After Keqing and the others exchanged a few pleasantries, they left Mt. Aozang and set off in the direction of Dihua Marsh.
Watching them stride briskly through the mountains as if on flat ground, Fang Qiu was filled with envy.
Before long, Keqing and the others vanished into the mountain mist.
After that, only Fang Qiu, Shenhe, Ganyu, and Cloud Retainer remained atop Mt. Aozang.
"Mm... not bad. The structure of these fireworks is truly ingenious. This immortal must study it carefully."
Gazing at the fireworks set beside the stone table, Cloud Retainer praised them from the heart.
"Does Cloud Retainer love mechanical arts that much?"
Fang Qiu asked.
"But of course."
Cloud Retainer said, "That Guizhong Ballista used some time ago to deal with the Overlord of the Vortex was crafted by this very immortal."
"So that's how it was. Truly worthy of being an adeptus."
Though Fang Qiu had never witnessed that great battle, she knew only that in the end it was by sacrificing the Jade Chamber that the Overlord of the Vortex had been smashed back down to the seabed.
Still, hearing Cloud Retainer's words, that so-called Guizhong Ballista must have played an enormous role in that great battle.
In other words—she didn't quite understand it, but it sure sounded impressive.
Baffled yet awed.
"Speaking of mechanical arts, when Ganyu was little she loved nothing more than dashing about the room whenever this immortal was building contraptions. She especially loved playing with that one I made—that... what was it called again..."
Cloud Retainer thought for a good while but still couldn't recall the name of the object. She gave her wings a flutter and said:
"Never mind, if I can't remember it then I won't bother. Oh, right—just now I heard from Ganyu that you and she are acquainted as well. Since you know both Ganyu and Shenhe, how about this immortal tells you a few tales about what those two were like as children?"
"Stories of Lady Ganyu and Shenhe as children?"
Fang Qiu's eyes lit up. She chuckled and nodded, saying, "I'd love to hear them."
Hearing Fang Qiu's answer, Cloud Retainer couldn't help but nod with satisfaction.
"Adeptus, there's really no need for childhood stories. The adeptus should first take a look at Miss Fang Qiu's book."
Ganyu said, her face full of panic.
"Fine, fine—if you don't want this immortal to speak, then I won't. Every one of you is the same. Let's read the book first, then. After all, you're still waiting for me to finish it before I answer your question."
Cloud Retainer snorted and said.
Hearing that Cloud Retainer would no longer bring up their childhood, both Shenhe and Ganyu breathed a sigh of relief.
But the smile that had curled at the corner of Fang Qiu's mouth gradually faded.
Damn it... Ganyu, you...
Before Fang Qiu could even react, she saw Cloud Retainer give her wings a sweep, and a brand-new copy of The Forest of Fireflies' Light floated up into the air.
At once the cover flipped open of its own accord, and Cloud Retainer began to read it carefully.
Time slowly slipped by.
Night gradually fell.
Cloud Retainer chatted with them while reading attentively.
In the book, Gin and Hotaru Takegawa had finished touring the festival, and Gin and Hotaru Takegawa were confessing their feelings to one another with deep affection.
Just as she was curious how Fang Qiu would arrange the plot next, Gin carelessly grabbed hold of a human child who was about to fall.
In an instant, Gin's body dissolved into flecks of firefly light, showing signs of being about to scatter away.
And so, Gin and Hotaru Takegawa embraced one another with deep affection.
They had finally touched each other—and in the end Gin turned into firefly light and scattered away completely.
Reading this far, Cloud Retainer was stunned for a long while.
Gin died?
She read on. Hotaru Takegawa walked out of the forest, her heart no longer holding any anticipation for the coming of summer.
Another tragedy, of all things?!
Having finished the whole book, Cloud Retainer lifted her head and turned an unkind gaze toward Fang Qiu.
Seeing Cloud Retainer's gaze fall upon her, Fang Qiu couldn't help but swallow hard.
At that very moment, a gust of cold, clear wind swept past, carrying the faintly damp mist of the mountains.
Although she was dressed quite warmly, she still couldn't help but shudder.
Was it because of the cold, or because of fear?
Fang Qiu wasn't sure either.
She only knew that she was very flustered.
She wanted desperately to flee—but she couldn't escape.
Sitting as though on pins and needles, she could only try to mask her fear with composure.
"Um, Adeptus, are you thirsty? Would you like some tea? I bought this at a tea shop in Liyue Harbor—the leaves are from Qiaoyingzhuang. They say that back in the day even His Eminence Rex Lapis loved to drink it."
The air froze. She forced out a faint smile and asked.
Looking at Fang Qiu—as panicked and meek as a startled little kitten, her face all fawning and ingratiating yet not in the least vulgar, somehow making her look rather adorable, with that innocent expression.
"Never mind."
Cloud Retainer sighed, shook her head, and said, "It's about that time anyway. What would you all like to eat? I'll make it for you."
"As long as it's vegetarian, anything's fine for me."
Ganyu glanced at Fang Qiu, her gaze somewhat evasive.
