The moon hung high in the sky, a gentle breeze drifting by.
Xia Zhi and Cloud Retainer strolled slowly along the lakeside path.
In the distance, a large fish leapt from the water with a crisp splash.
"Back then, I really have you to thank for looking after me during our journey, Cloud Retainer" Xia Zhi said.
"Not at all! If you hadn't saved me, given the state I was in, left in the wild like that... I likely wouldn't have made it."
"Since when did you start using such formal language?"
"Shenhe told me everything. Given who you are, it's only proper I address you respectfully."
"There's no need to be so formal. Just treat me like you did back then."
"Well…"
"Here, have some grilled fish."
Xia Zhi spoke as he brought the grilled fish to her lips. But the words he used weren't in Liyuean—they were in the language of his original world, the same words he used to speak to her when they traveled together with the little crane.
Back then, every time he grilled fish, he'd say that line and hand-feed her.
She hadn't understood at first, but after hearing it a few times, she'd roughly figured out what it meant.
Now, hearing those familiar words again, Cloud Retainer instinctively opened her mouth and bit into the fish offered to her. Only then did she realize what she had just done.
"What did you just say…? What does that mean?"
"Didn't you already guess?"
"Eat fish?"
"Yeah. In my original world, that phrase means 'have some grilled fish.'"
"...So you really are from another world."
"Here, eat more grilled fish."
"..."
Cloud Retainer silently opened her mouth again.
It wasn't that she particularly wanted the grilled fish—it was just that Xia Zhi had already offered it, and she didn't want to refuse a god's kindness.
After finishing the last skewer, the two of them reached the lakeside pavilion. They sat and chatted for a while, reminiscing about their past journey together.
"Your wings are fully healed now, right?"
"Yes. Thanks to the medicine you applied."
"I wasn't in the best shape myself back then. Otherwise, I could've helped you recover more directly."
"You were injured too?"
"Kind of. It was raining, and cold at night. Thankfully you were willing to warm me up. Otherwise, I'd have been miserable."
"Oh, that…"
Cloud Retainer recalled how she had wrapped her wings around him, her expression turning slightly awkward.
That action, while well-intentioned, had been quite bold—and possibly even disrespectful toward a divine being, considering how close they'd gotten.
Thankfully, he hadn't seemed to mind.
They chatted a bit longer.
The atmosphere between them grew more relaxed.
Then Xia Zhi asked, curious, "So, what was it that's been troubling you?"
Cloud Retainer hesitated for a moment before saying quietly, "It's about that mechanism I've been researching."
"Mechanism?"
"Yes. You… I mean, you might not know, but the reason I was so badly injured back then was because the device I was developing went out of control. The explosion was far beyond what I had anticipated—it forced me back into my original form."
Xia Zhi already knew about this. Shenhe had mentioned her master's research before.
But Shenhe had only speculated—she hadn't been certain that the injuries were caused by an experiment.
Now that it came from Cloud Retainer's own mouth, he was sure.
"For something to injure an adeptus so badly… this mechanism must be something special. So you've been worrying about how to prevent it from going out of control?"
"That's part of it."
"Oh?"
"Madame Ping came to see me this afternoon. She relayed the Geo Archon's words—he wants me to stop researching that dangerous device. Once I recover my cultivation, he wants me to teach at your academy instead."
"Well, that does make some sense… but what do you think?"
"I…"
"You still don't want to give it up, do you?"
Cloud Retainer was silent for a moment, then nodded.
"I've spent centuries on this. Now that I'm finally making some progress… I don't want to give up."
"I see."
Xia Zhi thought for a moment, then said, "If that's your dream, then keep going."
"Huh!?"
"Don't worry about Vice Principal Zhongli—I'll handle him."
"This…"
"As for Madame Ping, she's just concerned for your safety. That's easy to solve—next time you want to test the mechanism, call me. With me there to oversee it, you'll be safe."
"You…"
"So, what do you say?"
