“Open your mouth, I promise I won't tease you anymore.”
Keqing wished she could find a crack in the ground to slip into. Mu Chen knew her too well, how could she possibly resist his endless banter?
If all else failed, she could resort to using Ningguang to goad him.
Thankfully, on the third try, he didn't tease her anymore. Keqing finally got to eat a golden thread shrimp ball.
Mu Chen controlled his silver wind element, swirling it beneath him to form a kind of tray.
He was becoming increasingly proficient in its use.
There was no wind disturbance in the entire room, yet he could condense it into a tray, sit on it, and even place food on top.
“Is that wind element?”
“It’s my power, slightly different from the wind element of Teyvat.”
This way, he could be on the same level as Keqing.
Mu Chen fed her the food.
Keqing figured, she had already done the most embarrassing things, what was feeding her compared to that?
Especially since Mu Chen had said that truly evil line — “My Lady Keqing, you wouldn't want anything to be spread around, would you?”
Even though Keqing knew Mu Chen was partly teasing her, she did give in at that moment.
“Pout, I'll wipe your mouth.”
Mu Chen gently wiped her mouth, a display of tenderness.
Keqing was still a little embarrassed: “You bought so many golden thread shrimp balls, they're not cheap.”
“If you eat, eat your fill. You work from morning to night, you don't even get to eat what you want, your diet is all out of whack. Besides, this money, I got it from Ningguang.”
Keqing looked at him: “What kind of deal did you make with Ningguang?”
“Sold her some high-tech stuff, a little private cooperation… I know you have some disagreements with Ningguang.”
Keqing said: “Although we are colleagues, our personalities really don’t get along. In her eyes, Liyue Harbor is just her business field, as long as it makes money, she’ll do anything. Isn’t that too unprincipled? Or is that her principle?”
“I have flaws, you have flaws, Ningguang has flaws, no one is perfect, everyone pursues different things, and their experiences are different. You were born into a noble family, while Ningguang used to push a cart selling Mora meat. She’s experienced that, so she values commerce and wealth, her ambitions are bigger, it’s not a bad thing, but it’s also not necessarily a good thing.”
Keqing: “You know Ningguang so well?”
“You have some understanding of her, I gained some knowledge of Teyvat when I transmigrated, plus my judgment of people, and I also have a bit of Daoist cultivation.”
Keqing now knew that Mu Chen was not simple, to be able to use this elemental power so skillfully.
This alone surpassed countless people.
“People progress, your current view of her is correct, but not necessarily complete, maybe if you interact more in the future, you will both change and change your views.”
Keqing was also pondering as she ate the golden thread shrimp balls.
“You have your own doubts, and you’ve never had a friend you can openly chat with, now there’s one sitting here.”
“Really?” Keqing pursed her lips.
“Except for the bedroom stuff, what haven’t we done? Can’t we be trusted?”
“You… shameless.” Keqing was writhing, blushing with shame.
“Don’t worry, I can sense there’s no one nearby.”
“After I punish you, you’ll see how I take care of you.”
“There are still four hours, can I take care of you first? Besides, you may not be my opponent now, although I don't want to hit Keqing.”
Keqing’s face was about to bleed.
“Alright, I won't tease you anymore, I don’t see you as just an ordinary friend, come on, I can give you some guidance.”
“Hmph! Feed me another golden thread shrimp ball!” Keqing had been trained to be arrogant by Mu Chen.
“Here you go, here you go, I'll feed Lady Keqing one.”
As Keqing ate, she talked about the Rex Lapis, and then about her own ideas of human rule.
“Can I be honest?” Mu Chen smiled.
“That’s for the best, I want to hear your opinion, I’m the Jade Chamber Star, everyone listens to me, there’s not much advice or ideas on this level.”
Keqing also knew that, being in such a high position, she couldn’t hear certain voices.
“Two words — naive!”
“Naive… naive.” Keqing stammered.
“Human rule is not impossible, but the world is not ready for it yet.”
“Why?”
“Human rule works during peaceful times, but now, as you’ve seen the live broadcast, the Pyro Archon said they’ve been fighting the Abyss. Even in prosperous Liyue, there are monsters everywhere, and maybe there are slumbering gods nearby, and there are evil Chi in some mountain ranges. If a god descends, just relying on the Seven Stars and the Qixing and the Millelith, do you think they can resist?”
Keqing said: “As long as we are united as one…”
“In the face of absolute power… I’ll tell you a story about the Xianzhou.”
Mu Chen told Keqing about how the people of Xianzhou sacrificed countless lives, but they couldn’t repel the enemy, but then the Emperor’s Bow, the Sky Fates, shot one arrow and solved it.
“What do you think after hearing this story?” Mu Chen looked at her while eating a golden thread shrimp ball.
“Quite shocking, you mean only absolute power can protect one’s homeland.”
“You’re getting it, think about it, if there were no Geo Archon, no Adepti, and a powerful being like the Rex Lapis came, prosperous Liyue might become ashes in half a day.”
He stroked Keqing's head: “Human rule is not impossible, but it needs power, it needs many kinds of cooperation, at least that’s how it is in Teyvat right now. Later, I'll tell you about the history of my world, the Warring States period, the management ideas of different countries.”
Keqing’s eyes lit up: “Please tell me about it.”
“Then what’s in it for me?”
“Do friends need benefits?”
“Unless you admit our relationship is better than friends.”
“Hmph!”
“Right, after your punishment is over, we need to take people to Wuwan Slope, I got Ningguang to give me only one-third of the people.”
Keqing knew about this, Huixinlai had told her outside: “That’s too few, right?”
“I have a brilliant plan. Finish this, I’ll go find people, you wait until your punishment is over and come to the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor to find me.”