The Secret Hidden in The Chasm

She crouched down and carefully bandaged Fang Xun's wound.

The innocent Ganyu's thinking was simple. Fang Xun had been hurt helping her.

If anything happened to him, she would blame herself for the rest of her life.

Seeing this, Fang Xun couldn't help but feel a little helpless. Ganyu was being a bit too dramatic.

It was such a small wound that he didn't even think it was worth putting a bandage on.

But since Ganyu was already tending to it, he let her.

Fang Xun stood still and let Ganyu bandage him.

That brought them very close together,

close enough for Fang Xun to catch a faint fragrance coming from her.

It smelled a little like Qingxin and a little like Sweet Flower.

Ganyu seemed to love the scent of flowers.

Just then, Fang Xun's attention settled on the tuft of hair sticking up on Ganyu's head.

It bobbed up and down as she bandaged him,

looking incredibly cute.

"Mr. Fang Xun, I'm done bandaging you."

Ganyu looked up to speak with Fang Xun,

only to realize that he was staring at her head.

She instinctively took a step back and quickly covered her horns with her hands.

Her pretty face turned red, and she said awkwardly, "P-please... don't look at me like that."

The Secret Hidden in The Chasm

For Ganyu,

horns were something she could feel both physically and emotionally.

She was afraid of people touching them, which was why she had instinctively stepped back.

That wasn't all.

Ganyu was also filled with worry.

She had always told people that the ornaments on her head were just accessories,

and hardly anyone in all of Liyue knew her secret.

She was worried that if everyone found out, they would treat her like an outsider and keep their distance.

So whenever someone looked at her head, Ganyu would lower her own in embarrassment.

Seeing Ganyu like a startled little white rabbit, Fang Xun immediately said, "Miss Ganyu, I'm sorry."

"I just thought your Kirin horns were cute, so I couldn't help staring for a little while."

"I didn't mean to scare you. I'm sorry."

He hadn't meant to offend her, and he didn't want her to misunderstand.

Ganyu's beautiful eyes widened in surprise.

Fang Xun knew the things on her head were Kirin horns?

Then she remembered what Cloud Retainer had once told her: Fang Xun had a Kirin Bloodline too.

So it probably wasn't strange that he recognized her horns.

As she thought back to what Fang Xun had said, a warm feeling welled up inside her.

Ganyu had always been troubled by the Kirin horns on her head.

She was constantly worried that people would look at her differently.

Even Ganyu herself was bothered by them. Many times, she had wished she didn't have them.

But today, Fang Xun had praised her horns and said they were cute.

It was the first time Ganyu had ever heard anyone say that.

Lowering her head, Ganyu's pretty face flushed as she said, "Mr. Fang Xun, thank you for the compliment."

Seeing that Ganyu wasn't as flustered as before, Fang Xun let out a sigh of relief.

He was afraid she would feel awkward, so he changed the subject. "By the way, Miss Ganyu, how did you end up surrounded by those monsters?"

At the mention of business, Ganyu's expression turned serious.

She said softly, "I was going to pick some Qingxin when I came across a group of Geovishaps gathered together."

"They were behaving strangely. I think the Fatui had taken control of their minds."

"To find out what the Fatui were up to, I followed those Ancient Rock Dragon Lizards here. I discovered they were trying to dig a path to The Chasm."

"The Chasm has been sealed off. No one is allowed to go there, so I had to step in and stop them."

Ganyu explained the whole situation.

Fang Xun quietly took in the information.

The Fatui wanted to get into The Chasm?

What could possibly be inside The Chasm that would make the Fatui go to so much trouble?

Fang Xun immediately thought of the great battle Morax had fought there a thousand years ago.

In the end, Morax had personally sealed away his old friend,

Azhdaha.

Were the Fatui after Azhdaha?

Whether they were or not,

the Fatui couldn't be allowed to get near The Chasm.

After a moment's thought, Fang Xun shared his theory.

"Miss Ganyu, I suspect that whatever the Fatui are really after may be hidden inside The Chasm."

Ganyu gently nodded. "I was thinking the same thing as you, Mr. Fang Xun."

"Whatever the case, we've managed to learn something about the Fatui's plans."

"I'll inform the Liyue Qixing and the adepti so everyone can prepare to defend against the Fatui."

Ganyu paused, then remembered why she had come out that night.

"Oh, right... These are the Qingxin I picked just now. Is this enough?"

Ganyu handed five Qingxin to Qiqi.

Qiqi carefully put them away, then obediently nodded. "Th-this Qingxin... is enough..."

"Thank you... Ganyu..."

Ganyu couldn't help smiling at the adorable little girl in front of her. She crouched down and rubbed Qiqi's head.

Then she stood and looked at Fang Xun. "Mr. Fang Xun, I should be going. I still have a lot of work to do."

Fang Xun knew Ganyu had a heavy workload and couldn't stay in one place for too long.

He understood.

After a brief exchange, Ganyu turned and headed back to Liyue Harbor.

Fang Xun took Qiqi by the hand and headed toward the village in Guili Plains.

"Qiqi, Brother Fang Xun, you're back~"

They were still a long way from the village,

but Little Ningguang had already spotted them. She hurried over on her short legs.

She ran straight into Fang Xun's arms, joy practically spilling from her clear, bright eyes.

When the villagers heard Fang Xun was back, they hurried out to welcome the adeptus.

Looking at the little girl in his arms, Fang Xun asked in surprise, "Little one, we're still a ways from the village entrance. How did you know we were back?"

Before Ningguang could answer, Old Zhang the blacksmith chuckled.

"While the adeptus was away, Little Ningguang stood at the village entrance the whole time."

"She didn't do anything but watch in the direction of Jueyun."

"We told her to come rest, but she wouldn't. She said she wanted to be the first to welcome the adeptus back."

"Looks like the adeptus means a lot to Little Ningguang."

Listening to Uncle Zhang tease her like that,

Fang Xun could easily picture

the little girl standing stubbornly at the village entrance, full of anticipation and gazing into the distance.

Fang Xun couldn't help laughing. He lowered his head and pinched Ningguang's smooth, rosy cheek.

The little girl was just too cute.

How could anyone be so sweet and silly?

She really didn't want to be apart from Fang Xun for even a moment.

If she was this clingy as a child, what would she be like when she grew up?

Hearing Uncle Zhang's teasing, Ningguang's face quickly turned red.

"I-I wasn't!"

"Ningguang was just at the village entrance thinking about how to plan the village, and happened to be waiting for Brother Fang Xun to come back!"