The peaceful, productive atmosphere of the Yuehai Pavilion was a comforting rhythm to work to. Ren completed the final, meticulously detailed annotation on the heater blueprint just as the afternoon sun began to dip, painting the sky outside in hues of orange and gold. He rolled up the finished master copy, a profound sense of satisfaction settling over him. It was done. It was perfect.
Ganyu, as if sensing his completion, looked up from her own scroll, a soft, congratulatory smile on her face. "Finished, Ren?"
"All done," he confirmed happily.
Just as she was about to suggest they pack up and head home for the day, a new presence entered their space. It was a brisk, energetic stride, the sound of someone who moved with absolute purpose and had no time to waste.
A young woman with twin-tails of pale lavender hair, her sharp, cat-like eyes a striking shade of amethyst, stopped before Ganyu's desk. She was dressed in an elegant, practical outfit of purple and gold, and an Electro Vision was prominently displayed at her collar. This was Keqing, the Yuheng of the Liyue Qixing.
"Ganyu," she began, her voice crisp and direct, forgoing pleasantries. "I need the latest geological survey reports from the Ministry of Mines regarding the Chasm. The projections for ore yields seem… overly optimistic. I want to cross-reference them with last year's output before I approve the new equipment budget."
Her sharp gaze then fell upon Ren, who was sitting quietly at his small table. Her eyes widened slightly in surprise, her business-like demeanor faltering for a fraction of a second. She had, of course, heard the rumors—the entire Qixing had. The whispers about Ganyu's mysterious little brother, the child who had seemingly appeared from nowhere and had completely captivated their most diligent secretary.
"And you must be Ren," Keqing said, her gaze analytical, sizing him up with a pragmatist's curiosity. "I've heard a great deal about you."
Ren simply offered her a polite smile. "It's an honor to meet you, Lady Keqing."
Keqing gave a curt nod, her attention already shifting back to the matter at hand. "The reports, Ganyu." But her gaze kept flicking back to Ren, her mind clearly intrigued by the anomaly he presented.
As Ganyu sorted through a stack of documents to find the requested report, Keqing's impatience seemed to get the better of her. She looked at Ren again, a thoughtful, almost challenging look in her eyes. "You spend your time in the company of adepti and their followers. Tell me, child, what do you think of Liyue's reliance on them? Don't you think it's time humanity stood on its own two feet, forging its own destiny without waiting for a sign from a god or a nod from a guardian?"
It was a classic Keqing question—blunt, pragmatic, and cutting right to the heart of her core philosophy.
Ganyu froze, her hand hovering over a scroll. She looked at Keqing, a defensive, almost panicked expression on her face. Ren was a child. He shouldn't be subjected to the Yuheng's intense philosophical grilling. "Keqing, he's just—"
But Ren spoke before she could finish, his voice calm and surprisingly steady. He looked up from his seat, meeting the Yuheng's sharp gaze without flinching.
"I think humans have the potential to achieve anything they want," he began, his words thoughtful and measured. "Human ingenuity and determination are powerful forces. But I also think that the gods and the adepti have guided humanity for a very long time."
He paused, choosing his next words carefully, framing his complex idea in a simple, relatable metaphor. "It's like… like parents teaching a child how to walk. They hold your hands at first, they keep you from falling. They show you the way. Eventually, the child learns to walk, and then to run, all on their own. But the child should never look back and scorn their parents for the help they were given. They shouldn't see that guidance as a weakness, but as a foundation."
He looked directly at Keqing, his glowing azure eyes holding an earnest, profound sincerity. "The guidance of the gods shouldn't be ignored or discarded. It should be used. It should be the strong foundation upon which humanity builds an even greater future. You can forge your own destiny while still respecting the lessons of your elders."
The simple, powerful analogy hung in the silent air of the great hall. It was a philosophy that didn't refute Keqing's belief in human potential but instead reframed it, weaving it into the tapestry of Liyue's history and its relationship with its guardians. It was a bridge between the old ways and the new, an argument for synthesis, not revolution.
Keqing was stunned into silence. She stared at the small boy, her sharp, analytical mind momentarily thrown off balance. She had expected a child's simplistic answer, something parroted from his adeptal master. She had not expected a nuanced, deeply insightful philosophical argument that addressed the very core of her own worldview with a wisdom that was far beyond his apparent years.
Ganyu, however, had recovered from her initial shock. A fierce, protective glint entered her eyes. Her little brother was not a philosophical specimen for the Yuheng to dissect.
"Keqing," Ganyu said, her voice soft but laced with an uncharacteristic, icy firmness that made the Yuheng blink. "My brother is not here to be interrogated about his views on the relationship between mortals and adepti. He is here to keep me company."
She located the correct scroll and held it out, her message clear: Take your report and leave my brother alone.
Keqing, for the first time in a very long time, felt a little flustered. She was not used to being verbally put in her place, especially not by the famously non-confrontational Ganyu. She took the scroll, her gaze shifting between the suddenly defensive Ganyu and the calm, intelligent child.
"My apologies," Keqing said, offering a stiff, formal nod. "It was an inappropriate line of questioning." She looked at Ren one last time, a new, profound respect in her sharp eyes. "You have a fascinating way of looking at the world, Ren."
With that, she turned and strode away, her mind not on ore yields from the Chasm, but on the startlingly profound words of a ten-year-old boy.
Ganyu immediately went to Ren's side, kneeling beside his chair. "Are you alright? I'm so sorry. She can be very… intense."
Ren just smiled up at her, his heart swelling with warmth at her fierce, immediate defense of him. "I'm fine, big sister. It was an interesting conversation."
Ganyu just shook her head, a soft, amazed smile on her face. Her little brother had just gone toe-to-toe in a battle of wits with the sharpest mind in the Qixing and had, by all accounts, won. She looked at the drawing of her on the wall, then back at the boy who had drawn it. Her quiet, peaceful life had become a lot more interesting, and infinitely more precious, since he had fallen into it.