The group returned to the villa estate.
Ryen naturally scooped up Nahida and Paimon into his arms.
Whenever little Nahida was around, Ryen would usually carry her. And now, Paimon had joined the club.
Ganyu didn't feel jealous about it.
Ryen's whole demeanor was more like someone raising daughters, and it subtly influenced Ganyu as well.
Even though she kept reminding herself over and over again that Nahida was the Dendro Archon…
Still…
More often than not, Ganyu forgot that fact.
Perhaps it was because taking care of Nahida together with Ryen made it feel like they were a little family of three.
"Ryen, how are you guys? Everything go smoothly? No one got hurt, right?"
Paimon, now completely "betrayed," snuggled into Ryen's arms and looked up at him sweetly.
"Don't worry, just a few Wither Storms—nothing difficult."
Ryen grinned confidently, showing none of the tension he had felt earlier when facing the Wither.
In any case, he had dealt with the Withers in the end.
If it's solved, then it's not a big deal!
"Really?"
Paimon scratched her cheek and muttered,
"Then why does it feel like no one's really happy? Didn't we get the Nether Star? Shouldn't that be something to celebrate?"
Jean and the others' eyes flickered briefly.
They said nothing about the Doctor. Their hatred was buried deep within.
Only when the time came for revenge would that hatred truly explode with full force.
Right now…
Cursing him a thousand times wouldn't make the Doctor feel anything.
Unless a knife was driven into him, words were useless.
Suppressing their rage and hatred for now would help them unleash it more effectively later.
Lumine noticed the change in Jean and the others. She rolled her eyes and, acting all huffy, marched over and pinched Paimon's cheek.
"You little traitor! You turned sides just because Ryen rubbed your belly?"
Paimon pouted, distracted by the scolding.
"But Ryen's massages feel so good! And unlike you, Lumine, he's not mean to me 24/7!"
"Mean?!"
Lumine exploded and grabbed Paimon.
"Who was it that pulled you out of danger? Who was it that took you around, letting you eat and drink nonstop?!"
"I've been out there doing commissions to earn Mora to feed you! You just tag along, and every time there's a fight, you disappear!"
"You don't even do your job as a proper guide. All you remember is eating and drinking! Who's really the mean one here?!"
"Ugh! I haven't even thought of abandoning you, and you have the nerve to complain about me!?"
Hearing that, Paimon got a little guilty, realizing she had been unfair.
She clambered up onto Lumine's shoulder and rubbed against her face in a show of affection.
"Just joking, Lumine! Paimon has always been your best partner! Wherever you go, Paimon goes!"
"How could I possibly ditch you just for Ryen's amazing massage skills?!"
As she said this, Paimon sneakily turned her head and gave Ryen a wink.
It was like she was silently telling him: This is just a little performance to calm Lumine down—I'm still flying your flag!
The whole scene was so ridiculous that everyone's mood lifted significantly.
Lumine huffed but still looked a little annoyed.
"In that case, come explore with me tomorrow. I want to go hunt for Lucky Blocks!"
Paimon's face froze, and she nervously said,
"Um… you know, Lumine, I don't really have any combat abilities!"
As she said that, she tried to sneak away, inching back toward Ryen.
But Lumine was quick to grab her and smirked coldly.
"No combat abilities? Didn't Ryen share a quarter of his constitution with you?"
"I'm pretty sure I saw you happily slaughtering pigs just a while ago."
Paimon looked ready to cry and said weakly,
"Lumine! You really want me to fight? I'm so small, there's no way I can handle those monsters!"
"Save the excuses!"
Lumine rolled her eyes and snapped,
"I'm just asking you to come help me find Lucky Blocks! We're not likely to run into monsters, and even if we do, it's broad daylight—no zombies or anything."
"If we do run into trouble, I'll help you escape, okay?"
Paimon still looked reluctant, so Lumine leaned in and added mysteriously,
"Sometimes, if you're lucky, Lucky Blocks can drop gold. Just one block could make us rich forever."
Paimon seemed a little tempted, but then remembered—she was already clinging to Ningguang's golden thigh. She'd never go hungry again.
That kind of gold really didn't appeal to her much now.
Lumine realized that too, so she changed her tactic:
"I also heard… if you're really lucky, the blocks can drop tons of cake."
"Cake!?"
Paimon's eyes lit up instantly, and she swallowed a bit of drool.
Then she put on a proud face and nodded with mock seriousness.
"Well, since Lumine is so sincerely inviting me! As your loyal partner, I shall accompany you!"
"It's definitely not for the cake!"
"B-but if we do get cake, I'll gladly help you taste it, just to make sure it's good!"
Lumine sighed inwardly—glutton.
The two of them then started chatting in hushed tones again.
This little episode helped everyone shake off the anger they had been harboring over the Doctor.
Jean removed her diamond armor and handed it back to Ryen.
"Ryen, here—your gear…"
They had personally experienced the power of the diamond set that afternoon.
It might look a bit ugly, but its strength was undeniable. Not to mention, it was fully enchanted with Protection.
A real life-saver.
