Ryou glanced at Keqing, then said to the butler, "Let her in."
"Yes, Young Master."
The butler went downstairs.
A little while later, the Tabibito arrived with Paimon. The moment she saw the table covered in delicious food, she said, "Paimon and I haven't eaten yet. You don't mind if we join you, do you?"
"If you haven't eaten, then sit down and have some." Ryou gave her a look, then signaled to the butler with his eyes.
"Thanks." The Tabibito nodded and took a seat.
Once she was settled, Ryou looked at her and said, "Tabibito, your timing is perfect. I'm planning to go to Mt. Aocang tomorrow. Come with me."
"Mt. Aocang?" she asked.
Noticing everyone looking his way, Ryou explained, "Ganyu went back to Mt. Aocang today. It seems her junior disciple was injured, and the situation is pretty serious."
"I suspect it may have something to do with the Archon War. She's done so much for Liyue Harbor. No matter how you look at it, we should go see her."
"The adepti protect Liyue Harbor, and yes, you could say that's their duty. But we can't take that for granted. We should be grateful."
Everyone agreed with that.
Keqing thought back to the towering wave from before. The moment Shenhe froze it solid, her heart had nearly stopped. The sight of it had shaken her to the core.
She had once harbored some prejudice against Shenhe, but after everything that had happened during the war, she had slowly let that go.
Softly, she said, "Ryou, I'm coming with you."
Ryou nodded. "All right."
The moment the Tabibito heard that Keqing was going too, her mood soured a little.
She had been planning to find an opening when the time felt right, but now it looked like she had to move fast tonight or miss her chance entirely.
"Enough about that. Sit down and eat first," Ryou said, looking at everyone.
So everyone dug in.
Fortunately, nothing unusual happened during dinner, and the meal passed without incident.
Afterward, everyone sat in the courtyard chatting. Ryou cut open a durian, and the smell was so strong that most of them immediately recoiled.
"That thing stinks. Is it really supposed to taste good?".
"You people really don't know how lucky you are. Zhongli, give it a try."
Ryou cut off a piece, set it on a plate, and placed it in front of Zhongli.
Zhongli picked one up and took a bite. The texture caught him off guard. Aside from the smell being a bit overwhelming, it was surprisingly good.
He took another piece. "It may smell strong, but the texture is quite unique. Director, you should try some as well."
"R-Really?" Hu Tao picked one up and tasted it. A moment later, that strange texture won her over too.
Seeing that, the others started trying it one after another. Before long, all of them were amazed by the unusual taste, and once they started eating, they found it hard to stop.
Keqing glanced at everyone. "It's getting late. We need to leave early tomorrow for Mt. Aocang."
Then she looked at Ningguang. "Don't you still have work to handle at Yujing Terrace?"
"I already finished everything for today." Ningguang sipped her tea at an unhurried pace, then looked at Keqing. "I'm just sitting here having a cup of tea before I leave. What are you so nervous about? Don't tell me you think I'm going to steal your husband."
"Hmph. If you ask me, that's exactly what you're thinking." Keqing glared at her.
"Keqing, you…" Ningguang paused, then let it go. "Fine. I won't disturb you two any longer."
She had already taken plenty of advantage of Ryou today, so there was no point saying any more.
Besides, Ryou was staying in Liyue Harbor. There would be chances sooner or later. Picking a fight with Keqing now would only do more harm than good.
More importantly, Ryou and Keqing were going to Mt. Aocang tomorrow on behalf of Liyue Harbor, so there was no reason to waste time here.
Keqing watched Ningguang leave and said nothing.
Hu Tao coughed dryly. "Ahem. I still have some business to take care of later, so I'll head back first."
With that, she got up and dragged Zhongli and Xiangling away with her.
In the end, only the Tabibito was left in the courtyard.
"Tabibito, aren't you leaving?" Keqing asked, arms folded.
Tabibito coughed awkwardly. "Well… since we're all going to Mt. Aocang tomorrow anyway, could I stay here for the night?"
"You—" Keqing was just about to refuse.
"Fine. She can stay." Ryou made the decision for her. "Have the butler prepare a room."
The Tabibito looked at Ryou as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she only shifted her gaze away.
Staying here had just made things more troublesome. She decided she'd wait for another opportunity instead.
Besides, she still had leverage over Ryou, so she wasn't worried.
Once they returned to their room, Keqing wrapped her arms around Ryou and said, "I think the Tabibito has feelings for you. You need to keep your distance from her."
Ryou pulled her closer. "Silly. There's nothing between me and the Tabibito. Your husband may be good-looking, but that doesn't mean everyone in the world is going to fall for me."
He tightened his arms around her and kissed her on the lips. "And besides, having you is already enough for me."
