"Ryou, did an adeptus take a liking to you?" Uncle He looked completely stunned.
"As expected of my son. Impressive," Ryou's father said.
Ryou glanced at them. "I was just lucky enough to meet Moon Carver. Qingce Village turned into this paradise because of the adeptus's blessing."
"Either way, we should explain it to everyone. Otherwise, the villagers will panic."
"That's true. I'll go tell them," Uncle He said.
After Uncle He left, Ryou's father noticed the watermelon on the stone table. "You brought quite a lot of fruit this time."
"Try some, Father," Ryou said.
Ryou's father picked up a piece of watermelon and tasted it. "You really are making me more and more at ease these days."
"I brought you here this time so you would know the place. If you run into any trouble in the future, come find your Uncle He. He has plenty of connections, so he should be able to help you."
Ryou nodded.
He knew his father was thinking of him, so he did not say anything unnecessary.
They waited a while longer before finally seeing an old man return with a bucket in hand.
When Ryou's father saw him, he quickly stood up. "Elder He."
"You're here." Elder He smiled. "Good timing. I caught a nice fat fish today, so you're in luck."
Elder He turned to Ryou. "He must be your kid. I didn't expect you to grow up so much in the blink of an eye."
"Elder He," Ryou greeted him.
Then he gave Keqing a look.
"Elder He, this is a small gift from us. There's a pound of adeptal tea inside," Keqing said.
"Keqing came too?" Elder He looked at her, then paused. "Adeptal tea? Is it the kind from Yilong Wharf?"
"This tea is loved even by adepti. It's real adeptal tea," Keqing said. "Ryou said drinking it can help you live longer."
"Oh." Elder He nodded but did not say much.
Keqing wanted to explain further, but when she saw Ryou look at her, she stopped.
After they entered the house, Keqing sat beside Ryou and watched Ryou's father talk with Elder He.
From beginning to end, neither she nor Ryou had much to say.
After sitting there for a while, Ryou pulled her outside.
"Ryou, did I do something wrong?" Keqing asked.
"No," Ryou said.
"Then why did Elder He look at me like that? It felt like he didn't like me."
"You're my wife. Why would an old man need to like you?" Ryou said.
"Stop it. This isn't the time to joke around." Keqing frowned. "The way he looked at me just now felt so awkward. Do you think Father will blame me when we go back?"
Ryou pulled Keqing into his arms. "What are you scared of? It's not like we did anything wrong."
"Even if something does happen, it's fine. Worst case, we quit."
"I've always wanted to take you out and travel. If we really have nothing else to do, we'll just leave."
"Mmm..." Keqing hugged him tightly.
"Ahem. Looks like I came back at the wrong time."
When Keqing heard the voice, she tried to pull away, but Ryou held her in place.
"Ryou… let go," Keqing whispered. "It's embarrassing if Xingqiu sees us."
"It's fine. He's family."
Ryou saw Keqing's face turn red and smiled.
Then he looked at Xingqiu. "You're back already?"
"Cousin! I went over to Hu Tao just now. She was investigating, so I asked her about it. She said she couldn't find anything wrong."
Xingqiu explained, "I don't know where Chongyun took Dunyarzad and Dehya either. I walked around outside for a bit, then came back."
Ryou nodded. "We'll be eating soon. Later, I'll go out with you and look around again."
"Mm-hmm." Xingqiu nodded.
"Ryou," Keqing called.
"What is it?" Ryou asked.
"Did you give Hu Tao some crayfish earlier?"
"Do you still have any?"
"I want some," Keqing said.
"I want some too, Cousin!" Xingqiu immediately said.
Ryou looked at them. "I'll add a dish for you later."
"We're still guests at Elder He's house right now."
After about half an hour, the food in the inner room was ready.
Ryou brought Keqing and Xingqiu inside, and they all took their seats.
"Elder He, there's something I'd like to ask you. Is that all right?" Ryou said.
"What is it?" Elder He asked.
Elder He had a very good impression of Ryou.
Although he no longer held a position in Liyue Harbor, he had heard plenty about Ryou.
He knew Ryou was well liked in Liyue Harbor and had been doing very well. Many members of the Liyue Qixing admired him.
Among the younger generation, Ryou stood out the most, so Elder He naturally valued him a little more.
"Keqing wants to try some crayfish, and I saved a portion from yesterday's meal," Ryou said. "I'd like to add that spicy crayfish as another dish for everyone to try. Would that be all right?"
