The afternoon event was the preliminary round of the Mahjong Tournament.
It was by far the most popular competition of the Windblume Festival, with the highest number of participants.
Mainly because Mahjong was easy to learn, and the rules were simple—anyone could pick it up quickly.
Plus, the prize money was generous, so naturally, everyone wanted to try their luck.
Back during the Liyue tournament, Xia Zhi had opted out, wary that his participation might raise public suspicions of favoritism or manipulation.
But here in Mondstadt, he had no such concerns. So, he signed up without hesitation.
Of everyone in their group, only Xia Lin didn't register—she honestly wasn't good at it, and had no real interest in learning either.
The little girl simply followed Xia Zhi around, quietly munching on a small piece of cake while he entered the arena for his match.
In every round, Ganyu was always the first to finish.
Her luck was, as always, absurdly good. She kept drawing incredible hands, crushing her opponents until they began to question their entire existence.
Xia Zhi's luck wasn't far behind, though he kept things a bit more restrained—didn't want to draw too much attention.
That evening, they all went out to dinner together.
Xia Ci mentioned that she'd seen Venti in the same tavern where she'd played her first-round match.
Apparently, he'd entered the Mahjong competition as well.
Unfortunately, she hadn't been matched against him. Otherwise, it might've sparked a repeat of that unforgettable "double Archon face-off" from the Liyue tournament.
After dinner, they took a walk, then returned to the Favonius Cathedral and entered the Serenitea Pot.
Xia Zhi headed into the massage room, ready to treat the girls.
Mainly the five who'd participated in the gliding competition—time to help them properly relax and recover.
Cloud Retainer, now lying on one of the small beds, was finally starting to loosen up. She no longer suppressed her voice so deliberately.
After all, there was no point in that kind of self-deception.
"How was the competition this morning?" Xia Zhi asked.
"The atmosphere was pleasant enough. But honestly, the whole process lacked any real challenge."
"With your strength, there aren't many who could be considered worthy opponents. Maybe Mountain Shaper?"
"That old fellow and I have indeed raced in flight speed before."
"And the result?"
"Naturally, I won."
"You're incredible."
"It's all thanks to your timely treatment, Mr. Xia. Had you delayed even slightly, my broken wing might have healed poorly—losing flexibility."
"Just lending a hand, nothing more."
Once the massage ended, Cloud Retainer felt completely relaxed.
Xia Zhi moved over to a nearby basin, washing the essential oil off his hands with clean water.
Cloud Retainer stepped down from the bed, thanked Xia Zhi, and exited the room.
She went to the bathhouse for a soak first, had a few friendly squabbles with Madame Ping, pretended to be annoyed, then ended her bath early and returned to her treehouse to get dressed.
Afterward, she stepped outside the Serenitea Pot.
At this point, everyone else was still inside soaking or getting massages—she was the only one back at the Favonius Cathedral.
Cloud Retainer steadied her breathing and headed toward Xia Zhi's room.
She opened the door as quietly as possible. Inside, everything was still.
She walked over to his bed and leaned down, carefully searching the covers. Finally, she found a few strands of hair.
Some long, some short.
She had no idea which girl had left the long hairs.
But the short ones… those had to be from Mr. Xia.
She pulled out the sachet, tucked the short hairs inside, then slipped out and quietly shut the door behind her, returning to her own room.
Only after sitting down in her chair did she finally exhale.
I probably didn't get caught, right?
I was careful. I didn't leave any traces.
Even if someone found out I went into his room, I can just say I was looking for Mr. Xia and he wasn't there.
Cloud Retainer thought it over and found no issues.
She took out the sachet again, planning to examine it—but suddenly there was a knock at the door.
Her heart, which had just settled, leapt back up again.
"Cloud Retainer Sister! You home?"
A bright, cheerful voice came from outside.
It was Klee.
Scared me half to death.
Cloud Retainer patted her chest to calm herself, then walked over and opened the door. "Klee."
Klee's eyes sparkled as she held up a long cylindrical object, presenting it like treasure. "Cloud Retainer Sis! I finished building the Gatling gun!"
Cloud Retainer blinked in surprise. "So fast?"
Klee nodded vigorously. "Uh-huh! I stayed inside the whole day, working on it nonstop!"
Cloud Retainer patted her head. "You're amazing, Klee."
Klee beamed. "Let's go play with it in the square tonight, okay?"
Cloud Retainer nodded. "Sure. But Yaoyao and Xia Lin are still in the bath, so we'll have to wait a bit…"
Suddenly, Klee's stomach gave a loud grumble.
Cloud Retainer looked down. "Klee, don't tell me you didn't eat all day?"
Klee clutched her belly, looking pitiful. "Um… Klee forgot…"
Cloud Retainer sighed, but didn't scold her.
She was the same way—once caught up in something, she'd forget everything else. Not eating or bathing for days was par for the course.
She brought Klee into the room, used a mechanism to boil water, and made her a bucket of instant noodles.
The smell was amazing, and Klee ate happily, face full of joy.
While Klee was slurping her noodles, Cloud Retainer picked up the Gatling to inspect it closely.
No issues. The fireworks inside used the formula she'd provided, perfectly safe when launched.
