When Lin Ze bluntly asked whether Cloud Retainer was about to randomly play matchmaker again, even Cloud Retainer felt a rare moment of embarrassment.
"Ahem—cough! It's my other disciple," she quickly explained.
"Shenhe."
So that was it.
She hadn't waited outside Lin Ze's residence for days last time just for nothing either—it had also been because of Shenhe's situation.
It was only unfortunate that the system had chosen that exact moment to cause trouble.
Now that Ganyu had been settled for the time being, Cloud Retainer wasted no time and immediately came to find Lin Ze again.
"Shenhe… Lone Star Calamity fate, right?" Lin Ze said casually.
"That's easy. Very easy."
Fate patterns were mysterious things, but for Lin Ze, they really weren't much of a problem.
"That's wonderful to hear," Cloud Retainer said at once, visibly relieved.
"Then should I bring Shenhe here, or would it trouble Mister Lin Ze to make a trip to my abode in Jueyun Karst?"
Seeing how relaxed Lin Ze was, she already had a good idea of the answer.
At least in front of him, fate wasn't really an issue at all.
"As long as the price isn't outrageous," she added silently in her heart.
But first—see what he wanted.
"I'll go to Jueyun Karst," Lin Ze replied.
"To be honest, I've always been curious about how it looks up there."
"I've just been too lazy lately—been hanging around Liyue Harbor instead."
"And if I left the harbor on my own, your Geo Archon probably wouldn't feel too reassured," he added.
"But if I'm going with you, that's different."
Lin Ze wasn't afraid of Rex Lapis.
Even Morax from the Archon War era wouldn't intimidate him.
He just hated trouble.
But now that he had a legitimate excuse to visit Jueyun Karst, he figured he might as well see how it compared to Liyue Harbor.
"Then… shall we depart now?" Cloud Retainer asked.
"Let's go."
The moment Lin Ze spoke, the two of them shot into the sky.
From below, two golden streaks arced across the heavens—almost like shooting stars.
Of course, that was impossible.
Teyvat was sealed beneath a false sky; real meteors were rare.
Their speed was astonishing.
Guided by Cloud Retainer, they reached Jueyun Karst in just over ten minutes.
The mountaintop was far larger than Lin Ze had imagined—several thousand square meters wide.
And that was only the exterior.
Like other adepti, Cloud Retainer used subspace arts. Her true abode lay within a pocket realm.
The scenery was even more breathtaking inside.
A vast pool—more like a lake—gleamed with crystal-clear water. Golden fish swam lazily within, while white cranes occasionally alighted along the shallows.
As night fell, the moon hung high above, fireflies drifting through the air.
The entire scene was nothing short of dreamlike.
Lin Ze stopped mid-air, utterly captivated.
Cloud Retainer wasn't surprised.
If everything Lin Ze had written in the diary was true, this reaction was perfectly natural.
She didn't interrupt him. Instead, she entered her pocket realm directly to check whether Shenhe was inside.
She wasn't.
With no other choice, Cloud Retainer exited the realm and went to search the areas Shenhe often trained in.
Meanwhile, Lin Ze finally snapped out of his daze.
Seeing Cloud Retainer vanish, he guessed she'd entered her adeptal realm.
He didn't overthink it and flew straight toward the entrance himself.
In his eyes, Cloud Retainer had clearly left it open on purpose—Shenhe was probably already waiting.
After all, only Cloud Retainer and Shenhe lived here.
He felt no psychological pressure at all entering.
But Cloud Retainer—who had just found Shenhe and was bringing her back—felt her expression change instantly when she sensed someone entering her realm.
"Not good! I was careless!"
She immediately wrapped Shenhe in elemental energy and rushed back at full speed.
By then, Lin Ze was already inside the adeptal realm.
Compared to the outside, it was no less spectacular—perhaps even more so.
The sky shimmered with golden light, dreamlike and unreal.
Floating platforms were connected by bridges of pure energy.
The largest platform clearly belonged to Cloud Retainer herself.
At the very center was an even broader platform, complete with pavilions—an obvious communal space.
And standing there, Lin Ze saw a very familiar figure.
Someone he hadn't encountered since arriving in Liyue.
Diary Update:
[Sharing something new.]
[Cloud Retainer's Adeptal Realm.jpg]
[Jueyun Karst Summit.jpg]
[Compared to the outside, I like I Love Inventions True Lord's realm even more. It's more profound—and prettier.]
[And look who this is?]
[Outlaw Attorney · Yanfei · Zhang San, Esq.!]
[No wonder I haven't seen her in Liyue Harbor—she's been hiding out here.]
Lin Ze stopped writing as he landed on the platform.
He saw Yanfei.
And beside her—
Ganyu, sitting cross-legged, eyes closed, immersed in cultivation.
Lin Ze's expression turned… complicated.
"That 'Zhang San' title is a bit much," Yanfei said calmly, glancing away from the diary panel and toward Lin Ze, amusement in her eyes.
"I may bend the rules, but I don't break them."
"I've never actually used Zhang San as a legal example either. I don't accept that title."
She paused, then smiled.
"But… it does sound kind of interesting.
Maybe I should try it sometime?"
Yanfei already knew why Ganyu had returned to seclusion—Madam Ping had explained it.
Combined with the diary, she was now certain.
The man before her was Lin Ze.
As for why he was here?
That part intrigued her.
"Yanfei, please don't look at me like that," Lin Ze said with a shiver.
"It reminds me of a certain meme."
Diary Update:
[You've broken the law – Yanfei version.jpg]
[You've broken the law – original.jpg]
"Hey! I'm not making that face!"
Yanfei protested immediately, then asked curiously,
"So… are you here to see Ganyu?"
"Of course—no, actually—"
Lin Ze had just been about to tease her—
When Ganyu suddenly exited her cultivation state.
"Someone came to see me?"
She opened her eyes—
"…M-Mister Lin Ze?!"
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