Cloud Retainer had already finished the book, but with Fang Qiu and Shenhe present, it wasn't convenient for her to ask directly.
"And you two?"
Cloud Retainer asked.
"Anything is fine."
Shenhe said.
"Same for me."
Fang Qiu added.
Up till now she'd been staving off her hunger with snacks, and combined with her nervousness, it wasn't until Cloud Retainer brought it up that she realized she was so hungry she felt a little faint.
"Then I'll just go with what I have in mind."
Cloud Retainer said.
Just as Fang Qiu was curious about how an adeptus cooked, Cloud Retainer gave her wings a sweep, and several strange devices appeared before their eyes.
Several exquisitely crafted ceramic pots floated in the air.
"What are these?"
Fang Qiu asked, puzzled.
"The Automaton Culinary Marvel, Mark Two."
Cloud Retainer said proudly, "Had I not arrived late at the Moonchase Festival, the champion of that Culinary Showdown would surely have been me."
"The Automaton Culinary Marvel... Two?"
Fang Qiu was taken aback.
Aside from being puzzled by this machine, she also caught the mention of the Culinary Showdown from Cloud Retainer's lips...
She still had an impression of that Culinary Showdown hosted by Ningguang.
She and Hu Tao had even gone together to watch the finals.
The finals had been a contest for the championship between Yanxiao, the chef of Wangshu Inn, and Xiangling.
That Yanxiao, who looked so incredibly burly, had actually gotten nervous.
In the end, Xiangling won out by a slim margin.
Although she hadn't gotten to taste the dishes either of them made, afterward Xiangling cooked all the non-spicy ones again for her and Hu Tao to eat.
She'd heard earlier from Xiangling that an adeptus was also going to take part in the Culinary Showdown, but the figure never showed up even by the finals—so it turned out that was Cloud Retainer all along...
"In order to build this culinary contraption, this immortal consulted countless ancient texts. You must understand—in the matter of cooking, there are several things of the utmost importance."
Cloud Retainer said, "The first is seeking out ingredients. In cooking, the ingredients are of vital importance. To gather rare and exotic ingredients, countless chefs toil and labor, rushing about everywhere."
"Indeed."
Fang Qiu nodded.
It truly was so. Several times when she and Hu Tao went to the Wanmin Restaurant to hang out with Xiangling, Chef Mao would always say Xiangling had gone out to search for ingredients.
Xiangling had also once said that the very first time she met the Traveler was precisely when she'd traveled all the way out of the country in search of delicious ingredients, going to Springvale in Mondstadt.
"This immortal's contraption solves this problem first and foremost. What's more, the improved Mark Two Automaton Culinary Marvel boasts even more powerful functions."
Cloud Retainer said, "The Mark One Automaton Culinary Marvel could only mark the route to where ingredients were located—the chef still had to go and find them in person. But the second-generation Automaton Culinary Marvel, after this immortal's improvements, requires only that you start it up, and it will automatically seek out the ingredients best suited for cooking in the surrounding area."
Hearing this, Fang Qiu was astonished.
She'd assumed this Automaton Culinary Marvel was at most something like the rice cookers of her past life.
Who'd have thought it even had an automatic ingredient-finding function?
Wasn't that just too outrageous?
Good thing she hadn't come to Liyue thinking of starting some kind of technological revolution.
Could that even be done?
She didn't have the ability for it.
When even functions like automatic pathfinding and automatic ingredient processing had already been made—was she even worthy of starting a technological revolution...
Truly worthy of being an adeptus...
If this thing could be mass-produced, that would be something else entirely.
Basking in Fang Qiu's astonished gaze, Cloud Retainer smiled with great satisfaction, and the irritation she'd felt from being tormented by Fang Qiu's book just now lifted considerably.
This kid... not bad...
"The second is the cooking of the ingredients. This function, too, has seen a huge improvement over the Mark One. Once it finds the ingredients, it will cook them to their finest state on its own, and by the time it returns to your side, the ingredients are already done."
Cloud Retainer continued, "And once you've finished the meal, this Automaton Culinary Marvel will automatically clean the inside of the pots. How about that—not bad, eh?"
"That's incredible."
Fang Qiu exclaimed.
If this were placed in her past life—file a patent, then put it into production—becoming the richest person in the world within two years would be no problem at all...
Across the whole world of the twenty-first century, anyone who could afford one would surely buy one, right?
It was simply a godsend for people who couldn't cook.
Still, Cloud Retainer probably wouldn't use this invention to seek profit—otherwise she'd have brought the Mark One Automaton Culinary Marvel to sell in Liyue Harbor.
Cloud Retainer thoroughly enjoyed Fang Qiu's worshipful, astonished gaze. She gave her wings a sweep, and the ceramic pots instantly turned into a streak of flowing light, vanishing from their sight.
"All right, from here on all we need to do is wait patiently."
Cloud Retainer said.
"Adeptus, I'd like to go look at the scenery around here. May I?"
