In a tasteful, beautiful courtyard, a high-energy beat blared from a phone.
Zhongli watched the screen intently and, following the rhythm, kept twisting his body.
Square dancing.
Ken's mouth twitched. He'd thought the fan skits from his past life were already character-breaking enough; he hadn't expected the real Zhongli breaking character himself to be even more speechless.
Who would have thought that the once awe-inspiring God of War, the Geo Archon who guarded Liyue…
Would be here doing square dancing.
If Barbara were here, she might feel a lot more balanced inside. After all, Mondstadt's Anemo Archon is a boozehound, and Liyue's god is a square dance enthusiast.
"…"
Ningguang stared at that figure who'd nearly forgotten himself, stood at the door in silence for a long time, and only slowly calmed her mood.
She'd just arrived on Blue Star and been shocked by its technology; now seeing the Archon actually dancing—this sort of impact would make even Lady Tianquan's vision go dark.
This was entirely different from the dignified Archon at the Rite of Descension in years past.
Practically two extremes.
Even when the Archon walked the world as Zhongli, he was still highly respected in Liyue Harbor, a learned and genteel gentleman—when had there ever been such an unrestrained scene?
"Why would the Archon do this?"
Though the scene rattled her, Ningguang quickly regained her composure.
In her view, the Archon likely had his reasons.
"Go in and ask, won't we know?" Ken pushed the door open; after a brief hesitation, Ningguang followed.
Zhongli had just finished a dance. He looked at Ken and Ningguang's arrival without surprise.
Even though elemental power on Blue Star was thin, for a god, sensing the movements around was child's play.
"Greetings, Lord Archon."
Ningguang saluted gracefully, a smile on her face, as composed as if she'd never seen him dance.
"This is Blue Star—no need for such formality." Zhongli lifted his hand and said in a deep voice, "Ningguang, your being here is also your opportunity. Blue Star is an age ruled by men; perhaps you can draw some knowledge from it."
Zhongli remained quite satisfied with Tianquan Ningguang.
She was the shrewdest among the Liyue Qixing, but her shrewdness came with principle and responsibility. Even while handling myriad affairs daily, she never lost her drive. Such temperament was rare.
Looking at the now fully-fledged richest woman in Teyvat, Zhongli couldn't help recalling how Ningguang once walked barefoot from Yaoguang Shoal to the harbor, hawking goods along the way.
Time is cruel to mortals.
"Yes."
Ningguang nodded with a smile, saying no more.
Before a god who had lived for thousands of years in Liyue, there was no need for excessive pleasantries.
"So what were you just doing?" Ken didn't bother to hold back and asked directly.
With Zhongli looking like that, he should really have recorded it and uploaded it for players to see what gods do after retiring.
"Hmm… after retirement even time seems to slow. At Barbatos's suggestion, I looked up how Blue Star's people spend their retirement. I came across these dances—good for mood and health. Not bad."
Zhongli spoke honestly.
There was another important reason: he wanted to learn some of Blue Star's life skills.
For example, living here required a lot of money.
But he couldn't keep letting Hu Tao reimburse him, nor could he just freeload off Ken's food and drink every day—being allowed to crash here was already good enough.
That was one reason he was curious about Blue Star retirees' lifestyles.
If people lost their source of income, what should they do?
By accident, he'd found this type of dance.
Zhongli felt the rhythms were odd, but indeed pretty good, worth learning—perhaps he could glean some artistic insight, find another path, and earn a bit of living expense.
After dancing for a while, he really did find it not bad.
Especially seeing those old grandpas dancing happily—Zhongli thought it was great.
He was an old man too; living like one was perfectly fine.
"If you're bored, you can go to the park and play chess with the grandpas."
Ken reminded him. With Zhongli's skills, his chess would be quite good.
"Chess?" Zhongli raised a brow slightly. "I'll try it sometime."
Ken nodded. Though if he'd known that Zhongli would go to the park, single-handedly defeat the old grandpas of a dozen neighborhoods, and send a couple sore losers to the ICU, he would never have suggested it.
After seeing Zhongli, Ningguang didn't linger.
As the Archon said, she should use her limited time to learn as much about Blue Star as possible.
Most importantly—
With Liyue's god full of square dancing, standing by was very awkward!
Ken did want to watch Zhongli dance, but Ningguang needed guidance, so he couldn't stay to watch.
…
After leaving the villa, Ningguang asked, "Is that Mondstadt Anemo Archon here too?"
"Yes. But compared to Zhongli, Venti is easier to handle," Ken said with a grin. That guy only needs wine—sleeping off a drunk for a few years is normal.
Compared to Zhongli, who requires a sense of ritual in everything, adapting to Blue Star would take time.
"Given the Archon's taste, living comfortably on Blue Star requires a lot of money. I'll cover it, paid in Mora."
Now that she knew Zhongli was the Archon, Ningguang had a sense of things.
Half of Liyue Harbor knew the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's guest consultant lived with extreme ritual. Even when buying eyebrow powders for songbirds, he bought the finest.
For the things he liked, no matter how expensive, he never looked at the price.
But as the god who protected Liyue Harbor, being particular about life is normal. The Qixing offering him some Mora is only right.
"Of course. The exchange rate differs, but with the Tianquan's resources, it's small change."
Ken didn't refuse. With someone like Ningguang, it's best to be transparent—settle accounts clearly.
Ningguang nodded and returned with Ken.
Ken called Lumine and Ganyu to teach Ningguang how to use smartphones and computers.
He himself buy more Blue Star outfits for the girls.