"I… Thank you for the suggestion. But I still can't resume my research yet. I need to focus on cultivation and return to my human form first."
"That's true. You're re-cultivating your realm, right? Shouldn't take too long, should it?"
"No, not too long."
"How long exactly?"
"A few years."
"A few years, huh…"
Still a bit long.
Xia Zhi opened the [Shop], scrolling through until he found a particular extraordinary item.
[Transformation Pill]
Quality: Gold
Type: Consumable
Trait: Shapeshifting
Effect: Allows beast-type creatures to immediately enter human form.
Hidden Effect: Transformation is entirely painless.
Price: 500 points.
Xia Zhi selected "Purchase." A small bottle appeared in his hand.
"Here."
"What is it?"
"There's a pill inside that'll let you return to human form instantly—no need for years of cultivation."
"There's a pill like that!?"
"Of course. Take it."
"This…"
"It's not as rare as you think. If I wanted to, I could make more anytime."
"...Thank you."
Cloud Retainer accepted the bottle, speaking sincerely.
Xia Zhi smiled. "No need to thank me. We're family now, after all."
Cloud Retainer froze.
Because of Shenhe, it was true—they could be considered family.
"Yes…"
She lowered her head, her tone a little complicated.
"Sigh… I just hope you'll treat my disciple well in the future."
"Of course. I'll treat them both well."
"That's good… Wait, what!?"
Cloud Retainer suddenly looked up at Xia Zhi.
"What's wrong?"
"What do you mean 'them both'!?"
"Well, aren't they both your disciples?"
"I was talking about Shenhe! Not Ganyu!"
"Ganyu counts too."
"She does?"
A flicker of confusion passed through Cloud Retainer's glassy eyes.
"What do you mean, 'counts too'?"
"Same as Shenhe. You didn't know?"
"Huh? I didn't!"
"Ganyu didn't tell you?"
"No!"
"Shenhe didn't either?"
"No!"
Xia Zhi chuckled. "Well, now you know."
"..."
Cloud Retainer still looked like she couldn't believe it.
Wait a second—it's only been half a year!
Shenhe, sure, that made sense. She'd lived on the mountain, isolated, pure-hearted, lacking love. If someone truly treated her well, she'd fall easily.
But Ganyu?
Ganyu had watched Liyue Harbor rise from nothing. She'd worked in the government system for centuries, met countless people, had a wealth of life experience. How could she fall so quickly!?
Was she forced into it?
A ridiculous thought popped into Cloud Retainer's mind, but she dismissed it immediately.
After all, the Geo Archon was still in Liyue Harbor. If something had happened to Ganyu, he wouldn't sit idly by.
Besides, Ganyu bore the bloodline of the qilin. During the Archon War, even after being swallowed by a god, she managed to choke it to death from the inside. With that kind of innate luck, even if Xia Zhi were a demon, he'd have a hard time harming her.
Otherwise, he'd probably…
"Do you not believe me?" Xia Zhi asked.
"I believe you. There's no reason for you to lie. I just… I just didn't expect Ganyu to fall so fast."
"Well, it was sudden. She ascended to a true adeptus, which triggered her bloodline and put her into a… special state."
Xia Zhi gave a brief explanation.
It was a private matter, but as Ganyu's master, Cloud Retainer had the right to know.
"I see… That explains it."
"She really is…"
Xia Zhi looked at her. She really did look like a mother worrying over her daughter's marriage.
"Alright, we've talked enough. Let's head back."
"Mm."
They left the lakeside pavilion, walking back along the path.
Xia Zhi, from his god's eye, looked at the little crane beside him and selected her.
"Use [Skill Steal] on target?"
"Yes."
"[Skill Steal] successful. Learned skill [Mechanism Mastery] from target."
"[Mechanism Mastery]: Become a master of mechanisms."
Xia Zhi glanced at his skill list, feeling new knowledge about mechanisms flood into his mind.
