Genshin Impact's Incense Burner Of Liyue.

"Mercy, please! Mercy!"

The Abyss Apostle weakly waved his hands, gasping for breath. "I'm just a delivery guy! Doesn't Liyue have a saying that envoys shouldn't be harmed even during war?"

"Delivery?"

Xiao loosened his grip but seamlessly positioned his [Primordial Jade Winged-Spear] at the Apostle's throat.

"Hand it over."

"Damn it! You're already this strong—why do you have to be so cautious?"

Once the Apostle had caught his breath, he reached into his cloak and pulled out an exquisite-looking book.

"This is something my superiors told me to deliver to that kid. I don't know what's inside or why they asked me to give it to you."

Gu Sanqiu raised an eyebrow. "So, fighting me was your personal vendetta, but at heart, you're just a glorified courier?"

"What else do you expect? That old bastard Gu Shaochong buried me in the dirt last time. Then I fought his descendant and lost too. Of course, I wanted to reclaim some dignity!"

The Apostle glanced nervously at Xiao, whose expression remained cold. "Don't look at me like that! There's nothing poisonous or deadly in here—otherwise, I'd be dead already."

Xiao withdrew his spear. "Leave. Do not set foot in Liyue again."

"Ugh, as if I want to! Who in their right mind enjoys coming to Liyue, with all your gods and ghosts lurking in the shadows?"

The Apostle grumbled, his frustration palpable. "That old guy Gu Shaochong isn't dead yet, is he? Don't let him bury me again if I run into him."

"There's nothing I can do. Orders from above are orders. What choice do us errand boys have? Reject them and die?"

The Apostle stepped into a spatial rift. "If I ever come back, I'll definitely avoid you two. Calling in reinforcements during a 'fair fight'—what an insult to the sacred art of combat!"

Gu Sanqiu and Xiao silently watched the talkative Apostle disappear. Then, Gu Sanqiu turned to Xiao with a puzzled expression.

"Does the Abyss Order really have such eccentric members?"

For those cursed by the Abyss, it wasn't unheard of to encounter peaceful Hilichurls who didn't attack on sight. Some even shared food with children in the wild.

And then there was the mysterious Silent Hilichurl Valley. Its residents might look different from humans, but their way of life was essentially the same.

But Abyss Order Apostles? They were different. They always greeted you with chants of "Serve the Abyss!" and "Hear the grace!"—followed by a slap in the face and an infuriating elemental shield.

This chatty and somewhat dim-witted Apostle? Definitely a rare breed.

"I've never seen one like that."

Xiao, too, found the Apostle unusual. "If you encounter him again, stay cautious. What if he's just pretending?"

"Good point."

Gu Sanqiu mused aloud. "Who would bother sending me something, though? Are they trying to bribe me?"

Xiao opened the book and skimmed its contents. His usually stoic face showed a flicker of surprise.

"What's wrong, Xiao? Don't tell me it's poisoned."

"No. The book itself is fine. Take a look for yourself."

A faint teal glow rose around Xiao as he handed over the book. "I'm leaving. As for its contents, interpret them carefully. There could still be a trap."

"A trap? That serious?"

Gu Sanqiu flipped open the book, and after a single glance, he was stunned.

"This… This is what they sent? The Abyss Order actually preserved something of this level?"

---

Gu Fei yawned dramatically. "Hey, Xiangjun, waking us all up to work overtime at this hour? Don't you know old folks like us can get sick from this?"

"Stop whining. The sooner you finish, the sooner you can rest. Plus, this year's Celestial Sect expansion is granting the vault extra slots for their new sanctuaries. You won't have to pay out of pocket for healing retreats anymore."

Gu Fei perked up instantly. "Ah, our vault's work is vital! Xiangjun, you're too kind to us, securing extra slots like that."

"Heh."

Gu Sanqiu's grin didn't quite reach his eyes. "Hurry up. If I'm not mistaken, this thing won't stay in my hands for long."

"They've already started."

Gu Fei glanced at Gu Sanqiu, who was idly chewing mint leaves. "By the way, Xiangjun, where on earth did you go recently? Archaeology? This is some top-tier stuff."

"Archaeology? Nah. I can dig up priceless artifacts just by strolling through my family's storerooms."

Forget relic hunting. His personal stash of weapons alone was a treasure trove. Why waste time digging when his family archives had everything?

Gu Fei sighed wistfully. "Still, this feels surreal. Just as we hit a bottleneck, you show up with blueprints from the exact period we needed."

"Yeah, it's almost too convenient. Makes you wonder if we've got a spy in the vault."

Gu Sanqiu sighed again. When he first saw what the Apostle had delivered, he'd almost screamed, Dad, save me!

It was the blueprints for the [Eternal Construc]t, so detailed that even an amateur could replicate it.

"The [Eternal Construct] blueprints? Something this valuable?"

Gu Sanqiu's expression turned serious. He hadn't expected the Abyss Order to possess something like this.

"Incredible. And honestly, their motives for sending it to me are just as baffling."

Gu Fei frowned. "Xiangjun, you look worried."

"Of course I'm worried. These blueprints came from the enemy. If I hadn't double-checked them for errors on the way here, I'd have thought it was a deliberate trap."

He scratched his head. "Something this intricate—one mistake in the data, and it could cause catastrophic failures when put into use."

Gu Fei nodded. "True, but we're not blindly following the blueprints. We're just using them to overcome specific technical hurdles."

"Xiangjun's concerns are valid, and we've taken them into account. Rest assured, the final product will be a uniquely Liyuean [Eternal Construct]."

Even if the researchers in the vault were eccentric, they weren't foolish. Trusting enemy blueprints wholesale was out of the question.

For researchers, true security came from what they built with their own knowledge.

Blueprints from the Abyss? No thanks. Who knows what kind of trap might be hidden in them?

The Secret Vault's motto was clear: We trust only ourselves.

"We're not helpless. Some gaps in knowledge are due to historical discontinuities, but that doesn't mean we can't make progress."

Gu Sanqiu exhaled deeply. "Let them keep working in shifts. I have a feeling these blueprints won't stay with me for long."

---

T/N: eternal construct? i wonder what that is