Lumine was not happy with Paimon's performance—acting all pitiful just to score free food.
Had she ever starved Paimon?
Yet here she was, putting on this show the moment they got home.
What a little schemer.
Seeing Lumine's glare, Paimon quickly flew over and started massaging her shoulders.
"Hehe~"
"Don't be mad, Lumine!"
"I'm sorry!"
Lumine just hmph'd at the blatant buttering-up.
"You're sleeping alone tonight."
"Stay out of my room."
With that, she stalked off—but not before shooting Jiang Chen a look.
You know what to do.
Paimon, thinking Lumine was genuinely furious, panicked and chased after her, apologizing nonstop.
But Lumine ignored her.
Watching this, Jiang Chen smirked.
Classic Lumine move—ditching Paimon like a pro.
Nice.
With that settled, he got to work.
Since Lumine was back, they'd rest for a day—then head to Inazuma tomorrow.
Was Beidou back yet?
If so, they could hitch a ride on her ship.
If not… well, Jiang Chen could always fly there.
Wouldn't take long.
Touching the Statue of the Seven in Inazuma would trigger another system reward—and he was eager to see what it'd be.
Mondstadt had given him Karna's Spirit Origin.
Liyue had granted him the Heroic Spirit Temple.
So what would Inazuma offer?
The anticipation was killing him.
That evening, Jiang Chen prepared a feast for Paimon.
She ate like there was no tomorrow.
But when night fell, Lumine kicked her out.
Paimon was devastated.
Lumine's excuse?
"I need rest. Find somewhere else to sleep."
Left with no choice, Paimon sulked off to bother Havria.
Meanwhile, Lumine "rested" alone in her room.
No one suspected a thing—after all, she had been traveling nonstop.
Covering multiple nations in such a short time had to be exhausting.
Little did they know…
Lumine had already been whisked away to the Heroic Spirit Temple by Jiang Chen.
Their house?
Too risky.
With two gods under the same roof, even the slightest noise would be noticed.
Jiang Chen refused to be overheard.
Hence, the temple was perfect.
Since no Heroic Spirits currently resided there…
They could go as wild as they wanted.
"My brother's acting weird."
"Trying to be all mysterious—like I wouldn't punch him."
Afterward, Lumine curled up against Jiang Chen, venting about Aether.
All her recent frustrations had melted away—now she just felt blissfully relaxed.
What a satisfying battle.
But during her travels, she had noticed something off about Aether.
His whole "aloof older brother" act?
Pathetic.
They'd known each other for centuries—who was he trying to fool?
"Actually… he came to see me before finding you."
Jiang Chen casually threw Aether under the chariot.
Lumine jolted upright.
"WHAT?!"
"You met him?!"
"And you didn't tell me?!"
"You traitor!!"
She viciously pinched Jiang Chen's side.
"Hey, I just took his bribes—couldn't rat him out immediately."
"I'm telling you now, aren't I?"
He gently pried her fingers away.
Since when did women instinctively master this move?
"Wait—you took bribes?!"
"What's his deal? Spill!"
Lumine's eyes glowed with intrigue.
She knew nothing about Aether's current situation—yet Jiang Chen had already extorted him?
Details. Now.
Next time she saw her brother, she'd milk him dry.
"Some alchemy knowledge."
"Your brother's the Prince of the Abyss now."
"Filthy rich."
"Since I don't need Mora, I went for tech instead."
...
Jiang Chen mercilessly exposed every last secret.
Hearing "Prince of the Abyss," Lumine's face darkened.
"He's a prince and didn't invite me?!"
"If he's the prince, I should be the princess!"
"That bastard kept this from me?!"
"I'm furious!!"
Ohhh, so he got to live the high life while she scraped by?
What kind of brother was that?
"Furious?"
"Let me check—"
After some distraction, Lumine growled:
"Next time I see him, he'd better cough up billions—or I'm stabbing him."
She was dead serious.
No forgiveness.
"Want to lure him out?"
"He took some of my communication talismans."
Jiang Chen grinned.
They could totally bait Aether into a trap.
One call, and he'd come running.
"No!"
"Not yet."
"Let me recover first!"
"Besides, if we trick him once, he'll be wary next time."
"We'll save this chance for later!"
She wasn't in a hurry—better to keep this card up their sleeve.
Jiang Chen shrugged.
"Your call."
They could always ambush Aether later.
Just need a sack and a stick.
After some more quality time, they finally returned.
Back home, Lumine collapsed into bed, exhausted.
Her brother's betrayal was temporarily forgotten.
Right now, sleep was all that mattered.
The next morning, Jiang Chen finalized his arrangements.
Then, with Guizhong, Lumine, and Paimon in tow, he returned to Liyue Harbor.
There were still loose ends to tie up before departure.
Upon arrival, he headed straight to the Jade Chamber.
Ningguang raised an eyebrow at his sudden visit.
"You're leaving for Inazuma?"
Though Jiang Chen hadn't officially informed her, Keqing had already mentioned it.
"Yep."
"A few days at best, maybe two weeks at most."
"Just giving you a heads-up."
Ningguang nodded.
"Understood."
"How are you getting there?"
"Beidou's already set sail."
"If you want to go by ship, you'll need to find another."
She wasn't worried about their safety.
Even with Inazuma's lockdown and perpetual storms, these three could handle it.
This was essentially two gods paying Inazuma a visit—plus Lumine, whose strength was no joke.
The Raiden Shogun would probably personally monitor them the entire time.
"Missed her, huh?"
"No matter—I'll manage."
Jiang Chen wasn't too bothered.
Catching up to Beidou wouldn't be hard.