This reward came right after Idris halted the Akasha's dream-harvesting plan and palmed the blame off on the Doctor. Cutting loose a death-sentence-sized scandal like that? The system clearly thought it deserved something big.
Even so, the prize surprised him: an Eight-Trigram Pill Furnace—obviously a perfect match for the pillcraft he'd just unlocked. Very convenient. If he'd had to commission one from Liyue's craftsmen, it would've cost time and favors. Now the system had simply delivered a divine-grade furnace into his room.
Good thing it appeared quietly. If it had popped into existence right in front of Nahida, that would've been a headache to explain.
Nahida eyed the towering furnace in his quarters, curiosity instantly smothering the residual blush on her face.
"Grand Sage Idris, this furnace is huge. What are you going to do with it?"
"I'm going to refine pills," he said. "The Pillcraft Darshan I mentioned in the meeting."
"Pill… refining?" Nahida tilted her head. "Never heard of it. You really do come up with the strangest little inventions. Is it like your 'music player' from last time?"
To a god of Teyvat, "pillcraft" wasn't exactly a household term. She was curious, but not shocked.
Idris ignored the commentary, unfolded a recipe slip, and studied the listed herbs. He sent word to have the ingredients gathered, then settled before the Eight-Trigram Furnace. With a flick of Dendro, kindling flared to life beneath the cauldron.
Time to refine.
Nahida stayed to watch.
None of them expected that Idris's first attempt would last nearly an entire day.
Flame-light pulsed all night through the Grand Sage's chambers. Within, Idris's technique climbed step by step, the rhythm of heating, tempering, and fusing growing smoother and surer. He was exhausted—mind and body wrung dry—but his eyes shone. He could feel it: pillcraft was about to click into place.
While Idris worked in silence, the world outside got very noisy.
First: Liyue.
Zhongli returned and, unsurprisingly, suffered a thorough scolding from Hu Tao for vanishing for several days. After half an afternoon of dignified evasions, he finally slipped away to visit a few old friends.
Over tea, he set a palm-sized music player on the table and introduced the song recorded inside—"Ask the Gods."
Xiao: "A Sumeru mortal composing a piece about our stories… feels strange."
Cloud Retainer: "Music is a refinement one mustn't neglect. It has been long indeed since this Adeptus heard the Geo Lord speak so highly of a foreigner's craft."
Madam Ping: "Anyone the Lord of Geo praises so warmly must be an uncommon person."
Zhongli nodded. "This Grand Sage of Sumeru, Idris, is indeed uncommon. Sumeru is fortunate to have him. If he had been born in Liyue, with that talent, he might one day have stood among the Liyue Qixing beside Ningguang."
He played the song, shared what he'd seen and heard in Sumeru, and his own reflections.
It was just a traveler sharing novelties, really.
Unfortunately, one of his "old friends" was an adeptus known—half-jokingly—as the True Lord Who Excels at Chit-Chat.
A few days later, a certain peculiar rumor had somehow spread across all of Liyue Harbor.
High atop the newly rebuilt Jade Chamber, Ningguang slammed a palm on the table.
"Where did that story come from—who dares to say I'm inferior to Sumeru's new Grand Sage?"
Ganyu: "Ah… haha…"
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