The breakfast the little secretaries had prepared wasn't quite to Ye Xi's taste.
So he decided to bring everyone back to the Serenitea Pot for a proper meal.
Ningguang wasn't one for diving straight into heavy meat dishes — she preferred lighter, more convenient fare.
Dunyarzad's flatbreads weren't bad at all. A bit rough around the edges, being a beginner's work, but the flavor was genuinely good.
Ningguang would probably like them too, he figured.
When they arrived back at the Serenitea Pot, Dehya and Alusha were already in the middle of their morning workout.
The other girls were all drifting through their own slow, drowsy morning routines — still in the [slow start] phase of the day.
The moment Dehya spotted Ye Xi, she stopped her exercises and called out a cheerful greeting.
"Welcome back, Master~"
"And welcome home to Ningguang and the little secretaries too!"
Those last four words hit Ningguang somewhere tender.
She supposed that was true.
From now on, home would no longer be the Jade Chamber — it would be here.
The secretaries broke into happy little smiles.
Remembering the matter of the Adepti breathing technique, Ye Xi turned to Alusha and said, "Alusha, when you get a chance later, teach everyone the Adepti Breathing Method. Don't forget to include Keqing."
"Understood, Master!"
Alusha gave a sensible nod, then angled herself toward Ye Xi with an expectant look until he gave her a proper hug. She looked thoroughly satisfied afterward.
Ningguang, who had been quite intrigued by the cultivation arts Ye Xi had mentioned the night before, perked up with anticipation.
The little secretaries, on the other hand, went wide-eyed with shock.
"Adepti Breathing Method?! As in — a secret cultivation manual for learning Adeptal arts?!"
"No way — is something like that really available to small fry like us?!"
"If we learn it, will we get prettier?!"
None of them had expected there'd be something in it for them too!
Before long, Alusha had swept Ningguang and the little secretaries off to find Keqing.
That left Ye Xi some exclusive time with Dehya.
"Dehya, how did everyone find sleeping here last night?"
"Great!"
Dehya grinned. "Last night everyone got familiar with all the... uh, [appliances] around the place. Everyone said they were super convenient!"
"After we each found a room we liked, we helped each other make the beds — and then had a massive pillow fight."
"When we got tired, we went to soak in the hot spring."
"Only shame was that Master wasn't there — it would've been absolutely wild!"
Hearing Dehya describe it like that, Ye Xi felt a genuine pang of regret for not coming home.
So many of his wives splashing around in the hot spring, fooling around the rooms — that really did sound like a lot of fun.
Though, thinking about it more carefully... if he had been there, things might have developed in a rather different direction.
At that point, it probably wouldn't have stayed as innocent messing about.
In any case — the girls were all happy with the place.
Whether they were from Sumeru, Liyue, or Mondstadt, everyone had settled in comfortably!
Still, Ye Xi felt like something was missing.
He thought for a moment, then said, "Dehya, whenever you get a spare moment over the next couple of days, take the girls who are bored and go hunting."
"Fish in the river, catch some Sumpter Beasts in the woods."
"This Pot is missing some life — it's too quiet."
Dehya's eyes immediately lit up. "You're so right, Master — you really are perceptive!"
Honestly, she'd been feeling the same thing all along, but just couldn't put her finger on what it was.
One sentence from Ye Xi, and it all clicked!
"So, Master — should we head to Liyue or Sumeru?"
"Either is fine, just don't let anyone get hurt."
Truth be told, Sumeru had the greater variety of wildlife — Liyue didn't have anything particularly remarkable in that department.
Sumeru's ecosystem was simply in better shape.
Wherever they went, safety came first.
Once the next couple of busy days were behind him, he planned to take all the girls hunting together.
He could also set up a proper garden at some point — plant some real flowers and trees and things.
At that, Dehya beat her chest confidently. "Leave it to me, Master — fishing and hunting are my specialties!"
