Liyue, Yujing Terrace.
Granny Ping, who looked no different from an ordinary elderly woman, glanced at Nolan walking over and gave him a kindly smile:
"Hehe, young man, it's you. Care to join me for some tea?"
"Sure, thank you, Granny Ping."
Nolan didn't refuse. As he sat down and Granny Ping prepared the tea, he explained his reason for visiting.
"Purifying wear and tear… what a surprise," Granny Ping said with some astonishment.
"This is something even Immortal Xiao and the Geo Archon himself praised. Just a thousand Primogems or a gold-grade artifact for a purification session—definitely a great deal!"
Nolan name-dropped Xiao and Zhongli to boost credibility.
"So the Conqueror of Demons and the Lord of Geo have also been purified by you…" Granny Ping fell into thought.
The value of purifying wear and tear was immeasurable, and now it could be done for just a thousand Primogems. It made sense for people to question it.
"I'm already halfway to the grave. Having experienced so much in life, I've come to accept many things. I'd never imagined that wear and tear could be purified.
"To think that in this new era, you young ones have managed to solve something that's troubled many Adepti for centuries… Sigh, it seems we really are growing old."
Granny Ping sighed emotionally as she pulled out a red teapot from seemingly nowhere.
She continued:
"To be able to spend more time with old friends and continue witnessing Liyue's ups and downs—I see no reason to refuse. This item is called the Serenitea Pot. It contains a separate realm within. How about this as payment?"
"A teapot with a whole realm inside? That sounds amazing! Hehe, thank you, Granny Ping. Then I'll gladly accept!"
Nolan was thrilled. Just as he'd hoped, Granny Ping had given him the Serenitea Pot, which she barely used anymore!
He didn't inspect it right away. As a professional businessman, it was only proper to deliver the service before pocketing the reward.
Without hesitation, he activated his skill to purify Granny Ping's wear and tear.
A soft white light radiated, and in a short time, the purification was complete. Nolan smiled and asked:
"How do you feel, Granny Ping? Did it work?"
"Hehe, it feels like I've returned to my younger days. The effect is excellent. Thank you, young man!"
Granny Ping replied with a warm, gentle smile.
"I'm glad it worked. Then I won't bother you any longer. I need to keep promoting my 'product' to the other Adepti. Granny Ping, if you ever feel the wear creeping back, come find me again—it's the same price, promise!"
After sipping his tea, Nolan stood up, ready to leave.
The Adepti had lived for thousands of years, and despite their accumulated wear, it hadn't drastically impacted them. Nolan figured that to do business with them again, he'd probably have to wait a few hundred—or even a thousand—years.
Still, it was good etiquette to say that out loud. And if Granny Ping happened to refer other Adepti his way, even better.
"Alright, no problem," Granny Ping replied with a smile.
Nolan nodded and took his leave, heading to visit the next Adeptus. As far as he knew, the only other long-lived one currently in Liyue Harbor was Ganyu.
Though relatively young among the Adepti, Ganyu had also participated in the Archon War alongside the Geo Archon, so she had to be at least a few thousand years old.
But since she was half-human and half-Adeptus, her way of thinking and values were closer to ordinary people's. She didn't seem to be affected by wear and tear as much—perhaps because she had fewer experiences of loss and separation compared to the elder Adepti.
Her master and other seniors were still alive and well. Without much grief, there was naturally less wear.
Still, she had lived a long life. It was unlikely she had no wear at all. So Ganyu probably also had some need for purification.
The only question was whether she felt the need was urgent enough to purchase the service.
As Nolan pondered this, he walked toward Yuehai Pavilion and pulled out the Serenitea Pot he had just received from Granny Ping.
He first used Miko's affection skill, "Prophet's Gift of the Fox Shrine Guuji," to examine its details:
> [Serenitea Pot: A portable realm crafted by Adepti using External Realm techniques. The internal space spans ten square kilometers in all directions. Scenery within the realm can be freely altered. Realm passes can be created, allowing anyone holding one to enter or leave freely.]
