Shenhe watched Keqing collapse onto the bed and said nothing, though her mind was full of questions.
Why had Keqing brought Ganyu-nee into her room?
Was she trying to use Ganyu-nee's drunkenness to put her together with Ryou?
Good thing Shenhe had come over. Otherwise, Keqing would have gotten her way.
Shenhe moved Ganyu onto the bed, then placed Keqing beside her.
After that, she pulled Ryou into her arms and carried him back to her own room.
Once they were inside, Shenhe looked at Ryou for a long while, then lowered her head and kissed him.
After that…
She had no idea what to do next.
Recently, her training had improved, so she had put all her time into cultivation.
As for how to have a child, she had never gotten around to asking.
She had managed to take Ryou, but now that she had brought him back to her room, she did not know what came next.
Just kissing him did not seem like enough. So what was she supposed to do?
"Should I go back to Mt. Aocang and ask Master?"
Shenhe looked at Ryou for a long while, then carried him in her arms and headed for Mt. Aocang.
The night had grown cold, and the wind carried a chill.
Shenhe paid it no attention. Her adeptal power drained rapidly as she hurried through the night.
Before long, she returned to Mt. Aocang.
"Master!" Shenhe called toward the abode.
Cloud Retainer paused when she heard the voice, then looked outside. "Did one hear that wrong? Was that Shenhe? Why has she come back so late?"
As far as Cloud Retainer knew, Shenhe had been living in Liyue Harbor for some time now. A few days ago, she had even gone to Mondstadt.
Cloud Retainer had already calculated that Shenhe's life was slowly getting on the right track, so she had stopped interfering.
Before Cloud Retainer could say anything, Shenhe walked in.
Only, she had brought someone with her.
"Shenhe, you… why did you bring Ryou to Mt. Aocang?" Cloud Retainer was startled.
Bringing a man back in the middle of the night was far too strange.
"Ryou is drunk," Shenhe said.
"Oh… drunk. But why did you bring him to Mt. Aocang?" Cloud Retainer asked.
"Master, I want to marry Ryou and have his child, but… I don't know how to have a child."
Shenhe looked up at Cloud Retainer with a serious expression. "Master, you understand more than I do. Please help me."
Cloud Retainer froze.
This foolish disciple had brought Ryou all the way back to Mt. Aocang because she did not know what to do?
Worse, she wanted Cloud Retainer to help?
One was a Mighty and Illuminated Adeptus. And this disciple wanted one to help with that?
Cloud Retainer glared at Shenhe. "Shenhe, do you understand what you are doing?"
"If you do this, people will despise you. You are a woman. Do you understand that?"
"Master, I know what I'm doing. I also know that in the future, we will have a child."
"She will be a girl, like Klee from Mondstadt. Mm… much cuter than Klee, actually. I want to meet her sooner."
Shenhe looked at Cloud Retainer, then knelt down. "Master, I know this is improper."
"But… please allow it!"
"You… are you trying to anger one to death?" Cloud Retainer said, staring at Shenhe.
"Master…" Shenhe looked up at her.
Cloud Retainer raised a hand and moved Ryou onto the bed. "Shenhe, one believes that you and Ryou may be together in the future. One also believes you may have children."
"But one taught you adeptal arts to guide your cultivation, not so you could do something like this!"
"You are a woman. You need to value yourself. For a man…"
"Even if the two of you will be together in the future, you still cannot do this!"
"One has guided you for so many years. Do you truly not understand?"
Cloud Retainer looked at Shenhe and continued, "If many things are destined to happen in the future, then they will happen naturally."
"You do not need to force anything. The two of you will come together in time."
"If you rush now, you may ruin everything instead."
"You might obtain him for one night, but if you never gain his affection, would that not mean losing Ryou entirely?"
"Listen to one. Send him back."
"All you need to do is spend time with Ryou slowly. Once feelings grow, the two of you will naturally come together."
"If you force this now, you will only create a disaster. Do you understand?"
Shenhe understood what Cloud Retainer meant, so she lowered her head and fell silent.
"Shenhe, you are still young. You do not only have one year, or a few years. You have many years ahead with him."
"In the past, one might have agreed to this, because the killing aura in your body could not have lasted much longer."
Cloud Retainer gently stroked Shenhe's head. "But things are different now. You are no longer the Shenhe you were before."
