Seeing the intense fire suddenly ignite within Ryen, Hu Tao and Guizhong exchanged a long, silent look. They had previously theorized that the ultimate daughter-doting fanatic would completely lose his ability to walk upon spotting Qiqi and Yaoyao.
Yet, they had clearly underestimated him.
Ryen, who had been dragging his feet just moments before, instantly radiated absolute vitality. He even took the initiative, pulling the two women along as he closed the distance with rapid strides.
In a certain sense, a man obsessed with adopting daughters was a truly terrifying creature.
"Ugh... dangerous... hot..."
A short distance away, Qiqi, who had been quietly listening to Yaoyao chatter, suddenly furrowed her brow. She took a trembling step back, her tiny hands clutching her talisman. Turning her head with slow, stiff movements, she locked onto the rapidly approaching figures.
In an instant, Qiqi's deadpan eyes widened to their absolute limits.
"High temperature. Death. Despicable!"
Without another word, the little zombie pivoted, preparing to sprint in the opposite direction.
However, Hu Tao possessed incredibly swift reflexes. She lunged forward, scooping Qiqi up into a tight embrace and rubbing her cheek affectionately against the zombie's cold face.
"Qiqi! It has been so long! Did you miss me?"
"Ugh..." Qiqi's small face scrunched up tightly. She pushed against Hu Tao's chest, struggling with all her might. "Despicable... Death..."
"Honestly, Qiqi is still so unapproachable." Hu Tao let out a heavy sigh, her shoulders dropping slightly.
Beside them, Yaoyao brought a hand to her forehead, shaking her head with the heavy gravity of a seasoned adult.
"Director Hu, please put Qiqi down. You are frightening her. Do not bully her."
While her small hands continued to push against Hu Tao, Qiqi shifted her gaze toward Yaoyao. Within those completely lifeless eyes, a faint glimmer of profound gratitude surfaced.
"Good person... Qiqi will carve your name into memory..."
Ryen reached over and lightly knocked his knuckles against the crown of Hu Tao's head. Rubbing her scalp with a pout, the Director reluctantly lowered the zombie back to the pavement.
In the blink of an eye, Qiqi darted directly behind Yaoyao, gripping the fabric of the younger girl's dress. With Baizhu absent, only Yaoyao could provide the necessary barrier against the terrifying Director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
"Qiqi is clearly only frightened by you," Ryen noted, shaking his head with a highly amused smile. "You left an unimaginably massive psychological shadow on her back then."
"That was in the past!" Hu Tao puffed her cheeks out. "Have I not been trying to apologize and mend our relationship ever since?"
She crossed her arms, her tone dropping into a distinctly aggrieved register. "But she refuses to listen to a single word I say. She runs the second she spots my hat! Even if I do apologize, she forgets it the next day anyway."
Yaoyao reached back, gently patting Qiqi's head to soothe her racing pulse. "Qiqi has a very poor memory. However, the sheer terror of you attempting to bury her is etched directly into her bones. Regardless, Director Hu, please refrain from doing this in the future. She truly shrinks away from you."
Defeated, Hu Tao reached out and aggressively rubbed Yaoyao's soft cheeks. "I know, I know! Yaoyao is always lecturing me like a tiny adult! You are supposed to be the child here!"
Yaoyao's face scrunched up beneath the assault, completely at a loss on how to handle the eccentric Director.
"Do not tease her! Yaoyao is vastly more reliable than you, Hu Tao." Guizhong stepped forward with a bright smile, lightly pinching Yaoyao's cheek in turn. Her voice softened considerably. "Yaoyao, did you come out today specifically to play with Qiqi?"
Yaoyao immediately stiffened her posture, shaking her head with utmost seriousness.
"No. Auntie Cloud Retainer sent a voice transmission earlier. She informed me that Sister Shenhe had arrived in Liyue Harbor. Sister Shenhe struggles with social interaction, so I was instructed to receive her."
"I bumped into Qiqi along the way. She had forgotten why she left the pharmacy, and Mr. Baizhu was nowhere to be seen, so I decided to bring her along."
Yaoyao's shoulders slumped, her voice dropping to a low whisper. "But Qiqi does not remember me again, and she has misplaced her notebook..."
Guizhong pressed her lips together. She cast a sympathetic glance at the blank, wandering stare of the little zombie hiding behind Yaoyao.
"Has this child still not recovered her memory after consuming the dimensional milk?"
Yaoyao's expression grew even more crestfallen. "No. I deliver fresh milk to Qiqi every single morning. Yet, every single day, she forgets me. The milk has no effect on her condition."
A heavy silence lingered for a moment. Then, Yaoyao took a deep breath, puffing out her chest and firmly pumping her small fists into the air.
"It does not matter! Qiqi is my absolute best friend! Even if she cannot be cured, it is fine! Even if I must remind her of my name every day for the rest of my life, I will gladly do it!"
Standing behind her, Qiqi maintained her oblivious stare. Yet, for an inexplicable reason, hearing Yaoyao's declaration caused a strange, tight ache to form in her chest.
