"You've worked tirelessly for them for over a thousand years, and all you earned is just over ten billion Mora? The Qixing are truly stingy."
Cloud Retainer let out a cold snort, her tone laced with mockery.
Ganyu had been assigned by Rex Lapis to work at Yuehai Pavilion.
For centuries, she had practically lived there—working overtime day after day, rarely even attending gatherings among the adepti.
Her diligence was beyond question.
And yet—
her total earnings amounted to little more than ten billion Mora.
To the adepti, it hardly seemed worth it.
"A thousand years may not be long… but it's certainly not short either,"
Mountain Shaper added.
"You've worked this hard for humans. You'd be better off living freely in the mountains."
Moon Carver scoffed.
"I said it long ago—humans exploit and squeeze the adepti dry."
"I even heard passing merchants say that Keqing, the Yuheng of the Qixing, believes Liyue could be governed just fine without the adepti."
"How laughable."
Skybracer spoke bluntly:
"Ganyu, once Rex Lapis returns from seclusion, you should request to retire."
"We adepti can live together. Why involve yourself in the affairs of the Qixing?"
"Let them struggle on their own. Sooner or later, they'll come begging for our help."
After hearing all this—
Ganyu simply smiled.
"Thank you for your concern."
Cloud Retainer frowned.
"You don't seem convinced. Is there something wrong with what we said?"
"N-No…"
Ganyu shook her head gently.
She had never liked arguing.
At that moment, Madame Ping stepped forward and addressed the others:
"You lot have never worked a day in your lives. You don't understand the mortal world—nor do you understand Mora."
She turned to Ganyu.
"Go on. Tell them what you really think. Everyone here is family."
With Madame Ping backing her, Ganyu gathered her thoughts and spoke softly:
"Actually… the Qixing already pay me the highest salary possible."
"If I were paid like an ordinary employee, after a thousand years, I would've earned only about one billion Mora."
Cloud Retainer blinked.
"…Then we've misjudged the Qixing."
She sighed.
"One truly doesn't understand the cost of living without managing a household."
"But even so… Mora is not easy to earn."
She shook her head.
"It seems our plan to learn the True Immortal auxiliary techniques… may have to be abandoned."
The adepti all fell silent.
Even Madame Ping let out a quiet sigh.
Seeing their disappointment, Ganyu spoke again:
"I have a suggestion. It might help… but…"
"Say it," Madame Ping urged immediately.
"As long as we can gather ninety billion Mora, we're willing to do anything."
Ganyu glanced at the assembled adepti.
Then, after a small cough, said in her soft voice:
"When it comes to wealth… no one in Liyue surpasses the Qixing."
"Each of them controls vast resources."
Cloud Retainer understood instantly.
"You want us to borrow from the Qixing?"
"Among them, only Keqing openly opposes adepti governance," she continued thoughtfully.
"The other six support us. Borrowing from them is feasible."
But Ganyu shook her head.
"Recently… most of their liquid funds have been deposited into the Northland Bank."
"They're competing for the Snezhnayan Prince's exclusive naming rights."
Madame Ping sighed.
"Then your suggestion doesn't seem very useful."
Ganyu spoke again.
"Seek out Keqing."
The moment those words fell—
all five adepti changed expressions.
Cloud Retainer's tone turned cold.
"You just said she opposes us and looks down on us."
"If we go to her for help… that's no different from bowing our heads."
Moon Carver frowned.
"She dislikes us. Would she even lend us money?"
"Wouldn't we just be humiliating ourselves?"
Mountain Shaper chuckled dryly.
"She believes 'human rule' surpasses 'divine rule.'"
"If we approach her now, we're only proving her right."
"That she succeeded—and we failed."
Skybracer spoke with eyes closed:
"Is there no other way?"
Even Indwelling Lightning snorted.
"I've guarded Liyue since ancient times. Her ancestors were still children then."
"If this requires us to bow to her… then we might as well abandon this path."
For the sake of pride—
they were ready to give up.
After a moment of thought, Ganyu spread her hands helplessly.
"This is the only way."
Silence fell.
A stalemate.
At last, Madame Ping asked:
"Ganyu… does she truly have the money?"
Ganyu nodded.
"Keqing owns a large number of prime properties in Liyue Harbor."
"If mortgaged through Northland Bank, she could secure around forty billion Mora."
"Combined with my ten billion…"
"and contributions from the other Qixing…"
"we can barely reach ninety billion."
She had already calculated everything.
Madame Ping paced slowly, hands behind her back.
"Will she agree?"
Ganyu answered calmly:
"I don't always agree with her methods…"
"but she is a kind person."
"Otherwise, Rex Lapis would never have allowed her to become Yuheng."
"Her opposition to adepti rule isn't about defeating us."
"She simply wants to prove that humans can achieve what adepti can."
"At its core… there is no real conflict of interest between her and us."
She paused, then added the most important point:
"And most importantly—"
"she and Ningguang are both exceptional business minds."
"The talismans, elixirs, and artifacts you produce…"
"would fetch extremely high prices at auction."
"The return on investment would far exceed real estate or bank interest."
"So… there's a high chance she'll agree."
After hearing this—
Madame Ping and the others were moved.
After a brief discussion—
they made their decision.
Cloud Retainer would personally approach Keqing.
Initially, they had wanted Madame Ping to represent them.
After all, she lived in Liyue Harbor and frequently interacted with humans.
But Ganyu disagreed.
If one of the adepti approached Keqing directly—
it would show far greater sincerity.
Moreover—
the ones eager to learn the new techniques were the five adepti, not Madame Ping.
Thus, the responsibility fell to Cloud Retainer.
The other adepti promised her:
If she succeeded—
she would gain priority access to the Eight-Trigram Furnace.
With that settled—
Cloud Retainer set off to meet Keqing.
The others split up to gather funds from the remaining members of the Qixing.
For the first time in a thousand years—
the adepti, who had long stayed distant from mortal affairs—
began actively stepping into the human world.
None of them realized—
that under Severin's subtle influence—
this was only a small step for the adepti—
but for Liyue as a whole—
it was a giant leap forward.
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