Keqing's patience teetered on the edge as the broadcast screen refused to relent.
The "Master Carver" had just unleashed her thunderous cry, slicing offal with dazzling swordplay.
Now, she soared through the air, a violet blur against Liyue's vibrant sky.
Beef offal rained onto the chopping board below, perfectly carved, yet she didn't descend.
A full minute passed, and the Master Carver still danced among the clouds.
Three minutes later, her flight showed no sign of slowing, a whirlwind of relentless motion.
By the fifth minute, she twirled endlessly, her sanity seemingly lost to the wind.
Tartaglia watched, bemused, and muttered, "Does selling snacks really need this much effort?"
Zhongli sipped his tea calmly, observing, "This embodies Liyue's unyielding artisan spirit."
Tartaglia's eyes narrowed with a mix of awe and disbelief, "Seriously, will she ever stop?"
Zhongli cast a sidelong glance at the airborne Keqing, offering only a thoughtful silence.
The screen's final frame tightened on her spinning form, shrinking into a dark circle before fading to black.
"Video concluded, thank you for watching!" flashed across the broadcast.
"Master Carver earns her reward: Skyward Offal Blade Technique," the text proclaimed.
"Live broadcast room closing in five minutes…" it added, sealing the chaos.
Laughter erupted across Teyvat, a joy unseen since the wildest tales of old.
Paimon: "Is this really Liyue's Yuheng Star Keqing? She's nothing like the rumors!"
Lumine: "Paimon, mind your manners, don't make it worse."
Arataki Itto: "No way, this is too hilarious, I'm crying from laughing so hard!"
Shinobu: "Boss, calm down, you're overdoing it."
Ningguang: "@KujouSara, can you rein in this Arataki Itto character?"
Kujou Sara: "Apologies, he's a wanted rogue, I'm on his trail now."
Sayu: "All that spinning is making me dizzy just watching."
Beidou: "As her friend, I shouldn't laugh, but this is unstoppable!"
Tianshu: "It's oddly endearing, this youthful antics deserve a chuckle."
Keqing: "Tianshu, not you too, why join the madness?!"
Ganyu: "Um, well, it's kind of amusing, hehe."
Klee: "Wow, she flies forever, Klee wants to learn that trick!"
Kaeya: "Little Klee, head to Liyue and ask Miss Keqing for lessons."
Jean: "@Kaeya, that's enough, don't encourage her."
Amber: "I'm trying not to laugh, but it's honestly too funny!"
Five minutes later, the broadcast dimmed, and Teyvat's people snapped back to reality.
The experience felt like a fleeting dream, yet its vividness clung to their senses.
"Master Carver Keqing" became the spark igniting every conversation across Liyue.
In streets and taverns, folk buzzed about her skyward dance and offal-slicing spectacle.
"That broadcast was real, wasn't it? Absolutely mind-blowing!" one merchant exclaimed.
"Whoever made this spoof picked our Yuheng Star first, it's pure gold!" a shopper giggled.
"This second creation stuff is genius, I can't get enough!" a fisherman roared.
"'Slice all the offal' or 'slice all the foes'? It's a riot either way!" another mused.
"You'd miss the wordplay if you didn't listen close, brilliant twist!" a baker chimed.
"Aren't you spooked? Snatching us up like that is eerie," a cautious voice whispered.
"With Lord Morax watching over us, what's to fear?" a bold one countered.
"If even the Geo Archon can't stop it, worrying's pointless," they shrugged.
"That's fair, but I've got no comeback for that logic," the skeptic sighed.
"Keep it quiet, the Millelith might overhear us," someone hushed.
No one dared raise their voices too loud, lest the Millelith take notice.
The Millelith themselves wrestled with stifled grins beneath their disciplined masks.
Keqing, their stern and noble Yuheng Star, had been cast as a comical whirlwind.
They longed to laugh, but duty demanded restraint, for they were professionals.
Unless, of course, the hilarity proved too much to bear.
At that moment, Keqing patrolled Liyue's streets, her usual poise intact.
Fresh from the broadcast, she felt the weight of countless eyes shift toward her.
She glanced down, and her face darkened as realization crashed over her.
Her reputation as Yuheng Star lay in tatters, shredded by that absurd video.
Clutching her fists, she didn't notice the Skyward Offal Blade Technique booklet in her grip.
With a flush of shame, she bolted home, head bowed against the staring crowd.
Zhongli, watching from a distance, shook his head with a faint, weary sigh.
"This year's been a storm, I hope she weathers this without breaking," he murmured.
The Invitation to Mundane Life neared, his retirement plans falling into place.
Keqing's vision of human rule was key to Liyue's next chapter, he knew.
After 3,700 years, it was time for Liyue's people to forge their own destiny.
Back in the city, whispers of her flight rippled through every corner.
Merchants paused mid-haggle, replaying her aerial antics with gleeful snickers.
Children mimicked her spins, twirling sticks like makeshift swords in the dust.
Even the gulls overhead seemed to caw in rhythm with the broadcast's tune.
Keqing reached her home, slamming the door against the world's mocking gaze.
She flung the booklet onto a table, its title glaring up at her like a taunt.
"Why me?" she groaned, sinking into a chair, her pride a scattered ruin.
The broadcast's gift mocked her further, a prize for enduring public humiliation.
Outside, the Millelith swapped tales, their stoic facades cracking with stifled chuckles.
One guard mimicked her cry, "Thunder strikes true!" before clapping a hand over his mouth.
Their captain glared, but his twitching lips betrayed the struggle within.
Liyue hummed with this strange new energy, the broadcast's echo inescapable.
In Mondstadt, Wendy strummed a ditty inspired by Keqing's flight, grinning wide.
"Up she goes, the Carver Queen, slicing skies and snacks supreme!" he sang.
Barbatos's breeze carried the tune, a playful nod to Liyue's plight.
In Inazuma, Raiden Shogun pondered the broadcast's reach, her gaze stern.
This chaos clashed with eternity, yet its pull intrigued even her iron will.
Sumeru's Nahida giggled, imagining Keqing twirling amidst her forest dreams.
Lumine lingered in Liyue, tracing the broadcast's thread to her lost brother.
Could this be his handiwork, a jest to bridge their sundered paths?
She clutched her sword, resolve hardening amidst the laughter around her.
Back at Wanmin Kitchen, Zhongli resumed his tea, the world settling once more.
The Geo trinket in his pocket pulsed, a quiet reminder of the broadcast's touch.
Keqing's ordeal was but the start, he sensed, a prelude to greater upheaval.
Teyvat stood on a precipice, its fate nudged by this unseen, mirthful force.
The day waned, but her flight lingered in every mind, a legend born anew.
***
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