After dinner, Jiang Yan brought Ganyu and the three little girls back to Liyue Harbor.
By the time they arrived at the harbor, night had already fallen.
Liyue was glowing beneath rows of lanterns, thousands of lights illuminating the bustling port city.
Near the docks, Jiang Yan spotted someone he had not seen in quite some time.
A brown robe fluttered gently in the wind. The young man stood with his arms crossed, gazing out over the sea. His appearance was youthful, yet his entire bearing radiated an ancient, weathered calm.
"Well, well, well—if it isn't our great Geo Archon."
"What brings you back to Liyue Harbor today?"
The moment Jiang Yan saw him, he immediately began speaking in a teasingly sarcastic tone.
The man before him was none other than Liyue's god—the Geo Archon, Morax.
"Senior Uncle~"
The three little girls called out sweetly the moment they saw him.
The destructive power of adorable children was no joke.
Even someone as steady and immovable as stone like Morax couldn't help the faint smile that appeared on his face upon hearing those soft voices.
"Good."
Morax gently patted the girls on the head before turning to Jiang Yan.
"Come with me. I need to discuss something with you."
"Something with me?"
Jiang Yan blinked in surprise.
"Your Excellency, Jiang Yan, I'll take Ningguang and the others home first."
Ganyu understood immediately that Morax wanted to discuss something important, so she planned to bring the three little ones back first.
"Alright. If I return late, go to sleep first."
Jiang Yan brushed Ganyu's silky hair aside, his voice soft.
Morax also nodded.
"Mm."
Ganyu nodded before leading Ningguang, Shenhe, and Beidou toward home.
Once they were gone, Morax said simply:
"Let's go."
"Mm."
Jiang Yan nodded, flying together with Morax toward Mount Tianheng.
At the summit of Mount Tianheng.
Inside a small pavilion atop the mountain, the two descended from the sky.
Jiang Yan had specially built this pavilion for gatherings.
Whenever everyone had free time, it served as a convenient place to sit together and drink tea.
Taking a seat at the stone table, Jiang Yan snapped his fingers.
The Reality Stone glowed on his right hand.
A steaming teapot instantly appeared on the table between them.
"What did you want to talk about?"
Jiang Yan poured tea for both of them.
Morax paused briefly before speaking.
"I wanted to ask your opinion."
"What do you think of Snezhnaya's Second Cryo Archon?"
"The Second Cryo Archon?"
Jiang Yan froze for a moment.
Ever since the original gods of Natlan, Fontaine, and Snezhnaya had mysteriously died, the Seven Archons rarely gathered together anymore.
The only remaining old acquaintances who still met occasionally were the four nations that still retained their original gods neighboring Liyue.
As for Snezhnaya's Second Cryo Archon...
Jiang Yan truly didn't know her well.
He had never even met her.
His understanding of her only came from fragmented memories of the game's plot in his previous life.
Still...
The Second Cryo Archon had indeed been making many moves recently.
Not only had Snezhnaya been aggressively expanding its military, but the Fatui had also repeatedly attempted to infiltrate Liyue.
However, under Jiang Yan's deterrence and the Millelith's vigilance, those plans had never succeeded.
"Did that Second Archon approach you?"
Jiang Yan asked.
"She did."
Morax briefly recounted the conversation he had with the Second Cryo Archon earlier that morning.
"I see…"
Jiang Yan immediately understood.
So it was about that matter.
This was essentially the same setup that would later become the main storyline in Liyue—the fake death of Rex Lapis.
Even organizing his own funeral banquet.
"Heh. A mere second-generation god…"
"And she dared speak to you in such an arrogant tone."
"Snezhnaya truly has some nerve."
Jiang Yan sneered.
"Looks like I should make a trip to Snezhnaya someday and have a 'friendly discussion' with them."
His tone carried undisguised disdain.
At this point in time, Snezhnaya hadn't even assembled the full Eleven Harbingers yet.
Even if they had—
None of them would qualify to stand before Jiang Yan.
After all, they were people scheming in the shadows to gather Gnosis in hopes of rebelling against Celestia.
Meanwhile, Jiang Yan was someone capable of making Celestia sit down and negotiate with him peacefully.
His contempt was only natural.
"Behave yourself. The ordinary people of Snezhnaya haven't done anything wrong."
Morax immediately stopped him.
If Jiang Yan's temper flared, he might genuinely open a portal and flatten Zapolyarny Palace on the spot.
"Although the current Cryo Archon is vastly different from the first…"
"We still owe the original Cryo Archon some respect."
That was also why Morax had not directly clashed with the Second Cryo Archon.
"Hmph. For the sake of the original Cryo Archon, I'll let this pass."
Jiang Yan snorted.
His impression of the first Cryo Archon had always been favorable.
Her gentleness had been so profound that even Jiang Yan never once considered causing trouble in her domain.
Her death had come far too suddenly.
By the time Jiang Yan learned of it, she had already been gone for an unknown length of time.
Though he regretted her passing, he lacked the means to resurrect her directly.
Even with the Time Stone, he would still need to know the exact moment of her death and possess her remains.
Besides—
In his previous life, the Traveler had only just completed the Sumeru storyline.
Fontaine hadn't even been explored yet.
How could he possibly know details about the Cryo Archon's deeper plotline?
And even if Jiang Yan wanted to resurrect the first Cryo Archon—
The current Cryo Archon might not permit such a thing.
After all, no one knew where the original Cryo Archon's remains were hidden.
Perhaps even Snezhnaya itself didn't know why she had died so suddenly.
"So what are you planning to do?"
Jiang Yan asked Morax.
"You're just going to hand over the Geo Gnosis to her?"
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