"Master, please have some tea."
Inside the cave-dwelling in Jueyun Karst, Cloud Retainer—in human form—sat with perfect poise, accepting the cup from Ji Ming and taking a satisfied sip.
A sensible child. He had shouted outside the cave earlier, true—but he'd also brought her a pouch of fine tea. For that, she'd overlook the breach of decorum.
Though frankly, she'd prefer food to tea. Tea could be left to the Lord of Geo; pity that the Lord had not visited for a long while.
"So, what brings you to Jueyun Karst this time?" she asked. "Are you weary of worldly life in Liyue Harbor, and wish to follow me into cultivation?"
Ji Ming shook his head, smiling earnestly.
"I've got a place of my own in Liyue now. I came to deliver invitations—I'd like Master and Senior Shenhe to attend my housewarming. Speaking of which, where is Senior Shenhe?"
"Shenhe is training on Mt. Aocang. As for your banquet, I shall bring her with me."
Cloud Retainer studied him and hinted, "I have heard Liyue considers a housewarming one of life's major joys. Thus it must be grand and generous—do not let your guests look down on you."
Understood—Master wants a feast.
Ji Ming nodded.
"I won't let Master down. I also invited Xiao earlier. He didn't seem fond of noisy places."
The Conqueror of Demons? He did not dislike gatherings so much as avoid them. He longed to belong—he simply chose distance.
Not something to tell a new disciple; Ji Ming barely knew Xiao. Bringing Ji Ming here had likely been a small courtesy, nothing more.
Cloud Retainer adjusted her glasses and beckoned.
"Since you have come, I will not send you back empty-handed. I shall teach you a technique to aid your cultivation."
He brightened—then took two steps back.
"Master, your disciple is dull-witted. Better not. If I slack off later, I'll only disappoint you."
"No matter. I will write a letter; you will take it to Ganyu. She will supervise your training. Do you not like your Senior Ganyu very much?"
Ji Ming coughed, a touch abashed, and nodded.
"Then I'll try to practice every day."
Cloud Retainer was pleased. The child favored Ganyu; she'd seen that long ago. Today's breath-and-circulation method with Ganyu as overseer would create time for the two to be together.
Fate comes where it will; whether this becomes a good bond was for karma to decide.
"Today I teach you the Art of Breath and Circulation. Not difficult—if you persist, it will prolong life and cultivate your nature. An introductory method."
The boy was mortal, and might carry his parents' fallen-star fate. Without longevity techniques, he could die young. His fate was oddly akin to Shenhe's; like repels like, yet the two got on well.
She led him deeper into the cave. At the center lay a stone bed, sliced smooth as if by a blade, bare and faintly cold.
Overhead hung a stalactite; every few seconds a bead of water fell, vanished upon the polished stone.
Cloud Retainer gestured up.
"Sit cross-legged—beneath the stalactite."
Ji Ming obeyed. The droplets were icy, making him instinctively scrunch his neck.
That made it worse—the water ran from his hair down the nape of his neck, and he hissed.
"Sss—"
Cloud Retainer smiled, eyes soft.
"When Shenhe first learned this, she looked exactly like you. How amusing."
"What about Senior Ganyu? Did she struggle?"
"Your Senior is of qilin blood—an auspicious being, unbothered by cold or gloom. She mastered this trifling art in half an hour."
So those two curved horns weren't mere decorations, then?
Curious. He wanted to… touch.
Cloud Retainer saw straight through him and rapped his head lightly.
"This method is for cultivating the heart. Banish idle thoughts and focus."
Ji Ming clamped his eyes shut. But every time he stilled his mind, a new drop sent his focus skittering.
"Pay the droplets no heed. When you can remain unmoved here, you will have grasped the method."
She sat at the bedside and wiped the slow beads from his brow.
Shenhe had begun at six, abandoned by her birth father yet, with Cloud Retainer's guidance and the red cord's help, she subdued her killing intent; her heart was pure.
Ji Ming had wandered Liyue ten years. His heart was like a dyer's vat—there might be white within, but colored through and through besides. The more mixed the heart, the harder this art became. Best learned young—alas, eighteen was late.
The cave's ward rippled. Shenhe lifted her veil, saw the figure on the stone bed, and came quickly.
"Master, I have returned."
"And how go your gains these days?"
Shenhe glanced at Ji Ming, eyes gentle, and brushed the water from his hair.
"They've improved. Why is Junior Ji Ming here suddenly?"
Cloud Retainer's lips curved.
"He invited us to a housewarming—delivered the invitation himself. Will you go?"
"Yes."
It seemed Shenhe liked the junior—both were parentless Liyue folk, and he'd left a good impression not long ago.
Cloud Retainer looked back at Ji Ming—and blinked.
"Not bad. He appears to have entered the state already."
Shenhe stared.
"Junior Ji Ming… is asleep."
"Zzz—"
As if to confirm, Ji Ming's head lolled and he began to snore. Cloud Retainer could only sigh.
To sleep here, of all places—perhaps that, too, was a kind of talent.
Enough. Time was long. Let him proceed slowly. Cloud Retainer decided to write to Ganyu and have her keep a close watch.
"That will do for today. Take him to your bed and let him rest."
Shenhe nodded, a faint pink touching her cheeks—gone in an instant. She lifted Ji Ming from the stone bed and carried him toward her sleeping place.
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