By the time Klee finished her noodles, feeling full and satisfied, Yaoyao and Xia Lin had also finished bathing. Klee ran over to invite them to join.
Xia Ci happened to be nearby too. After hearing Klee's invitation, she seemed intrigued and expressed interest in joining as well.
Klee happily agreed.
So the five of them headed to the cathedral plaza, using a gust of wind to hop onto the outstretched hands of the stone statue of the maiden.
Each girl held a Gatling, firing fireworks into the sky.
This brand-new experience was definitely more exciting than last night's display.
Cloud Retainer looked up at the night sky, feeling her mood lift as the brilliant fireworks exploded above.
Suddenly, she heard Klee talking to Xia Ci beside her.
"Xia Ci Sis, what are you thinking about?"
"I feel like the fireworks are missing something."
"Missing what?"
"They're not big enough."
"Klee thinks so too!"
"They don't go high enough either."
"Klee agrees!"
"And the explosions… they don't feel satisfying enough."
"Klee also thinks the explosions aren't exciting enough!"
The little girl listened to Xia Ci like she'd just found her soulmate.
Cloud Retainer quickly coughed to interrupt, reminding them, "Um… according to the formula, this is already the maximum limit…"
Xia Ci waved dismissively. "That just means your formula isn't good enough."
Klee's eyes sparkled. "Xia Ci Sis, do you have a better formula?"
Xia Ci nodded. "Of course. I've got a super powerful one."
Klee eagerly asked, "What's it like?"
Xia Ci leaned down, smiling mysteriously. "Klee, have you heard of 'Burgeon'?"
Klee tilted her head, confused. "'Burgeon'? What's that?"
But Cloud Retainer was already coughing again. "Wait a minute… Xia Ci… 'Burgeon' doesn't count as fireworks, does it?"
Xia Ci argued, "It's still a burst of flame in the sky—why wouldn't it count as fireworks?"
Cloud Retainer tried to reason, "But fireworks are supposed to be…"
Xia Ci cut her off, "Come on, it's the modern era—who plays with traditional fireworks anymore? This is way more fun."
Cloud Retainer was speechless. "…"
Klee whispered, "So, Xia Ci Sis… what exactly is Burgeon?"
"In simple terms, it's an Elemental Reaction."
Xia Ci took out a bottle and poured a little water into the air, letting it float.
"Water."
She extended her hand, summoning some Dendro elemental power and letting it interact with the water.
"Add Dendro."
A green elemental orb formed in midair.
"This becomes a Dendro Core. And if you add just a little bit of Pyro…"
Klee stared at the floating orb, curious. "What happens?"
Xia Ci smiled. "You've got a Pyro Vision, don't you, Klee? If you're curious, just add a little Pyro and see for yourself."
Klee blinked, then raised her hand, summoning a flicker of red elemental power and tossing it at the Dendro Core.
Cloud Retainer panicked, immediately summoning a gust of Anemo energy to blow both the core and the Pyro element high into the sky.
Moments later, a massive explosion bloomed above, like a radiant, dazzling flower.
Klee gazed up, eyes filled with the light of the blast.
It felt like a whole new world had just opened before her.
This… this was the kind of explosion she wanted!
Xia Ci clapped her hands. "So, Klee, how's Sis's fireworks formula?"
Klee cheered, "Amazing! I love it! …But it seems really hard to make…"
Xia Ci smiled. "Don't worry, your sisters will help you. Right, Cloud Retainer?"
Cloud Retainer, resigned, nodded. "...Yes."
Klee beamed. "Thank you, Xia Ci Sis! Thank you, Cloud Retainer Sis!"
Xia Ci picked up the used-up Gatling gun and said, "I still think it's more fun in Gatling form, but the material probably needs to be improved."
Cloud Retainer shook her head. "It's not about materials that can withstand the power of Burgeon. The key is controlling the reaction sequence: first form the Dendro Core, launch it, then apply Pyro to trigger Burgeon."
Xia Ci grinned. "Didn't you already make that Element Reaction Box? It could handle seven reactions precisely—just three should be child's play for you."
Cloud Retainer was quiet for a moment, then replied, "It's not hard…"
"How long will it take to make?"
"If we're just making the container, an hour is enough. But sourcing the materials to generate the elements—that's the tricky part."
"So the gun's easy, the bullets are hard?"
"Yeah."
"No worries, leave the bullet part to me. You just build the gun."
"Okay."
After finishing their fireworks session, they hopped down from the statue—just in time to "coincidentally" run into Kaeya making his rounds.
Like the night before, he took Klee home along the way.
Cloud Retainer returned to her room and started building a new Gatling shell.
An hour later, a sturdier, larger mechanical container was complete.
It had no actual bullets in the magazine section, nor did it need any. Just three slots, each designed to hold materials that could generate a specific element.
Cloud Retainer examined her work and found it satisfactory.
She took a sip of water and noticed a new message on her phone.
Madame Ping, that gaming addict of an old woman, was nagging her to go play at the internet café again.
Always with the games…
Cloud Retainer turned off the lights and got into bed.
She took out the sachet, tied it around her neck, and finally closed her eyes to sleep.
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