"Shenhe, don't—don't do anything reckless." Ganyu grabbed her before she could move. "This is Liyue Harbor, not the wilderness. I'm going to teach you some basic common sense, because I'm genuinely worried you'll cause a huge incident."
Good thing she hadn't told Shenhe who the man was. Otherwise Shenhe would've marched straight to Ryou's house with her spear and kicked the door down.
Shenhe still didn't understand the fuss. If you liked someone, you took them—simple as that.
Men were all the same anyway. Always chasing something new.
And if that man ever dared to "chase something new" with Ganyu?
Fine. She'd beat him until he never dared do it again.
"Shenhe… no, no, no." Ganyu tightened her grip, seeing eyes turning their way. "If you start a scene here, I won't be able to clean it up. Come on—back home with me."
…
Keqing stayed at the Ministry of Civil Affairs for a while, but there was nothing for her to do. Zhongli had already handled all the paperwork, and everything else was trivial.
She even noticed the staff had become strangely efficient—so practiced at dealing with every little odd job that she felt completely redundant.
Sitting in her office, bored out of her mind, she finished a bit of tea and went home.
The moment she stepped into the courtyard, she spotted Ryou sitting there. She crept up behind him as quietly as she could.
Before she could say a word, he hooked an arm around her waist and yanked her straight into his lap.
"You bad man," Keqing huffed, shooting him a look as she grabbed his wandering hand. "When did you notice I was back?"
Absolutely not. It's still daytime—quit messing around.
"How could I not?" Ryou smiled. "My Keqing's home—I'd know even with my eyes closed. But you've recovered again, huh?"
He paused, then sighed as if he'd just remembered something unfair. "Honestly… if Ganyu weren't busy at Yujing Terrace, I'd want to hire her to stay here and look after you."
He couldn't help being jealous of Ganyu's adeptal power. Keqing's injuries healed in a day, sure, but his own amateur first-aid was basically useless.
Even when he "gave" his [Hand] a break every day, it didn't improve much.
"No way." Keqing glared. "And you're not 'bullying' me today. It's still daytime."
She wanted to bite him.
"Alright, alright." Ryou patted her head, indulgent and calm—like someone who already knew the night would belong to him.
"What did you do today?" he asked. "Why are you back so early?"
"I went to Jueyun Karst." Keqing settled against him. "And we ran into something…"
She told him about the two disciples and the Sigil of Permission incident.
"Those two from Jueyun Karst…" Ryou rubbed his chin, thinking. "The guy's name was Sun Yu, I think. Sounded like a Guhua Clan disciple. Not sure if my cousin knows him—if he does, I might have to go a little easy."
He looked back at Keqing. "I'll deal with it when I'm at the Ministry tomorrow. As for the Sigil of Permission incident… you left the Sigil of Permission Record at the Ministry, didn't you?"
Keqing nodded. "Mm."
"La Signora is being held at the Ministry," Ryou said quietly. "There's no way she hasn't noticed the Sigil of Permission Record by now. Which means…"
Keqing's expression tightened. "Then what do we do? Should we have someone hide it?"
"No." Ryou shook his head. "Let her take it. We need her to move."
He held Keqing closer as he spoke, voice steady. "Going after the Northland Bank or delaying the Rite of Descension is hard, because we have no proof. Even if we announce things publicly, people still won't fully believe us—because Childe is still out there. He can stir rumors anytime he wants."
"But if La Signora acts, everything becomes easier," he continued. "We won't need 'evidence' anymore. Once there's a real incident, reality speaks for itself."
Keqing's fingers curled into his sleeve. "And if she kills people?"
"She won't." Ryou answered without hesitation. "She'll hurt people, yes—but she won't start murdering. If she does, it blows up into something she can't control, and she'd be the one putting herself in danger."
Keqing stared at him for a long moment, then nodded. "Alright. I trust you."
"That's my Keqing." Ryou's tone softened. "We're husband and wife. I'd never put you in danger."
As he spoke, his gaze drifted—landing on her lips.
Keqing's whole face went hot. "Y-you… what are you doing?"
She could see it coming. If this kept going, she was finished.
And ever since he got that pocket realm, he'd only gotten bolder. Outside, it could be bright and sunny—but inside the pocket realm, he could make it night whenever he wanted.
Then he'd have a perfect excuse to "go after her."
"Keqing, I…" Ryou leaned in as he spoke.
Keqing's eyes went shy and glassy. She didn't move—didn't stop him—just froze there for a few seconds like her brain had short-circuited.
"R-Ryou-sama! Just now—" The butler came running in, breathless.
He walked straight into the scene, saw Ryou about to kiss Keqing, and instantly went rigid. The words in his mouth died on the spot.
"Get out!" Ryou snapped.
"What are you doing?!" Keqing shoved him and let out a shaky breath, rubbing her face like she was trying to cool it down.
Thank goodness the butler barged in. Otherwise… she really wouldn't have been able to control herself.
The butler stood there, mortified, scratching his head like he wished the floor would swallow him.
"Speak," Ryou said darkly.
"R-Ryou-sama… Uncle Tian is here to visit," the butler said carefully.
