After that day, Phenex never saw Morax or Guizhong in the Guili Assembly again.
Morax's traveling palace was now inhabited by him alone.
Well... it couldn't exactly be said to be alone, because...
"Good morning, Senior." A girl who looked about four years old came to Phenex's room and greeted him in a soft, shy young girl's voice.
The girl had sky-blue long hair that nearly dragged on the ground, with delicate and adorable features. Her eyes were a clear, gradient maroon-to-purple, and on her head were two dark red curved horns bending backward.
She wore a thick, snow-white cloak, making her entire person look like an adorable little snow dumpling.
"I'm not your master. You don't need to come pay respects so early in the morning."
Phenex stretched his body and patted the little girl's head as he spoke.
"This is a matter of etiquette."
The little girl shook her head and said.
"...As long as you're happy."
Phenex didn't mind and then went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for himself and the little girl.
Actually, the last acquaintance Phenex had seen that day wasn't Morax, but the blue-and-white crane he had met a hundred years ago Cloud Retainer.
Cloud Retainer had learned from Guizhong that Phenex would remain in the Guili Assembly and not participate in the Archon War, so she specially came to find Phenex, hoping he could take care of her disciple for a while.
"The Archon War is fraught with danger. Ganyu is still young. If she stays by this adeptus's side, this adeptus worries she cannot protect her well. Leaving her alone in Jueyun Karst, this adeptus also cannot rest easy."
"This adeptus hopes Your Excellency can take care of this adeptus's incompetent disciple for a period of time."
These were Cloud Retainer's exact words. It was clear she truly cared about this disciple. When asking Phenex for help, she even set aside her haughty attitude, changing her self-address from "this adeptus" to "I."
Seeing her good attitude, and since she was an old friend of Morax and also a bird, Phenex did not refuse.
Thus, Phenex's old acquaintance Cloud Retainer's disciple, the adeptal beast qilin Ganyu moved into Morax's traveling palace just like that.
To be honest, at first Phenex had been wondering, given the size of that qilin, whether he should cast an outdoor illusion technique in Morax's traveling palace.
Otherwise, there wouldn't be any room in the palace suitable for housing a qilin.
However, when he saw the sky-blue snow dumpling with two horns appear before him, Phenex admitted he was shocked.
"You can use shapeshifting arts, and the crane was still worried you couldn't protect yourself?"
This was the first sentence Phenex blurted out upon meeting her.
Phenex was no longer the little adeptal arts novice from a hundred years ago who only knew how to bombard with elemental power. After studying adeptal arts under Guizhong, he had long understood that only adepti with a certain level of cultivation, capable of performing shapeshifting arts, could be honored with the title "True Lord."
And being able to perform shapeshifting arts was enough to prove that one's attainments in adeptal arts were not low.
Only then did Phenex learn that Ganyu was half-human, half-adeptus, so the difficulty of shapeshifting for her was far lower than for normal adepti.
That made sense. Otherwise, Phenex who still hadn't learned shapeshifting arts even now would have made a fuss.
A hundred years was enough time for a newborn god to learn many things, such as cooking.
Little Ganyu ate the medicinal congee Phenex had made in big mouthfuls, spoonful after spoonful, completely unable to stop.
After all, in Jueyun Karst, the only things edible were medicinal herbs. Little Ganyu had basically never eaten normal food. Just like Phenex back then.
Phenex smiled in satisfaction. It hadn't been in vain that he had specially gone to train under the head chef of Fengdeng Tower.
Then Phenex saw little Ganyu put down her bowl and purse her lips tightly.
"Uh, not to your taste?"
"No, no Senior's congee is very delicious."
"Then are you full?"
Just two bowls was this little qilin's stomach that of a little bird?
"No." Little Ganyu said shyly: "It's just that if I don't control my diet, I'll get fat."
She had worked so hard to regain the slender figure befitting a qilin; she couldn't let all her efforts go to waste.