But the more Jean realized how valuable it was, the more she felt she couldn't accept it so easily.
However, Ryen had no intention of taking it back.
He waved a hand and said softly:
"I gave it to you, so keep it. It's not some rare treasure—don't worry about it."
"But the enchantments…"
"Don't worry about the enchantments either."
Ryen smiled and shook his head, though his gaze remained fixed on Nahida.
"That little expense? Ganyu could just open a lucky block and make it back."
Jean stayed silent. After thinking it over, she finally put the items away.
Stretching lazily, Ryen said softly,
"Alright, that's about it for today. Time to head back."
Although Diluc and the others were still full of energy and eager to continue exploring this world,
the unfamiliarity of the place meant it was safer to move with Ryen and the others.
The two-way portal began to form again, and Ryen gave them one last reminder.
"We'll be returning to Teyvat soon. You should all store your gear and supplies in your backpacks."
"Unless it's necessary, try not to take them out again. These items are incredibly heavy in reality. Without my physical enhancements, even lifting them will be exhausting."
Diamonds, while lighter than iron or gold, still made a full diamond set weigh over ten tons.
Jean and Diluc could still wear them, and they could wield the weapons too.
But Lisa's physical constitution made it hard for her to handle something so heavy.
Even if she could wear it, she'd have to constantly use her elemental energy.
Even with her abundant elemental power, that's just not practical.
Everyone nodded, removed their diamond gear, and carefully stored their weapons.
Seeing this, Ningguang couldn't help but feel a little emotional.
"Actually, joining later isn't such a bad thing..."
"When we first came into this world with Ryen, we couldn't even scrape together a full iron set."
"Let alone enchantments or alchemy potions."
"With the pace you're going now, you could catch up in no time."
Jean opened her mouth to say something, but the portal was already fully formed.
Ningguang stood up alongside Ryen with a smile.
"Let's go. Back to Teyvat. We'll have dinner later at the Jade Chamber. I'm sure you all have a lot of questions."
"Perfect time to chat and clear things up."
Hearing this, Jean and the others didn't say much more.
They really did have many questions—questions they urgently needed answered.
Even though they had seemed to adjust quickly—entering in the morning and helping Ryen fight the Wither Storm by the afternoon—
in truth, they were just like puppets on strings, doing whatever Ryen arranged.
They had no real understanding of why they were doing anything.
They hadn't even fully grasped how to build structures with blocks.
Being directed in every action was vastly different from Ningguang and the others, who understood the world's mechanics and used them to plan strategically.
They weren't just obedient Qianyan Army soldiers or miners.
Only by mastering the unique properties of this world themselves could they begin issuing tasks and establishing the Knights of Favonius' presence here.
Though the Minecraft world now had quite a few permanent residents,
compared to Teyvat, it still felt rather quiet.
Even near the relatively remote base of Mt. Tianheng,
you could still hear the bustle of Liyue Harbor.
But at this moment, Jean and the others weren't paying attention to any of that.
They clenched their fists, feeling a little out of place.
Their elemental powers had returned, but...
the almost world-ending strength they once wielded had completely vanished.
That loss left them feeling somewhat empty.
Keqing understood exactly how they felt. She chuckled lightly:
"Feels weird, doesn't it? Going from such overwhelming power back to your original strength."
"You'll get used to it after a few more visits."
Diluc nodded silently, though he couldn't help but imagine landing a punch with that kind of power on the Doctor.
There'd be nothing left of him—not even dust.
Forget Archons and their divine might—
pure physical strength pushed to its peak, capable of breaking through all forms of magic,
that was the ultimate power.
True strength meant ultimate destruction.
And that rule held across all worlds.
"Let's head out now,"
Ningguang said softly.
"Any later and Baiwen will bring the food here instead."
They didn't rest for long. Soon, the group departed with laughter and chatter,
boarding the floating stones toward the Jade Chamber.
Unbeknownst to them, all of this was being closely watched by the Fatui stationed near the entrance of Liyue Harbor.
The very same Fatui operatives that the Qianyan Army had encountered when escorting Jean and the others into Liyue had indeed been keeping an eye on the base of Mt. Tianheng.
Though warned by the adepti, and with Tartaglia having forbidden further exploration,
the adepts never said anything about watching from afar.
Besides, it wasn't just the Fatui doing this.
The Adventurers' Guild and even the other six nations were all deeply curious about what lay beneath Mt. Tianheng.
Anyone with a brain could see the changes in Liyue were somehow tied to that place.
But knowing something and daring to investigate it were two very different things.
Ningguang didn't bother with those watching eyes.
As long as they didn't enter or interfere, they could look all they wanted.
According to Liyue's rules, no one would stop them.
That was something Tartaglia only learned after repeatedly hitting walls.
He'd had people watching from afar this whole time,
but until now, they'd seen nothing. The only ones going there were Ningguang and the others.
But now...
everything had changed.
After confirming with certainty that it was Jean and her group they had seen,
a Fatui operative quietly slipped away and discreetly returned to the Northland Bank.
~~----------------------
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