"It's okay. I was the one running too fast and didn't see them."
Little Keqing shook her head, though she still looked a bit unhappy.
After all, this was a new dress she had just bought.
She hadn't even had time to enjoy wearing it before it got dirty.
Seeing the disappointed look on the little girl's face, Jiang Yan smiled.
What a cute kid.
"Well then, as an apology, let me restore your dress to how it was before."
As he spoke, Jiang Yan placed his right hand over the part of Keqing's dress that had gotten dirty.
The Time Gem suddenly lit up.
A faint green halo appeared in Jiang Yan's palm. As he gently rotated his hand, Keqing's previously soaked and stained dress gradually returned to its brand-new state.
If someone else saw Jiang Yan using the Time Gem like this, they would probably collapse in despair.
You bastard!
You're using such an overpowered artifact just to clean a dress?!
Keqing watched as her dress transformed from wet and messy back into perfect condition.
Her eyes widened.
So magical!
No wonder her grandfather often said Lord Tianquan was practically an immortal.
So it was true!
Even her dress could be restored to brand new.
Brother Jiang Yan is amazing!
Children's thoughts were always simple.
Just by restoring her dress, she had already decided Jiang Yan must really be an immortal.
"Little Keqing, you seemed to be running in a hurry just now. Did something happen?"
Jiang Yan asked curiously.
After all, she had just said she was running too fast to notice Ningguang and the others.
When Keqing heard this, she visibly panicked.
Her eyes darted around nervously.
Then she leaned closer and whispered:
"Brother Jiang Yan… I'll tell you, but you can't tell my grandfather, okay?"
Jiang Yan froze for a moment.
Hmm?
Something that couldn't be told to her grandfather?
Now he was intrigued.
"Oh? Go on. I promise I won't tell him."
Keqing hesitated before finally whispering:
"I'm going to run away from home!"
Jiang Yan: ???
He almost laughed out loud.
This little girl really had interesting ideas.
Running away from home?
Thinking about it carefully, though…
It actually wasn't that surprising.
In the original game lore, Keqing's story mentioned that although she was a noble young lady, she often went on adventures outside to temper herself.
"Oh? And why does little Keqing want to run away from home?"
Jiang Yan crouched down and asked gently.
Meanwhile, Ningguang, Beidou, Shenhe, and Ayaka all looked at Keqing curiously.
"It's because of my grandfather!"
"He keeps saying the outside world is dangerous and won't let me go exploring!"
"He even wanted to lock me inside the house. Hmph! No way!"
"I didn't do anything wrong, so why is he so against it?"
When she talked about it, Keqing looked quite indignant.
So it really is about exploring.
Jiang Yan chuckled.
Yep, that definitely sounded like Keqing's personality.
"Why do you like going on adventures so much? Aren't you afraid of danger?"
Jiang Yan asked again.
"I'm not afraid at all!"
"I'm very strong!"
Little Keqing raised her tiny fist confidently.
Seeing her cute determination, Jiang Yan couldn't help but rub her head again.
"Little Keqing is really brave. But you still have to be careful when you're outside."
While saying that, Jiang Yan silently placed a thin spatial membrane around her body.
He might tell her to be careful—
But letting such a small child go exploring alone?
No one could truly feel at ease about that.
The spatial membrane Jiang Yan placed on her was a protective mechanism.
If Keqing encountered danger, it would activate temporarily to protect her.
And the moment it activated, Jiang Yan would immediately sense it and rush over.
After all—
He couldn't just let that "Brother Tianquan" she called him go to waste.
"Okay! Then I'm leaving now, Brother Jiang Yan!"
"Remember, don't tell my grandfather! If he finds out, he'll lock me up again!"
With that, little Keqing quickly ran toward the city gates of Liyue Harbor.
Jiang Yan smiled and nodded, watching her leave.
After that, he continued strolling through Liyue with the four girls.
The three little troublemakers who had been happily stomping in puddles earlier—
Were still doing it.
But now, before jumping into any puddle, they would carefully check their surroundings first.
Clearly, what happened to Keqing had taught them a lesson.
Not long after, they saw a white-haired but sturdy old man anxiously searching the streets.
The moment Jiang Yan saw him, he chuckled.
Well well…
That was Keqing's grandfather.
Looks like he had already discovered that she ran away from home.
The old man soon approached Jiang Yan.
When he saw him, he quickly bowed respectfully.
"Greetings, Lord Tianquan."
"May I ask if Lord Tianquan has seen my mischievous granddaughter?"
The old man looked extremely worried.
After all, Keqing was still so young.
Jiang Yan didn't hide anything and told him about their earlier encounter.
"That girl!"
When the old man heard Keqing had already run off on an adventure, he looked clearly exasperated.
"Old Ke, let the little girl have her fun."
"She's at the age where she should be playing."
Jiang Yan said with a smile.
"Lord Tianquan, she's my only granddaughter!"
"If something happened to her…"
The old man was clearly panicking.
"Relax, relax. Do you think I'd let her run off without doing anything?"
"I left a protective seal on her. If she encounters danger, I'll know immediately."
That sentence clearly reassured the old man.
After all, he had been running around like a headless chicken trying to find her.
By the time he actually located Keqing, he would probably be exhausted.
"Sorry for troubling you, Lord Tianquan."
"With your protection, I'm sure that girl won't encounter any danger."
Keqing's grandfather finally breathed a sigh of relief, his expression relaxing.
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