At that moment, Ryou fled back home.
"Butler, if Yanfei comes, tell her I'm not here," he said seriously.
The butler froze for a moment, then nodded.
When Ryou returned to the inner room, he found Keqing sitting in the study, flipping through a book. The moment she saw him come back, she set it aside.
"Why are you back so soon?" she asked.
"Something came up." Ryou cleared his throat.
"You should be able to handle it, right? Mmm... hug me." Keqing held out her arms to him.
Smiling, Ryou gathered her into his arms and stroked her gently. "Feeling better?"
"Mm. Much better." Keqing smiled at him.
"Let me check your pulse."
Keqing obediently held out her hand and looked up at him.
After taking her pulse, Ryou found that her recovery had sped up quite a bit. She was clearly in much better shape than before.
"How is it?" Keqing asked softly.
"You've recovered a lot. Later, come soak in the hot spring with me. I'll treat you a little more while we're there."
As he said that, Ryou pressed her lightly against his chest and held her there.
The moment Keqing heard the words "hot spring," her whole face heated up again.
She tugged on his clothes and shook her head. "No. I still hurt."
"What are you thinking?" Ryou pinched her cheek. "A hot spring helps you relax, and with me helping too, you'll recover even faster."
Then he added with a grin, "Even if I wanted to bully you, I'd wait until you were in better shape first."
By the time Keqing realized the scene around her had shifted from the room to the hot spring, she stopped talking and simply closed her eyes.
Not long after that, Yanfei stormed all the way to the Ryou's residence.
"Yanfei-san, Ryou-sama isn't home!" the butler hurried over, trying to stop her.
"I saw him come home with my own eyes. The door wasn't even closed all the way. If he isn't here, then where did he go?" Yanfei pushed past him and headed straight inside.
She searched the whole residence from end to end, but there was no sign of Ryou anywhere.
What in the world was going on?
...
At Wangshu Inn, Arataki Itto grabbed a middle-aged man by the collar and shouted, "What did you just say?!"
"Boss!" Shinobu shot him a look.
A second later, more than ten people came rushing over and surrounded the two of them.
"Shinobu, get behind me!" Itto gripped his greatsword tightly. "We just got to Liyue. We haven't done a single thing. So why the hell is there a wanted notice on us?"
His face darkened further.
"These people have seriously gone too far!"
Earlier, the two of them had been chasing someone for quite a while and come back empty-handed. By the time they'd decided to return to Liyue Harbor, they had run right into the battle against the gods and had no choice but to stay outside for a day.
And now, the second they were finally ready to head back into the city, trouble found them again.
"Boss, someone's here!"
Itto moved first.
The fight quickly drew attention from all around them. And when people saw Shinobu, their eyes lit up.
After all, right now, she was basically walking around with a huge pile of Mora tied to her back.
At the critical moment, a burst of Anemo energy surged out and forcibly swept the crowd aside.
"Itto, Miss Kuki Shinobu, come with me!"
A figure stepped forward.
The moment she saw who it was, Shinobu said in surprise, "Young Master Kaedehara!"
"Brother Kazuha!" Itto yelled.
"Follow me. We're heading to Liyue Harbor."
Kaedehara Kazuha led Itto and Shinobu away.
Soon after, the three of them hid out on the top floor of Wangshu Inn.
"Thank you both for helping us," Shinobu said to Kazuha and Venti.
"It was nothing." Venti poured himself a cup of Dandelion Wine and peeked at the two of them. "You're both from Inazuma, right? Did you offend someone in Liyue Harbor?"
Bang!
Itto slapped the table so hard it shook.
"The second you bring that up, I get mad! Shinobu and I came to Liyue to handle serious business. We didn't do anything. And yet somehow she ended up on a wanted notice!"
"That wanted notice most likely came from the Ministry of Civil Affairs," Kazuha explained.
Venti took a sip of wine and said, "Ryou's hosting a dinner tonight anyway. Perfect timing. We can go join the fun, and while we're at it, help your friend deal with that wanted notice problem."
"Ryou?" Shinobu looked at Kazuha. "I've heard a lot of people mention him. Is he some kind of big figure?"
"I haven't been in Liyue for long, so I don't know much about him," Kazuha said. "But yesterday's battle... I saw enough."
"I saw it too. It was unbelievable."
Itto nodded hard. "So what, is he one of those adepti? What are they called again, Shinobu?"
"The mighty and illuminated adepti," Shinobu said from the side.
"No. Ryou isn't an adeptus." Kazuha's gaze darkened slightly. "But... he did kill three gods with one slap."
"Ahem... what did you just say?!" Itto froze on the spot.
Shinobu stared too. "He's human?"
