Chapter 417

After the rain, the air over Liyue Harbor was filled with a faint, sweet fragrance.

Taking advantage of the rain's pause, the workers by the harbor resumed their labor, unloading cargo from the moored ships.

Jiang Yan strolled leisurely along Liyue's streets, accompanied by four little ones.

The three little ones—Little Ningguang—playfully stomped through the puddles left by the rain, splashing water in all directions.

Every time it rained in Liyue Harbor, these three would do exactly this.

Little Linghua walked quietly beside Jiang Yan, holding his hand, gazing curiously at the sights of Liyue.

After all, Liyue's architectural style was certainly different from Inazuma's.

"Big brother, what kind of deity is the Rock Lord?"

Little Linghua looked up at Jiang Yan, curious.

Linghua had once seen from afar the deity of Inazuma—Raiden Shogun.

That gentle aura had left Linghua with an unforgettable impression.

But since Linghua had never visited other lands, she was deeply curious about Liyue's deity.

Is Liyue's deity as gentle as Inazuma's?

Jiang Yan nearly blurted out that Morax was a total slacker.

As Liyue's Tianquan and Morax's top general,

Jiang Yan had more than enough authority to speak.

That old rascal's crimes are too numerous to record on bamboo slips!

Since the founding of Liyue, that old rascal had dumped every task onto Guizhong, Ganyu, Liu Yun, and himself.

Ever since that slacker recently overheard a shipowner talking to his employees,

he'd been thinking every day about how to retire and slack off, how to sneakily transfer the Divine Core to Jiang Yan.

He also loved spending money and making others pay.

But the words stuck in Jiang Yan's throat.

Forget it—in front of these kids, better not tarnish the image of their own deity.

Though Morax had picked up bad habits from Barbatos, doing nothing but loafing around every day,

it was undeniable that Morax was the very backbone of Liyue.

And not even Jiang Yan could replace him.

He gazed at the sky and said with a sigh:

"The Rock Lord..."

"How to put it? In a land that walks alongside gods, the Rock Lord has given so much."

"He is a just deity, valuing the equality of contracts—that's why Liyue is also called the Land of Contracts."

"Though he rarely shows himself in Liyue, Liyue is like his child, growing under his constant watch."

Perhaps one day, when Liyue can ascend under the people's own hands, at that moment, both he and Morax would quietly take a well-deserved rest.

Jiang Yan did not speak this last sentence aloud.

Once his three little disciples had grown up, he could step into retirement.

Just thinking about it made him eager.

But how would Morax go about retiring this time?

Still faking his death?

Just imagining that scene made Jiang Yan want to laugh.

But speaking of retirement, Jiang Yan remembered a girl.

Keqing, the Master who chopped up all the beef offal.

In the story, Keqing was one of Liyue's Liyue Qixing, yet she strongly disapproved of Morax's governance, lacking reverence for the deity.

In Keqing's view, Liyue no longer needed immortal rule.

The Liyue Qixing alone were more than enough.

Keqing was the only one bold enough to oppose Morax.

She had once directly questioned Morax during the Divine Invocation Ceremony.

That girl was proud and prickly—getting along with her would probably be quite interesting.

Speaking of which, the current Yuheng Star also bore the surname Ke—likely Keqing's grandfather.

Little Keqing was about the same age as Little Ningguang; when Keqing was around two, her grandfather, the Yuheng Star, had carried her to Yuehai Pavilion for work.

Recalling how adorable and sweet little Keqing had looked back then, Jiang Yan couldn't help smiling.

"Ah!"

At that moment, a cry of surprise came from the direction of Little Ningguang and the other two.

Jiang Yan snapped out of his thoughts and turned quickly.

He saw Little Ningguang repeatedly apologizing to a little girl.

The little girl wore a purple dress.

The dress looked elegant and luxurious, made entirely of Liyue's finest materials.

Her purple hair, paired with a slightly chubby face, made her appear somewhat childish, but it was clear she would grow into a beautiful Miss.

Huh?

That face...

Keqing?

Talk about thinking of someone and they appear—just moments ago he was thinking of Keqing, and now here she was.

At this moment, Like Keqing's face carried a hint of displeasure.

The hem of her purple little dress was speckled with water stains, clearly splashed by Little Ningguang and the other two while they were stomping in puddles.

As Jiang Yan approached, he heard Little Ningguang continuously apologizing.

"Sorry sorry, I didn't see you just now..."

Behind her, Little Shenhe and Little Beidou both wore expressions of guilt, as if they had done something wrong.

"This is my new dress..."

Little Keqing didn't blame Little Ningguang at all, only looked sadly at her little dress.

She knew Little Ningguang hadn't done it on purpose—she hadn't seen Little Ningguang and the others coming, and had run right into their splashing.

"What happened?"

Jiang Yan stepped forward; when he saw the water stains on Like Keqing's clothes, he understood what had occurred.

These mischievous little brats...

"Master..."

Little Ningguang bowed her head, looking utterly remorseful.

Little Beidou and Little Shenhe also came obediently before Jiang Yan, their postures that of well-behaved children awaiting reprimand.

"Uncle Tianquan?"

At that moment, Little Keqing suddenly spoke—she had already recognized Jiang Yan when he arrived.

When Jiang Yan heard the words "Uncle Tianquan," his body stiffened abruptly.

Little Linghua, who was about the same age, was still calling him "Big Brother!"

You calling me "Uncle" instantly made me feel old.

But Little Keqing's usage wasn't wrong.

After all, her grandfather and Jiang Yan were colleagues; she was already being polite not to call him "Grandpa."

She called him "Uncle" because Jiang Yan looked very young, nothing like someone who'd be called "Grandpa."

"Just call me Brother Jiang Yan, Little Keqing."