After tea and a full meal, Cloud Retainer stood before the pond, admiring Changsheng the immortal in the water while savoring the delicious fish soup she had just eaten.
Ryan finished cleaning all the bowls and chopsticks before remembering that he was there to deliver pills, and immediately took out the freshly refined Rainbow Feather Pill.
"Master, the pills you requested earlier are ready. Taking them can improve the quality of your feathers."
Ryan held the Rainbow Feather Pill in both hands, presenting it to Cloud Retainer.
"That quickly? Young people are certainly nimble. Let This Immortal take a look."
Cloud Retainer was a bit surprised. She extended her wing, took the pill from Ryan's hand, and carefully examined it in the air.
It was perfectly round and full, with a faint golden glow. Its form was shimmering and ethereal, seemingly exuding a medicinal fragrance.
"It's a good pill..."
"But will This Immortal's feathers truly become brighter after eating it?"
Cloud Retainer nodded in satisfaction, but still confirmed with Ryan with a hint of uncertainty.
After all, the pills Ryan was refining now were not part of the alchemy system known to the immortals, and she couldn't discern their effects.
"Don't worry, Master, I'm very confident."
Ryan gave Cloud Retainer an 'ok' gesture.
"If you're lying to This Immortal, be careful you don't turn into a chubby fox."
Cloud Retainer added another sentence.
Because she had personally witnessed some of Ryan's pills with overly strange effects, she was actually hesitant to randomly consume his concoctions.
"Master, those are just things you say to scare children. I'm not a child anymore, I'm not afraid of that. Just trust me."
Ryan said, feeling a bit speechless.
He had heard that phrase when he was little, from a story about Ganyu when she was young. Because she was afraid of getting fat, Cloud Retainer would occasionally use it to scare him into obedience.
Cloud Retainer was helpless in this regard; among all her disciples, Ryan was the most mischievous.
Generally speaking, those whose hearts are not calm cannot cultivate into immortals, and she would not accept them as disciples. But back then... "Very well, This Immortal will now refine the pill."
Cloud Retainer was merely confirming. Seeing that Ryan wasn't joking, she nodded and swallowed the pill in one gulp.
After consuming the pill, Cloud Retainer immediately began to refine it, and its effects quickly took hold.
Then, Cloud Retainer spread her wings, which became dazzling and brilliant in the sunlight.
In the afterglow of the setting sun, Cloud Retainer stood with her back to the sun, her wings, bathed in the evening glow, shone brightly, as if she had transformed from a blue-white crane into a magnificent phoenix.
"Master, you're so radiant...!"
Ryan exaggeratedly raised his hands to shield his eyes.
Only when the evening glow had completely faded did Cloud Retainer slowly retract her wings.
"Excellent, excellent. This Immortal's feathers look much brighter. If Water Management sees them another day, he'll probably be so envious he won't be able to sleep."
Cloud Retainer was quite satisfied with the pill's effects.
Although she was an immortal, birds always cherished their feathers, just as those deer-shaped immortals loved to show off their antlers.
"Ryan, you did well this time. How about this... This Immortal has decided to reward you with an express Mechanics course, guaranteeing you'll master This Immortal's true Mechanics teachings within ten years."
After admiring her bright feathers for a while, Cloud Retainer finally said to Ryan with satisfaction, deciding to give him a reward.
"Huh? Master, you can't repay kindness with enmity! I don't want to learn Mechanics, I still want to refine pills..."
Upon hearing Cloud Retainer's reward, Ryan quickly shook his head.
"You child, how many mortals wish to learn This Immortal's Mechanics but have no way? Yet you, you avoid it like the plague."
Ryan's words displeased Cloud Retainer.
"Besides, having many skills never hurts, and you are inherently destined for Mechanics. You should inherit This Immortal's mantle."
Cloud Retainer, having been rejected by Ryan, tried to persuade him. She had been trying to convince Ryan to learn Mechanics for decades, ever since he took human form.
"No, no, I still prefer refining pills."
Ryan quickly shook his head like a rattle-drum.
"...You child, if you don't listen, I'll call Lord Rex Lapis to come and take you away."
Cloud Retainer had no way to deal with the stubborn Ryan, so she had to bring up Lord Rex Lapis.
"Master, I'm not a child anymore. You can't scare me, and Lord Rex Lapis isn't the Millelith; he doesn't arrest children."
Hearing Cloud Retainer's words, Ryan shrugged indifferently. He thought his Master must have learned this trick from mortals in Liyue Harbor.
