This impromptu tea party lasted until dusk.
The four of them parted reluctantly.
Mu Yang watched their receding figures.
He seemed a little melancholy.
He shook his head, trying to cast those meaningless thoughts aside.
They were only going to Mount Aocang.
It was not as though they were leaving for some distant place and never coming back.
Why was he thinking so much?
He must have been affected by the fact that they had secretly prepared gifts for him.
As well as by those words.
During the tea party, they had also chatted about amusing things from the past.
Memories came flooding back one after another.
It would have been a lie to say he was not moved at all.
Only after they had gone far away did Mu Yang mutter,
"I wonder how much longer this simulation will last."
Before entering it,
he had thought that it was fake anyway.
He could just speedrun it and be done.
But after spending so much time together,
could these feelings still be fake?
Were they really nothing more than added settings?
The quirky Fujin.
The absent-minded, tsundere Lingyuan.
The clever and capable Medicine Master.
Every little moment he had spent with them.
The promise at Ancient Tea Tree Slope.
The Jade Pendant he had received at the temple fair.
Mu Yang reached out to touch the Sword Scabbard.
A cool sensation traveled through his palm.
It was real—too real.
Mu Yang's thoughts were somewhat chaotic.
His hand moved from the scabbard to the hilt.
Then, in an instant, he slashed.
Sword energy tore through the air with a ringing cry.
Birds and beasts scattered through the forest in alarm.
"Phew..."
Mu Yang let out a long breath.
His heart gradually returned to calm.
He turned and walked into the small wooden cabin.
"No, no. I nearly lost myself in it."
The next day,
Mu Yang got up early.
However, he did not head directly to Mount Aocang.
Instead, he went somewhere else first.
After thinking it over for an entire night,
he felt that this trip could not merely be about catching up and sparring.
He also had to bring something back as a gift.
For Fujin and the others.
Since he was going to ask someone for a favor,
he naturally could not bring only ordinary tea leaves from Chenyu Vale.
He had to bring out something truly special.
The place Mu Yang was headed for was not far away.
It was the barren mountain where he had first fallen.
Mu Yang had once covered that place in ice and snow.
Most of its energy had also been absorbed.
Yet for some reason, after Mu Yang had turned that ice and snow into his sword hilt,
the barren mountain had slowly recovered on its own.
Even stranger, things there grew extremely slowly.
But once the medicinal herbs matured,
they were far more valuable than the immortal herbs Cloud Retainer and the others consumed.
This was very likely related to Mu Yang's origins.
Even now, he still did not understand where he had come from.
Or rather, he simply did not care what exactly he was.
This was a setting Teyvat had corrected for him.
It was not something he had written.
So long as he could appear and act in human form,
he did not want to concern himself with it.
It was more fun to gain popularity among the players.
Everything else only needed to be good enough.
Of all of them,
Medicine Master naturally valued this miraculous place the most.
She had discovered many rare medicinal ingredients here.
She had been absolutely delighted.
For safety reasons,
the four of them had set up a protective formation here.
They did not concern themselves much with the outer areas.
They had only marked off a small section at the very center.
There, they planted what they needed.
Mu Yang had chosen some herbs for cultivation.
As well as several tea trees.
His original thought had been
that if medicinal herbs could become more valuable here,
then tea leaves should be able to as well.
However, the tea trees took far longer to grow than he had imagined.
Even now, he had not gotten to drink any.
"It's been a long time since I came to check on them. I wonder if the tea leaves are ready to pick now."
"If not, I can only bring some immortal herbs over."
Mu Yang used his movement technique to bypass the protective formation.
The entire process was as smooth as flowing clouds and water.
When he arrived before the tea trees he had planted,
he found himself very fortunate.
They were already ready for harvesting.
Mu Yang picked a large bag of immortal tea leaves.
Along with a bag of precious medicinal herbs.
Only then did he leave the barren mountain.
And head for Mount Aocang.
As soon as Mu Yang arrived at Mount Aocang,
he did not see Ei.
Could it be that he had come at such an unlucky time?
Had Cloud Retainer gone out?
Mu Yang tried knocking on the door to the adeptal abode.
Then he heard a bird cry from the sky.
That was Cloud Retainer's voice.
Mu Yang looked toward the source of the sound.
She was flying this way.
There seemed to be a tiny figure on her back as well.
The moment Cloud Retainer landed, she sensed Mu Yang's aura.
"Mu Yang? Why are you here? Come over and let this adeptus have a good look at you."
"Have you been living properly lately? Have you gotten addicted to sword practice again and neglected your rest?"
Mu Yang sighed. It was hard to put his bitterness into words.
Cloud Retainer was treating him like a child again.
When they had first met,
Cloud Retainer had already been quite familiar with humans.
So after seeing Mu Yang's youthful human form,
she had always regarded him as a junior.
Though there were some benefits to that.
Cloud Retainer practically spoiled him.
It was simply the concern of an elder.
Mu Yang protested.
"Cloud Retainer, I'm really not a child anymore."
The immortal bird raised her proud head.
"Hmph. Every one of you says that. Children love saying such things."
"Every one of us?"
Mu Yang looked behind Cloud Retainer.
A tiny figure was lying there.
At that moment, she had tucked her head down.
She hid and did not dare meet anyone's eyes.
Only the horns on her head were visible.
Cloud Retainer had the little one behind her come down.
Only then did Mu Yang clearly see what she looked like.
Her chubby cheeks were rather adorable.
And she was a little shy.
She wanted to use the food box in her hands to hide her face.
Cloud Retainer introduced her.
"This child is Ganyu. Ganyu, this is Mu Yang."
Of course Mu Yang knew this was Ganyu.
Although this was their first meeting in the simulation,
Mu Yang had played Genshin Impact.
He recognized the little one.
Little Ganyu lowered the food box.
Then she timidly said, "Hello... Mu Yang."
Mu Yang walked closer with a smile.
"Hello, Ganyu."
Ganyu did not seem particularly afraid of Mu Yang approaching.
Perhaps Animal Affinity was taking effect again.
Even Cloud Retainer could not help but sigh.
"It truly is rare. Whenever this child Ganyu sees strangers,"
"she usually wishes she could hide as far away as possible."
Cloud Retainer truly knew how to hold a conversation.
Once she got started, there was no stopping her.
"Last time, she saw a herb gatherer who had wandered into the adepti mountains by mistake at the roadside."
"She rushed back to the immortal abode in a flash and wrapped herself in a blanket."
"She kept saying, 'There's a monster,' and insisted that I hold her before she would sleep..."
Little Ganyu beside them had already gone scarlet with embarrassment.
She protested in a faint voice, "Cloud Retainer..."
Mu Yang looked at Ganyu with eyes full of sympathy.
Little Ganyu, I'll help you out this time.
There would be plenty of chances for you to torment her later...
Mu Yang interrupted Cloud Retainer's "Collection of Ganyu's Funny Stories."
He asked where they had just returned from.
"Oh, that? We just took a trip to Guili Plains."
"You know, my cooking is considered among the finest of this group."
"They all said they missed the food I made."
"So I brought them some new dishes."
With that, she looked at Mu Yang.
"Don't stand there. Hurry and come into my abode with me."
"I'll let you taste this dish as well."
The three of them headed toward the Cave Dwelling.
Halfway there,
Little Ganyu quietly tugged on Mu Yang's sleeve.
She reminded him,
"Mu Yang, Cloud Retainer's new dishes are delicious."
"But be careful not to eat too much, or you'll gain weight easily!"
Before you continue