In Your Eyes: Empyrean Admonition

You Are Carried By Alhaitham

Treasure Street, Sumeru City, Sumeru

 "Of course Kaveh will go home drunk, he can never hold his alcohol well."

 Alhaitham opens the door as you and Cyno carry a swaying Kaveh to his room. You silently wish that Cyno will not take any hints that this is actually Kaveh's room and think that it's a spare room in Alhaitham's home but you have a gut feeling that the Mahamatra knows Kaveh and Alhaitham's living condition, he is just too polite to talk. 

 Cyno gently lays Kaveh down before saying, "He tried so hard to match Captain Beidou, turns out she can drink four kegs of beer in one sitting." 

 Alhaitham escorts Cyno to the living room while you remove Kaveh's shoes. You also feel a little lightheaded but not to the point that you want to hurl or pass out. You carefully cover him with a blanket before quietly leaving the room. 

 "Dori really doesn't trust me, I even offered to pay for information but she just laughed in my face. She probably gets money from Al Abyad to keep her mouth shut," Alhaitham says as he pours three cups of coffee. 

 He hands out cups to you and Cyno before he leaves for his room. When he returns, he's holding a small package. 

 "A merchant from Liyue gave me this, you can have it." Alhaitham hands the package to Cyno before sitting down. "It's the Liyue themed board for Genius Invocation TCG."

 "This one looks so well done, the brass hammered down on the sides gives a nice touch." Cyno's eyes are glowing as he looks at the board thoroughly, "Thank you." 

 "I don't have a use for it. Also a VIP from Liyue gave me this book. I already read it before so I guess you can have it," Alhaitham says as he hands the book to you. 

 Records of Jueyun Volume 5

 "Volume 5?" You ask as you check the first page of the book, "Shouldn't it start with volume one?" 

 Alhaitham shrugs, "Beats me. He's the only fascinating person in that party. He is eloquent and seems to have a deep understanding of a lot of subjects. I also saw him talk to the Dendro Archon alone and she seemed to be very excited to meet him." 

 You flip through the book absentmindedly before asking, "What is his name?" 

 "Mister Zhongli, a Wangsheng Funeral Parlor consultant. He said he is in charge of traditional and Adeptal funeral rites. But just the way he speaks makes me think he knows a lot more than he shows." 

 Cyno says, "That's the man that Captain Beidou and Kazuha recommended to talk about Rabbit." 

 Cyno goes on to talk with Alhaitham about the upcoming auction. While they are discussing the pros and cons of joining the auction, you look through the book while you sip your coffee to sober up. You just leaf through the pages absentmindedly when you find a handwritten note at the last page. The writing is neat and written in bold strokes and you realize that the script that the note is written in is different. You don't have any problems reading it though. 

 Not all Illuminated Beasts are Adepti. Some have shown allegiance to other gods than the Prime of Adepti, Rex Lapis. Nonetheless, he offered to sign a contract with all Illuminated Beasts: One, to ensure their safety and two, to ensure the safety and protection of mortals, especially those who hail from Liyue. 

 Since the parting of Rex Lapis, newly born Illuminated Beast and those who are born with a mixture of mortal blood don't have the privilege of learning the Adeptal arts from him. Few Adepti who are able to teach Adeptal arts either seek their students while some are appointed by their clans.