Upon hearing this, Phenex immediately filled little Ganyu's bowl to the brim again and placed it in front of her: "Eat."
If you're not full, keep eating. She could actually shapeshift yet was still worried about getting fat Phenex felt Ganyu's way of thinking was a bit abnormal.
"Um, Senior..." Little Ganyu wanted to politely refuse, but before she could finish speaking, she saw Phenex frown.
Little Ganyu could only silently continue drinking her congee.
Only then did Phenex smile in satisfaction. Then, looking at the cloak on little Ganyu's body, he asked: "Is this the only set of clothes you have?"
"Y... yes."
Could that crane even take care of children? Wearing this in such hot weather, and with fur too weren't you afraid the little qilin would feel hot?
"Wait here."
Phenex said, then got up and left the dining room.
Not long after, Phenex returned holding a feathered garment and handed it to little Ganyu: "This is the clothing I changed out of back then. It should fit you perfectly. It's yours now."
Little Ganyu picked up the bright red feathered garment. Her eyes turned into little stars, revealing unconcealable amazement.
She couldn't bring herself to refuse at all. Little Ganyu held the feathered garment, her small face flushed red, and softly said: "Thank you, Senior."
"After all, I promised your master I would take care of you." Phenex smiled. Though he appeared to be only a twelve-year-old youth, he gave off an exceptionally reliable feeling.
"Keep eating. If it's not enough, just call me I'll make more for you."
Phenex instructed, then walked out of the dining room and came to the training grounds. With practiced movements, he picked up an iron sword and began practicing swordsmanship.
Back then, Morax had demonstrated the eighteen types of martial arts and let Phenex choose a weapon himself, personally teaching him.
At that time, Phenex had taken a liking to swordsmanship with one glance because swordsmanship was agile and elegant, extremely handsome.
Afterward, the little god displayed swordsmanship talent that astonished Morax. His attainments in swordsmanship grew increasingly refined through day-after-day of diligent practice.
"I can't slack off just because I can't go to the battlefield. Morax and Guizhong will need my power someday." Phenex swung his sword and sliced a falling leaf in half. "Before that day comes, I need to advance my power even further."
The young god said this as the three-foot green blade in his hand became even more nimble.
Sunrise and sunset the days in the Guili Assembly passed like this, one after another.
Before leaving, Guizhong and the adepti of Jueyun Karst had set up a barrier around the Guili Assembly. As long as the barrier remained, the Guili Assembly would not be affected by the consequences of the Archon War.
The gods who loved their people, even before departing, could not rest easy about their subjects and used their own power to protect them.
Outside the Guili Assembly, wars between gods raged until mountains crumbled and the earth split; inside the Guili Assembly, time remained peaceful and serene.
Finally, one day, the people of the Guili Assembly suddenly awoke to something:
Had it been a very long time since the Geo Archon and the Dust Goddess had last appeared in the Guili Assembly?
This realization caused inexplicable panic among the people of the Guili Assembly, who had lived generation after generation under the protection of the two gods.
And this panic reached its peak after people who had ventured outside brought back news of the Archon War.
The anxious and uneasy people sought out the white-haired Adeptus still in the Guili Assembly, hoping to get answers.
They wanted to know whether the Geo Archon and the Dust Goddess had gone to participate in the Archon War.
They also wanted to know whether the Geo Archon and the Dust Goddess had already been defeated and would never return.
They even more wanted to know whether the Geo Archon and the Dust Goddess had abandoned them, their believers.
"The Lord of Geo and the Dust Goddess... did indeed participate in the Archon War to contend for that divine seat."
"But they have not been defeated. The Lord of Geo is invincible. They will definitely return."
"They have not abandoned their people. The fact that I am still here is the best proof!"
"I am here precisely on the orders of the Lord of Geo and the Dust Goddess to guard the Guili Assembly! I myself am proof that you have not been abandoned by the gods!"
The green youth with white hair and red eyes, looking about fifteen years old, held his three-foot green blade and spoke thus to the people of the Guili Assembly.