After lunch, Ningguang dabbed her lips with a handkerchief with perfect elegance. Every gesture carried an air of refined luxury.
Once you sat at Ningguang's level, there really wasn't anywhere higher to climb. Aside from Rex Lapis himself, the Qixing stood at the very pinnacle of Liyue.
"Delicious. Xiangling, your cooking has improved again."
If she could, Ningguang would have loved to hire Xiangling as a chef for the Jade Chamber—but Xiangling would never agree.
"Xiangling, have you ever considered working at the Jade Chamber?" Ningguang still asked.
"Pass. My dad still needs me, and lots of old regulars love Wanmin Restaurant's food."
Xiangling refused without a second thought, with zero hesitation.
Becoming Ningguang's personal chef would mean a salary and benefits that would rank among the best across the seven nations—but Xiangling wasn't short on money. Wanmin Restaurant's customer traffic wasn't low at all, even by Liyue Harbor standards.
So… keeping things the way they were was perfect.
What she cooked was an old, trusted brand—food with the warmth of everyday life in it, the kind that made customers genuinely happy.
Ningguang nodded, her response exactly as expected.
Wanmin Restaurant's dishes hadn't really changed in all these years—still the same flavor as back then. That was reputation. Plenty of people came precisely for that taste.
…
After the meal, Koji and Ningguang strolled through the streets side by side, shoulder to shoulder, without the slightest attempt to hide anything.
"I can hear a lot of hearts breaking," Koji said with a grin.
Ningguang instantly knew what he meant. She smiled and shook her head. "Let them break. My business isn't built entirely on my face."
A portion of her business did have something to do with admirers—but most of it was built on her own talent.
To rise from an ordinary girl with no background into the Tianquan who stood above countless others… that didn't happen because of a pretty face.
When you had no power and no wealth, even if you were beautiful, the so-called young masters and rich heirs wouldn't truly value someone like that.
Did anyone really think those people lacked beautiful women?
"Or…" Ningguang teased with a smile, "…are you feeling pressured?"
Koji spread his hands casually. "Why would I be pressured? I can still take it further."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Koji took Ningguang's soft hand.
It was obvious how well she cared for them—smooth and tender, like the finest white jade.
Shenhe's hands were icy cold, but Ningguang's were warm—gentle and soothing, like polished jade.
Ningguang paused for a fraction of a second, but she didn't pull away. Instead, she interlaced her fingers around Koji's larger hand.
Holding a man's hand like this for the first time did make her heartbeat quicken a little… yet her expression never rippled. Even if she felt shy, she could control it and keep it contained.
She wasn't a little girl. She was the Qixing's Tianquan—the one who planned and moved pieces from the shadows.
Hand in hand, the two left Liyue Harbor.
Walking through the wilds like this was something Ningguang hadn't experienced in many years.
Normally, when she traveled, a Millelith squad escorted her. But now it was just a small group.
Out in the open, monsters often attacked humans on sight—like the hilichurl berserker in front of them.
"Lightning strike!"
Koji raised one hand toward the sky. In the next instant, a purple bolt crashed down from above, killing the charging Pyro axe berserker. A pitch-black scorch mark was left on the ground, the stench of burning still drifting up.
Hilichurls were cursed humans. Under normal circumstances, Koji wouldn't choose to intervene. But if they attacked first, he wouldn't show mercy.
"More useful than Keqing's moves," Ningguang said with a smile. "Not nearly as… tickly."
Koji thought of how Keqing had once carried the "professional scratch-damage dealer" reputation for a long time. It wasn't until specialized single-element setups became common that her damage finally looked barely acceptable—before that, it really was just scraping.
Ningguang nodded. "I told her that once. She was furious, then dragged me out and said she'd demonstrate properly…"
As she spoke, she couldn't help laughing. "In the end, Keqing ran into an Electro Slime with ridiculously high Electro resistance. Her performance became even more… tickly."
Koji listened and couldn't help laughing too.
That really was terrible luck. Even though wild Electro Slimes weren't like the ones he had cultivated—those could fully negate elemental damage—their Electro resistance was still absurdly high.
"Elemental power can only do so much…" Koji sighed.
If it were the Keqing from the game, she absolutely understood that pain. Honkai energy was stronger than elemental power.
"Is that so?"
Ningguang did have a Geo Vision, but she rarely used it.
…
When Ningguang arrived at Guili Plains, she couldn't help but marvel. The scale of this second major city already far exceeded Liyue Harbor.
With cement as a building material, these structures had lost some of their classical charm, gaining a more modern feel—fresh and striking, like something entirely new.
"Ningguang? Why are you here?" Keqing asked in confusion. This was someone who rarely even left the Jade Chamber—so why would she come all the way out here?
"I haven't been out in a long time, so I came for a walk," Ningguang said with a smile. "And I figured I'd stop by and take a look."
Keqing clearly didn't believe her. She glanced at Koji, then said with a playful tone, "Ningguang, don't tell me you're on a date with Koji, and that's why you wandered all the way out here?"
Liyue's most exalted flower finally had someone by her side. That would shatter the hearts of countless rich young masters.
"If that's what you want to think, then think it," Ningguang replied. "We've walked quite a distance. My feet are a bit sore."
She neither denied it nor confirmed it.
The distance from Liyue Harbor to here was no joke. For someone who spent most of her days indoors, that amount of walking really was a lot.
"You just haven't exercised in forever," Keqing teased. "Otherwise you wouldn't be this tired."
"You should make time to work out."
Keqing couldn't help comparing herself—someone who ran around everywhere—to Ningguang, whose daily movement was basically negligible.
"True. When I go back this time, I can start exercising appropriately," Ningguang said, nodding as she accepted the suggestion.
"Last time you came, this place had only just laid its foundations," Keqing said with a bit of emotion. "And now… it's practically risen into the air."
"Excellent. Flawless. Handing it to you really was the wise decision," Ningguang said with a smile and a nod.
"Should I build another Jade Chamber above Guili City as well?"
"Ningguang, you're still dreaming about that?" Keqing said, exasperated. "Leaving materials aside, even the levitation stones needed to keep it floating aren't easy to find."
Ningguang's current Jade Chamber was already enormous. But in her heart, she still dreamed of a day when its shadow could cover all seven nations.
(End of Chapter)
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