The night slipped quietly away. Day and night changed places, and the sun rose.
The moment the first light of dawn touched the Jade Chamber high above the clouds, the morning bustle began.
On any other day, Ningguang would have risen, been dressed with Baishi's help, and sat down to breakfast while working through the reports that Baiwen and Baixiao brought her.
But today, Ningguang was extraordinarily languid.
She lay there, eyes heavy with sleep, gazing at Ye Xi in front of her — without a single ounce of energy to move.
Perhaps the exhaustion of last night had yet to fully lift.
Or perhaps she had simply sunk too deep into this feeling of safety, and couldn't find the will to pull herself out.
When Ye Xi's senses finally returned to him, he found Ningguang already watching him, her eyes full of a quiet, helpless adoration.
"You've been awake for a while?"
Ningguang shook her head at the question. "I only just opened my eyes. I simply don't want to get up."
Listening to that drowsy, soft murmur of hers, Ye Xi gently stroked the warm, yielding figure nestled in his arms and smiled. "How about a little morning exercise?"
"Mm, sure," Ningguang replied with a light smile. "Tempting as it is — if we did that, I suspect I wouldn't be able to work for the rest of the day..."
As the Tianquan Star of the Liyue Qixing, her daily workload was considerable.
The mention of work reminded Ye Xi of the rewards from his completed quest.
"Come with me to the harbor today," he said. "Regarding trade with Inazuma — I've come up with a new solution."
"Oh?"
Ningguang's eyes immediately brightened with interest.
The plans she and Ye Xi had drawn up previously were mostly centered around Sumeru, Liyue, and Mondstadt. Inazuma was simply too far away for any effective strategy to take shape.
Now that Ye Xi was bringing it up, he must have found a new approach.
Ningguang felt a flutter of anticipation and nodded eagerly. "Of course. When do we leave?"
"After breakfast?"
"Very well. I'll have Baiwen make the arrangements."
Saying so, Ningguang moved to sit up.
Then she felt something cold against her back — as though something had appeared there.
She reached behind herself instinctively, and her fingers closed around — an Eye of God.
"Wha—?!"
Ningguang blinked in mild surprise, a note of admiration in her voice. "An unexpected windfall, it seems."
She had heard from Lady Keqing before that Ye Xi could bestow Eyes of God upon people. Seeing it with her own eyes now, she was still taken aback.
Though only a little.
She had no particular attachment to Eyes of God, truth be told.
Combat was inelegant — a last resort among last resorts.
Only Mora held any real value.
That said, added strength was never unwelcome.
So she nestled back against Ye Xi, pressed a good-morning kiss to him, and murmured, "Thank you for the Electro Eye of God. But when it comes to a god's gaze — I have you, and that's more than enough."
Ye Xi found that answer very satisfying.
Just then, a crystalline chime rang out in his mind.
[Ding~]
[Branch [Ningguang] has received an Electro Eye of God!]
[Bonus reward: Jade Chamber Controller.]
[Jade Chamber Controller: Allows control of the Jade Chamber's movements from anywhere, at any time. Fast response, high precision!]
[Reward distribution complete. Please continue to fulfill the remaining [Scattering Leaves] missions!]
Ye Xi: ???
Before he could even process what had happened, a sphere of light materialized in front of Ningguang.
"What is this?"
She reached out and touched it — and all at once, an exquisite little bracelet was clasped around her wrist.
The bracelet gleamed like translucent jade, radiant and breathtakingly beautiful.
The moment she laid eyes on it, Ningguang's heart stirred. "Is this a token of your affection? I didn't think you'd be so thoughtful about these things."
"I'll treasure it dearly."
As she said so, she turned her slender wrist this way and that, admiring it — clearly already enamored with the piece.
In Ye Xi's mind, all the information on the [Jade Chamber Controller] had already appeared in full.
He marveled at it inwardly, then said aloud, "Ningguang — try touching it. There's more to it than meets the eye."
"Hmm?"
Curiosity piqued, Ningguang did as he asked.
The instant her fingers made contact with the bracelet, a stream of information flooded into her mind.
In a single moment, she understood exactly what the bracelet represented.
"This... this memory that just appeared..."
Following the unfamiliar but suddenly instinctive knowledge, Ningguang touched the surface of the bracelet.
In an instant it dissolved into a sphere of light, then reshaped itself — into a briefcase.
The case clicked open, revealing rows of buttons and a zoomable map inside.
"It can do that?! So that's how it works..."
Ningguang was stunned.
She understood the purpose of every single button before her.
With this briefcase, she could control the position of the Jade Chamber from anywhere in the world.
And by pressing the final button — she could deploy the Jade Chamber to launch an attack.
That's right.
Ye Xi was speechless.
It was literally summoning the Jade Chamber and bringing the heavens down upon the earth — or rather, the [Chamber] down upon the earth!
This was an outright nuclear weapon, wasn't it!?
Well.
The Jade Chamber — Liyue's ultimate weapon!
Guardian of order, sentinel of peace across the land!
Ningguang's heart was brimming with delighted astonishment. "What an extraordinary mechanism!"
"Master Ye Xi, I accept this magnificent gift!"
"And rest assured — my gift in return will certainly satisfy you."
With that, Ningguang's gaze grew soft and full of tender warmth.
That look alone was enough to conjure vivid memories of last night in Ye Xi's mind. He found himself looking forward to that "gift in return" very much indeed.
Ningguang transformed the briefcase back into a bracelet and slipped it back onto her wrist.
She couldn't stop singing the praises of the miniaturized portable design — all of it collapsible to fit on one's wrist.
What impressed her even more was Ye Xi's sheer mastery of mechanism technique. Each new thing he produced was more astonishing than the last.
After putting the bracelet away, Ningguang called for the little secretaries outside.
This caught Ye Xi rather off guard.
When the secretaries entered to help Ningguang dress, Ye Xi felt profoundly awkward.
"Master Ye Xi, allow me to help you dress as well~"
"Ah... ahem, that's quite all right. I can manage myself."
Ye Xi politely declined the offer.
If it had been Dehya, or Dunyarzad, or any of his other wives, he could have handled that. But in front of a few little secretaries, it was simply a bit too awkward.
The rejected Baiwen and Baixiao were both a little crestfallen.
That said, their eyes never once left Ye Xi.
Taking in that well-defined, athletic figure, all three little secretaries went somewhat starry-eyed.
Once they were both dressed and presentable, Ye Xi took Ningguang out in search of breakfast.
Watching his retreating figure, the little secretaries immediately fell into hushed whispers.
"Did you see that? Did you see that? What a physique!"
"When will it be our turn... Lady Ningguang will include us in the bridal retinue, won't she?"
"Aren't we a little strange? Every handmaid in every story throws a hundred fits when her mistress gets married — and here we are practically counting down the days."
"Well, when the groom is Master Ye Xi~ How could we not look forward to it!"
.....
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