Ganyu, who had been sleeping soundly, turned slightly and reached a hand down beside her.
Still half-asleep, she quickly sensed something wrong.
Her hand met empty space.
Ganyu jolted awake instantly.
She stared in horror at the empty spot beside her.
Where did my huge baby go?!
While panic surged in her chest, she suddenly felt an immensely powerful Cryo elemental aura.
"Outside!"
Ganyu rushed out at once.
Her heart pounded with dread.
Had some monster broken into Yuehai Pavilion and taken Junze away?
But when Ganyu burst from the room, she froze.
The living room was almost entirely sealed in ice, the temperature plunging far below freezing.
And at the center of it stood a small boy of about seven or eight, long hair flowing, strikingly handsome, holding more than half a bottle of coconut milk and looking at her.
"Uh… Master, good evening."
The boy called out awkwardly.
Ganyu, who had already been about to attack, stopped when she heard the voice.
She looked carefully at the boy before her.
Those horns. That voice. That aura…
"Ze?!"
Her tone carried both confusion and certainty.
Certainty, because every sign said this was indeed her disciple.
Confusion, because… how had her disciple suddenly grown up?
Ganyu hurried over and touched his body, asking anxiously, "Why did you suddenly become like this?"
A child growing this much in one night…
That was terrifying!
Junze shrank his neck and presented the item the system had given him to Ganyu.
He wore a well-behaved, apologetic expression. "Um… I woke up hungry in the night, then smelled this. I drank a mouthful and turned into this."
Fortunately, Junze's current age had not reached seventeen or eighteen.
Otherwise, acting cute while admitting fault would have been impossible.
"This?"
Ganyu lowered her gaze in confusion.
Then her expression froze instantly.
Th-this… this is…
Wh-why?!
She looked at the bottle, now noticeably emptier, and at the faint milky scent still lingering at Junze's lips.
She went completely blank.
For a moment, Ganyu wanted nothing more than to dig a hole and hide inside.
A blush spread across her face.
And Junze, seeing her expression, felt his heart drop.
'Wait, wait, no way… don't tell me… it really is…?'
His gaze moved between Ganyu and the glass bottle, emotions tangled.
'System, was that really necessary?!'
Shock waves roared through his mind.
But Ganyu's silence and lowered head made Junze feel he needed to do something to ease the awkwardness.
"Um… Master, this is really delicious. And Ze got full from just one sip."
As he spoke, Junze took another mouthful right in front of Ganyu.
"It tastes amazing!"
Because his body had grown, this time the power did not erupt.
But—
"..."
Both Junze and Ganyu fell into even deeper silence.
'Idiot! What am I doing?!'
Junze screamed inwardly. He had drunk it again in front of her and even praised it like that.
Ganyu's face was now fully flushed, steam practically rising from her head.
Trying to break the tension, Junze raised the half bottle and laughed stiffly. "Heh… hehe… Master, do you want to try some?"
Smack!
Junze mentally slapped himself hard.
'What am I even saying?!'
"Stop talking!"
Ganyu cried out in mortified fury.
This might have been the first time the gentle master had ever shouted so loudly.
"Okay!"
Hearing his master erupt, Junze immediately shut his mouth obediently.
Ganyu, suppressing her embarrassment, took the bottle from Junze's hand and asked with concern, "Um… Ze, you don't feel unwell, do you?"
She knew exactly what this was.
This was the manifestation of the excess power she had accumulated over millennia.
Do not be fooled by one bottle.
Converted into raw energy, it could easily level a mountain.
The stored power of a half-adeptus over thousands of years could absolutely do that.
Embarrassment aside, Junze drinking it might have caused serious bodily problems.
Junze shook his head. "Other than feeling a bit swollen at first, I'm fine now."
'Swollen…'
Ganyu found that word extremely troubling.
Then Junze suddenly smiled brightly. "Master, Master, look. I told you, as long as I eat more, I'll grow up quickly."
"Uh… that does seem true."
Ganyu looked at the child she had once been able to lift with one hand, who in such a short time had grown into a seven- or eight-year-old ready for school.
Her expression turned complicated.
She had barely had time to care for him, and he had suddenly grown up.
Was this what a taotie was?
The more it ate, the faster its body grew.
Hmm…
Should she… reduce Ze's food portions a little?
A rather terrifying thought formed in Ganyu's mind.
"Grrrrooowl~~"
Suddenly, a stomach growl far louder than before sounded.
"Uh…"
Junze looked at his stomach.
The power he had just absorbed had all gone into growth and strengthening, so hunger returned almost immediately.
"You're hungry again?"
Ganyu looked at him with amusement.
Junze nodded miserably. "Even hungrier than before."
As he spoke, he stared fixedly at the coconut milk in Ganyu's hand.
"Um, Master, I…"
Before he finished, Ganyu already understood exactly what her disciple meant.
Blushing, she shoved the bottle back into Junze's hands. "Drink."
"Huh? Oh!"
Junze was briefly surprised she would give it back.
But since she had, only a fool wouldn't drink!
That rich fragrance was irresistible.
He lifted the bottle and gulped.
Milky traces gradually smeared the corners of his lips.
Watching her disciple's rapt devotion, Ganyu felt her mind go numb.
It was only the time it took to drink a few mouthfuls, yet to her it felt unbearably long.
'I want to die…'
The thought echoed repeatedly in her heart.
At last Junze set the bottle down in satisfaction and patted his stomach. "Full."
Ganyu looked at him resentfully.
You're full. Your master is nearly finished.
Junze glanced at the now-empty bottle, then said shyly and ingratiatingly, "Um… Master, will there be more in the future?"
Ganyu jerked backward, clearly startled.
She quickly turned her back to him and dragged him toward the bedroom. "Go to sleep."
"Oh."
Junze felt disappointed.
So this kind of immortal delicacy would be gone in the future.
On the bed, Ganyu and Junze lay back-to-back.
Only in the deep of night did the quiet room finally carry Ganyu's hesitant, fragile voice.
"…In the future, only one small bottle per day."
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