"That's all? Of course." Elder He waved it off.
Then he looked at Keqing. "Keqing, Ryou really spoils you."
Keqing lowered her head, her face burning.
Before long, Ryou returned with a large plate of spicy crayfish.
The plate was big, and it was more than half full.
"These… these are crayfish?" Elder He's eyes widened. "They're huge!"
"I've lived in Liyue Harbor my whole life, and this is the first time I've seen crayfish this big."
Elder He rubbed his eyes. "I heard someone say crayfish are usually one or two fingers wide, but these are three fingers wide."
"Elder He, eat as much as you like," Ryou said.
"All right, all right!" Elder He's voice was trembling.
He quickly peeled one and took a bite.
The tender, fresh taste burst across his tongue. Elder He's whole body trembled, and he closed his eyes without saying a word.
"Dad, what do you think—eh? Dad? Don't scare me!"
Uncle He saw Elder He trembling, then slowly going still, and nearly jumped. "Dad, what's wrong with you—ow!"
With a sharp slap, Elder He smacked Uncle He across the face. "Brat, are you trying to scare your father to death?"
"I'm still alive!"
"I didn't mean it like that. I was worried about you," Uncle He said, holding his face.
Elder He glared at him, then turned to Ryou. "Your crayfish are too good."
"I never thought I'd get to eat something this delicious at my age. Even if I died now, I'd have no regrets."
"Elder He, please don't say that."
"The adeptal tea Keqing gave you earlier can help you live longer if you drink it regularly," Ryou said.
"Adeptal… it's really adeptal tea?" Elder He was stunned. "I thought it was the kind from Yilong Wharf."
"Yilong Wharf adeptal tea?" Ryou asked.
"Yilong Wharf in Chenyu Vale holds a selection every year and chooses a tea to call adeptal tea. I thought it was that kind," Elder He explained. "I'll listen to you, then. From now on, I'll drink three pots every day."
"Good." Ryou nodded.
"Ryou… you really put thought into this," Elder He said.
"Keqing and I are usually busy in Liyue Harbor, so we don't get many chances to visit," Ryou said. "Since we finally had time today, we wanted to prepare something properly. I hope you won't hold it against us for not coming sooner."
"How could I?" Elder He shook his head. "You've already done plenty. Don't return to Liyue Harbor today. Stay and keep us old men company for a while."
"All right." Ryou nodded.
"Elder He," Ryou's father said, "let's eat first."
"Yes, yes. Let's eat," Elder He said.
The group ate and chatted for half an hour before the meal finally ended.
In the end, Elder He ate almost three times as much as usual.
Afterward, he brewed a cup of tea and sat in the courtyard to drink it.
They chatted for about an hour before Ryou took Keqing out.
He followed Xingqiu to the pavilion where Granny Ruoxin was.
When they arrived, Ryou saw Granny Ruoxin speaking with someone.
Dunyarzad, Dehya, and the others were sitting nearby.
"Ryou-san?"
"Keqing-san!"
Someone called out to them.
"Eh? Isn't that Yun Jin?" Keqing looked surprised.
Yun Jin was very busy in Liyue Harbor. Whenever she performed, the audience was packed.
She was famous throughout the city. Almost everyone knew her.
"I came to visit Granny Ruoxin," Yun Jin said to Keqing.
"I heard something happened in Qingce Village, so I was a little worried."
"But I didn't expect the whole village to look like a paradise now. It's beautiful."
"It really is," Dunyarzad said.
"What happened just now?" Dehya asked. "I saw Qingce Village suddenly change into this."
"Whatever happened, I'm glad I got to see it," Dunyarzad said. "If I were still in Sumeru, I never would have seen anything like this."
"Yeah." Dehya nodded.
Ryou pulled Keqing down to sit and was just about to speak when he heard Xingqiu question Chongyun.
"Chongyun, did you find anything?"
"Find what?" Chongyun asked.
"Chongyun." Xingqiu glared at him. "Didn't I tell you to pay attention to Qingce Village?"
"Did you just take Dunyarzad and Dehya sightseeing instead?"
"Did you not observe anything at all?"
"Ah, well…" Chongyun had no idea how to explain himself.
"All right. We can investigate later," Ryou said, glancing at Chongyun.
Then Ryou thought about the energy his Mouth could breathe out. It could create area effects, and it could also turn into real objects.
He wondered if he could use it to create things from his memory.
[End of chapter]
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