“What’s wrong?” Ganyu woke Piers, who was sitting on the ground.
“A mortal’s meridians and flesh are inferior to those of the adepti, so your rate of cultivation is slow.
But given enough time, you can use adept power to remake your meridians and strengthen your body.
Before that, though, you mustn’t be too eager for quick results.
A mortal’s meridians are fragile—if you cultivate too fast, it’s very easy to hurt yourself.” “So I need to first circulate my adept power slowly, refining the body before refining the techniques?” “That’s right.
Junior Brother Piers is so clever.
From now on, come here to cultivate every day, and I’ll keep watch over you.
If anything goes wrong, I’ll be able to help.” Ganyu looked very enthusiastic, but this rather put Piers in a difficult spot—he had to return to Snezhnaya in a couple of days.
“Ahem, Senior Sister Ganyu, I’m currently the Harbinger that Snezhnaya sent to Liyue.
I’ll need to head back in a couple of days…” “Eh?
That does seem to be the case.
I nearly forgot.
What ever shall we do…
Oh, right—I’ve learned some medicinal pharmacology from my master, so I can prepare a few medicines for you to aid your cultivation.
After that, take good care of yourself in Snezhnaya, and if things really won’t do, you can come back to Liyue and find me.” Sssss—why does something feel strangely off here?
Why is there this sense of a mother fussing over her child?
“Many thanks for your concern, Senior Sister.
I’ll be careful from now on.” “For today, just stay here with me.
I’ll work beside you.
Come over both of these days, and I’ll find time to prepare the medicinal herbs before you leave.” “All right.” “Little Ganyu is still so adorable.” Off to the side, Guizhong frantically reached out to pat Ganyu’s head—though of course she still couldn’t actually touch her.
These few days had been requested by Piers from the Cryo Tsaritsa in the first place.
He’d had no urgent business anyway; the only thing on his agenda was going to Madame Ping’s place in the evening to listen to a tune.
He sat back down and circulated his adept power with the same technique as before, but this time he deliberately controlled the flow rate.
The adept power in his meridians grew slower and slower, until at last it nearly stopped flowing altogether, simply lying quietly within his channels.
Gradually, the stagnant adept power began to expand outward, from the meridians into the flesh.
His original body of blood and flesh was enveloped by the adept power, and under its ceaseless infusion his meridians were slowly stretched wider.
It wasn’t until evening that Piers opened his eyes.
At some point, Ganyu had fallen asleep slumped over the desk, a brush still in her hand, the ink of her writing not yet fully dry.
Not wanting to disturb Ganyu, Piers deliberately slowed his steps, finally making his way with difficulty out from a great heap of documents, then reaching back to pull the door shut.
The sky had already grown dim.
Piers had cultivated for an entire day—he hadn’t even had time to eat—yet he didn’t seem to feel any hunger.
With adept power filling his whole body, he felt a sense of ease he’d never known before.
He left the little loft beside the Yuehai Pavilion.
Perhaps because the real-world map differed somewhat from the one in the game, Piers, to avoid getting lost, deliberately took a detour to Chihu Rock and then circled back around to Yujing Terrace.
“Madame Ping, I’ve come to trouble you again.” Piers walked over step by step.
Madame Ping was sitting on a small stool, the guqin already laid out on the little table before her.
“What a remarkable young man.
Only a single day has passed—yesterday you were still a mortal body, and today your divine luster is already drawn within.” Madame Ping lifted her eyes to look at Piers, lavishing him with praise.
“It’s all thanks to Senior Sister Ganyu.
Otherwise, if I’d kept on cultivating, I’d likely have crippled myself.” “How long until you leave?” Piers, too, dragged a small stool out from under the low table and sat down.
He’d been good-looking to begin with, and after tempering his body with adept power, the contours of his face had grown even more defined, his skin turning fair and luminous.
If he grew his hair long, one probably wouldn’t be able to tell whether he was a man or a woman.
“The day after tomorrow, I suppose.
I promised a friend I’d bring some things back for her, so tomorrow I’ll have a good look around the streets.” After listening to a few tunes, Piers turned and headed back, returning to the Northland Bank to sleep.
The next morning, sunlight streamed in through the glass window.
“I say, just how long are you planning to sleep?” Bleary-eyed, Piers actually heard Sandrone’s voice—how was this any different from dozing off in class and hearing the homeroom teacher yelling at you from outside the window?
“This must be a dream.
What a terrifying nightmare.
I’ll sleep a little more.” Piers muttered to himself, rolled over, and closed his eyes again.
“What’s that supposed to mean?!
Get up right now!!” Heh heh.
A mere little puppet—if I can’t deal with you in reality, can’t I at least deal with you in a dream?
You tell me to get up and I just get up?
Then I’d lose all my dignity.
“Fine, fine, fine, so you won’t get up.
Pronia, tie Lord Piers up and drag him back for me.” Piers, still lying on the bed, suddenly felt a cold, mechanical sensation, and his groggy mind abruptly snapped to attention.
Wait, no, that’s not right—why does this feeling seem so real?
Holy crap, this isn’t a dream.
“Lord [Puppet], so it really is you.
How did you come to Liyue?” In an instant Piers shot bolt upright, his gaze turning clear and bright.
Folks, who could understand this—waking up first thing in the morning to see your boss is no different from running into a ghost in broad daylight.
“Heh.
Her Majesty the Tsaritsa said you’d applied to stay in Liyue a few more days, so I came to see what was going on.” “Aiya, Lord [Puppet], counting the time for the application to be sent back to Snezhnaya plus the time for you to come over—could it be that the moment my application was submitted, you got on a boat and came straight over?
Surely you didn’t…” Piers reached out backhanded and pinned Sandrone against the wall.
“You…
what nonsense are you spouting?” Sandrone’s gaze darted away.
For some reason she couldn’t explain, she felt that Piers looked even better than before.
“Lord, Lady, breakfast is ready, you two…” A little girl in a Fatui uniform came bouncing along and poked her head in at the doorway—only to clamp her mouth shut in an instant.
Sandrone, too, felt rather awkward, and shoved Piers away outright.
“Ahem…
My lords, I didn’t see anything, I didn’t see anything.” With a face full of panic, the little girl fled.
“Look at the fine mess you’ve made.
You’d better pray I don’t hear any rumors floating around the Fatui afterward—otherwise, heh heh.” Sandrone crossed her arms and turned aside, refusing to look at Piers.
This Kitty’s at it again.
No matter how stubborn her words, her heart is actually warm through and through.
“Ahem…
Lord [Puppet], it’s just a joke.
Oh right, it’s time for breakfast.
You can take this chance to try Liyue’s local specialties.” “Heh.
I’ve long since tried the specialty dishes of every nation.” You little Kitty—eat it or don’t, suit yourself.
Knock, knock, knock— At the doorway, a cautious knocking sounded.
The little girl in the Fatui uniform from a moment ago timidly poked her head out again.
“Um, Lord Piers, outside…
Miss Ganyu from the Yuehai Pavilion is looking for you…” This little girl has no emotional intelligence at all.
Can’t she see Kitty is still here?
She could’ve just told me this in private—if it weren’t for the fact that I won’t be staying long at the Northland Bank, I’d definitely make things hard for her.
____ 👻🔥Here: Walnut-chan🔥👻 🔥 New history: Homelander: Founding the Hero Association We have set new community milestones: