"Boom boom boom boom boom—!"
Carrying an aura that seemed capable of incinerating all eight directions,
The undying firebird spread its wings, engulfing every Electro Slime within its flames. Explosions rang out in rapid succession!
After finishing his ultimate, Bai Ge chased forward.
The greatsword, still burning fiercely after the burst, swung a few more times—
And just like that, the entire group of Electro Slimes was wiped out.
In an instant, atop the still-blazing grassland, only piles of Slime Condensate remained—leftovers from the slimes' demise.
"…Ah."
Staring at the scene before her, Keqing fell silent.
Even accounting for elemental advantage,
The Electro Slimes that had troubled her for so long were cleared so cleanly and efficiently that it made her—one of the Liyue Qixing—look absurdly weak.
"…Am I really that bad?"
A hint of self-doubt crept into Keqing's mind.
But quickly, the ever-confident Yuheng Star adjusted her mindset.
"No—it's not that I'm weak. It's that Bai Ge is far stronger than expected!"
Keqing fixed her gaze on the tall figure ahead—who casually stowed away the Lithic Greatsword and began collecting Slime Condensate.
With a moment to think, the observant Keqing noticed even more details.
And the first thing she realized was—
"He's… really handsome. Seriously handsome."
Keqing sighed from the bottom of her heart.
This wasn't her swooning over looks—it was an honest assessment.
Normally, Keqing worked at a lightning-fast pace and only spared people cursory glances.
Bai Ge, especially, was a veteran slacker—skipping work and goofing off were routine. Wrapped in that lazy demeanor, his almost devilishly handsome features were naturally overlooked.
But now—
It was as if a peerless divine weapon, long hidden within an ancient scabbard, had finally been drawn.
The rarely serious Bai Ge walked casually across the burning grassland. Flames parted before him; fire bowed in submission.
Like a king of fire surveying his domain.
Or like a god gazing down upon the mortal world.
Everyone knew that the people of Liyue loved watching operas about the gods.
And among those, their favorite stories were always about Rex Lapis, the Geo Archon.
At this moment, Bai Ge's inexplicable aura hit Keqing squarely in her personal strike zone.
Originally, she'd been angry because this whole mess started with him.
But now, looking at Bai Ge's striking profile, the anger in her heart quietly dissipated.
At the same time, her rational analysis continued.
If she wasn't mistaken—
The two-handed greatsword Bai Ge wielded was an ancient weapon once used by the Millelith: the Lithic Greatsword!
It was forged from the divine bedrock that made up Liyue Harbor itself—an incredibly powerful and unbelievably heavy weapon that ordinary people could barely lift.
Only in ancient times, among those elite Millelith who fought in the Archon War to protect Liyue, would such weapons be used!
Most Lithic Greatswords and Spears had long since been placed in museums.
Keqing herself, back when she was young and mischievous, had once tried to lift one.
Before obtaining her Vision, she could barely raise it—forget swinging it!
Even now, by her estimation, she could swing one—but it would be exhausting.
Yet Keqing had grown up wealthy, practically eating rare tonics as meals.
So what right did Bai Ge have to wield it so effortlessly?
But even more astonishing than his strength—
Were his elemental skill and elemental burst.
Those blazing flames and refined techniques were clearly beyond what an ordinary person could possess.
And Keqing was absolutely certain—
She had not seen a Vision on Bai Ge.
In Liyue, there were people who could wield elemental power without a Vision—
Adepti and their disciples.
Coupled with his clearly ancient Millelith sword techniques, a suspicion formed in Keqing's mind.
Could he be the disciple of some Adeptus?
Such legends were far from rare in Liyue.
But which one?
Mountain Shaper? Cloud Retainer? Moon Carver? Or perhaps another entirely?
The more she thought about it, the stronger Keqing's curiosity toward Bai Ge grew.
But then—
Like any girl with a rapidly shifting mood, Keqing suddenly clenched her teeth again.
In her view, with great power comes great responsibility.
This man clearly possessed strength approaching her own—
Yet he still shamelessly worked a strict nine-to-five, slacking off every day and wasting time right under her nose?!
On top of that, Keqing recalled Bai Ge's teasing words when he came to her rescue.
"Hmph!"
Old grudges mixed with new ones. The purple cat head puffed up into an adorably angry bun.
She sheathed Lion's Roar, stepped lightly over, and stopped beside Bai Ge as he collected Slime Condensate—staring at him without a word.
Her pink-violet eyes swirled with unmistakable dissatisfaction.
"…Hm? What's wrong?"
Standing a full head taller, Bai Ge looked down at the silent purple cat head beside him, confused by her upturned little face.
He had no idea what Keqing meant.
So Bai Ge searched for a reference.
He remembered that before working himself to death in his previous life, he'd owned a cat.
When his cat would walk over and stare at him without saying a word—what did that usually mean again?
…He'd messed up.
Bai Ge thought it through.
Then he understood.
"Oh—so you want head pats. Seeking comfort, huh?"
A warm hand came down just like that, landing squarely atop Keqing's excellent-feeling head—
And began rubbing right between her two cat ears.
Without even realizing it, Bai Ge had completed an achievement countless Genshin Impact players could only dream of—
Furiously ruffling Keqing's cat head!