"This is Aozang Mountain, Ganyu's home. It's not a strange place."
Seeing Ganyu's reaction, Ryan immediately spoke to reassure her.
"That's right, Paimon likes to roll around on the grass in the Serenitea Pot too."
Lumine, standing nearby, also chimed in, and their words helped Ganyu calm down a little.
"It's normal for Ryan to be here, but I didn't expect to meet the two of you here. May I ask if you are here for official or personal matters?"
After calming down, Ganyu glanced at Lumine and Paimon and couldn't help but ask.
"Ah… no, that's not right. I have already detached myself from the mortal world. If it's about Liyue Harbor affairs, please consult the Yuehai Pavilion."
However, as soon as she finished speaking, Ganyu remembered her experience before falling asleep and immediately added a sentence.
"Miss Ganyu's demeanor seems different from her previous working state as a Secretary of the Liyue Qixing…"
"And what does 'detached from the mortal world' mean? Is Ganyu really not going back? But everyone is waiting for you to return…"
Seeing Ganyu's calm and serene expression, Paimon couldn't help but feel a little puzzled.
Although she was reluctant to talk to Ryan, she was usually the most talkative when with the Traveler, and being quiet for too long made her uncomfortable.
"You want me to go back… Is that why you've come? But I'm afraid you two will leave empty-handed."
After regaining her composure, Ganyu's expression showed little fluctuation as she calmly spoke to Lumine and Paimon.
"Eh? Did something happen?"
Hearing Ganyu's words, Paimon looked puzzled.
"Clouds gather and scatter, tides ebb and flow; it is merely history's choice…"
Seeing that Paimon didn't understand her meaning, Ganyu began to explain.
Meanwhile, Ryan tilted his head and tried to curl his tail, only to find that his tail wasn't that flexible and it would be difficult to curl it into a ball.
After giving up on further attempts, Ryan continued to offer the Pure Heart in his hand to Ganyu.
"Ever since the Adepti returned the power of oversight to the people, I knew that my departure was only a matter of time. With Adeptal blood, I actually have no place in Liyue Harbor."
"…"
Ganyu continued speaking while trying to push away the Pure Heart Ryan was offering.
Finally, unable to push it away, she had no choice but to take it and chew on it before continuing:
"After delivering the letter and reporting to the Adepti in Jueyun Karst this time, I also returned to Liyue Harbor, only to find that my work had been taken over by Baiwen, Baixiao, and Baishi."
"Presumably, this task of delivering the letter was just an excuse to send me away, wasn't it?"
"Since the Liyue Qixing gave me a graceful opportunity to exit, I naturally should be sensible…"
After learning that her work had been taken over, Ganyu returned to Aozang Mountain and sat on the mountaintop, lost in thought for an entire night.
When dawn broke, she remembered that she hadn't rested for many days since taking the Mind Soother Pill, so she simply curled up and rested in the grass.
"Wow, this… this must be a misunderstanding, right? No one is trying to exclude you…"
After listening to Ganyu's account, Lumine and Paimon exchanged glances, quite certain that Ganyu had misunderstood.
After all, it was Baiwen, Baixiao, and Baishi who had actively asked Lumine and her companions to find Ganyu.
"Ganyu appreciates the kindness of you two, but there's no need to say these comforting words to me anymore."
However, Ganyu did not believe Paimon's words.
"The Liyue Qixing are too much! To use such a method to make Ganyu voluntarily resign, they must be reluctant to pay the severance compensation, right?"
After hearing Ganyu's explanation, Ryan unconditionally sided with Ganyu and decided to condemn them severely on moral grounds.
Hearing Ryan's condemnation, Lumine and Paimon exchanged glances.
If they remembered correctly, Ganyu had worked in Liyue Harbor for two thousand years… According to Liyue law that Yanfei had mentioned to them before, when an employee is dismissed, they must be compensated at least one month's highest salary for every full year of service.
Given Ganyu's seniority, this was indeed a huge sum of money… "No, no, you're leading me astray! Ningguang wouldn't be so stingy with this amount of money, would she?"
Paimon quickly reacted and said to Ryan, annoyed.
