After what seemed like a miracle sent by the Archons themselves, you had managed to slip a booking into Xinyue Kiosk much earlier than the estimated 3 months waitlist that anybody else had due to someone's last-minute cancellation of a booking, and found yourself within the famous restaurant with delicious food all around on the table. Paimon had already ate so much of the food that she started to feel sick, so the small floating girl escaped to the Serenitea Pot to recover. Of course, her traveling companions, you and Aether, had stayed behind at the renowned establishment after making sure she'd be okay on her own, with your other friends by your side; Xiao, Kazuha, Heizou, Venti, and Wanderer.

It was an unusual sight for you and Aether to see all five of these men in the same room at once, yet destiny was always quite strange in the way it worked. Heizou had come out to Liyue after some criminal he was pursuing in Inazuma fled to the Nation of Geo, while Venti claimed he was simply taking a stroll through the harbor and couldn't help but join the party once he caught wind of the fact there was going to be wine there. Xiao and Wanderer, while both usually rather averse to interacting with others, also had their reasons to be here today— Xiao had decided to team up with you and Aether to help Heizou catch the criminal, since the fugitive had started causing troubles for the people of Liyue and the Adepti, while Wanderer was told by Nahida to go outside of Sumeru to go socialize, or something... The puppet didn't exactly elaborate much on what brought him to Liyue, honestly...

As for Kazuha, he was simply staying in Liyue for a few days thanks to Beidou's crew making a stop at the harbor for some trades of Inazuman goods and whatnot, and were actually the ones who got Heizou to Liyue in the first place. Yet, he figured he might as well stay and help out with the case, too, since he was the most familiar with the people here aside from you and Aether. Safe to say, this was truly a moment worth remembering, even if almost everyone in the room were gathered here because of some scoundrel that kept slipping through their fingers like sand. Heizou, being the detective meant to bring the criminal to justice, was the one leading the investigation, while everyone else chimed in when they could or wanted to.

"According to a witness at the latest crime scene, it seems our guy left the main city earlier this day, talking to an appraiser in Liyue Harbor before setting off. Upon questioning the jeweler, they claim he was planning on heading up to Chenyu Vale for an auction happening tomorrow night. That's our best lead." Heizou recapped information he had discovered throughout the day while trying to find leads upon the criminal, his expression relaxed yet focused, clearly piecing the pieces of the puzzle together in his mind as he spoke.