Seeing Ganyu wearing a look as though she had something on her mind but couldn't bring herself to say it, Fang Qiu smiled and said.
"Hm?"
Cloud Retainer said, "Go, go. Speaking of scenery, this child Ganyu used to love sitting over there watching the clouds."
"Is that so. Then I'll go take a look as well."
Fang Qiu gave a slight smile and walked off in the direction Cloud Retainer had pointed.
"I'll go with you."
Shenhe said.
"Mm."
Fang Qiu nodded gently, then walked over to the cliff's edge together with Shenhe.
Seeing Shenhe and Fang Qiu walk off into the distance, Ganyu finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Miss Fang Qiu really was so considerate.
She looked toward Cloud Retainer and said, "Adeptus, that question I mentioned earlier that I wanted to ask once the adeptus finished the book..."
"Oh, that matter. No wonder you looked like you had something to say just now. After reading that little girl Fang Qiu's book, my feelings were such a tangle that I clean forgot about it."
Cloud Retainer said, "Go on, what is it?"
"It's about that line in the book—'one must not form bonds, for it only adds to sorrow.' I wanted to ask the adeptus: if two people have differing lifespans and are destined to part, should they still be together or not?"
Ganyu asked.
"Oh, that question."
Cloud Retainer thought it over and said, "It is indeed just like the lifespans of Gin and Hotaru Takegawa. Whether for us immortals, or a semi-illuminated beast such as yourself, our lifespans are incomparably long. No doubt, over these years in the mortal world, you've experienced the changing of the ages—a very brief span of time to us. And yet, even we immortals have an end to our lifespans. What's more, lifespans vary in length, and we too will face partings. So whether immortal or mortal, though our lifespans differ, we all live in the present moment. Therefore, simply follow your heart in all things."
"Follow my heart?"
Ganyu murmured softly.
"You could also ask Fang Qiu. Perhaps that child can give you some sort of answer too."
Cloud Retainer said.
"Mm, thank you, Adeptus."
Ganyu nodded, then turned her head to look at Fang Qiu, who stood not far off at the cliff's edge gazing into the distance.
She saw Fang Qiu standing beside the cliff, her left hand resting lightly on the mountain rock, gazing off into the distance.
Up in the sky, a river of stars hung overhead, the clouds setting off the moon.
Beneath the bright moonlight and starlight, the gentle mountain breeze blew against Fang Qiu, lending her an otherworldly, transcendent air.
Little did Fang Qiu know she was being watched by Cloud Retainer and Ganyu. She was looking down at the sheer ten-thousand-foot drop beneath her feet, unsure whether it was the mountain wind being too cold or her fear of the height.
Her calves were trembling a little. If she hadn't been bracing herself against the mountain rock beside her, she'd have plopped right down onto the ground.
Still, the scenery here truly was beautiful.
Compared with Liyue Harbor, it had less of the clamor and worldly bustle, and more of the serenity and ease that soothed the heart.
Tranquility brings far-reaching clarity.
No wonder Ganyu loved watching the clouds here. With this wind blowing, the feeling of the sea of clouds churning beneath her feet was simply magnificent.
A sight too beautiful to take in all at once.
A paradise on earth—it was nothing more, nothing less than this.
Before long, the several ceramic pots came flying back from afar, and Fang Qiu and Shenhe also returned to beneath the tree.
After they sat down, Cloud Retainer suddenly froze and said, "It seems there's still a flaw in the design. It actually has no automatic function for dishing out the rice and dishes. Shenhe, come help this immortal serve the food."
"Yes, Master."
With that, Shenhe nodded, rose, and walked together with Cloud Retainer over to the Automaton Culinary Marvel, took down the machine, and began dishing out the rice and dishes.
Seeing this scene, Fang Qiu couldn't help but feel torn between laughter and tears.
This Automaton Culinary Marvel had been so intelligent up to this point, yet in the end the simplest function of automatically serving up the food hadn't been made...
"Miss Fang Qiu, how is the scenery here?"
Ganyu asked.
"Very lovely—just like a fairyland. No, wait—this place is a fairyland."
Fang Qiu nodded and said.
"Then does Miss Fang Qiu prefer the scenery here, or does she prefer Liyue Harbor?"
Ganyu asked.
"Liyue Harbor, I suppose."
Fang Qiu thought it over, then smiled and said, "Although Jueyun Karst is beautiful, watching the clouds here always carries a certain loneliness. So I prefer Liyue Harbor, where I have friends like you, Lady Ganyu, to keep me company."
"Is that so."
Gazing at Fang Qiu's pure, pretty face in the moonlight, Ganyu murmured.
"And what about you, Lady Ganyu?"
Fang Qiu asked.
"Me too—I prefer Liyue Harbor, where you and the others are, Miss Fang Qiu."
Ganyu was momentarily stunned, then said.
"Oh, right—that question you asked Cloud Retainer just now, do you have an answer to it?"
Fang Qiu asked.
Under the moonlight, Ganyu gave an enchanting smile and said, "I hadn't figured it out before, but now I think I do have an answer."
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