A few minutes later, Lingyuan returned and handed the phone back.
The call had ended.
Fujin asked, "You done?"
Lingyuan nodded. "Yes. We just exchanged greetings. It's been so long, we didn't have much to talk about."
She looked a bit wistful and let out a soft sigh.
Fujin tilted her head. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing. I just… suddenly felt like everything's different now."
"Oh?"
"Talking to Ganyu, I realized she's not quite like I remember."
"That's normal. Even adepti change."
"It's not that kind of change. She just… seemed happy."
"Happy?"
"Mm. She kept smiling, naturally, unconsciously. I see that kind of smile on some of the tea-picking girls sometimes."
Fujin understood instantly.
Her expression shifted.
She lowered her voice. "Let me ask you something."
"Go on."
"When you were talking to Ganyu… did you hear anything strange?"
"Strange?"
"Or did she do anything odd?"
"Odd?"
Lingyuan thought, then shook her head.
"No."
"No? Think carefully!"
"I said no."
"I see…"
Fujin deflated a little, disappointed.
Lingyuan found her reaction baffling.
It was just a normal conversation.
Ganyu said she'd been exercising, so she was tired and a little breathless. Totally normal.
Though…
There were quite a few mosquitoes at the Grand Narukami Shrine…
They'd left several red marks on Ganyu's neck…
Thinking that, Lingyuan reaffirmed something:
Living in Chenyu Vale was the best.
Going outside? Never. Not in this lifetime.
Why go out just to suffer?
---
Grand Narukami Shrine.
Ganyu ended the call and let out a small breath of relief.
Thank goodness it was Lingyuan.
That girl wasn't very perceptive.
She probably didn't notice anything.
If it had been Fujin, she definitely would have been exposed.
Still… that whole experience just now had been a little thrilling…
Xia Zhi's voice sounded beside her.
"Done?"
"Yes. I thought Fujin needed something urgent, but it turned out to be Lingyuan."
"Lingyuan?"
"She's an old friend from Chenyu Vale. A Suanni. You know suanni, right?"
"I've read about them. Elegant, proud spirit beasts, dwelling only in mountains dense with adeptal power. Since ancient times they've been seen as symbols of fortune, and scholars have praised their aloof nature."
"Actually, she's just lazy and doesn't like going out. But the fortune thing is true. Her luck is just as good as mine."
"How so?"
"During the Archon War, the god in Chenyu Vale died by the Geo Lord's hand. The aftermath ruined the valley. Herblord was sliced apart and forced into a contract with a mortal, becoming that little memoryless snake. Fujin was almost forced back to her original form and trapped underwater for centuries. The entire valley was devastated. But Lingyuan? She was completely fine. Not a scratch on her or her home."
Xia Zhi let out a quiet laugh. "That's some incredible luck."
Ganyu nodded. "Chenyu Vale also has a famous art, the Wushou Dance. You know it."
Shenhe said, "During the Moonchase and Lantern Rite festivals, people perform it everywhere. Some big shops in Feiyun Slope even hire dancers for their grand openings."
"It's based on the legendary movements and posture of the Suanni."
Xia Zhi thought about it. "So that's what Suanni look like?"
Ganyu shook her head. "Almost no one has actually seen one. Most only imagine them. After thousands of years of reinterpretation, the 'beast mask' became the version people use now. It's not accurate at all."
"Oh, I see."
Ganyu smiled faintly. "If you want, next time I call Lingyuan, I can show you."
Xia Zhi nodded with a smile. "That'd be fine."
Most likely, she had the same idea as Cloud Retainer last night—showing her man off to old friends to satisfy a little vanity.
The two of them really were master and disciple.
Shenhe, however, never seemed to have that impulse.
Xia Zhi glanced at her.
She simply stayed by his side, quiet and serene.
Honestly, that alone felt like its own kind of display.
But maybe… she had no old friends like Fujin or Lingyuan to brag to.
That thought made him feel a little sad.
He reached out and stroked Shenhe's hair.
She felt his tenderness and looked a little puzzled.
"What's wrong, Boss?"
"Nothing."
"…Do you want more?"
"No… wait…"
And then, nothing more needed to be said.
The soft chime of bells filled the room once again.
---
Under the Sacred Sakura Tree.
Ei was teaching Yaoyao spearwork.
Xia Zhen stood nearby watching. She had come early today from Tenshukaku.
Not because she was hungry.
She'd eaten Ei's midnight cooking last night. That hotpot had been very filling.
The truth was… she just missed her cousin.
It hadn't been this bad before, but ever since breaking her self-restraint…
it felt like thousands of years of suppressed desire were bursting loose all at once.
She leaned against the tree trunk, glanced off into the distance, and murmured to herself,
"Ugh… I want meat again."
Ei's ears twitched slightly.
She silently took note of those words.
Arranged!
She'd go to the kitchen immediately and prepare a breakfast piled high with meat for her sister!
When Yaoyao finished training, she thanked the two Raiden sisters and went into the Serenitea Pot to bathe.
Ei looked at her sister and spoke seriously. "Don't worry! I'll go make breakfast right now! I'll make something you'll love!"
Xia Zhen blinked, confused at her sudden determination.
She watched Ei hurry toward the kitchen, then shrugged and headed to the dining hall.
Azhdaha, Venti, and the other old uncles were already seated, drinking and waiting for breakfast.
Such enthusiasm…
Xia Zhen had no desire to drink with them. She went to the other side of the hall to find her cousin, Xia Ci.
Xia Ci sat quietly, tapping away on her phone.
Xia Zhen leaned over curiously. "What are you doing?"
Xia Ci didn't look up. "Didn't I write a new novel yesterday?"
"You mean the one about her?"
Xia Ci nodded. "Yeah."
"So?"
"I'm sending it to my most loyal reader for feedback."
"What? But I'm your most loyal reader. I already gave you my feedback."
Xia Ci finally looked up at her.
"No. As of yesterday, you are no longer my most loyal reader. You betrayed us."
Xia Zhen stared. "Seriously…?"
Xia Ci nodded solemnly. "I write novels so readers can feel that warm, beautiful thrill through my words. I want them to bask in that hazy, delicious fantasy."
She gave Xia Zhen a firm look.
"But you've changed. You're not pure anymore. Your head no longer holds that longing for the unknown. You can't feel those emotions when you read."
Xia Zhen had no comeback for that.
…She wasn't wrong.
When she'd read the story yesterday, she really didn't feel that same sense of dreamy yearning.
She'd already tasted the real thing.
She didn't need to imagine anything anymore.
Of course books wouldn't give her the same feeling.
From that perspective, she wasn't the target audience anymore.
Calling it betrayal wasn't entirely wrong.
"So who's your most loyal reader now?"
"This mysterious Miss Cream Puff."
----
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