After Jiang Yan and the others left, the villagers began buzzing with chatter.
"Just now… was that really the Emperor?"
"The Emperor looks so young!"
"Right? I always imagined the Emperor as some kind, elderly gentleman."
"Well, aren't beings like the adept and the Emperor immortal? Look at Immortal Lord—so powerful, yet still so young."
The crowd whispered among themselves, many even gathering in little groups to discuss what they had just witnessed.
Some hurried home to spread the news to their families.
Some started washing up, others changed into new clothes.
After all—this was no ordinary visit.
The Geo Lord Morax himself was coming to inspect their village!
They had to make sure the Emperor saw them at their best—spirited, neat, and full of life.
Meanwhile, Jiang Yan led Morax and his companions to the reception hall. After instructing his attendants to serve tea, he quickly returned to his house to finish the meal he hadn't had time to eat earlier.
Seeing Ganyu still peacefully asleep, he didn't wake her, but instead went alone to the meeting hall.
"Ganyu's still asleep," he explained as he entered. "She's been really busy these past few days and always goes to bed late."
"Well, she's worked hard," Morax nodded, not minding in the least.
"Jiang Yan, I have to say," said Mountain Shaper with a smile, "I heard from the Thousand Rock Army that when you first arrived in Guili Plains, the place was littered with corpses and infested with monsters. And now it's turned into something like a paradise."
Morax's eyes softened with approval as he looked at Jiang Yan.
"Haha, that's all Ganyu's doing. I only gave some suggestions on the side," Jiang Yan said with a modest chuckle.
"Hmph! At least you've got some conscience left," Cloud Retainer sniffed, though her eyes gleamed with unmistakable satisfaction. "My disciple's devotion to you hasn't been in vain."
Truthfully, Cloud Retainer couldn't be more pleased with her "disciple-in-law."
Not that she would admit it out loud.
"Sister Cloud Retainer, don't tease me like that," Jiang Yan replied with a grin. "Ganyu's been talking about you these past few days. When she wakes up, you two should have a proper chat."
"Of course," Cloud Retainer said softly, a glint of longing in her eyes.
She truly did miss her disciple.
It had been five years since Ganyu left with Jiang Yan—five whole years without so much as a visit.
Though, to be fair, that wasn't entirely her fault.
When they first took charge of Guili Plains, the place was in ruins. Both Jiang Yan and Ganyu had been so busy their heads were spinning.
Later, when order was restored, Jiang Yan had to leave often to deal with monsters and rogue gods outside the village, leaving Ganyu to handle all internal affairs on her own.
Then came his "Treasure Chest Purification Plan," during which he was constantly gone for days on end. Ganyu had to shoulder everything, and naturally, there was no time to return home.
Jiang Yan smiled faintly at the thought.
After some light conversation, Morax spoke up.
"Jiang Yan, while we were exploring Guili Plains earlier, we saw a group of people in the west mixing some sort of substance. The old man who guided us said it was for paving roads—to make them smooth and hard. What exactly is that?"
The other adept turned their attention to Jiang Yan, curious.
"Oh, that!" Jiang Yan paused, then remembered.
A while back, he had found the formula for making cement from an exquisite treasure chest. The system had automatically converted the materials into ones available in Teyvat.
After gathering the required ingredients, he'd handed the formula to the villagers to experiment with. They'd been testing it ever since.
Honestly, even Jiang Yan wasn't completely sure how it would turn out in this world.
"That material's still in the testing phase," Jiang Yan explained. "It's called cement. Once hardened, it becomes incredibly tough—perfect for paving roads or building houses. I was planning to test it here in Qingce first, and if it works, extend the road toward Guili Plains."
Morax thought for a moment before shaking his head. "That wouldn't be wise."
"Oh? Why not?" Jiang Yan asked.
"Setting aside the cost of building a road from Qingce to Guili Plains," Morax said calmly, "it would be better to wait until the land truly knows peace. If Guili Plains falls into battle again, your so-called 'cement road' would be destroyed in an instant by the warring gods. All that effort would be wasted."
Jiang Yan frowned. He had… completely forgotten about that.
Qingce and Guili had enjoyed peace for five years now—long enough for him to almost forget that the Archon War was still raging across the land.
"Then we'll just finish the research first," Jiang Yan said after a pause. "When peace returns, we'll build."
Morax and the other adept nodded in agreement.
After chatting a bit longer, Jiang Yan led them out to the Proclamation Square—
the place where he and Ganyu usually announced new policies.
The open plaza was spacious, large enough to hold nearly all the people of Guili Plains.
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