After teasing Ganyu a little more, Junze finally let his master off.
If this continued, the cooling effect he had just created with his Cryo energy would go to waste.
And besides… even he himself was starting to feel a little warm.
Ganyu lay on her side, holding Junze in her arms.
The small Junze was completely enveloped by her embrace.
Ganyu softly complained,
"Such a bad disciple… always bullying your master."
From within her arms, Junze replied,
"Who told Master to come back today looking like a pitiful little thing, just waiting to be bullied?"
After spending so many days with Ganyu, Junze could easily tell when something was off about her.
Hearing his words, Ganyu's body trembled slightly.
"Was I?"
Junze snorted.
"How was there not? Even when Ze tried to make Master laugh, you would go back to looking worried again after a while."
Ganyu gave a bitter smile.
"You really can't hide anything from this child…"
"But what you were doing wasn't cheering Master up at all. That was completely bullying."
"Mm hm."
Junze did not deny it.
He turned around to face Ganyu directly and asked with concern,
"Master, what exactly happened? Can't you tell Ze?"
Ganyu looked into those star-like eyes and remained silent for a long time.
Perhaps… she should not be so selfish.
She should tell this child after all.
Biting her lip lightly, Ganyu said,
"Ze, do you still remember that shadow Adeptus?"
"Of course. At the night market, he was the one who saved Ze and everyone."
Of course he remembered.
After all, that was himself.
How could he forget?
But from Ganyu's perspective, when Junze mentioned that person, there seemed to be a hint of admiration in his eyes.
That made her feel a little down.
Clearly he was her disciple… yet he admired someone else.
"Ze really likes him."
Ganyu said softly, her tone tinged with sadness.
"You even said you wanted to become someone like him."
Junze immediately shook his head.
"Ze doesn't like him. Ze likes Master."
"Ze just wants power like an Adeptus, so I can become one of the Liyue Qixing and help Master build Liyue together."
"Ze wants to become someone like Master. Someone who builds and protects Liyue."
Ganyu looked at Junze in disbelief.
She had never expected such an answer.
"R Really?"
Junze leaned closer until their foreheads touched.
Using a tone as if coaxing a child, he said,
"Of course it's true."
"Th This…"
Ganyu's eyes turned red, tears already welling up.
"Dummy Master. If you cry again, Ze is going to bully you."
Junze gently wiped away her tears.
Ganyu's voice trembled slightly.
"What a mischievous disciple…"
"And 'great'… Master is not that kind of person."
Junze shook his head seriously.
"Other than the Geo Archon, who in all of Liyue works harder than Master?"
"Who else has participated in and witnessed Liyue's growth like you have…"
He listed them one by one.
From the overall changes in Liyue to the small improvements in daily life brought about by Ganyu's work.
He was not just trying to comfort her.
He was sincerely recounting the achievements of this guardian of Liyue over thousands of years.
"Mm…"
Ganyu's face turned completely red.
Hearing her disciple praise her like this, especially right in front of her, was too much for her thin skin to handle.
"M Master understands. Ze, stop talking!"
She could not bear to hear any more.
Who praises someone like this?
But despite her embarrassment, her heart felt as sweet as honey.
After all, who would not want their efforts to be recognized?
And what master would not want their disciple to admire them?
"So, my great Master…"
Junze gently brushed aside the hair on Ganyu's forehead, their eyes meeting.
"What exactly is troubling you?"
Why did this child not feel like a seven or eight year old at all?
At the moment he lifted her hair, Ganyu felt her heart skip a beat.
Those golden eyes…
"No matter what it is, Ze will stay with Master and solve it together."
"This…"
Ganyu suddenly did not know how to respond.
All the worries she had been carrying the entire day now felt like nothing more than her own imagination running wild.
"It's about… that Adeptus…"
Ganyu then told Junze everything.
About seeing the Taotie during the day.
About worrying that he might take Junze away.
About fearing that Junze might choose to follow him and abandon her as his master…
As Junze listened, he did not even know what expression to make.
He had never expected that his other identity would cause his master so much distress.
He could only think…
My master is really too cute.
To spend an entire day troubled over something like this.
"So… that's it."
Ganyu shrank slightly.
Opening her heart to her disciple like this still made her feel shy.
Junze suddenly sat up.
Instead of replying with words, he chose action.
"Hm?"
Ganyu looked at him in confusion and also sat up.
Junze placed the two jade pendants in front of them.
Cold energy gathered at his fingertips, forming a thin blade of ice.
"Shhk!"
He sliced his left index finger.
Blood immediately flowed out.
"Ze!"
Ganyu cried out in alarm.
Junze waved his hand, signaling her not to worry.
Then, he pressed his bleeding finger directly onto one of the jade pieces.
The moment the blood touched the jade, it was absorbed.
The reddish-gold jade began to emit a strange glow.
"I will always stay by Master's side."
"Even if, in the future, I have to leave because of special reasons, we can still rely on this to find each other."
"Ze won't go looking for any Taotie kin. As long as Master is here, that's enough."
Under the reflection of the glowing light, Junze's handsome face looked almost ethereal.
Those eyes of his seemed to carry a vow that could cross stars and oceans.
Ganyu covered her mouth.
The tears at the corners of her eyes finally could not be held back.
She followed Junze's example, cutting her own finger and letting the jade absorb her blood.
"Master too!"
"I will always stay by Ze's side."
Master and disciple looked into each other's eyes.
Neither of them spoke.
They simply remained like that, letting time quietly pass.
And within that silence, the bond between them grew even stronger.
It was no longer just a simple contract.
It had become something deeper.
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