"Has she consumed an Enchanted Golden Apple?" Ryen stepped forward, his brow furrowing slightly as he gently rested his hand on Qiqi's head. Surprisingly, the little zombie did not flinch away from his touch. She simply stared blankly ahead, seemingly quite content with the physical contact.
"No..." Yaoyao lowered her head, her fingers twiddling nervously. "Because Mr. Baizhu..."
"Because Lady Ningguang and the Qixing have maintained a strict, unyielding watch over me. They fear that should Qiqi consume an Enchanted Golden Apple, I might subject her to unsavory medical research."
A smooth, gentle male voice drifted from around the corner. A highly refined man stepped into view.
A pristine white snake rested comfortably around his neck. Despite the heavy subject matter, he spoke without a single trace of resentment, maintaining a permanent, shallow smile.
The man possessed the slit pupils of a serpent, while the snake bore the round pupils of a human. It was a deeply unsettling visual contradiction. Yet, neither set of eyes radiated any genuine malice; instead, they carried a mild, courteous warmth.
Walking quietly beside Baizhu was an exceptionally beautiful woman with a breathtaking figure. Striking red ropes bound her form in an intricate, restrictive pattern. Her aura was as frigid and unapproachable as a frozen glacier.
"Director Hu, it has been quite some time. And..."
Baizhu shifted his serpentine gaze, locking onto Ryen and Guizhong. A momentary, intensely fiery spark ignited within his eyes.
"A pleasure to finally meet you, Mr. Ryen, Lady Guizhong. I am Baizhu, a humble physician of Liyue."
"Mr. Baizhu... and Sister Shenhe?" Yaoyao blinked in surprise, her cheeks flushing with immediate shame. "I am so sorry, Sister Shenhe. I was delayed and failed to receive you properly..."
Baizhu offered a light chuckle, stepping closer. "Miss Shenhe walked directly into Bubu Pharmacy the moment she entered the harbor, plainly stating she required a meal."
The memory seemed to amuse him greatly, but the sudden fluctuation in his emotions triggered a harsh, rattling cough deep in his chest. He pressed a fist to his mouth, waiting for the spasm to pass before continuing.
"I happened to be heading out to retrieve Qiqi, so I simply invited Miss Shenhe to accompany me. It is quite a serendipitous encounter. I have brought the person Yaoyao was searching for, and Yaoyao has brought the very people I was hoping to find."
Ryen narrowed his eyes slightly, studying the physician in absolute silence.
After a long, calculating moment, he offered a low chuckle. "The person you were hoping to find. Is that Qiqi, Guizhong, or myself?"
Baizhu's smile remained perfectly fixed. He made no attempt to deflect the question. "It is both Qiqi and you, Mr. Ryen."
Ryen shrugged his shoulders casually. Without another word, he took Qiqi's small hand in his left and Yaoyao's in his right, turning his steps toward a lavishly decorated restaurant down the street.
"Let us find a quiet place to speak."
This brief excursion into the city had successfully yielded both of his precious daughters. Overall, it was an incredibly fruitful harvest. He would ensure these two ceased their aimless wandering and promptly shipped them into the Minecraft world to keep Klee company.
Every single high-end restaurant in Liyue Harbor operated directly under Ningguang's absolute financial umbrella. Naturally, Ryen's presence required zero exchange of Mora.
He offered a brief nod to the establishment's owner, instructing him to discreetly summon the Tianquan, before leading the group directly to a secluded VIP parlor on the third floor.
The heavy wooden doors sealed shut, instantly muffling the deafening roar of the festival streets.
Yaoyao still clearly harbored deep guilt over missing Shenhe's arrival. The moment she entered the room, she snatched a menu from the table and marched directly over to the white-haired woman.
"Sister Shenhe, Auntie Cloud Retainer specifically instructed me to ensure you ate a proper meal before taking you to your new residence. What would you like to order?"
Shenhe fixed her crystalline gaze upon Yaoyao. After several seconds of absolute stillness, she spoke in a perfectly flat tone.
"Qingxin flowers will suffice."
"Absolutely not!" Yaoyao violently shook her head, her twin buns bouncing. "Consuming Qingxin occasionally is acceptable, but sustaining yourself entirely on raw flora is terribly detrimental to your constitution. Sister Shenhe must consume properly cooked nourishment. I will order on your behalf!"
With that authoritative declaration, Yaoyao scrunched up her face, burying her nose in the menu as she meticulously calculated the most optimal, health-conscious dietary balance for the meal.
For Yaoyao, managing the daily livelihood of others was second nature. Despite her tiny stature, her domestic maturity vastly eclipsed that of ancient adepti like Ganyu.
Shenhe merely stared at Yaoyao's bustling form. A moment later, she seemed to finally process Guizhong's presence in the room. She shifted her stance, dipping her head to convey strict, formal respect.
"Lady Guizhong."
Guizhong tilted her head, thoroughly inspecting the frigid disciple. A bright smile eventually broke across her face.
"There is no need for such stiff formality. That foolish bird truly possesses zero talent for raising children. How could anyone force such a lovely girl to survive on nothing but bitter Qingxin petals?"
With that settled, the Goddess of Dust, possessing a chronological age in the thousands but the behavioral maturity of a teenager, eagerly squeezed in next to Yaoyao to assist in constructing the grand feast.