Oh? Reading the details, Nolan noticed that Granny Ping's Serenitea Pot was a bit different from the one in the game.
In the game, there was Tubby the Teapot Spirit managing the realm, and realm passes were handed out by her. But here, it seemed he had to create them himself.
Was it because Granny Ping viewed the pot as a trade item and didn't want to include the spirit?
Nolan could understand that. After all, Tubby was a living being, and Granny Ping probably didn't feel right handing her over in a sale. In the game, the Serenitea Pot was a gift to the Traveler, so there was no "transaction" involved.
That lack of transactional implication meant Tubby helping manage the realm wasn't an issue.
But when a sale is involved, the nature of it changes—it could hurt Tubby's dignity. Of course Granny Ping wouldn't do such a thing.
Nolan didn't mind at all.
He was mostly collecting the Serenitea Pot anyway. As a living space, his Wonderland was more than sufficient. While the Serenitea Pot was large, it didn't have the diverse spatial functions of the Wonderland.
Besides, having a pot spirit might've made things awkward. Since he wasn't going to live in the pot, he would've just ended up leaving the poor thing alone in there.
That would've been too rude.
Speaking of space traits, Nolan couldn't wait to store the Serenitea Pot in the Wonderland and see what kind of spatial bonus it gave!
> [Rare treasure "Serenitea Pot" successfully collected. Gained Spatial Trait: Phantom Mirage. With this trait, the "Golden Vault" expands by 100 square meters and gains the ability to freely alter scenery.]
As soon as Nolan placed the Serenitea Pot into the Wonderland, a notification popped up on his character panel.
Just as expected, the pot was indeed a gold-grade artifact, granting a brand-new spatial trait.
And the trait was a big one—it expanded the Wonderland by 100 square meters. That was equivalent to the enhancement from collecting Musou Isshin!
Not to mention, just storing the pot itself had already expanded the space by 20 square meters. That meant the Serenitea Pot alone had increased his Wonderland by 120 square meters, bringing it up to a total of 720 square meters.
He felt like he could house as many people as he wanted now—no need to ever worry about running out of space!
As for the second effect—the ability to change scenery freely—it was quite similar to the already existing "Illusion" trait of the Wonderland. Both allowed him to display things that looked real but couldn't be touched.
Unlike the Illusion trait, which allowed scenery to be changed at will, the "Phantom Mirage" trait could manifest any object people imagined.
In terms of practicality, the Phantom Mirage trait was clearly more useful. Mona, Sucrose, and the others often used it to generate lifelike full-body projections of objects to assist in their research.
It felt almost like hyper-realistic holograms!
After storing away the Serenitea Pot, and with Yujing Terrace being close to Yuehai Pavilion, Nolan arrived in no time.
He first spoke with the Millelith guards stationed outside to say he was here to see Ganyu.
As a hero of Liyue Harbor, the Millelith naturally treated him with utmost respect. One went inside to announce him, and shortly afterward returned to let Nolan enter freely.
Having visited several times before, Nolan knew his way around well. Just as he was about to knock on Ganyu's office door, it opened on its own.
It was Shenhe who opened it. Her arms were full of files and documents—clearly, she was quite busy.
"Shenhe, is Ganyu inside?"
Nolan had originally intended to give her a hug, but seeing that staff were nearby, he decided against it.
"Mhm. She is in."
Shenhe nodded. After Nolan entered, she casually closed the door behind him.
Looking over to the desk by the door on the left, Nolan saw Ganyu's head bobbing sleepily as she wrote something. She looked like she was struggling to stay awake.
"Uh… did Ganyu not sleep last night?" Nolan asked Shenhe.
Though phrased as a question, he already knew the answer. He was very familiar with Ganyu's work habits.
"I'm not sure… But when I came in this morning, she was already working."
