A few days later—
Andrius came back, dragging Xiao along and casually dropped him onto the floor.
"Xiao?"
Guizhong immediately approached, her face filled with concern as she checked his condition.
"The Chasm was indeed dangerous," Andrius said evenly. "If he'd gone alone, he probably wouldn't have returned."
"Thank you," Zhongli said with a nod. "A hundred years ago, the Abyss invasion of Liyue was truly severe. To have contained it within the Chasm was an incredible feat."
Andrius inclined his head. "Think nothing of it."
Zhongli sighed quietly. His child never failed to cause trouble. Couldn't he have at least said something before going? Fortunately, the chef had secretly followed to protect him.
It wasn't that Zhongli forbade him from going—but without Andrius's help, that foolish Yaksha would likely have fallen in the Chasm.
"No big deal. This is our first meeting, Rock God Morax," Andrius said with interest.
He had heard the name Morax countless times but had never seen him in person. During the Archon War, Morax and Decarabian had both been among the most powerful gods. After the war, Andrius had poured his strength into the earth and become the guardian of Wolvendom.
"The Wolf King of the North Wind, Andrius—I have heard of you," Zhongli replied with a nod.
A god powerful enough to rival the Dragon Sovereign Decarabian; Andrius's strength spoke for itself.
"Want to spar a little?" Andrius asked, clearly intrigued. He wanted to see whether the so-called God of War was truly as strong as the legends claimed.
"Forget it," Zhongli waved him off. "This is no longer the age of the Archon War. A fight between us now would cause too much destruction."
He was retired. Pointless battles were best avoided.
Besides, he had to keep an eye on Alice to make sure she didn't cause trouble again.
"Fair enough," Andrius agreed. "Times have changed."
Suddenly—
A massive explosion boomed in the distance. Buildings shook violently.
"Don't look at me. Wasn't me," Alice said, waving her hands. "I don't make that small an explosion."
"Probably Klee," Venti said with a grin. "Koji brought her to Liyue to go 'fishing' at the harbor."
Zhongli's temples throbbed. Like mother, like daughter. Truly, the destructive potential was genetic.
Still, he trusted that Klee wouldn't harm herself or others.
"No bombs allowed here!"
The culprit was quickly caught by Keqing.
No one was hurt, but half the workers were terrified.
"I'm sorry," Klee said with practiced sincerity.
"Forget it. Just make sure there's no next time," Keqing said with a sigh, then looked at Koji. "And who might this be? Your sister?"
Koji blinked. "This is Klee, Alice's daughter. I just brought her to play."
"…Keep an eye on her."
Keqing's tone grew cautious. She had heard the name Alice before—the author of the Teyvat Travel Guide, a notoriously dangerous woman.
Even the Geo Archon himself had once warned: If Alice ever comes to Liyue, stay on guard.
Since Klee was just a child, Keqing didn't pursue the matter further. Still, bombs were not toys. If one went off near people, it would be a disaster.
After supervising the cleanup, Keqing left to continue her inspections.
"Koji," Klee asked curiously, "that lady seemed kinda nervous, didn't she?"
"Can you blame her? Your mom's too famous," Koji replied. "As the Yuheng of the Liyue Qixing, of course she's heard of Alice.
And you're well-known too, Spark Knight. Liyue's intelligence network surely has records about you."
"Right now, everyone's rebuilding. Bombs are too loud—they'll disturb the workers," Koji explained.
Klee nodded thoughtfully. "Then I'll just blow up some fish here instead."
Meanwhile—
"The Emperor, Cloud Retainer, Golden Winged King…"
Four Yakshas returned. Their expressions were blank, uncertain whether they were even alive.
"Brother Bosacius…"
Xiao's face lit up with joy. It had been far too long since such an expression appeared on him.
"So, we've been revived?" Bosacius murmured, flexing his new hands. The body felt perfect, flawless—as if it had just been remade.
"Zhongli," Koji said casually, "I may have punched Istaroth. That's not a problem, right?"
He had gone into the river of time to retrieve their souls, where he encountered the Ruler of Time herself. Istaroth struck first, and he had counterattacked.
He didn't have the Blessing of Time, but he did have the Blessing of Immortality—enough to resurrect himself and strike back.
Technically, Istaroth hadn't been defeated—she'd been blasted away and, likely, rescued by the Ruler of Space. Koji hadn't bothered to chase her.
"…No problem," Zhongli said after a pause, the corner of his mouth twitching. Istaroth was not weak—Koji had simply become absurdly strong.
"Thank you, benefactor," Bosacius and the other Yakshas said together, bowing deeply. Being reunited with their comrades and kin filled them with joy.
"It's nothing," Koji said, waving his hand. "What will you do next?"
"Clean up what remains of the fallen gods?"
Zhongli nodded. "I'm currently a guest consultant at the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. You could all join too, as staff."
The Yakshas blinked, dumbfounded.
The Rock King Emperor—their god—working under someone else?
Zhongli continued calmly, "I used to work there as well. And I'm no longer the Geo Archon."
That only made them more confused. What on earth had happened while they were gone?
Paimon—now working with the others—chuckled and explained the situation.
Hearing it, the Yakshas finally understood. Whatever Morax did must have had its purpose. The Emperor's wisdom was beyond their comprehension.
"In that case, since you've all joined, we'll join too," Bosacius said on behalf of the others.
"Then this immortal will also hang her name under Wangsheng," Cloud Retainer added with a nod. After all, that place was the little princess's domain.
Eula couldn't help twitching her lips. Wangsheng Funeral Parlor was getting ridiculously strong—nearly all of Liyue's top combat power had gathered there.
"Are you planning to replace the Qixing at this rate?" she asked dryly.
Though she hadn't joined, she was exasperated. If Ningguang ever learned this, she'd probably break into a cold sweat.
(End of Chapter)
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