"Of course he is. As for how he managed it..." Kazuha picked up a cup of tea, took a sip, then immediately choked on it. "That, I'm also curious about. Maybe tonight I'll get the chance to ask."
The Dandelion Wine might smell light and pleasant, but it packed a serious punch. Kazuha's whole face turned red almost instantly.
Venti laughed while drinking. "Kazuha, your alcohol tolerance still needs work."
Then, quite suddenly, a voice came from beside them.
"Using a teacup for wine... that really does sound like something only you would do. Hm. Could I have a bottle?"
Venti smiled at the bottle in his hand. "Mmm. Calling it Dandelion Wine does sound better."
"This stuff smells amazing. I kind of want to try some too," Itto muttered.
"Boss!"
Shinobu shot him a warning look.
"I was just saying," Itto said.
"Thanks."
The bottle vanished in an instant.
Itto looked around in confusion. "Where'd that guy go? He just disappeared."
"Didn't you mention the adepti a moment ago?" Venti casually poured himself another drink. "That was one of them just now. The Conqueror of Demons."
"That little guy was one of the adepti?" Itto looked shocked.
"So that's what an adeptus looks like..." Shinobu murmured.
Kazuha looked toward Liyue Harbor and said, "Itto, Miss Kuki Shinobu, let's hurry. If Ryou handles this personally, a lot of trouble can be avoided. If we drag it out, things will only get worse."
"Fine by me," Itto said.
"Young Master Kaedehara, a few of those people just now managed to get away, and Shinobu still has to leave..."
When Kazuha heard the words "Young Master Kaedehara," he fell silent for a moment.
Then he said, "Miss Kuki Shinobu, don't call me that anymore. The Kaedehara Clan is gone."
He lowered his eyes.
"Just call me Kazuha."
"I'm not anyone's young master anymore. I'm only a wandering samurai now."
...
Inside the pocket world, Keqing slapped Ryou's hand away and shifted into a more comfortable position against him.
"Bad man. Stop messing around."
Then she added, "We still have guests to entertain tonight."
"Mm. I'll cook myself in a bit," Ryou said with a smile, kissing her on the cheek.
"You know how to cook?" Keqing looked doubtful. "Don't tell me it'll all be inedible."
Given Ryou's background, she really couldn't imagine him ever standing in a kitchen.
"Even if my cooking isn't great, as long as I infuse the dishes with spiritual energy, the taste won't be bad," Ryou said. Then he held her a little tighter. "Besides, won't I still have you running the kitchen with me?"
"If what you make ends up inedible, that'll be embarrassing."
Then Keqing's eyes drifted toward a red law codex lying not far away.
She recognized it as Yanfei's immediately.
Remembering how Ryou had said he'd run into some trouble earlier, she could more or less guess what had happened.
Most likely, it had something to do with Yanfei.
And somehow, Ryou had ended up snatching her codex too.
Ryou gave her the whole explanation.
After hearing it, Keqing said helplessly, "You saved all of Liyue this time. If you took the chance to apologize properly to Yanfei, I'm sure she'd forgive you."
She gave him a look.
"But if you keep acting like this, it'll only make it harder for her to let it go."
"It's fine. I'll just be more careful around her from now on."
Ryou lifted a set of clothes over with one hand and said, "Alright, let's get changed and go prepare dinner. Father and Mother will both be coming tonight."
Then he looked at her and smiled.
"I'll help you get dressed."
"No!" Keqing rolled her eyes. "You're not allowed to mess around anymore!"
"How is that me messing around?" Ryou glared back. "If it weren't for you, would I have been an hour and a half late at such an important time today?"
The moment he thought of how late he had been, he wanted to roll his eyes all over again.
As if he'd been the one trying to start things.
Wasn't she the one who had suddenly kissed him and shut him up first?
"Ah... don't say it!" Keqing's face went scarlet. She got up and covered his mouth with her hand. "You took advantage of me and now you're still blaming me?"
The very next second, she felt something warm brush against her palm.
Keqing instantly snatched her hand back.
And when she saw the wicked grin on Ryou's face, she exploded.
"You're asking to die!"
"Alright, alright, I'm not laughing anymore!" Ryou promised at once.
The two of them lingered there for quite a while longer, fooling around and teasing each other. Eventually, they brought some juice and wine with them and left the pocket world smiling.
But the moment they stepped out—Ryou saw someone already sitting in the hall.
Her arms were folded. Her expression was terrible. Even the silver hairpin on her head seemed to flash coldly.
"Ryou, I'm going to kill you!"
Yanfei lunged at him in a single step and knocked him flat to the ground.
She grabbed him by the throat and started shaking him furiously.
"You stole my law codex! Give it back!"
[End of chapter]
[200 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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