Early the next morning, Ronava brought a large basin into the courtyard and bent over it, scrubbing the clothes and bedding that had gotten dirty the night before.
"Mortal things are such a hassle."
"And yet, didn't you put on the clothes I bought yesterday this morning and spend ages in front of the mirror figuring out how to make your hairpin look good?"
Ronava shot Ye Xuan a vicious glare. Her awful master had to expose even that.
But no matter how fierce she tried to look, her chubby little face wasn't intimidating in the least. If anything, she looked rather cute.
"Hehe, Ronava, Ronava." Ye Xuan's expression grew increasingly perverted. Frightened, Ronava stumbled two steps backward and landed on her bottom.
He sidled up to her with an odd gait, then-
"No pinching, and definitely no biting! Your spit is all over my face, you pervert master."
Alas, it seemed she still didn't understand-the more she called him a "pervert master" with tears in her eyes, the more excited Ye Xuan became.
A new day began with teasing his little maid.
"Mm-mm-mm-mm~mm↗mm↘mm-mm-mm~, mm↘mm↘mm-mm-mm~mm-mm~mm-"
"What are you humming?"
Her purple hair was tied into twin tails shaped almost like cat ears, with a metal petal hair clip on the left.
Folks, a purple kitty head.
"Ke Kitty? What brings you here so early?"
Running into a beauty the moment he stepped outside was a pleasant way to start the day.
Keqing, however, clearly had some objections to that form of address.
"Ke Kitty! My name is Keqing, the Yuheng of Liyue. You may call me by my name, but please don't call me that."
Ye Xuan glanced behind her. "Those boxes behind you are Mora too, I take it? There are about as many as Ningguang brought last night, so probably ten million as well. I'm guessing you're here to ask questions too?"
"If you admit your name is Ke Kitty, I'll agree to answer one more question."
Keqing didn't hesitate. "My name is Ke Kitty. All right, I can ask two questions now, can't I?"
As expected of Driving Thunder, she was swift and decisive as thunder and lightning.
Ye Xuan smiled and nodded. "Of course, Kitty. Ask away. I promise to tell you everything I know."
"Is Teyvat's destruction inevitable?"
"No. A savior will come to fulfill the mission of saving Teyvat. But the future I observed only went as far as the stage where the various sides were placing their bets. I haven't seen the end of the story."
"If she can't resolve it, then Teyvat will just have to accept its fate. I told Ningguang yesterday not to fret that the sky might fall. If it does, the tall ones will hold it up. You still have Morax above you, so what's the hurry?"
"All right, you've wasted one question. Next."
Keqing asked again, "Then what do you think of Liyue?"
Ye Xuan's answer was direct. "It's beautiful, much like my homeland in ancient times. 'I recall the height of the Kaiyuan age, when even a small town held ten thousand households. Rice glistened with oil, millet shone white, and public and private granaries alike brimmed with grain.'"
"Your Rex Lapis truly has governed Liyue well."
Keqing frowned. "Was it all the work of the Geo Archon alone? This was clearly achieved together by generation after generation of Liyue's people."
Ye Xuan looked at her and suddenly smiled. "Keqing, do you know what you look like right now?"
"Like what?"
Like my wife.
"Like a child who's accomplished something small and wants to show it off to her parents."
"Morax built you a house. Until you surpass him, you'll never be able to break out of it-because you'd die if you went outside. It's not a question of whether you want to or not. You simply don't have the ability to survive outside the house."
"Think about it. What would your lives be like without Morax?"
"Only when there are no gods under heaven can Liyue become a nation that truly belongs to its people. If you want human rule, defeat Morax with your own sword and tell him you no longer need his protection. Don't deny what he means to Liyue."
"Without him, Liyue wouldn't be able to take a single step in a Teyvat full of gods."
After hearing him out, Keqing fell silent for a long time.
Only when she felt someone gently poke her cat ears twice did she suddenly retreat several steps.
"Talk all you want, but keep your hands to yourself. Men and women shouldn't touch each other."
Ye Xuan raised an eyebrow. "How can you assume my gender?"
"Huh?"
"I trust you took in everything I just said. Today's question-and-answer session ends here. Don't come looking for me with these questions again. Having everyone come by one after another is rather annoying. I have my own things to do."
Ronava had long since finished washing the laundry and had been waiting nearby for some time.
"Ronava, can you sense where Morax is?"
Ronava nodded. "He was in Liyue Harbor the whole time, but the moment I sensed him, he had already appeared at the summit of Mt. Tianheng."
Ye Xuan clicked his tongue.
"Looks like he still doesn't want to reveal his identity. Let's go, then. We won't see him. That old thing really knows how to hide."
"Ronava, put this Mora away. We're going to Mondstadt to open a branch of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor."
A large blood-red eyeball appeared above the boxes filled with Mora. The next second, all the boxes vanished into thin air.
Everyone present was crushed to their knees by the oppressive pressure radiating from the eye that had appeared without warning.
Was this... the power of a god?
Had her earlier thoughts been too naive?
Only after Ye Xuan and Ronava had completely disappeared at the far end of their vision did the people nearby dare to rise slowly to their feet.
Keqing withdrew her gaze.
"Notify the rest of the Liyue Qixing. We're meeting immediately."
Huixin bowed. "Yes, Lady Yuheng."
In the meeting hall, the Liyue Qixing gathered once more.
Uncle Tian rubbed his bleary eyes, his face full of exhaustion.
"Yuheng, I didn't get a wink of sleep after I was called up last night. I'd only just fallen asleep this morning when that girl Huixin woke me again. These old bones of mine can't take much more of this-I think it's time to put the proposal for choosing a new Tianshu on the agenda."
Keqing nodded slightly. "I didn't think this through. I hope you won't hold it against me, Uncle Tian. I met those two this morning."
The Kaiyang Star immediately perked up. "Then tell us quickly, Yuheng. What did you find out?"
Keqing related the information she had obtained.
"According to what I learned, a savior will come to save Teyvat, but the final outcome is still unknown. Also, those two have already left Liyue Harbor for Mondstadt. They plan to open a branch of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor there."
She paused, then changed the subject. "Huixin has already put the remaining details in order. I'll have her report them."
Keqing had her own reasons for doing this.
Huixin was Uncle Tian's daughter, and Uncle Tian had no sons. The political resources he had accumulated over many years would sooner or later pass into her hands.
Despite his advanced age, he was still willing to lower himself and call Ganyu, who still looked like a young girl, "big sister," all to pave the way for Huixin's future.
Keqing could have finished a report like this herself; it would only have cost her a few more words.
But having Huixin do it in her place would both give Huixin a chance to show her face before the Liyue Qixing and make Uncle Tian remember the favor.
Why not do it?