Morning.
The crimson sun rose over the horizon, the mist drawing back like a curtain as Liyue Harbor gradually revealed itself under golden light.
At this moment, Shenhe was already awake, sitting cross-legged in meditation within the courtyard.
During her years of secluded cultivation in the mountains, meditation had been one of the things she preferred most.
The essence of meditation lay in stillness. One had to cast aside distracting thoughts and use the body to sense the surrounding flow of energy, allowing oneself to quickly return to the true self.
But recently, when she meditated, she felt that her mind was no longer as calm and detached as before.
More precisely, after returning to herself, Shenhe felt that she was no longer the same as when she had been in the mountains.
She opened her eyes and looked toward the garden where she had spoken with Junze yesterday.
"Yesterday… for what reason did I reveal myself beside that child?"
"The answer… I already know."
"Could it be that I also hoped…"
She seemed to arrive at a certain possibility, but quickly shook her head.
"For someone like me, a place in the mortal world is still too much to hope for."
However, since she had agreed to Junze, she decided that at the very least, she would do what she could right now.
At that moment, she heard movement nearby.
Looking over, she saw Junze and Ganyu walking out of the room.
Junze held a piece of jade in his hand, studying it carefully.
[Scarlet-Gold Spirit Jade · Yang]
[Description: Four-star item. Crafted by the Adepti, containing extremely pure power. Comes in two pieces. One can be used to locate the other. Contains a storage space of ten cubic meters and can preserve food for long periods.]
This was the spirit jade that Junze and Ganyu had formed a contract with last night.
After the contract was completed, Junze's system had provided this information.
Junze could not help but marvel inwardly.
"A four-star item… as expected of something made by the Adepti."
It contained powerful energy, could be used for tracking, and even had storage space.
Honestly, this perfectly matched his imagination of Adepti craftsmanship.
Focusing his senses on the jade, Junze's consciousness entered its storage space.
"So much coconut milk!"
He suddenly stopped in place and shouted in surprise.
Ganyu, who had been full of motivation to continue contributing to Liyue today, instantly turned into a flustered mess.
Her face flushed bright red, steam practically rising from her head.
"Z Ze, keep your voice down!"
But Junze clearly was not listening anymore.
He was completely stunned by the sheer amount of coconut milk inside.
Six bottles.
Instant overnight wealth!
Who could understand this kind of happiness?!
Junze took one out and looked at Ganyu excitedly.
"Master, there's so much coconut milk inside!"
Seeing the child's delighted expression, Ganyu forced a smile.
She deeply regretted everything.
She should have kept it in her own jade and given it to him herself.
Now that he had shouted it out loud, it was beyond embarrassing.
"Master, did you prepare all of this for me?"
Junze pressed the bottle against his cheek, looking at Ganyu with sparkling joy.
His big eyes narrowed into a happy squint.
"Y Yes…"
Watching him press the bottle to his face to feel its warmth, Ganyu almost wanted to cry.
Please don't do that…
Junze asked,
"Then I'm going to drink it?"
Ganyu's voice trembled slightly.
"D Drink it. It's… it's prepared for you, Ze."
"Hehe."
Seeing Ganyu like this, Junze revealed a subtle mischievous smile.
Just a little daily teasing of Master.
He opened the bottle.
A rich coconut milk fragrance instantly filled the air.
There was even a faint warmth rising from it.
"As expected of an Adeptus storage mechanism. It's still warm."
Junze was genuinely impressed.
From his professional judgment, the temperature was about 37 degrees Celsius.
"Master, the temperature is about the same as Ze's body temperature."
This sentence was the final blow for Ganyu.
"Uh… well… maybe the storage mechanism was set to keep it at a suitable temperature…"
Even she did not believe what she was saying.
Ganyu covered her face.
Right now, she had a strong urge to run away.
What kind of karma was this?!
Seeing that he had teased enough, Junze finally started drinking.
"Gulp, gulp, gulp…"
A large bottle of coconut milk did not last long in the mouth of a Taotie.
After losing so much blood last night, he needed to replenish his energy today.
The moment he drank it, he could feel his hunger rapidly being satisfied.
Power slowly accumulated within him.
As expected, this was far superior to Geovishap meat.
Standing nearby, Ganyu felt completely numb.
"Good morning, both of you."
Shenhe stopped meditating and walked over.
"Shenhe, good morning."
With a third person present, Ganyu finally regained a bit of composure.
Junze set down the bottle, licked his lips, and said,
"Martial Aunt, good morning."
Shenhe nodded, then looked at the bottle in Junze's hand, her nose twitching slightly.
"What is that?"
Junze shook the bottle, which still had a little left.
"This? It's coconut milk. It's really tasty. I just don't know why Master doesn't like it."
"Coconut milk?"
Shenhe frowned slightly and glanced at Ganyu.
"Ha… haha…"
Ganyu let out an awkward laugh.
Shenhe probably doesn't know what Qilin essence is…
"It's different from what I know. But judging from the energy it contains, it is indeed not ordinary."
Shenhe nodded.
"Drinking this would indeed help your body grow."
"Ha… haha…"
Ganyu continued her awkward laughter.
Listening to someone evaluate that…
She never imagined she would end up in such an embarrassing situation.
Junze extended the bottle.
"Martial Aunt, do you want some?"
"No!"
Before Shenhe could answer, Ganyu shouted in embarrassment.
Shenhe looked at Ganyu calmly, confusion in her eyes.
She did not understand why Ganyu was so agitated.
As for Junze?
He wore an innocent smile.
Realizing both of them were looking at her, Ganyu hurriedly explained,
"B Because the energy inside is too strong. Other than Taotie, ordinary people shouldn't drink it."
This was not entirely wrong.
After all, it contained power accumulated over thousands of years. Even Shenhe would have trouble handling it.
Shenhe nodded.
"That is true."
She turned to Junze.
"You can drink this yourself. Don't give it to others in the future."
Junze thought to himself,
I wouldn't want to anyway.
Looking at Ganyu's flustered, blushing state, he was practically bursting with amusement.
"I understand."
With that, he finished the remaining milk in one gulp.
Seeing the empty bottle, Ganyu finally let out a sigh of relief.
But then—
"Another bottle!"
Junze's devilish voice rang out.
Ganyu: "!!!"
Shenhe: "???"
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