"No need, Senior Sister. I left some Mora last time, which is enough for a few days. It's not like I'm always living in the city."
Ryan shook his head, refusing Ganyu's kind offer, and then called a waiter with the menu.
Although Ganyu told him to order, Ryan didn't forget that Ganyu doesn't eat meat, so the dishes he ordered were a mix of meat and vegetables.
"Hmm… if you encounter any trouble, remember to come find me. As long as it's not illegal, I can help you."
Seeing that Ryan had finished ordering and the waiter had left, Ganyu continued speaking.
It wouldn't be good if Cloud Retainer knew that Ryan was being wronged in Liyue Harbor.
"Don't worry, Senior Sister, I'm not a child… But then again, Senior Sister, you are an auspicious beast, right?"
Ryan waved his hand dismissively at Ganyu's reminder, but midway through his sentence, he suddenly changed the subject and asked Ganyu.
"An auspicious beast, huh… I do have half the bloodline of a Qilin."
Ganyu subconsciously glanced to the side, saw that there weren't many people in the restaurant, and the waiter had also walked away, then she nodded.
The Qilin is an auspicious beast, and Ganyu is a hybrid of a Qilin and a human, half-human, half-adeptus.
"Then, Senior Sister, could you give me a drop of your blood?"
"Hmm… as compensation, I will refine a blood-replenishing elixir for you, Senior Sister. I remember I have a similar recipe."
Ryan requested and promised Ganyu, and immediately pulled out his Grand Pill Compendium and started flipping through it.
"It's just one drop of blood, it's not that exaggerated!"
Seeing this, Ganyu quickly stopped Ryan from finding the blood-replenishing elixir recipe.
Then, Ganyu used Geo element power to condense a tiny ice needle in her hand and used it to pierce the skin on the pad of her fingertip.
The Qilin's blood would not freeze from this slight chill. After Ganyu retracted the ice needle, she squeezed her finger slightly, letting the crimson blood from her fingertip drip into the glass bottle Ryan had immediately produced.
"Thank you, Senior Sister~!"
Having obtained precious materials again, Ryan thanked Ganyu.
"No, no, I should thank you, Ryan, for the Mind Soother Pill. These days are just before the Rite of Descension, and there are many things to be busy with. With the Mind Soother Pill, I will have more sober time to complete my work."
Ganyu waved her hand and then explained.
"Alright…"
Ryan could only nod.
He looked at the top of Ganyu's head again, but quickly sat back down obediently to wait for the dishes.
The Qilin's entire body is a treasure; Qilin horns, Qilin blood, Qilin hair, Qilin saliva—these are all alchemy materials that Ryan yearned for but couldn't obtain.
But he was thin-skinned and embarrassed to ask Ganyu for so many things, and also worried he might scare her.
Soon, the sumptuous meal was served.
Ryan and Ganyu had a clear division of labor: one focused on the meat dishes, the other on the vegetarian dishes, and in a short while, they had cleared the table.
After the meal, Ganyu offered to walk Ryan back to his lodging, but Ryan thought about it and refused her.
"How about I walk Senior Sister back instead? I was planning to go to Bubu Pharmacy later anyway, and I don't know if it's closed yet."
Ryan explained.
Knowing that Ryan was going to Bubu Pharmacy, Ganyu no longer insisted, and the two returned to Yujing Terrace by the way they had come.
Along the way, Ryan asked some more questions about the Rite of Descension.
"Goodbye, Senior Sister~"
After escorting Ganyu back to Yuehai Pavilion, Ryan bid her farewell. After she walked back inside, Ryan quietly looked left and right.
Confirming that no one was around, Ryan transformed into his true form and then ran towards the depths of Yujing Terrace.
This was the plaza where the Rite of Descension was held. Through the night, the censers prepared in advance could be seen.
However, Ryan's target was the magnificent building with golden tiles next to the plaza, Yiyan Hall.
This was a place specifically for worshiping Lord Rex Lapis, but it was already closed at this time of night.
Ryan lightly jumped onto the roof, found a ventilation opening, and squeezed in, arriving inside Yiyan Hall.
Inside Yiyan Hall was a statue of the Geo Archon, but the image used was his half-Qilin, half-dragon form that appeared during the Rite of Descension.
"Adepti disciple Ryan, greets the Lord."
Ryan took an incense stick from nearby, lit it with adeptal arts, and immediately approached the statue to worship.
"I pray that the Lord blesses me with a fruitful journey…"
"If you don't reply, I'll take it as a yes…"
After offering incense, Ryan glanced at the unresponsive statue, then carefully approached it.
Yiyan Hall did not have a merit box or similar item, as the Geo Archon was the deity who forged Mora, so no Mora worship was needed. Therefore, Ryan's actual goal was the incense ash left behind by worshipers after offering incense.
These incense ashes carried the wishes of the people of Liyue, so the way they were handled after accumulating was very particular. If he didn't sneak in, Ryan would have no chance to touch them.
Just like that, Ryan took out a glass bottle and carefully collected a portion of the incense ash.
"This is enough~"
Ryan happily put away the bottle, then transformed back into his true form and carefully left Yiyan Hall, without alarming the Millelith outside.
After leaving Yiyan Hall, Ryan transformed back into human form only after running a distance and then walked down Yujing Terrace.
Next, he still had to make another trip to Bubu Pharmacy to see if he could meet the little zombie from yesterday.
Zombies are also rare materials… Although Ryan occasionally saw a young Damselette gathering herbs in Huaguang Stone Forest over the years, he never approached, only roughly seeing her figure, but never recognizing her as a zombie.
"Seven, two, three, four… five, six, seven, seven…"
Outside Bubu Pharmacy, Qiqi was stretching in the moonlight.
Because she was a zombie, she needed to do flexibility exercises every day to prevent her body from stiffening and affecting her normal activities, which also allowed her not to rely on jumping to move like traditional zombies.
Seeing Qiqi doing flexibility exercises, Ryan immediately tiptoed and carefully approached.
Yesterday, this little zombie was so scared of him that she ran away. If he didn't approach stealthily, he was afraid she would run again.
Finally, Qiqi finished her flexibility exercises.
"Hmm?"
Qiqi raised her head in confusion, looking at Ryan, who had stealthily approached.
Just as Qiqi blinked in confusion, a sack suddenly dropped from above, covering Qiqi.
"...?"
The sudden situation made Ryan tilt his head, his ears turning to one side.
Behind Qiqi, the Damselette with reddish-brown gradient hair in pigtails, who had used the sack to cover Qiqi, also saw Ryan. Their eyes met.
"It's you…"
The Damselette quickly recognized Ryan. This was the young man who had asked her for directions to Bubu Pharmacy yesterday.
"It's me. Could it be that you also…"
Ryan also remembered meeting her by the roadside yesterday. He looked at Qiqi struggling in the sack, and he was a little surprised.
'So I'm not the only one with designs on this little zombie (Qiqi)…!'
Both of them thought simultaneously.
"...Let's go, let's go. You carry the head, help This Master."
The Damselette thought for a moment, then suggested to Ryan.
Ryan subconsciously nodded, and just like that, he and the Damselette carried Qiqi, who was in the sack, and ran towards the outskirts of Liyue Harbor…