After the rain, Liyue Harbor was filled with a faint, refreshing fragrance in the air.
Taking advantage of the brief pause in the rain, the workers by the port had resumed their work, continuously unloading goods from the ships docked along the harbor.
Jiang Yan walked leisurely through the streets of Liyue with the four little ones.
The three little rascals—Ningguang, Beidou, and Shenhe—were playfully stepping into puddles left behind by the rain, splashing water everywhere.
Every time it rained in Liyue Harbor, the three of them loved doing this.
Meanwhile, Ayaka obediently held Jiang Yan's hand, curiously looking around at the scenery.
After all, the architectural style of Liyue was quite different from that of Inazuma.
"Big brother, what kind of god… is the Geo Archon?"
Ayaka looked up at Jiang Yan and asked curiously.
She had once seen Inazuma's god—Raiden Makoto—from afar.
That gentle aura had left a deep impression on her.
But since Ayaka had never visited the other nations, she was very curious about Liyue's god.
Was Liyue's deity also as gentle as Inazuma's?
Jiang Yan almost blurted out that Morax was a complete old schemer.
As the Tianquan of Liyue and Morax's number-one subordinate, Jiang Yan had plenty to say about that guy.
That old fellow's crimes could practically fill an entire book!
Since the founding of Liyue, the guy had dumped countless responsibilities onto Guizhong, Ganyu, Cloud Retainer, and Jiang Yan himself.
And ever since he overheard a ship owner telling his workers about retirement…
That old fox had been constantly thinking about retiring and slacking off, even plotting how to secretly pass the Gnosis to Jiang Yan.
Not to mention he loved spending money and making other people pay the bill.
But the words stopped at Jiang Yan's lips.
…Better not ruin the image of Liyue's god in front of the kids.
Even though Morax had definitely been corrupted by Barbatos and often slacked off now…
It was undeniable that he was still the pillar of Liyue.
Even Jiang Yan couldn't replace that role.
Looking up at the sky, Jiang Yan spoke thoughtfully:
"The Geo Archon…"
"How should I put it? In this land where mortals walk alongside gods, he has sacrificed a great deal."
"He is a fair and just god, one who values the equality of contracts. That's why Liyue is known as the Nation of Contracts."
"He rarely appears before the people, but Liyue is like his child, growing under his constant watch."
Perhaps one day…
When Liyue can truly stand on its own under the governance of its people…
Morax and I will probably both retire at the same time.
Jiang Yan didn't say those final thoughts out loud.
Once his three little disciples grew up, he could finally enter retirement himself.
Just thinking about it made him excited.
But how would Morax retire this time?
Would he still fake his death like in the original storyline?
Just imagining that scene made Jiang Yan want to laugh.
Speaking of that…
Jiang Yan suddenly thought of someone else.
The girl famous for shouting "All is fair in love and war—now hand over the goods!" while cutting through enemies—
Keqing.
In the original storyline, Keqing was one of the Liyue Qixing, yet she openly questioned Morax's governance and lacked the typical reverence toward gods.
In her view, modern Liyue no longer needed to rely on the adepti.
The Qixing alone were already enough.
You could say Keqing was the only person who dared openly challenge Morax's authority.
She had even directly questioned him during the Rite of Descension.
That girl was extremely tsundere—probably quite interesting to get along with.
But come to think of it…
The current Yuheng of the Qixing also had the surname Ke—most likely Keqing's grandfather.
Little Keqing was about the same age as Ningguang.
When she was about two years old, her grandfather had once brought her to Yuehai Pavilion while working.
Just remembering that adorable little baby-faced Keqing made Jiang Yan chuckle.
"Ah!"
Suddenly, a startled cry came from the direction of Ningguang and the others.
Jiang Yan snapped out of his thoughts and quickly looked over.
He saw Ningguang repeatedly apologizing to another little girl.
The girl was wearing a purple dress.
The clothing looked elegant and expensive—clearly made from the finest fabrics of Liyue.
With her purple hair and slightly chubby cheeks, she still looked young, but it was obvious she would grow into a very beautiful girl in the future.
Wait a second…
That appearance…
Keqing?
Talk about coincidence.
He had just been thinking about her, and now she appeared.
At that moment, Keqing looked slightly unhappy.
The edge of her purple dress was stained with water spots—clearly splashed by Ningguang and the others when they were jumping in puddles.
As Jiang Yan walked closer, he heard Ningguang apologizing repeatedly.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry… I didn't see you just now…"
Behind her, Shenhe and Beidou also looked guilty.
"This is my new dress…"
Little Keqing didn't seem angry at Ningguang.
She simply looked sadly at her skirt.
She knew Ningguang hadn't done it on purpose.
She herself had been running down the street without noticing them, and the splash happened accidentally.
"What happened here?"
Jiang Yan walked over.
When he saw the water stains on Keqing's clothes, he immediately understood.
These mischievous little rascals…
"Master…"
Ningguang lowered her head, looking like she knew she had done something wrong.
Beidou and Shenhe also stood obediently in front of Jiang Yan, waiting to be scolded.
"Tianquan Uncle?"
At that moment, little Keqing suddenly spoke.
She had already recognized Jiang Yan when he walked over.
The moment Jiang Yan heard "Uncle Tianquan", his body froze.
Ayaka, who was about the same age as Keqing, was still calling him big brother.
But this girl suddenly called him uncle—instantly making him feel older.
Of course, Keqing wasn't wrong.
Her grandfather worked with Jiang Yan.
The fact that she didn't call him grandpa was already a miracle.
She only called him uncle because Jiang Yan looked too young for the title of "grandpa."
"Just call me Brother Jiang Yan, little Keqing."
Jiang Yan smiled and gently rubbed her head.
"I'm sorry. My disciples dirtied your beautiful new dress." 🌧️👧🏻👘
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