"Eh…"
Ryan's words had a point, leaving Aether unsure how to refute him.
"Actually, there isn't that much work…"
Ganyu tried to explain, but she felt a little guilty after speaking.
"…"
Aether and Paimon, standing nearby, scratched their heads. Ganyu dared to say it, but they wouldn't dare agree. They had seen the state of Baiwen, Baixiao, and Baishi firsthand.
"Besides… those tasks are all quite important, after all, and can't be handled by just any employee."
After a moment of guilt, Ganyu added another sentence.
"Sister, you're just being p… uh… what was that word that pointy-eared auntie said last time…"
"Anyway, Sister, just think about it. Two thousand years! That's not a short time. Training a group of talented people who can take over some of your work definitely wouldn't be a problem."
"I estimate that the Liyue Qixing simply found it too time-consuming and laborious to cultivate these talents, and the result would only be a few decades of work, far less stable than Ganyu, so they just stopped doing it."
Ryan struggled a bit in Ganyu's hand, then spoke after Ganyu put him down. He then ran a few steps to the side and transformed back into his human form.
Aether and Paimon exchanged glances.
They admitted there was some truth to what Ryan said, but they didn't think the Liyue Qixing were like that, at least not the two Liyue Qixing they already knew.
"If you want to go back, Sister, that's fine, but you have to listen to me. We'll negotiate with the Liyue Qixing, just like the last negotiation."
"If the Liyue Qixing are willing to lighten your workload and give you more rest and holidays, then I'll agree to you going back, Sister."
Ryan, now in human form, suggested this to Ganyu.
Although he couldn't stop Ganyu if she insisted on going back, he was doing it for her own good.
"Rest and holidays… but, if I have so much rest and so many holidays, I wouldn't know what to do. Maybe it's better not to…"
Hearing Ryan's suggestion, Ganyu couldn't help but shake her head.
"That's exactly the problem, Sister. You said last night that you feel lonely in Liyue Harbor, but every day you just go to work and come home. You have no social time, so of course you're lonely."
"Think about it: after work, go find Auntie Ping for tea and a chat. On holidays, take Yaoyao out for shopping. When you have nothing to do, go to Wangsheng Funeral Parlor and ask Guest Elder Morax to order funeral services for those who made you unhappy. That way, you won't be so lonely."
Ryan explained this to Ganyu.
Ganyu had barely made any friends in Liyue Harbor; the Liyue Qixing were the people she interacted with the most, but even they weren't particularly close.
"Wait! Something's wrong with that last suggestion!"
Hearing Ryan's suggestion to Ganyu, Paimon couldn't hold back and interrupted him.
"Socializing, huh…"
Ganyu looked a bit lost.
During her two thousand years of work in Liyue Harbor, she truly did nothing but go to work and come home.
While she was familiar with each generation of the Liyue Qixing, their relationship never reached the level of friendship; they were merely colleagues with a good rapport.
Finally, at Ryan's suggestion, Ganyu agreed.
Aether and Paimon thought this seemed like a good idea, so they had to go back to see Baiwen, Baixiao, and Baishi.
However, to avoid misunderstandings, Aether and Paimon went directly with them to find Ningguang and explained everything that had happened, from Ganyu's misunderstanding to Ryan's suggestion.
"So that's how it is. We naturally wouldn't dare to violate Ganyu's contract with the Geo Archon, and the idea of Ganyu leaving on her own is even more preposterous."
"So, for tomorrow's negotiation, you have no need to worry."
After learning the full story, Ningguang nodded and said to Aether and the others… "Strange, why is this damned Jueyun Karst's path so winding? I haven't gotten out yet after all this time…"
In Jueyun Karst at night, a weary mortal sat under a tree by the roadside, complaining.
Xincheng, the mortal seeking adepti whom Ganyu had encountered during the day.
"Good thing I brought extra food…"
He then took out some dried meat he carried with him and began to chew on it.
Just then, a rustling sound suddenly came from the nearby bushes, immediately putting him on alert.
Those who dared to come to Jueyun Karst to seek adepti naturally knew that there were monsters in the wild, so he quickly picked up a wooden stick from beside him.
The next moment, a white fox with faint golden patterns on its body poked its head out from the bushes.
"A fox? Are there foxes in Jueyun Karst?"
Seeing the fox, Xincheng was a little puzzled.
The white fox sniffed the air, and soon seemed to find its target, approaching Xincheng.
"Hungry?"
Noticing the white fox looking at the dried meat in his hand, Xincheng quickly understood what the fox wanted.
'Fox meat might be quite tasty…'
Xincheng thought of something and immediately reached out with the dried meat to lure the fox closer, while the wooden stick in his other hand remained firmly gripped.
The white fox looked at the dried meat in his hand and cautiously crept forward.
"…"
Just as Xincheng was about to raise the wooden stick in his hand, the fox suddenly bit the dried meat, turned, and ran into the distance. Its speed was so fast that an ordinary person like him couldn't react at all.
"???"
"Damn it!"
Unable to catch the fox, and with his dried meat stolen, he cursed in frustration.
Now he would have to go hungry for a night and figure out how to find some fruit tomorrow, as moving at night was too dangerous… But just as he was thinking this, the white fox that had run away came back, running up to Xincheng, holding a dark, shiny pill in its two paws and offering it to him.
"…"
Adeptal favor!
Upon seeing the pill the white fox offered, this thought immediately popped into his mind.
Hahaha, I've received adeptal favor! Does this mean I can become an adeptus directly after eating it?
Realizing what was happening, Xincheng excitedly reached out, took the pill from the white fox, and then unhesitatingly popped it into his mouth.
He didn't notice the white fox secretly chuckling behind its paw.
After the pill entered his stomach, Xincheng immediately felt it transform into a warm current that spread throughout his body.
"There's no mistake, this must be an immortal elixir…"
"Immortal elixir? Where's the immortal elixir?!"
Xincheng said excitedly.
But no sooner had he spoken than another voice suddenly rang out, startling him.
He quickly lowered his head, only to find a head emerging from his stomach.
This head… looked exactly like his own, and it was staring at him… "Gh-ghost…"
Seeing his own head appear on his stomach, he was so scared he couldn't even speak.
However, the next moment, he suddenly felt the vision from his left eye shifting forward.
An arm grew out from his eye socket, and his left eye remained in the palm of this arm.
Immediately after, three more arms grew from this arm, like branches splitting from a tree, and the nimble hands instinctively grasped at the air.
Finally, a third head grew from the arm, staring back at him.
"…"
Then he rolled his eyes and fainted.