After returning home, Jiang Yan saw Ganyu slowly making her way downstairs with a slight limp.
"You should be resting. Why are you in such a hurry to come down?"
He immediately stepped forward to support her, lifting her into his arms.
"Ah!"
"It's all your fault! I couldn't even go to work today."
Ganyu lightly punched his chest, puffing up her cheeks.
The intensity of last night had left a lingering soreness at the roots of her thighs.
In this condition, going to work really wasn't ideal.
"Sorry, sorry. I hurt you last night."
Jiang Yan gently stroked her smooth, pale thigh. Then, the Horse Talisman lit up in his mind, and a faint glow appeared in his hand.
Ganyu felt waves of warm energy flow from his palm into her legs.
The overwhelming comfort caused her thighs to part slightly, a soft sound escaping her lips.
Jiang Yan nearly lost control.
"D-Don't… don't start anything again."
Sensing the restless movement behind her, Ganyu's face reddened as she spoke.
"Then don't move."
His voice was low and rough, clearly restrained.
Not long after, Jiang Yan finished healing the soreness he had caused the night before.
"There. Sit here and rest for a while. I'll make you something to eat."
He placed her gently onto the soft sofa before heading into the kitchen.
Ganyu moved her legs experimentally.
After confirming that the tearing pain near her thighs had disappeared, she stood up.
Her stomach still felt a little uncomfortable.
But she didn't think much of it, assuming it was simply from being worn out last night.
Before long, Jiang Yan brought over steaming food.
"I already requested leave for you from the Ministry of Civil Affairs. Stay home and rest today."
He ladled a bowl of porridge for her.
"Okay."
Ganyu nodded obediently.
She had never refused Jiang Yan's arrangements.
"When you're free, go out more with Guizhong and the others."
"Learn from her. She actually knows how to enjoy downtime."
"Unlike you…"
He tapped her forehead lightly.
"You work nonstop every day. If I hadn't requested leave for you, you'd probably go back to work right after eating, wouldn't you?"
Ganyu quietly sipped her porridge without answering.
Because that was exactly what she had planned.
"But… you're going out again later…"
She spoke softly.
"I'll be bored staying home alone."
Seeing her hopeful expression, wanting him to stay with her, Jiang Yan's heart softened instantly.
Too cute.
After thinking for a moment, he gently touched her qilin horns.
Their soft texture felt incredibly satisfying.
It was also her most sensitive spot.
"Stop that… I'm eating…"
Ganyu blushed.
"After we finish eating, I'll take you somewhere."
Jiang Yan spoke softly.
"Hm? Where?"
She looked up at him curiously.
"You said staying home would be boring, so come with me."
He smiled.
Sooner or later, Ganyu would have to learn about Nahida anyway.
Taking her along now wouldn't hurt.
"Is this the thing you've been mysteriously busy with these past few days?"
Ganyu asked.
"Yep. You'll know once we get there."
His tone remained secretive.
"Alright."
She was genuinely curious.
Jiang Yan's strange behavior over the past few days hadn't escaped her notice.
What exactly had he been doing?
Driven by curiosity, Ganyu quickly finished eating.
After cleaning up, Jiang Yan turned serious.
"The place we're going next… no matter what you see there, don't react loudly."
"And don't tell anyone else."
His tone carried unusual gravity.
After all, things like the World Tree were best kept unknown.
Even among the Seven Gods, knowledge of it was limited.
Outside of them, very few people knew of its existence.
"Okay."
Ganyu nodded seriously.
Though she didn't know where he was taking her, she could tell from his expression that it was somewhere highly secretive.
She agreed without hesitation.
Jiang Yan snapped his fingers.
The Space Stone lit up instantly, and a portal opened before them.
"Let's go. Close your eyes, or you might feel dizzy."
He held Ganyu's hand gently.
"Mm."
She nodded.
Together, they stepped through the portal.
At this very moment.
In Qingce Village.
A young man dressed in a brown robe stood atop a mountain peak, overlooking the prosperous village below.
Within his deep eyes lingered an ancient weariness.
"Geo Archon, have you considered my proposal?"
At that moment, behind him, shimmering frost crystals appeared.
A cold voice echoed from within the ice.
"Second Cryo Archon… you understand the consequences of what you're attempting."
Morax spoke calmly.
"Compared to the first Cryo Archon, whose ideal was love and compassion…"
"Your love does not seem to rest upon your people."
"Love? Heh…"
"If love had any value, then why did she die?"
The voice grew visibly angry at Morax's comparison between the first and second Cryo Archons.
The death of the first Cryo Archon had always been strange.
Even Jiang Yan hadn't fully understood what happened.
He only knew that the Cryo Archon had suddenly perished, followed by the rise of the second.
Jiang Yan once believed her death was tied to the Cataclysm of Khaenri'ah.
Yet even after preventing the war's destruction, he still could not prevent her death.
Not only the Cryo Archon.
The Pyro Archon and Hydro Archon had also fallen one after another.
Though there was no confirmed report regarding the Hydro Archon's death, the current Hydro Archon was no longer the same person as before.
The second Cryo Archon believed the first had died because of Celestia.
Thus, she no longer loved humanity.
She gathered all who wished to rebel.
She wanted war against Celestia.
"Morax."
"Will you stand with me or not?"
"Or are you willing to remain beneath Celestia's rule?"
But this was not the Morax of the original timeline.
His companions still lived.
He had not yet suffered erosion.
Though ancient and weathered, his temper was far from gentle toward outsiders.
"A mere second-generation god…"
Morax turned his gaze toward the icy crystal.
"Who gave you the nerve…"
"To speak to me like that?"
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