Shenhe first shook her head, then gave a small nod.
Her silver hair swayed gently with the motion, the tips brushing against her thighs.
"Haha, just as I thought," Nolan chuckled. He stepped up to Ganyu's desk and deliberately looked toward the door, raising his voice:
"Eh? Lord Morax, why are you here?"
"Eh?!"
Startled by his voice, Ganyu immediately snapped to attention, glancing toward the doorway. When she realized there was no one there, she puffed out her fair cheeks in slight irritation and looked at Nolan.
"Mr. Nolan, please don't tease me like that!"
She had really thought Lord Morax had arrived. Even though he no longer involved himself in Liyue's affairs, being caught dozing off by him would've been deeply embarrassing.
"Well now, I thought with Shenhe here to help, you'd get more time to rest. But Ganyu, you still look just as exhausted."
Nolan spread his hands helplessly.
Ganyu blushed and lowered her head to look at the documents on her desk. In a small voice, she replied:
"Thank you for your concern… After Shenhe came to help, I did have more free time. But I couldn't help taking on more work…"
[Ganyu Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 300 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.5 (330/500)]
"..."
So that was the reason? Nolan didn't know whether to laugh or sigh.
It seemed Ganyu was so used to working non-stop that even when help arrived, she didn't rest—instead, she just found more work to do.
Looks like Ganyu's real hobby is overtime! Nolan thought to himself with amusement.
Though she was an Adeptus, she was still a living being—her body couldn't go on like this forever. But he knew he couldn't convince her right now. He'd have to rely on Shenhe to occasionally remind her to take breaks.
Hmm?
Suddenly, an idea to boost Ganyu's affection popped into his head. Since her passion was overtime… why not help her do it in peak condition?
The effect of "Divine Maiden's Purity" made one immune to all negative status effects—including fatigue.
If he permanently granted Ganyu the Divine Maiden's Purity state, then she could work as much overtime as she wanted without getting tired!
He had already given this status to all the girls living in his Wonderland.
And since Ganyu's affection was already high, getting her to move in was only a matter of time. Presenting this status as a "gift" would help boost her feelings even faster.
No need to charge her. Once her affection rose high enough and she moved into the realm, all her belongings would come with her.
That would count as a successful "collection" too!
Nolan's logic was flawless. After thinking it through, he casually found a non-suspicious excuse and said:
"I originally came to see if Shenhe's getting used to the workload… But seeing how much you love working overtime, Ganyu, I figured I'd give you a little gift to help with that!"
To Ganyu, this might mean more than wear purification. Appealing to her interests would surely raise favorability faster.
"A gift… to help with overtime?"
Ganyu looked confused, not quite understanding what he meant.
"Well…"
Nolan briefly explained the effects of Divine Maiden's Purity—mentioning the purification and immunity to negative effects only in passing. He focused on the part about resisting fatigue and maintaining energy for nonstop work!
"Eh?!"
Ganyu's eyes widened in surprise, her blue hair tuft at her forehead seeming to perk up in excitement.
"To—to be able to work tirelessly and stay energized the whole time?! There's really such an ability?!"
As expected, Ganyu wasn't interested in the purification aspect at all—what excited her was the ability to work nonstop. Nolan wasn't surprised in the slightest.
Still, just imagining Ganyu working 24/7 with no rest made his head ache. He sighed inwardly.
Oh well. He'd worry about that later—after her affection went up more, he'd try persuading her to slow down. For now, time to keep farming that affection.
He nodded and said:
"Of course it's real. Shenhe's using it too—you can ask her how it feels, whether she gets tired from work or not.
"Actually, why don't I just apply the effect directly to you? You can try it out yourself."
"Mhm!"
Ganyu thought for a moment. Since Nolan said it was a gift, there was no reason for him to lie. She nodded in agreement.
[Ganyu Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 500 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.6 (330/600)]
(End of Chapter)
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