Shenhe

The temperature in Great Black Sky was hardly warm either. Where could he go?

Ningguang was beginning to regret throwing Lin Yi out so heartlessly.

She imagined him stranded on the streets, perhaps even snatched away by the kidnappers who had been appearing so frequently.

Her heart raced, and panic and worry visibly crept onto her face.

Childe naturally noticed. It was rare to see the Tianquan looking so flustered.

Presumably, she and Lin Yi had had a disagreement.

"Did you two argue?"

Since the Tianquan was now a married woman, Childe naturally kept his distance, not even letting his gaze linger on Ningguang for an extra second.

"You must be joking. We're a loving couple. How could we possibly argue...?"

Ningguang never let anything slip, and even her lies were flawless. Yet now, she herself could feel how unconvincing she sounded.

Ningguang did not want to elaborate. Though Childe loved a bit of gossip, it would hardly be appropriate to keep pressing her.

"Ahem, sorry for disturbing you tonight, but I did come here to tell you something. And... it concerns Lin Yi."

At the sound of Lin Yi's name, Ningguang's unease almost reached its peak.

That man who haunted her thoughts, whom she both loved and hated, was clearly beginning to affect her emotions.

She gripped her mutton-fat jade teacup tightly and asked, struggling to contain her agitation.

"What happened to him?"

Childe scratched his head, seemingly trying to find the right words.

Although he had seen Lin Yi leave with another woman, he lacked the full evidence. He could hardly declare outright that Lin Yi was cheating.

"Mr. Childe, please speak. This concerns the Geo Archon, after all. We cannot afford any carelessness!"

Ningguang was more anxious than Childe had expected. Clearly, something really had happened between her and Lin Yi.

"Don't get worked up when I tell you. I only saw part of what happened."

"Lord Lin Yi... left Liyue Harbor in the middle of the night with a woman in his arms. He was so fast that even I couldn't tell which direction he went."

"What did you say?!"

Crack!

The costly mutton-fat jade teacup shattered in her grip. With her enhanced stats, it left only unnatural white marks on Ningguang's palm, and she did not even feel any pain.

The news struck her like a bolt from the blue. It was simply unbelievable.

For a moment, Ningguang was too stunned to recover.

"You mean... Lin Yi left with another woman?"

Even Ningguang's voice trembled a little.

Yet there was none of the anger one might expect. It seemed more like... heartache?

Only then did Childe realize he should never have gotten involved.

He could only hope Lin Yi would fend for himself.

On Mt. Aocang in Liyue.

Immortal mist wreathed the mountain, giving it the unmistakable air of an adeptal abode.

Carrying Wang Xiaomei, who was fast asleep and even talking in her dreams, Lin Yi was so exhausted that he nearly lost his breath and tumbled down the steps.

"Good grief, Ganyu hasn't exactly been eating lightly lately! She looks perfectly proportioned, but carrying her all this way nearly killed me!"

A pavilion stood a short distance ahead.

Lin Yi decided to rest there first.

Those final few steps almost drained the last of Lin Yi's strength.

Just then, windblown clouds obscured the faint moonlight. There had been no stars in the sky to begin with.

With no other choice, Lin Yi felt his way into the pavilion.

After settling Ganyu down, he let out a long breath.

"Honestly, this is ridiculous. No more playing the nice guy next time!"

Cloud Retainer's abode on Mt. Aocang was still some distance away.

Lin Yi decided he might as well find somewhere to lie down and rest too.

The scenery on Mt. Aocang was lovely. He could treat tonight as a camping trip.

Because his level was low, Lin Yi failed to sense it.

There was a third person in the pavilion besides Lin Yi and Ganyu.

Lin Yi caught only a faint, cool fragrance, like a woman's distinctive scent, entirely different from Ningguang's.

Lin Yi gave it little thought, finally finding a bench long and wide enough to lie flat on.

"Woohoo, time for a break!"

The moment he lowered his head, it landed on something soft.

"Huh? Did someone leave a pillow here? How thoughtful!"

Lin Yi reached out, intending to shift whatever was beneath his head.

Then his fingers touched something cool.

He covered it with his whole hand and felt around for a while before realizing that it seemed to be a human hand.

A woman's hand, at that.

"Wait, Ganyu's clearly on the bench over there. Then who's over here?"

At that thought, cold sweat immediately poured down Lin Yi's back.

He had watched plenty of horror movies, and every single one had scared him out of his wits.

Now he was deep in the mountains, miles from any settlement. If he ran into something unholy here...

The next instant, whatever his head had been resting on moved, and that cool, alluring fragrance grew stronger.

But Lin Yi was in no mood to appreciate the scent.

He immediately let out a shout!

"Holy shit, a ghost!"

He sprang upright, intending to retreat to safety as quickly as possible.

Yet the instant he shouted the word "ghost"...

The person he had been leaning on snapped her eyes open.

Her azure eyes seemed capable of subduing every ghost in the world.

At that very moment, the clouds dispersed, allowing the faint moonlight to shine once more.

The figure sprang into motion.

Before Lin Yi could react, she flashed to his side.

"Shit, she's coming after me... Wait, why does that face look familiar?"

A second later, she twisted Lin Yi's arm behind his back and pinned him to the ground, pressing her knee into his back so he could not muster any strength.

"Where is the ghost?"

A cool female voice rang out. The moonlight revealed her face-it was Shenhe, Cloud Retainer's disciple!

The commotion forced Ganyu awake. Opening her bleary eyes, she finally realized that she was on Mt. Aocang.

Before her, Shenhe was pinning Lin Yi down in a rather suggestive position.

"What's going on? Shenhe, stop! He's the Geo Archon!"

A short while later, the three of them had cleared up what had happened.

"I was practicing a Secret Art for suppressing my power. It conceals my entire aura, even my presence, which is why you didn't notice me."

Meanwhile, looking at Shenhe's face-the very pinnacle of cool, innocent allure-Lin Yi could not help blushing a little.

Especially when he remembered that he had just been lying on her thighs.

A lap pillow like that was truly the ultimate indulgence!

Cloud Retainer's two disciples were both tightly covered, yet their stunning figures and silky outfits traced such enticing curves that they naturally set the imagination wandering!

Now that the misunderstanding had been resolved, the exhausted Ganyu leaned against Shenhe's shoulder and drifted peacefully off to sleep.

Lin Yi noticed something odd about the way Shenhe was looking at him.

"Is there something on my face?"

Shenhe said nothing and did not even stir.

Although she had a cold disposition, that was because of the power within her.