While Ryen harbored a fair amount of curiosity regarding Shenhe, his immediate priority lay elsewhere.
Gently smoothing out Qiqi's hair, Ryen leaned back in his chair and cast a slow, piercing look at the physician.
"You stated you wished to see me. For what exact purpose?"
Baizhu abandoned all pretense of pleasantries, his response immediate and resolute. "Longevity."
"You are certainly direct," Ryen noted, a trace of amusement flickering in his eyes. He kept his gaze perfectly level. "And I presume this is the root cause of your intense medical fascination with Qiqi?"
"Why must you phrase it in such a sinister manner! We merely study the unique properties of her adeptal energy. We have never harmed a single hair on her head. We take excellent care of Qiqi!"
Before Baizhu could form a response, the white snake draped around his neck raised its head, voicing its loud indignation.
Ryen arched a brow. He flicked a single finger.
A surge of purplish-black Imaginary energy materialized instantly, snapping around Changsheng and yanking the serpent directly across the table. The dark energy coiled tightly around the snake's form.
Changsheng instantly went rigid, her round eyes blowing wide with sheer panic as she darted frantic looks back toward Baizhu.
"Mr. Ryen, Changsheng harbors absolutely no malice..." Baizhu took a quick, aborted step forward, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the edge of the table.
His desperate need to seek Ryen out was entirely tied to Changsheng. Or, to strip away the poetic phrasing, he simply refused to die.
Baizhu understood perfectly well how precarious his current position was. The pursuit of immortality was a deeply sensitive subject. Rex Lapis's stance on the matter was entirely unknown, and Ningguang's faction had maintained a suffocating surveillance over his every move.
As the man who stood beside the Tianquan, and as a respected peer of the Geo Archon, Ryen's judgment could easily spell his immediate execution.
Yet, Baizhu had to take the gamble.
He had rigorously tested the dimensional milk. He had meticulously analyzed the alchemical healing potions. They successfully alleviated the agonizing pain of his sudden flare-ups, but they completely failed to purge the rot from his foundation.
They merely suspended him in a torturous limbo, forever dangling between life and death. To possess the supreme skill to pull countless others from the brink, yet remain entirely powerless to save oneself. That was the ultimate, mocking tragedy of a physician.
He had thoroughly resigned himself to an early grave, until he caught fragments of a hushed conversation among rotating Millelith guards.
A divine artifact from another world. A creation that vastly eclipsed the miraculous properties of milk and alchemy.
The Totem of Undying!
To conquer death itself! Was this not the absolute pinnacle he had sacrificed his life to reach?
However, the Millelith's lips were tightly sealed, and he dared not press the issue. Ningguang's spies watched him like hawks. A single misplaced question would grant them the perfect justification to drag him into the Ministry's dungeons.
Liyue's reliance on traditional physicians had plummeted anyway; dimensional milk cured virtually all standard ailments.
He knew with absolute certainty that if he played by the rules, he would rot in his grave long before he ever secured an audience with Ryen's inner circle. He would never catch a glimpse of the Totem of Undying. It was Liyue's most heavily guarded state secret.
The Lantern Rite presented his sole window of opportunity.
For days, he had haunted the streets of Liyue Harbor, waiting for Ryen to emerge from his mountain estate. When he spotted Shenhe, the final piece fell into place. He correctly deduced she was en route to join the dimensional vanguard.
Baizhu had to push his chips to the center of the table.
He was not ready to die.
By leveraging Shenhe's presence to secure this meeting, he finally had a chance to negotiate.
"Relax. I am not going to crush her. This little creature is rather fascinating." Ryen chuckled, inspecting the paralyzed snake hovering above his palm. After a brief moment of analysis, he shook his head, the curiosity fading from his eyes.
"A symbiotic contract... I should have deduced as much."
Ryen released the energy, letting Changsheng slither frantically back to her master. "Changsheng. 'Long Life'. A highly literal name. You certainly make no effort to conceal your ambitions. Are you truly not terrified that Morax will discover this and permanently silence you?"
"The pursuit of immortality is a grave taboo among demon gods. They harbor a profound, paralyzing fear of erosion."
Baizhu slowly nodded his head, his posture deflating slightly. "I understand the risks perfectly well. But I possess no other alternative."
A bitter, self-deprecating smile touched his lips. His gaze dropped to the polished wood of the table.
"I have healed countless patients throughout my life. Yet, the only affliction I cannot cure is my own. I am still young. There are vast volumes of medical knowledge I still wish to compile. I... I do not wish to die."
He lifted his head, his serpentine eyes locking onto Ryen with burning intensity.
"No one in Teyvat can save me. Only you hold the key, Mr. Ryen. That fact alone makes this gamble entirely worth my life."
"I have heard the whispers, Mr. Ryen. I know you possess the Totem of Undying..."
The heavy wooden doors of the VIP parlor violently smashed open.
Ningguang strode into the room, flanked immediately by Keqing, Ganyu, and Cloud Retainer.
The Tianquan's expression was as dark and volatile as a gathering storm.
"Exactly where did you hear that from!"