiff hovering a handspan—no, about two-tenths of a meter—off the ground. Yelan leaned against the hull with folded arms, as if waiting for Ningguang on purpose.
"You came in a rush, I see," Yelan greeted with a half-smile.
Ningguang scanned the Starship up and down, then asked carefully, "And Su Boss? He didn't come with you?"
"He jumped off halfway," Yelan said, one shoulder lifting. "You know he can fly. He's probably already in the Harbor."
"And this thing is amazing—it finds its own parking spot." She patted the hull. "From takeoff to landing, unless you change the destination, there's nothing extra to do. A fine piece of work."
Ningguang's gaze sharpened. "Is it a gift to you?"
"No. It's his, and he alone can operate it. Though he did say that fresh units from the Workshop can be assigned to new users."
Yelan spread her hands. "But don't expect him to come fetch it. As magical as it is, in his hands it's not worth a single Mora."
"And I can share one interesting thing from today," she added.
"What is it?" Ningguang leaned in, interest rekindled.
"He was in an excellent mood. I thought it was because of the Workshop and the Starship. Turns out… it was his swordsmanship."
Ningguang's eyes met Yelan's. "You mean—"
"Mhm." Yelan nodded. "After spending time with him, I realized: if you rely only on what the diary shows, we are woefully ignorant."
Understanding dawned in Ningguang's slight nod.
Su Xuan had never once mentioned sword arts in the diary. That lined up far too neatly with her suspicion: the Workshop likely hid other secrets—surprises that would surface without warning.
In that moment, Ningguang nearly turned on her heel to hunt him down and negotiate the agency of the Workshop.
She mastered the impulse and asked, very delicately, "And you… I mean, in this one day—you and he…"
Yelan's smile turned positively victorious. "Immortality. Boundary Breakthrough. Essence of the Demon. I have them all."
"...!"
"How—how did you persuade him to grant you all that?" Ningguang's envy was almost audible.
At the question, Yelan's expression cooled.
Ningguang's heart tightened. Judging by that look, the price must have been steeper than any of them imagined.
But Yelan only sighed. Ningguang's earlier deductions were close enough… yet Yelan had no intention of telling the whole story.
What should I do, tell her I got hauled through every 'secret domain' without reprieve? Not happening.
She patted Ningguang's shoulder instead. "Everyone's circumstances are different—and it depends on his mood. If he's pleased, everything becomes negotiable."
"But a warning," she said quietly. "He's far more dangerous than you think. You might approach him for profit… and then find that even if your legs could run, your heart has no intention of leaving."
Ningguang frowned. "...?"
"I mean it. As I am now, I couldn't defy his orders even if I tried," Yelan admitted softly.
Ningguang's eyes narrowed—calculating. "So he doesn't tolerate betrayal."
Yelan shook her head. "That's not it. It's… fascination. The power, the mystery—and what he makes you feel—it's like a mire. The more you struggle, the deeper you sink."
Ningguang: "…"
Not a single concrete method shared. Typical Yelan.
At last, as she turned to go, Yelan left her with this: "Do your best. I can't help you with this one."
"And my advice? Don't seek him out right now. The Rite is upon us—handle the important work first. Besides, judging by how he jumped ship halfway, I don't think he intends to meet you just yet."
Ningguang nodded. "Understood."
She had shown goodwill already. And Su Xuan—who knew them all too well—must by now understand exactly how much she desired the Workshop.
As for his stance? She would watch the diary for his attitude toward her gesture—and then decide her next move.
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