Although Blue Star's cosplay industry is thriving and walking around dressed like that wouldn't raise eyebrows, daily life is more convenient in casual clothes.
…
Time flew.
A day passed in a blink. Immersed in Blue Star's many facets, Ningguang even missed lunch.
But she didn't feel hungry—she was energized.
Not only did she learn the basics of phones and computers, she also tried out Genshin. Seeing Liyue Harbor in the game, she was astonished.
Though not as grand as real Liyue, you could tell it was a microcosm.
And all this was designed by Ken—did this great prophet truly grasp Teyvat's past and future?
Ningguang was shocked, even seeing herself in the game.
"Hm… pretty handsome."
Watching the video of herself using the Jade Chamber to suppress Osial, Ningguang was satisfied.
But then her gaze fell on Keqing in the video.
The Yuheng was beautiful in the game too.
Ningguang's eyes flashed; the corners of her mouth curved. She opened the browser and typed "Keqing."
Ahem.
She suddenly wanted to see her colleague's reputation on Blue Star.
But what popped up left her dumbfounded.
"Ca-ching?"
"And… Damage Queen?"
Seeing the suggested terms, Ningguang stared, then burst into laughter.
At first she didn't understand, but with a little searching, she learned why.
Because Keqing is a five-star whose damage wasn't very impressive, and her burst had low multipliers, it was like giving monsters a scraping massage.
There were even memes.
Ningguang laughed till she shook. Her colleague being called that—she was quite entertained.
After all, the Yuheng was strong and diligent. If she knew these nicknames, her expression would be priceless.
"Wait…"
After gloating, Ningguang suddenly thought of her own nicknames and quickly searched.
Fortunately, hers weren't as ridiculous as Keqing's…
"Veiled Tianquan" and "Rich Big Sis."
She didn't mind those, especially after seeing Keqing's—suddenly hers felt normal.
Then she searched Ganyu.
"Coconut Goat?"
Thinking of Ganyu's qilin horns—if someone didn't know better, they'd misunderstand, right?
But for the gentle Ganyu, Ningguang couldn't bring herself to tease.
As for a certain colleague…
Heh… a little teasing could be very funny.
…
Night fell; the food smelled wonderful.
Sitting at the table, Ningguang elegantly sampled Blue Star's delicacies, red eyes relaxed.
She'd been almost entirely at leisure today—rare for her.
But for Ningguang…
Comfortable, but not to be indulged.
Rather than carefree salted-fish living, she preferred accumulating more Mora and one day letting the Jade Chamber span the Seven Nations.
"Right, Miss Ningguang, there's something I wanted to tell you."
Eating chilled tofu with Qingxin, Ganyu remembered a decision from earlier and shared it.
"Mm… you want to change your working model?" Ningguang smiled. "You are the Qixing's secretary, but your contract is with the Archon. Now that the contract is dissolved, your work is your freedom. As for the Yujing Terrace's matters, I'll assign people to assist."
Ganyu bowed her head. "Thank you, Miss Ningguang."
"It's we who should thank you." Ningguang smiled.
Without the title of Qixing Secretary, Ganyu was a true qilin-blooded adeptus, a blessed beast revered by Liyue, an immortal pursued by many.
So off-duty, Ningguang treated Ganyu with particular courtesy.
Watching Ningguang's relaxed demeanor, Ken raised a brow. Ningguang probably had no idea how terrifying Ganyu's workload truly was.
Even Ningguang's three most trusted secretaries couldn't complete Ganyu's work.
But letting Ningguang find out would be good—the Qixing would then fully understand just how important Ganyu was to Liyue Harbor.
To be blunt:
The Qixing could be replaced across generations, but Ganyu's work… no one could replace it.
At least for now.
"Want to visit the Jade Chamber?"
After dinner, Ningguang invited Ken.
The elegant, poised Tianquan rarely took such initiative when there was no profit at stake.
Ken stuffed some finance and business war books into her arms. "Next time. I've got plans tomorrow."
He'd nearly forgotten Lisa's birthday invitation with so much going on.
Tomorrow he'd go to Mondstadt for Lisa's birthday party. He needed rest tonight and didn't want to spar in wits and words with the smooth Ningguang—waste of energy.
"Mm… alright."
Ningguang put the books in her bag and smiled. "Then Ganyu and I will head back to Yujing Terrace."
Ken opened a Vortex Gate, and the two graceful figures departed.
…
"Miss Ningguang, I'll go rest first."
Feeling a certain fullness somewhere, Ganyu was a bit troubled.
She'd failed to restrain herself tonight, eating lots of Qingxin and Glaze Lilies. She now felt that familiar swell again and had to go refine the essence.
"Ganyu… from tomorrow, work however suits you. You've done much for Liyue; you deserve your own life."
Watching Ganyu hurry off, Ningguang reminded her.
In the past, Ganyu might have felt Ningguang was pushing her away. Now, she knew it was heartfelt concern.
She nodded lightly and disappeared into the moonlight.
Standing on Yujing Terrace, Ningguang gazed toward the Northland Bank, her eyes growing cold.
Whether or not Blue Star yielded the solutions she sought, the Northland Bank had to be suppressed.
The Osial incident had pushed her patience with the Fatui to its limit.
"Hmm?"
As she pondered, a familiar figure hurried over.
Keqing.
Even at this late hour, the workaholic was hard at work.
Looking at that familiar cat-ear hairstyle, Ningguang curled her lips and suddenly called, "Ca-ching, where are you rushing off to at this hour?"
Keqing: "???"
…