Parents in Liyue Harbor loved to use, "If you don't behave, I'll call the Millelith uncles to take you away!" to scare disobedient children.
"Oh, well, fine. If you don't want to learn, then don't. This Immortal just can't do anything with you..."
Unable to persuade Ryan, Cloud Retainer could only sigh regretfully.
Normally Ryan was very obedient, but he was incredibly stubborn when it came to learning Mechanics, even more so than a typical child who disliked studying.
"Master, don't be angry, or your feathers might get worse again."
"The sun has set now, and I should go back to sleep. Master, you should also rest early~"
Ryan scratched his head, said goodbye to Cloud Retainer, and then waved as he slipped away.
He felt that bringing up the matter of going down the mountain was not suitable at the moment.
"Go on, go on. This Immortal is not one to get angry easily."
Cloud Retainer flapped her wings in response, then looked up at the moon that had just risen in the distance, lost in thought.
Back in his cave dwelling, Ryan flopped onto his bed, completely collapsing.
Excluding the time he was knocked out by lightning, he had continuously refined two pills without rest for the past few days, and the moment he relaxed, he felt exhausted.
Just like that, too lazy to even cover himself with a blanket, Ryan quickly fell into a deep sleep... The next day, the chirping of birds woke Ryan.
His cave dwelling was built into the mountain wall, so ordinary animals couldn't accidentally enter. However, Ryan had also added an immortal spell barrier to prevent birds from flying into the cave.
But the immortal spell barrier left a space of more than ten centimeters at the entrance for birds to perch, and because spiritual energy gathered inside the cave, it often attracted Finches to gather outside the immortal spell barrier at the entrance.
"So noisy... If you keep chirping, I'll eat you..."
Yawning, Ryan walked over and deactivated the immortal spell barrier at the entrance.
Then he extended his foot and, one by one, pushed a line of Finches at the cave entrance off the cliff with his toes.
Although these Finches were cute, he was a fox. Before taking human form, he often secretly hunted birds for food, so he wasn't polite to these creatures.
Watching the startled Finches fly off into the distance, Ryan finally raised his hand and stretched, even his tail straightening.
"Judging by the time, it's almost time to go down the mountain."
"I originally wanted to tell Master after delivering the pills yesterday..."
Ryan, stretching, then stroked his chin and muttered.
He had originally intended to tell Cloud Retainer about his plans to go down the mountain while she was in a good mood, but yesterday's sudden attempt to make him study had disrupted his plans.
Afterward, Ryan first tidied up the things in his cave dwelling, then went up the mountain to prepare breakfast for Cloud Retainer, cooking some porridge and a few side dishes.
"Master, I want to go down the mountain today to look for alchemy ingredients. You don't need to prepare dinner for me."
After breakfast and cleaning the dishes, Ryan finally brought up the matter of going down the mountain to Cloud Retainer.
"Hmm? But aren't you usually responsible for dinner?"
Cloud Retainer, hearing this, raised her wing and scratched her head. Generally, when Ryan was too busy to cook, she wouldn't eat either.
"Moreover, if you go down the mountain alone, This Immortal is somewhat worried. You haven't been to the city many times, child..."
Then Cloud Retainer became a little worried.
"Don't worry, Master, I just want to take the opportunity to see this year's Rite of Descension. I'll come back as soon as I'm done watching."
Ryan explained to the worried Cloud Retainer.
"Is that so? Then go."
"But remember This Immortal's words: don't talk to strangers who approach you, don't eat things given by strangers, don't go with strangers, find a place to stay first when you get to the city, and hide your Mora well so no one sees it..."
Learning that Ryan was going to see the Rite of Descension, Cloud Retainer finally nodded, but still gave Ryan instructions.
"Master, I'm not a child anymore... Even if you only count the time since I took human form, I'm over thirty years old, alright..."
Cloud Retainer's instructions made Ryan a bit speechless.
"What do you know? Back then, when Ganyu went to Liyue Harbor alone, she was swindled by a unscrupulous merchant on the way. One meal cost tens of thousands of Mora."
"If the Yuehai Pavilion hadn't advanced her a month's salary after she arrived at her post, she would have had to eat grass for a month to fill her stomach."
Hearing Ryan's words, Cloud Retainer immediately turned her back and began to recount past events.
Perhaps due to the effect of the Rainbow Feather Pill, the feathers on her back now looked somewhat vibrant and multicolored.
"That's just because Ganyu is too much of a glutton..."
"And isn't it normal for her to eat grass?"
...