In the forest and by the riverbank, Dehya moved like a lion in her element — supremely at ease!
And that Ye Xi absolutely believed.
She was the [Blazing Lioness], after all!
About ten minutes later, the rest of the girls had all gradually drifted awake.
Breakfast was ready too, and the kitchen was filled with an irresistible, mouthwatering aroma.
"Come and eat~"
One call was all it took — Ye Xi followed his nose straight in.
Over breakfast, Ye Xi and Nahida caught up on the situation in Sumeru.
The first shipment of ore from Liyue had already been transported back, and construction on the Khaenri'ah Economic Development Zone had officially broken ground.
Railway laying in the desert was also moving along at a rapid pace.
With the Hilichurls' help, progress was far faster than anyone had imagined!
For now, all transportation in the desert was being handled by Ruin Guards, which was reasonably efficient for both people and cargo.
Once the Train line opened, it would be even faster.
But Greater Lord Rukkhadevata had some concerns: "Ye Xi, the development is certainly swift, but..."
"The impact on Sumeru's ecosystem is no small matter."
That actually gave Ye Xi pause.
It was the same in the real world — rapid urban development inevitably meant environmental pollution.
Fortunately, he had a solution.
"We can make use of Slime resources!"
"Replace the furnaces with Slimes — no more thick smoke from burning firewood."
Industrial furnaces were enormous things — whether for smelting ore or firing bricks, they devoured enormous quantities of timber.
That meant constant deforestation.
Forest resources stripped bare, trees reduced to smoke — Sumeru's pristine ecosystem would be utterly destroyed.
But Slimes were a different story entirely!
Pyro Slimes provided just as much heat output.
Hilichurls were naturally adept at working with Slimes — they could be brought in to help.
Industrial wastewater could be purified by Hydro Slimes.
With Slimes in the equation, pollution would drop dramatically, and deforestation could be kept to a minimum.
Hearing this, both Nahida and Greater Lord Rukkhadevata had an enlightened "ah" moment.
"...I see, that really is a brilliant idea!"
"The Hilichurls aren't afraid of Slimes, after all."
It wasn't that they hadn't thought of using Slimes before.
The problem was that not everyone possessed Ye Xi's ability to tame them.
As had been noted before, ordinary people couldn't get anywhere near Slimes — so they'd been at a complete loss.
With Ye Xi's reminder, they'd finally remembered that Hilichurls could work with Slimes.
That solved the whole problem!
The exchange between Ye Xi and Nahida was equally illuminating for Ningguang and Keqing, who had been listening in.
At this point, Sumeru was essentially the trailblazer forging ahead — and whatever lessons it learned along the way would apply just as well to Liyue Harbor!
So both of them quietly noted everything down.
The little secretaries had their notepads out too.
Once breakfast was finished, everyone dispersed to their respective tasks.
Collei took Eula and Amber and headed back to Sumeru, planning to spend time wandering through Avidya Forest.
Setaria and Ayexia followed the two Dendro Archons back to the Sanctuary of Surasthana to begin the day's work.
Dehya rounded up the remaining girls to go hunting.
Ye Xi took Ningguang and Keqing back to Liyue Harbor.
In the blink of an eye, the house was left with only one lazy cat on guard duty — Arlecchino.
"W-wait — everyone's gone?!"
"Don't leave me behind!"
There was absolutely no way she was staying home alone to play watchman, so she leaped straight onto Nahida's shoulder, ready to tag along.
For one thing, Nahida could actually understand what she said — a proper conversation partner.
For another, she could swing by and taunt that colleague of hers, The Balladeer — that'd kill some time nicely.
Besides, Ye Xi wasn't going to change her back anytime soon.
So she might as well fully commit to the lifestyle.
What Heart of God mission? Whatever.
That could wait until someone came to rescue her.
In the meantime — she was going to enjoy life!
The refined, luxurious, absolutely unashamed life of doing absolutely nothing!
...
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