Gui stood behind the counter, carefully sorting through medicinal herbs and marking them.
Recently, there had been many strange occurrences at Bubu Pharmacy. For example, the pot he used to brew medicine seemed to have been tampered with. Even though someone had scrubbed it clean, he could still tell.
Fortunately, there was no strange smell inside, and instead, there was a faint, pleasant aroma.
This aroma was different from the usual scent of herbs—it smelled more like some kind of spice.
Then there was his boss, Mr. Baizhu.
Today at Liyue Harbor, he encountered a merchant from Mondstadt selling large, plump sunsettias. The sunsettias looked smooth and glossy after the rain, incredibly appetizing.
Thinking about how busy Mr. Baizhu had been these past few days, Gui bought a few pounds of them, hoping to give his boss a treat. But when Mr. Baizhu saw the sunsettias, his face twisted as if he were constipated.
Then Gui was assigned to this tedious and exhausting sorting task.
Ah, life is full of hardships.
The only thing that brought him some comfort was that the croaking of frogs in the courtyard had weakened compared to yesterday. Maybe they had left with the flowing water?
Probably.
Then there was that new patient, who was a bit... troublesome.
Every day, he would sit by the koi pond with Qiqi, counting the koi fish.
If that were all, it wouldn't be a big deal. After all, Qiqi seemed quite happy sitting there with him.
But it would be better if he didn't drool while staring at the koi fish.
Hiss... Could this guy have used my medicine pot to cook koi fish?
Worried, Gui went to count the koi fish after Bai Luo and Qiqi returned to Bubu Pharmacy. Thankfully, all the koi were still there, including the fattest one, lazily hiding under the lotus leaves.
But a few lotus pods were missing from the pond.
Maybe some passerby had picked them? Oh well, it's not like they were rare. As long as the koi fish were safe, that's what mattered.
Qiqi was a good girl. Bai Luo had realized this back when he played games.
So while others didn't want Qiqi, he had desperately hoped to pull her, even spending over a hundred wishes on the standard banner.
In the end, he got three Skyward Spines before Qiqi finally came home.
Now that he had met Qiqi in person, he could truly appreciate how well-behaved she was.
No matter how many sunsettias he pulled out, Qiqi would eat them all without complaint, never saying they were sour and even claiming they were delicious.
This made Bai Luo feel a bit embarrassed.
Casually, he popped one of the sunsettias Qiqi had bitten into his own mouth.
So sour...
He seemed to have forgotten that Qiqi had no sense of taste...
Life at Bubu Pharmacy was much more mundane than before, even more so than the days at Wangshu Inn.
Every day, Bai Luo had nothing to do but watch the koi fish with Qiqi. After learning Bai Luo's name, Baizhu had deliberately placed him under house arrest.
Bai Luo didn't mind. If he wanted to leave, no one could stop him—not even the Geo Archon...
"..."
Opening his eyes, Bai Luo saw Zhongli standing in front of him with a smile, a glowing Vortex Vanquisher floating behind him.
"Good... good morning."
Bai Luo, who had been lounging on the bed with his legs crossed, immediately lay flat. His healthy complexion paled visibly, and his lips even developed a few dry patches, making him look half-dead.
"How are your injuries?"
Zhongli picked up some lotus seeds Bai Luo had peeled and ate them without hesitation, though the Vortex Vanquisher behind him showed no signs of disappearing.
"Not bad. Just over eighty stitches."
"...Eighty stitches for three wounds?"
Zhongli paused mid-bite, giving Bai Luo a strange look.
"Eighty stitches for one wound."
Bai Luo lifted his shirt, revealing his stomach.
Good grief. While others showed off their abs when lifting their shirts, Bai Luo's stomach was just a mess of stitches.
From a glance, all you could see were threads—no flesh in sight.
"..."
The Vortex Vanquisher behind Zhongli slowly faded away.
Forget it. Not worth the trouble.
"With your busy schedule, how do you have time to visit me?"
Once the Vortex Vanquisher disappeared, Bai Luo felt relieved—at least he wouldn't get beaten up.
He was also curious. Tartaglia had been investigating Zhongli these past few days. How did Zhongli still have time to come to Bubu Pharmacy to "check on" him?
"As the God of Contracts, nothing is more important to me than fulfilling a contract. So I came to see how you're doing and whether you can continue to uphold our agreement."
Though he said this, Zhongli knew full well that the contract would likely remain on hold. In Bai Luo's current state, even if he wanted to fight, Zhongli probably couldn't bring himself to do it.
Looking at the densely packed stitches, unless someone had a blood feud with Bai Luo, few would have the heart to strike him.
"So, do you think it's possible?"
Bai Luo asked tentatively.
"If I wanted to kill you, it would be possible at any time."
Zhongli smiled.
As he said, he was still the god of Liyue, and everything in Liyue was under his protection. Sometimes, even a small action by Bai Luo, if deemed harmful to Liyue, could prompt Zhongli to act.
For example, slamming a door too hard or peeing on some grass...
But he wouldn't kill Bai Luo.
If the Tsaritsa of Snezhnaya could see Bai Luo's potential, how could Zhongli not? Perhaps this young man was one of their future choices.
Like the branches of a tree, each one held infinite possibilities. So not only could Zhongli not kill Bai Luo, but he also had to ensure he lived well.
After finishing the lotus seeds, Zhongli tossed the remains into a nearby trash bin and reached for a plate with three sunsettias on it.
These weren't placed by Bai Luo but by Qiqi.
"Uh... Mr. Zhongli, about those..."
Bai Luo hesitated, looking like he wanted to say something.
"It's just some fruit. If it bothers you, I'll have someone send you a few crates later."
Zhongli glanced at him, unfazed by the hesitation.
It's just sunsettias. Though they're common wild fruits, he had eaten them before. How bad could they be?
As the sunsettia entered his mouth, Zhongli's expression froze. He swallowed the flesh and, three seconds later, asked in a slightly trembling voice, "What variety of sunsettia is this? A mutated Mondstadt Valberry? A hybrid with an Inazuman Naku Weed? Why does it taste... off?"
"I don't think it's a variety issue."
Bai Luo genuinely pondered for a few seconds before answering.
To this day, he still hadn't figured out why sunsettias from the same tree were sweet when others picked them but sour when he did.
Why were sunsettias from the same stall sweet when others bought them but sour when he did?
Was he being targeted?
"I'll send you some sweet ones next time."
Zhongli silently put the sunsettia back, his thoughts shifting slightly.
From a rational perspective, even if he couldn't kill this guy, beating him half to death should be fine, right?