"Miss Ningguang is indeed not that kind of person, but I am already very satisfied that she is willing to give me a graceful opportunity to exit."
"So, the two of you should please return."
Ganyu also felt that the Liyue Qixing wouldn't be as Ryan described, but she still didn't change her mind.
"How are your discussions going? This Immortal sees that you are conversing very happily. Why don't you stay for a simple meal tonight? My disciple's cooking skills are not inferior to those of the disciple of the adeptus of dust, you know."
Just as Ganyu was about to see them off, Cloud Retainer suddenly approached, curiously asking and proposing.
Cloud Retainer was sometimes fond of showing off, and showing off her disciple's cooking skills was her latest interest.
"Conversing very happily… really?"
Regarding Cloud Retainer's statement, Lumine and Paimon tilted their heads, while Ryan, though silent, shook his head and secretly waved his hand to remind Cloud Retainer.
Ganyu, meanwhile, remained silent.
"Cough, cough, so you weren't seeing eye to eye after all…"
Noticing Ryan's waving gesture, Cloud Retainer awkwardly coughed.
"But it doesn't matter, finding topics is what I'm good at, after all, for a thousand years, I often had to chat with a fox who couldn't speak to pass the time."
After the awkwardness, Cloud Retainer immediately suggested this.
Before Ryan took human form, Cloud Retainer and the little fox couldn't chat.
"Oh, that's right, since you are Ryan's friends, why don't This Immortal tell you some interesting stories about this child Ryan when he was little?"
"?"
Cloud Retainer's words made Ryan subconsciously tilt his head.
There was a very awkward situation: he had very few memories from before he gained sentience. He had no idea what Cloud Retainer was about to say, so he couldn't prevent or deal with it!
"Listen! We want to listen! We want to hear it now!"
Paimon and Lumine exchanged glances, then Paimon said without hesitation.
However, in front of Cloud Retainer, she didn't say that she wanted to hear it so she could mock Ryan mercilessly afterwards.
After all, interesting stories from childhood, without even thinking, must be embarrassing moments of the person themselves, right?
"Cough, cough, then let's start from when he was a little fox and was picked up…"
Seeing no one object, Cloud Retainer nodded and began to speak.
"Actually, Ryan was very shy when he was little. The first time Guizhong brought him to meet the Adepti, he kept hiding in Guizhong's large sleeve and wouldn't come out, constantly trying to burrow deeper into that sleeve."
"But that sleeve, like Ganyu's, was a separate design from the main garment, so as he burrowed, his fox head popped out of the sleeve, and then his neck got stuck in the sleeve."
"And there's more, this child used to often fight with his own tail. One time he lost the fight and was slapped twice by his own tail, and then he curled up in his fox den and cried. This Immortal had a hard time comforting him."
"Sometimes he would also sneak out of the cave to raid the nests of the white cranes on the mountain, but he didn't raid them to eat, but rather to carry them back to his fox den and hatch them himself. Many of the white cranes on the mountain now are descendants of those he hatched…"
"Master!"
Realizing that the interesting stories from Cloud Retainer's mouth were endless, Ryan finally couldn't help but interrupt her.
If it weren't for the fact that she was his Master, Ryan would have already gone up and used both hands to pinch her bird beak to stop her from talking.
"Pfft ha ha ha —!"
Paimon had no intention of hiding it, covering her stomach and laughing out loud.
Being able to learn about Ryan's embarrassing childhood moments finally made her feel a little better.
"Hmm? You don't like it… Then how about This Immortal tells some interesting stories about Ganyu when she was little…"
"Cloud Retainer!"
Hearing Ryan's shout, Cloud Retainer could only scratch her head and shift her target to Ganyu, but was immediately rejected by Ganyu.
"Master, why don't you tell some interesting stories about yourself?"
Ryan stood beside Ganyu, his arms crossed over his chest, and unhappily suggested to Cloud Retainer.
"Interesting stories about This Immortal?… Very well."
Hearing Ryan's words, Cloud Retainer hesitated for a moment, but still nodded.
"Thinking back to those years, This Immortal, here in Liyue, was also a figure who could turn clouds into rain with a flick of her hand…"