Act 1: Candidature Analysis

Head to the North Wharf: When you arrive, look for Bolai. He's usually found haggling with a merchant named Qiping over sunsettias. You'll find them on the north wharf in Liyue. Just teleport to the upper Liyue waypoint and head east. You'll trigger a scene where Qiping takes advantage of Bolai's dislike for the Second Life shop and buys all his goods. After Qiping leaves, go talk to Bolai about Zhiyi. He'll share the usual sad story about Zhiyi's tough childhood and how the community treated him poorly.

Stealthy Listening: Bolai mentions that Zhiyi helped his cruel neighbor when they went bankrupt, which is a bit of a red flag for Yelan. Just as you're wrapping up, Yelan spots Zhiyi chatting with Linlang. She wants us to follow him, but super stealthily. Your goal is to get close enough to overhear their conversation without being spotted. Start by hiding near the crates of gemstones and minerals. Once they start moving, duck behind the stall to your right, then adjust your position to hide by the red pots in front of you. Keep moving stealthily, using the crates with the chest on top as cover when needed. After they finish talking, you'll get a cutscene. It seems like Zhiyi gets along with everyone, but Yelan's still suspicious. Paimon even calls her out for digging for dirt to become Tianshu herself, which Yelan doesn't deny. Next up, she suggests we check out Zhiyi's fishing spot at the South Wharf.

Check the South Wharf: Fast travel to the lower Liyue waypoint and make your way east/northeast to the wharf. As you get to the bottom of the stairs, another scene will play. Yelan notes the wharf is bustling as usual and suggests we talk to Uncle Sun, the fishmonger.

Chat with Uncle Sun: Find Uncle Sun's stall on the western side of the wharf. You'll approach him pretending to be from the Liyue Anglers Association, asking about Zhiyi. Uncle Sun reveals that his traveling friends have heard of Zhiyi everywhere, which is interesting given his supposed poverty. He also mentions that Zhiyi isn't actually a great fisherman, despite fishing a lot. Yelan makes a mental note of Zhiyi's widespread recognition and tells you to keep looking for more clues.

More Wharf Clues (0/2): Your next lead is Uncle Gao, another fishmonger to your right. Yelan, ever the improviser, claims you're with the Society for Fish Price Research. Once Uncle Gao realizes you're not interested in him but Zhiyi, he opens up. He says Zhiyi seems really concerned about what people think and has low self-esteem, but offers no other useful info. Now, head to the pile of crates southeast of your current position. There you'll find a young boy named Dugu Shuo. Yelan invents yet another identity, telling him you're new and that Dugu Shuo is the go-to person for information. She asks him about when people started talking about Zhiyi. He estimates it was about two or three months ago, and it was a group of unfamiliar people.

Deduction Time: Based on this, Yelan concludes something's off. Zhiyi seems like a nice guy, and everyone likes him, but his popularity surge is recent. The big question is: where is he getting the funds for this supposed publicity campaign if he's poor? Yelan suspects another faction is backing him and suggests we head back to the Yanshang Teahouse to review the manifestos, thinking we might have missed something.

Back to Yanshang Teahouse: Make your way back to the Yanshang Teahouse. Head upstairs for a scene. Yelan will sort the manifestos into two piles and start going through one herself. You'll need to read through each of the chapters.