Just as he had suspected—the little crane was a true master of mechanical arts.
This skill was like the [Music Master] he'd stolen from Madame Ping—it granted not only complete understanding of all mechanical techniques in Teyvat, but also in his original world. It even included modern machines, which the system considered a type of mechanism.
In theory, Xia Zhi could now handcraft a computer.
He kept using [Skill Steal] on the little crane, picking up a variety of miscellaneous abilities from her.
"Oh, right—Cloud Retainer."
"Hmm?"
"That mechanism you've been working on—what's it like?"
"Oh, that. I call it the Elemental Reaction Box."
"Elemental Reaction Box?"
"Put simply, it compresses the power of the seven elements into a box. Then, using a special triggering method—internal implosion—it sets them off in a chain reaction, unleashing massive energy… The goal is to create something that could threaten even gods."
"I see…"
Xia Zhi nodded casually.
Cloud Retainer, seeing his seemingly disinterested expression, stopped herself.
"Sorry, I may have explained it too technically. You probably didn't understand…"
"No, you were very clear. Not technical at all."
"Huh?"
"I understood everything."
"You did? You know about mechanisms?"
"I dabble."
"You really do!?"
"Yeah. For example, your design might have an issue—when two elements react, they get consumed. So you can't just cram them all in together. Otherwise, the chain reaction becomes unstable."
"Yes! That's exactly the problem I've been trying to solve for years!"
"How did you end up solving it?"
"I used some Adepti Sigils to…"
Cloud Retainer grew increasingly excited as she and Xia Zhi dove into a deep discussion about the "box weapon."
She couldn't help it.
After Guizhong's passing, she hadn't met anyone else who truly understood mechanisms like she did.
Now, she'd finally found a kindred spirit—it felt like meeting a soulmate after a lifetime apart.
As Xia Zhi listened to her talk, he recalled a test he'd done at Dunyu Ruins—a similar elemental reaction experiment.
He'd used seven Adepti Sigils and two scrolls, stacking them together. The resulting explosion was so powerful that even distant Liyue Harbor felt the tremors.
By all accounts, the test had succeeded.
But according to the rules of Seven-Element Reactions, that shouldn't have been possible. Once an element reacts, it's consumed.
For example, Hydro evaporated by Pyro can't then react with Dendro to Bloom, or with Electro to cause Electrocharged, or with Cryo to Freeze—the chain breaks, and the power drops drastically.
Clearly, something was off.
But what?
Xia Zhi thought for a moment, then remembered the two extra scrolls.
[Holy Light Judgment] and [Space Rip].
In other words—Light and Space elements, two forces outside the standard seven.
Perhaps they had played a unique role in stabilizing the reaction.
"I have a theory," Xia Zhi said. "It might be worth testing."
Cloud Retainer looked at him. "What theory?"
"What if we added new elemental powers to the box?"
"New elemental powers?"
"For example—Light."
He held out his left hand, revealing a white elemental orb.
"Or Space."
He raised his right hand, revealing a gray elemental orb.
Cloud Retainer stared at his hands, intrigued. "I don't know much about those elements, but it's worth trying."
"I've actually tested it before."
"And the result?"
"Pretty good."
"How good?"
"Ground-shaking."
Cloud Retainer's eyes lit up.
"I still have a spare Elemental Reaction Box. I can modify it to fit two more elements. I'll go get it!"
Xia Zhi watched the little crane's retreating figure and chuckled.
So eager. But it's late. Even if the weapon's finished, where's she going to find a god to test it on?
He certainly wasn't volunteering. Neither were Shenhe or Ganyu. Osial, though…
Thinking of this, Xia Zhi turned his gaze toward Nantianmen in the distance.
He'd have to make time to visit the Dragon-Queller Tree and talk to Azhdaha.
He wondered how that old beast was doing—was it still going mad from erosion?
Maybe… Azhdaha would make a great test subject for the box weapon.