Genshin Impact's Incense Burner Of Liyue.

Back in Mondstadt, Gu Sanqiu made a beeline for the statue of Barbatos, leaving two bottles of fine wine as an offering before lazily making his way back to the hotel.

It was time to leave. This time, for real.

The strange domain that had suddenly appeared was still weighing on his mind. He had half a mind to wait for Childe to stir up trouble again and then lure him off to someplace like Sumeru to deal with it there.

After all, for someone who dared to extract a Gnosis by hand, it wouldn't be outlandish for the Ley Line's power to record his image and use it for some larger scheme.

"Ugh, this is annoying. I need to find a way to minimize its influence."

If every domain required Aether's purification ability to unlock, Gu Sanqiu wouldn't stand for it. Relying on someone else for such critical moments made him deeply uncomfortable.

If the situation with Azhdaha's lingering hatred proceeded as he remembered, then another domain like this, a faux "Chasm Domain," could easily appear.

If his suspicions were correct and no one addressed the root cause, these anomalies could eventually lead to disasters of unimaginable scale.

He sighed. "When I get back, I hope the Archive has made progress on replicating the Requiem Mechanism."

The thought of how to further strengthen Liyue was exhausting.

Releasing Azhdaha from his seal?

Yeah, right. He could already imagine that leading to another "Dragon Sovereign Rebellion" in a heartbeat.

He had even considered hauling the Nail of Punishment—the massive, ore-dropping column from Dragonspine—back to Liyue. The thought of smashing Osial's many-headed snake body with it was appealing.

But now? Not a chance.

After realizing how useless he'd been in the domain, unable to deal damage, he felt like a program bug that had suddenly gone haywire.

A bug, flagged and logged, its actions drawing the attention of the system administrators.

Before Aether shattered Durin's scales, Gu Sanqiu had been skeptical but stubborn, unwilling to believe he couldn't overcome the foe with the right approach.

Fortunately, Aether and Venti had intervened. Otherwise, who knew how things would have escalated?

As a wielder of [Rocksundering Art], blessed by Azhdaha himself, being treated like a plague by the Ley Line Blossom felt like a personal insult.

"Judging by this, I'd have a better chance of being crushed under a new Nail of Punishment than bringing one home," he muttered.

At the blacksmith's forge, Gu Sanqiu placed the spear prototype on the anvil. With a swift, powerful slap, he broke it into powder, sprinkling the fine dust over Aether's [Dull Blade] as though seasoning it.

"Barbatos above," Wagner muttered, wide-eyed as he sipped tea from the corner. "I've never seen anything like this!"

Shattering a prototype—a rare, ancient weapon foundation—into dust? Blasphemous!

The sheer audacity made him retreat, abandoning his hopes of gleaning advanced blacksmithing techniques from Gu Sanqiu's methods.

"What are you staring at?" Gu Sanqiu's tone was matter-of-fact as he kept working.

Wagner shook his head silently.

Unbeknownst to him, Gu Sanqiu wasn't employing brute force for theatrics. This technique wasn't his choice—it was the weapon's.

The so-called [Dull Blade] in Aether's hands wasn't a standard issue at all.

Though not possessing the expertise of an elder who could evaluate weapons with a glance, Gu Sanqiu had enough experience to discern its extraordinary quality.

This was no ordinary weapon. It felt dormant, like something that had suffered a catastrophe and was slowly recovering its former power.

"If that's the case, using the spear prototype as a base might actually hinder it," he mused, thinking of unwanted impurities the process could introduce.

Still, some reinforcement wouldn't hurt for now.

Sliding the sword into the forge, Gu Sanqiu turned to Aether.

"Now, about the elemental crystals you picked up—do you know where to sell those?"

Aether nodded but hesitated, as if realizing something.

"Sanqiu, are you leaving?"

"Heading home," he corrected, shrugging lightly. "I'm from Liyue. I only came here because Venti dragged me along. Now that I've seen the excitement, it's time to head back."

"Wait, you're leaving already?"

Paimon puffed up, looking crestfallen. "Can't you stay a bit longer? We were going to treat you to a meal later!"

He chuckled, shaking his head. "If you don't find your sister here, I'm guessing you'll keep traveling. We'll meet again in Liyue sooner or later."

Just don't stay there too long, he thought. No matter how rich the nation is, it can't handle the mess you two might bring.

"And unlike that slacker wind god, our archon is nearly impossible to find," he added with a grin. "If you come to Liyue, maybe I can lend a hand."

Of course, "lending a hand" would only mean hanging up some missing person posters—or nudging some information out of the shadows.

His father couldn't say much due to his contracts, but Gu Sanqiu wasn't so bound. He could reveal a few key details and watch the chaos unfold.

"Take care. And if you run into trouble, ask Albedo for help. Don't let his aloofness fool you—he's got a good heart."

As the faint glow of Anemo swirled around him, Gu Sanqiu glanced meaningfully at the Traveler and Paimon.

"Good luck reaching your goals."

With that, he vanished into a streak of wind, heading toward Liyue's Dihua Marsh.

---

From his perch on Dragonspine, Venti watched the trail of Anemo light fade into the distance.

"He's gone, huh? Makes sense. That nephew of mine has plenty of fires to put out back home."

Nearby, Dvalin's massive form shifted.

"Barbatos," the dragon rumbled, "was that blond boy's relative really here in Mondstadt?"

"They were," Venti replied, his tone unusually serious. "But where they are now… even I can't say. And their movements aren't something that can be revealed lightly."

"Then why encourage him to linger here?"

The bard grinned, tapping his temple playfully.

"Eh-heh~!"