Varka…
Of course Keqing had heard of him, but she'd never seen him even once. A legendary figure from Mondstadt.
Mondstadt's Knight of Boreas—absurdly strong—leading four-fifths of the Knights of Favonius' elite on an expedition to the northern frontier.
"His power is, at the very least, on the level of a god's retainer. And he's human."
"Varka was probably guided by Barbatos, the Anemo Archon. If any of you could receive guidance from the Geo Archon, you'd also end up producing a monster like that."
Koji didn't believe Varka could reach that level at such a young age purely by relying on himself.
And judging by what came later, Varka and Venti were the "we're-close" kind of familiar—meaning they'd definitely interacted many times. Maybe Venti really did give him a few pointers.
"Guidance… from a god?" Keqing's expression turned strange.
"Over all these years, aside from appearing at the Rite of Descension, the Geo Archon never shows himself. I've never heard of him personally guiding anyone."
To receive instruction from a god—how lucky did someone have to be?
"By the way, who built this house of yours? It's pretty nice. Introduce me—I want to meet them."
Keqing looked over Koji's Chinese-style villa, eyes lighting up slightly. She liked this aesthetic, and the construction details were handled well, too.
"Guizhong built it for me." There was nothing to hide, so Koji told her directly.
"Guizhong… that name sounds familiar."
Keqing frowned, her brain turning over—then she suddenly realized:
"Wait. The Guizhong you mean… wouldn't happen to be the God of Dust, would it?"
Even if her strength didn't match the Geo Archon's, Guizhong's intellect was acknowledged by him as that of a trusted strategist. Some of her inventions were still in use to this day.
"Mm." Koji nodded.
"But… didn't Lady Guizhong die long ago?" Keqing muttered to herself. Don't tell me a ghost built Koji's house?
Seeing her confusion, Koji smiled and explained.
"Guizhong revived. She lives with the Geo Archon now."
He didn't know how far those two had gotten, but he was optimistic. A perfect match—talent and beauty.
Guizhong had feelings for Zhongli, but Zhongli was as dense as a rock.
Well… he basically was a rock. A meteor that gained sentience.
"Lady Guizhong revived?!" Keqing looked shocked—then quickly came to her senses. Even if a god revived, if they didn't choose to appear publicly, ordinary people would never know.
Then she remembered what she'd just said about wanting Guizhong to do manual labor, and immediately felt awkward.
"I'll tell Guizhong later," Koji said with a teasing grin. "That some cat-head girl wants to recruit her as a subordinate."
"What cat-head? These are spiral buns!"
Keqing rolled her eyes. This wasn't some cat head, and definitely not cat ears. It was just an unusual hairstyle.
"How was I supposed to know your house was personally built by Lady Guizhong? If I'd known, I wouldn't have said that."
A house built by a god… really was envy-inducing.
Ningguang's Jade Chamber could be called the most expensive construction in Liyue, but even that wasn't built by a god's own hands.
…
"Haah… Lady Ningguang is so beautiful…"
"Exactly! White hair, red eyes, long legs—who wouldn't get excited?"
Up on the Jade Chamber, Ningguang's little fangirls, Baiwen and Baishi, were secretly peeking at her, wearing the kind of lovestruck expression that looked one step away from drooling.
"Hey. What are you two doing?"
Koji's voice suddenly rang out. The two of them jolted in shock, stumbled forward, and the door popped open—both secretaries faceplanted onto the floor.
Ningguang, who'd been working, looked up. The corner of her mouth twitched. What were these two even doing?
"Ningguang, rich lady," Koji said, laughing as he teased, "I caught two people spying on you. They're lusting after your body."
Both secretaries went bright red. They couldn't refute it, and they didn't dare look at Ningguang.
"Go back to work," Ningguang said, lifting slender fingers to rub her temples.
She'd long since known her subordinates worshiped her a little too hard—sometimes to the point of acting unhinged.
But she couldn't exactly deal with it. They were excellent assistants—she couldn't just swap them out on a whim.
Given an exit, the two secretaries hurried away.
"So, it's the perpetually busy Koji," Ningguang said with a smile that wasn't quite a smile. "What wind blew you over here?"
Koji wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but he thought he heard a trace of grievance in her tone.
White hair and red eyes—an instant crit for Axian guys. Koji was no exception.
"Am I not allowed to come if there's no reason?" Koji replied with a grin.
"Of course you are. Treat this place like your own home." Ningguang rose, her steps light as she moved to his side. A faint, lingering fragrance drifted into his nose—mature, alluring, and immediately distracting. "How is it? The brand-new Jade Chamber."
"Not bad." Koji smiled. "So, rich-lady onee-san… are you going to keep me?"
Ningguang tilted her head. "You're out of money?"
After all the Mora he'd earned trading with her, surely he couldn't have burned through it that quickly.
"I still have some. But being kept by a rich lady just feels different," Koji said.
Ningguang instantly understood. Koji wanted that "freeloading" feeling.
No problem. To her, Mora was just a number.
Eating soft rice, huh? With Koji's looks and strength, he was the kind of hot commodity people fought over. She didn't mind keeping him a little.
"If you run out, come ask onee-san." Ningguang smoothly slipped into the role. "Onee-san has money. More money than I can spend."
"I want a lap pillow," Koji said. "Can rich-lady Ningguang give me that too?"
His gaze locked on like it had auto-aim, dropping down until it landed squarely on Ningguang's pale, tender long legs. Resting there should feel amazing.
"Sure." Ningguang paused for a moment, then didn't refuse. She sat down on the cushion—no hesitation. That alone was a serious plus.
"Then I won't hold back."
Koji lay down directly on Ningguang's thighs. The soft, pillowy feeling made it seem like he could sink right in.
It was different from Eula's lap pillow.
Eula had served as a Knight of Favonius, often working out in the wild—more movement, more training—so her legs were firm, with tight muscle.
Ningguang was one of the Qixing, mainly working in the Jade Chamber with minimal physical activity. Her thighs were softer—like resting on cotton.
"This is really comfortable," Koji sighed. "Ningguang, your legs are a solid nine out of ten."
Ningguang chuckled. "Is there anyone who scores higher than me, Koji?"
Koji answered honestly. "Eula is tied with you. Shenhe's lap pillow can go up to a 9.3."
Ningguang laughed, helpless. "How many lap pillows are you planning to 'review' exactly?"
(End of Chapter)
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