To Jiang Yan's surprise, every villager chose to stay.
But when he thought about it, that made perfect sense.
Even if they left Guili Plains—where could they go?
To search for their fallen god, Chi?
Don't make him laugh. If that flood dragon dared to show its head again, Jiang Yan would personally pilot his giant Buddha and hunt it down.
It might have seemed like he'd given them a choice, but in truth, there was only one path left to them: to submit.
And honestly, joining the ranks of the Geo Archon wasn't a bad option at all.
So under Jiang Yan's command, a massive cleanup began throughout Guili Plains.
The Thousand Rock Army was split into two divisions—one to eliminate the remaining monsters within the village, and the other to head into the surrounding forests in search of food: wild boars, Sunsettias, sweet flowers, even pigeons if they could find them.
The surviving villagers followed behind, gathering the corpses from the terraced fields and cleaning up the land.
Ganyu oversaw personnel assignments and resource distribution.
As for Jiang Yan?
After clapping his hands and summoning a stretch of new houses out of wood and earth, he promptly shut himself inside one of them and didn't come out.
Other than when Ganyu brought him meals, he was practically invisible.
Even Ganyu herself had no idea what he was up to in there.
A week passed in the blink of an eye.
Under the Thousand Rock Army's relentless sweep, every monster in Guili Plains was exterminated. The villagers buried the bodies that had been left in the fields, and with new supply routes from Guili Plains delivering grain and seeds, farming soon began anew.
After spending a week alongside the soldiers, the villagers made a surprising discovery—
these people they had once seen as demons weren't frightening at all.
Not only were the Thousand Rock soldiers ordinary humans, but even Ganyu—the half-qilin "half-adeptus" with horns on her head—was kind, soft-spoken, and warm.
She carried no air of divine arrogance at all.
Outside of their scheduled training and monster-hunting duties, the soldiers mingled freely with the villagers—laughing, chatting, and even helping plant crops. Gone was the cold, merciless demeanor they'd shown in battle.
Thus, soldiers and villagers began to blend together naturally, forming a community that felt surprisingly harmonious.
Then, on one particularly calm and peaceful day—
A thunderous shout shattered the stillness.
"Hahahahahaha! Heaven's damnation—I've finally finished it!!!"
The sound made Ganyu, who had been reviewing logistics in her office, jump to her feet. She rushed outside—
"You're finally out?" she said, her eyes lighting up.
Before her stood a disheveled, scruffy-haired Jiang Yan, grinning from ear to ear, clutching a thick stack of papers.
"Heh, if it isn't my dear little Ganyu!" he said with a laugh, rubbing his messy silver hair. "Come on, let me give you a hug!"
"Go take a bath first!" Ganyu pushed him away with a look of disgust. "You reek!"
Jiang Yan sniffed his filthy shirt, grimaced, and quickly handed her the stack of papers.
"Here, take a look. I'm gonna wash up!"
Before Ganyu could respond, he dashed off like a gust of wind.
"Honestly... just as scatterbrained as ever."
Ganyu sighed with a helpless smile and glanced down at the pages in her hands.
"This is..."
Her expression gradually grew serious as she read the first few lines. She turned back into her room, closing the door behind her to study the documents more carefully.
"Ahhh~ that's the stuff!"
Jiang Yan sank into a steaming wooden tub, a blissful grin spreading across his face.
After a week of nonstop labor, this was pure heaven.
"With this, Qingce's reconstruction plan is all sorted out," he murmured contentedly.
"Next up—it's time to hunt for treasure chests!"
He raised a fist triumphantly. "Operation: Qingce Chest Purge begins now! Hahaha!"
Lounging in the bath, Jiang Yan gazed lazily out the window at the sunlit hills.
"Speaking of treasure chests..."
"I still haven't seen what a Luxurious Chest looks like."
He pouted slightly. "Sure, my current strength's fine and all, but against Celestia... yeah, not nearly enough."
It was true—though he possessed both Wood Release and the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, at best he could fight someone like Morax to a draw.
Against something as absurdly powerful as Teyvat's Heavenly Principles? He was still far from ready.
Humans were never satisfied.
Once, Jiang Yan had only wanted to survive.
Then, he wanted to defeat a god.
Now that he could defeat gods—he was already thinking about how to challenge the heavens themselves.
"Ahhhh!!! My beautiful Luxurious Chest! Where are you?!"
His shout echoed across the valley.
After venting his frustration, Jiang Yan slid back down into the water with a gurgle.
"Ah~ this feels amazing..."
He leaned back, gazing dreamily out the window.
What a beautiful view...
Look at the villagers, working so diligently.
Such harmony... such peace...
And that gleaming Luxurious Chest on the hillside—
Wait.
Luxurious chest?!
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