"Mmph! You terrible man." Keqing pinched him a few times. "You really have no self-awareness at all. I'm a woman. I can tell when someone's looking at you that way."
"Ningguang, the Tabibito, even Xiangling. The way they look at you is all wrong. I seriously don't understand why someone like you is so popular."
She pinched him again, then leaned in and pressed him against the wall. "Don't you dare fool around behind my back, or I'll cut it off."
Then her hand paused, and her expression changed. "...Hm? What's this? Ryou, were you sneaking around outside?"
"What bad thing could I possibly have done?" Ryou pulled her into his arms, turned the tables in an instant, and pinned her against the wall instead before lowering his head to kiss her.
Earlier at Yujing Terrace, Ningguang had already drained all the fire out of him, so that was why Keqing immediately noticed something was off.
Still, handling Keqing was easy for Ryou. Before long, he brought her into the pocket world.
With a startled cry, she lost the chance to ask anything else.
[ Ding, Keqing has randomly obtained an enhancement! ]
Ryou heard the reward notification, but he did not pay much attention to it. He simply closed his eyes and went to sleep with Keqing in his arms.
After all, they still had important business tomorrow, so although he had thoroughly dealt with Keqing just now, he had still held a little back.
The next morning, when Ryou opened his eyes, he found Keqing lying in his arms, staring at him in silence.
"Did you do something behind my back?" she asked, tightening her arms around him. "You were acting too strangely yesterday. I mean… you were still amazing, but you weren't like that usually."
Then she hugged him tighter and whispered, "Who was it? Was it Ningguang?"
"I didn't do anything bad." Ryou stroked her hair. "If Ningguang and I had really done anything, do you think she would've still had the energy to come all the way here?"
"You really do overthink things." He pinched her pretty cheek, then lowered his gaze—only to pause. He immediately noticed something was off.
How did that enhancement get applied there of all places?
"What are you looking at, you bad man... Huh? I-I got bigger again." Keqing touched herself, then clung to him and said, "Fine. You win."
"All right, all right. Let me have a look." Ryou gave it a squeeze and leaned down to kiss her.
"Mmph... Don't mess around." Keqing pushed him away, breathing hard. "We still have to go to Mt. Aocang today, and I still have to deal with the cemetery matter too. You can't bully me."
"And whose fault is that, when you keep tempting me like this?" Ryou pinched her cheek, then pressed a hand to her head. "At the very least, you should help me out."
"Mmph... you bad man." Keqing glared at him, but in the end, she could only nod.
By the time they came out of the pocket world, it was already broad daylight. Ryou joined the Tabibito and the others as they headed toward the teleport waypoint in Liyue Harbor.
Still, he noticed that every time the Tabibito looked at him, her eyes were full of grievance.
That left Ryou puzzled.
What's wrong with her?
The Tabibito, on the other hand, was furious.
She had wanted to find Ryou and talk to him, but the moment the two of them went back to their room, they had vanished. Because of that, all her plans had gone up in smoke.
Not long after, Ryou brought the group to Mt. Aocang.
"Keqing, Ryou, and... Tabibito? What brings all of you here?" Ganyu was clearly surprised to see them.
"Ganyu, we came to see Cloud Retainer," Keqing said softly as she walked over to her side. "And... Ningguang mentioned Shenhe too, so we wanted to check on her."
"So you came to see Shenhe." Ganyu gently explained, "She's stabilized for now, so you don't need to worry too much."
"But Cloud Retainer said the violent aura inside her has grown too strong. If it flares up again, suppressing it will be far more difficult. And the red ropes can only hold it back temporarily. If this continues in the long run..."
"Is there really no way to solve it?" Keqing asked quietly.
Ganyu explained, "That aura has been with Shenhe since childhood, and it's already been suppressed for many years."
"If this goes on, even Cloud Retainer may be powerless to do anything. Recently, she and the other adepti have all been troubled by it, but even now... no one has found a solution."
Keqing fell silent.
Standing beside them, Ryou said nothing, but his mind was already turning.
Spiritual energy could strengthen objects and fruit alike, making their effects much better. That would probably help, but not by much.
As for his medical skill, it was only level five now—just one level higher than before—so treating her directly would still be difficult.
But then another thought struck him.
His blood, together with spiritual energy.
The two complemented each other. Used together, they could heal virtually any condition. Dreamlike Juice could restore injuries in an instant. The question was whether it would work on Shenhe too.
As they spoke, Ryou saw Shenhe walking toward them from the distance.
"Shen..." Keqing looked at her, about to say something.
But Shenhe walked straight to Ryou, stopped in front of him, lifted her head, and looked at him.
"You came."
Keqing clenched her fists at once.
I came all this way out of concern for you, and you don't even look at me once. But the moment you arrive, you only have eyes for my husband?
[End of chapter]
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