"One can feel that the killing aura in your body has been suppressed. Even your personality has become much brighter."
"You still have decades ahead of you. Do not ruin your whole life for a moment of impulse."
Cloud Retainer's voice softened. "Shenhe, do you understand?"
"Master, I… I understand." Shenhe nodded. "I'll send Ryou back in a moment."
"That is good," Cloud Retainer said.
"Master, there is one more thing I want to ask," Shenhe said.
Cloud Retainer glanced at her. "What is it?"
"Master, can someone in this world have two Visions?" Shenhe asked.
Cloud Retainer said, "No one in this world can obtain two Visions. Tabibito is the only exception, but even she doesn't have two Visions. She can simply control more than one element."
"Then what about Keqing?" Shenhe asked. "She flew from Liyue to Mondstadt on a sword in half an hour."
Cloud Retainer's expression changed. "Half an hour? On a sword?"
"Yes," Shenhe said.
"Nonsense. Even for a disciple of the adepti, flying on a sword is not easy."
"From Liyue to Mondstadt in half an hour on a sword—could you do that?" Cloud Retainer asked.
"I… could not!" Shenhe shook her head.
Shenhe had trained under Cloud Retainer for decades, learning adeptal arts almost from childhood.
That was why the adeptal power inside her was vast, but even she could not sustain such a long drain for too long.
"In terms of adeptal power, you are far stronger than Keqing. If even you cannot be certain you could do it, then Keqing should have no chance," Cloud Retainer said.
"Master, I suspect Keqing used elemental power."
"I saw two Visions on Keqing. Both of them were shining brightly."
"One was Electro, and the other was Hydro," Shenhe explained.
"That… should be impossible," Cloud Retainer said.
"As far as one remembers, no such person exists. Although a Vision is not the element itself…"
"In any case, the possibility is extremely low. Still, one believes you would not lie."
Cloud Retainer looked at Shenhe. "One will visit Liyue Harbor tomorrow and ask about it then."
"Master, if you go, Keqing will definitely complain to you," Shenhe said.
"Oh? Why?"
"Wait. Are you sure Ryou only got drunk, and Keqing did not carry him there herself?" Cloud Retainer asked.
"Master, Keqing invited many friends to her home for dinner today…"
Shenhe explained everything from beginning to end.
Cloud Retainer listened in stunned silence. "Keqing has that many rivals?"
"Even Xiangling likes Ryou? Streetward Rambler is going to have a headache."
"Still, one's disciple came out ahead."
"Master…" Shenhe murmured.
"One is not blaming you. Tomorrow…"
Before Cloud Retainer could finish, someone outside called, "Cloud Retainer."
A figure walked in from outside. It was Mountain Shaper.
Mountain Shaper stepped into the abode and saw Cloud Retainer speaking with Shenhe.
"Mountain Shaper, why are you here?" Cloud Retainer asked.
"Just now, one was reading the night sky and saw a streak of fate fly from Liyue to Mondstadt."
"After that, one sensed Shenhe return to Mt. Aocang. One guessed something might have happened, so one came to have a look."
"Well…"
Cloud Retainer glanced at Shenhe, unsure how to explain.
"Cloud Retainer, did something happen?"
"Speak plainly. If one can help, naturally one will not… hm?"
Mountain Shaper's gaze shifted inward, and he saw someone lying on Cloud Retainer's bed.
A man.
He looked more closely.
That person was Ryou.
Mountain Shaper turned to Cloud Retainer. "You… Cloud Retainer, should you not explain this?"
"Why is Ryou in your abode? And why is he on your bed?"
Cloud Retainer's expression darkened. "Mountain Shaper, what nonsense are you spouting, you old fool? That is clearly…"
"Clearly what?" Mountain Shaper asked.
"It is…"
Cloud Retainer glanced at Shenhe, then sighed. "It's… complicated."
"Do not try to fool one. One has known you for thousands of years. How could one not understand you?"
"Was it Shenhe…?" Mountain Shaper looked at her.
"Yes," Shenhe said.
Mountain Shaper fell silent for a while. "Child, you truly caused a mess."
Cloud Retainer coughed. "Mountain Shaper, one has already advised Shenhe. She will send him back shortly."
Mountain Shaper glanced at Cloud Retainer and was about to say something, but then he sensed movement from Ryou.
"He is waking up," Mountain Shaper said. "Let us see how you explain this."
[End of chapter]
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