"Uncle Tian?" Keqing straightened immediately. "Invite him to the main hall. We'll be right there."
The butler fled as if his life depended on it.
A short while later, Ryou and Keqing arrived at the hall.
"Uncle Tian, are you feeling better?" Ryou asked.
"Much better," Uncle Tian said with a smile. "Baizhu may be young, but his skills are the real deal. After his treatment, I recovered a lot."
He sighed, a little regretful. "Huixin wanted to invite you two to a meal yesterday, but my condition held things up. I've also been hearing some rumors lately. Since I knew you were home, I figured I'd come by."
"Ryou, Keqing…" Huixin looked a bit embarrassed and quickly added, "Do you have time? I booked a private room at Xinyue Kiosk."
"That works." Keqing nodded. "I'm free."
"Then let's go," Ryou said with a grin. "I've been wanting to try Xinyue Kiosk too."
"Good." Uncle Tian stood up, waving them off. "I won't tag along. Let Huixin host you—young people have more fun without an old man hovering."
After that, the three of them headed to Xinyue Kiosk.
They were escorted into a private room the moment they arrived. They barely had time to sip a couple of mouthfuls of tea before the dishes started coming in.
"Huixin, you really went all out," Ryou said with a smile. "Everything's prepared perfectly."
"Let's eat first," Huixin said, smiling as she shook her head.
Ryou didn't press. He simply started tasting the dishes one by one—and after going through them, he had to admit Xinyue Kiosk had its own strengths.
It was different from Liuli Pavilion, but it was impressive in its own way.
[Ding! All attributes increased by 1%. Current all-attribute boost: 30%.]
[Ding! All attributes increased by 1%. Current all-attribute boost: 31%.]
Every time Ryou finished a dish, the sound chimed once.
One percent didn't sound like much, but it boosted everything across the board. Add it all together, and the overall improvement was massive.
It just showed how ridiculous the impact of [Mouth] really was.
If he kept eating like this long-term, his stats would climb to a terrifying level.
He was still thinking when—
Boom!
A horrifying shockwave slammed in from outside, tearing through the building. Tables, beds, and beams snapped like twigs.
"Watch out!" Ryou reacted instantly, yanking Keqing and Huixin into his arms.
Another boom hit. He was thrown into the wall, and a pillar crashed down onto him.
Ryou looked up.
Xinyue Kiosk now had a huge hole blown straight through it. Shattered wood and debris flew everywhere. The ground was split open, furniture was pulverized, and part of the floor ahead had collapsed completely.
Looking down through the break, he could even see bodies below.
It was sheer luck that [Heart, Liver, Spleen, Lungs, Kidneys] had protected him earlier when he faced La Signora, boosting his attributes by 100%.
With his total all-attribute boost reaching 135%, he'd managed to take this damage without being crushed outright.
"Ryou—Ryou, are you okay?!" Keqing panicked the moment she saw blood. "You're bleeding!"
Blood ran from his head. His arms were cut up, and a heavy pillar pressed into his back.
"Hold on." Keqing gritted her teeth, grabbed the pillar, and ripped it away. She and Huixin helped him up.
Huixin was trembling so badly her body had gone soft. She clung to Ryou without meaning to, eyes full of terror.
She remembered him throwing himself in front of her, taking the impact.
Her chest ached like it was being torn apart.
"Let's get out first," Keqing said, scanning the wreckage. "There's a huge hole up ahead—watch your step."
"I'm fine," Ryou said, forcing himself upright. "Just surface wounds."
He kept an arm around Huixin and moved them out into the corridor.
They'd barely steadied themselves when a shadow flashed past at high speed.
Ryou caught a voice on the wind:
"Next time, I'll kill you! I'll settle the score for the Northland Bank!"
The wind faded. The voice vanished with it.
Ryou's eyes snapped toward the direction of Bubu Pharmacy.
That was La Signora.
It was obvious she'd made her move—she'd taken the Sigil of Permission Record.
"I… I think I heard someone speaking," Huixin whispered, tucked against Ryou.
"Who?" Keqing stepped closer.
Huixin saw Keqing and jolted in fright. She hurriedly tried to pull away from Ryou's arms, but her legs gave out the moment she did. She nearly dropped to her knees.
Keqing caught her at once.
"Th-thank you…" Huixin's face burned red.
"It's fine. I understand," Keqing said, then noticed Ryou still looking Huixin over.
Following his line of sight, she spotted a damp patch and snapped her head back, glaring. "And you're still staring?!"
Ryou coughed awkwardly and didn't explain.
Then his gaze shifted—toward the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
It was in ruins.
Buildings had collapsed, the ground was blackened, and planks along both sides were still burning. Thankfully, the Millelith arrived quickly.
"Ryou-sama!"
"Keqing-sama!"
Ryou waved a hand, voice sharp and commanding. "Put the fire out immediately. Everyone else, get inside and pull survivors out. If anyone's injured, send them to Bubu Pharmacy!"
"Yes, Ryou-sama!"
The Millelith saluted and rushed into the wreckage.
[End of chapter]
[200 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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