Once Aether left, Ken drove to the company.
He'd wrapped up most of the fun in Liyue; next up was preparing Zhongli's banner and preview stream, and waiting for Inazuma's map to be fully developed so he could invite their friends over to Blue Star.
Thanks to the successful convention, employee enthusiasm was sky-high.
After a meeting to review recent ops, he returned to his office to check the Dragonspine beta.
It was about to go live; bugs needed a final pass.
Ken was basically a hands-off boss now, but there was still plenty of stuff. He ran through Dragonspine's map and story from memory, confirmed no major issues, then quit.
Time flies when testing.
Without noticing, it was night.
Dragonspine's storyline was even more grindy than Mondstadt's main—chiefly because cold inflicted HP loss, which caused lots of inconvenience, plus unlocking the map, etc.
A hassle.
Fortunately, no major bugs—players could experience the grind themselves.
"System, open the system panel."
Gazing at the night outside, Ken didn't go home right away. He opened the system.
In the last two days, he'd accumulated over forty pulls.
[Host: Ken]
[Contracted partners: Klee, Barbara, Jean, Lisa…]
[Abilities: C6 Klee, C6 Lisa, C6 Venti, C6 Qiqi, C6 Zhongli, Siren's Aria…]
[Life skills: Top-tier cooking, medical knowledge compendium, top-tier forging, top-tier farming…]
[Constitution: Abyssal Antibodies]
[Signature weapon: Abyssal Chain]
[Draws: 47]
Looking at his increasingly bling stat page, Ken was satisfied.
"Stacked draw."
With his command, the bronze wheel began to spin.
[Ding—]
[Congrats: Abyssal Language Mastery]
[Congrats: Special weapon material x10]
[Congrats: The Grimoire Forgotten by Time]
[…]
['The Grimoire Forgotten by Time' is a special item. Inspect?]
"Inspect."
Ever since he obtained the system, Ken had drawn countless supplies, but there were very few items that the system actively alerted him about.
Ken was curious what this thing really was. Judging by how thick it looked, it probably wasn't a weapon.
As his words fell—
A hazy gray light burst from the grimoire, slowly condensing into blood-red text. It carried a strange, ancient aura that spread outward.
"Snap—"
A mere book causing such a phenomenon surprised Ken. He snapped his fingers, and a barrier formed around the office to block outside prying.
After finishing this, Ken's gaze fell on the characters that looked like bleeding script.
[The Grimoire Forgotten by Time: A grimoire weathered by countless ages. Its origins may trace back to primordial times, before humans existed in Teyvat and before the first Primordial One arrived—this grimoire already existed in that ancient era.
The grimoire has wandered through wind and frost without number, recording all it saw and heard wherever it went. Under the careful sculpting of the years, it has gathered much knowledge unknown to the world—but if the world never discovered it, where did that knowledge come from?
Perhaps that is the grimoire's magic: it is the most silent recorder of the continent of Teyvat.
Now, after innumerable ages, it has resurfaced in the world. Fortunate one who possesses it, carefully leaf through the grimoire that has witnessed Teyvat's seas turn to mulberry fields. You may obtain secrets beyond imagination.]
After Ken carefully finished reading this introduction, a plain yet heavy tome appeared before him.
Its cover was a dust-like gray, marked with ancient, mysterious patterns. It seemed sealed away for countless years, bearing a worn and archaic aura, traveling through the river of time to lie quietly on the desk.
As Ken turned the pages, line after line of obscure text and diagrams emerged.
As the introduction said, it recorded stories from ages long before in Teyvat, including Teyvat before life itself existed.
But precisely because of this, Ken was even more surprised: this grimoire existed even when life hadn't yet arisen… its origins were truly mysterious.
Ken skimmed it, as if flipping through a developmental history of life across tens of thousands of years in Teyvat—yet this book seemed to have no end.
No matter how he turned, there was always a next page.
Most importantly—
Ken found many strange sacrificial rituals in the book. One ritual even involved resurrecting the dead, which greatly shocked him.
If this ancient ritual could truly revive the dead, it would be unimaginably precious whether on Earth or in Teyvat.
Be it ordinary humans or Teyvat's Seven Archons, perhaps all have loved ones and friends they wish to bring back.
But as Ken delved deeper, he realized this ritual was doomed to be impossible on Blue Star. Performing it required an overwhelming amount of elemental power—something Blue Star simply didn't meet.
Blue Star's elemental power was far too weak; forcing it might cause imbalance.
It truly was a grimoire from Teyvat—meant to be used in Teyvat.
Even so, in Teyvat, reviving the dead would not be simple.
Besides vast elemental power, one needed an item that belonged to the deceased in life, plus the mysterious Book of Life, and then perform ancient secret arts to bring back the departed.
The time and place recorded for this event in the grimoire were no longer traceable.
"If this is real, it could blunt every one of Mihoyo's knives."
Ken looked at the grimoire, speaking thoughtfully.
Because whether it was Raiden Makoto, Kitsune Saiguu, or the Dust Goddess Guizhong, they were all regrets for many players—and for Ken as well.
If it were real, perhaps it could make up for the regrets from his past life's playthrough.
For now, though, Ken didn't obsess over the grimoire's accounts. The ritual required items he didn't have; knowing more was pointless without them.
He'd talk about it when he obtained the Book of Life.
Next, Ken learned Abyssal Language Mastery, then placed special materials for weapon upgrades into his system space for future signature-weapon ascension.
After all that, he removed the office barrier and walked out.
…
Night had deepened.
Ken drove home in the dead of night. The villa's lights were bright.
A graceful figure sat on the sofa, her fine form pressing a pleasing curve into the cushions.
"Ningguang?"
Seeing the graceful figure inside, Ken asked, "Is everything ready for Beisht?"
Ningguang was never one to visit without purpose. Every time she came to Blue Star, she had questions to ask or wanted to learn Blue Star's business management models—rarely did she come just to relax.
"Mhm. Just waiting for you to appear tomorrow."
Ningguang sipped tea leisurely, a faint weariness between her brows.
Compared to Osial, Beisht was easier to handle, but not to be underestimated.
Ningguang had decided to lure Beisht near Guyun Stone Forest. Once Beisht appeared, armed forces would deploy immediately, and even Beidou would bring her Crux Fleet to launch the attack signal.
To ensure nothing went wrong, Ningguang personally oversaw the deployment.
Now that she had relaxed a little, she felt a touch of fatigue.
"Got it." Noticing Ningguang's slight tiredness, Ken asked, "Have you heard of the Book of Life?"
No matter the world, those in high positions grasp more information than ordinary people—an unchangeable fact.
If the Book of Life had appeared in Liyue, the Liyue Qixing across generations should have records.
"No… What is that? Do you need me to send people to search for it?" Ningguang thought carefully, then asked.
"No need. Go get some rest." Ken didn't say more.
Since Ningguang hadn't heard of it, it likely hadn't appeared among Liyue's people.
He'd ask Zhongli and Venti later.
If neither of them had heard of it, Ken would suspect its origins.
"Are you worried about me?"
Ningguang's red lips curved, her eyes rippling as she looked at Ken. Under the lights, the mature allure of an ojou-sama overflowed.
Ken glanced at her. "If you work yourself to death, who pays Zhongli's food bill?"
Ningguang: "…"
If you can't say nice things, don't speak…
Such a straight man.
Watching Ken's back, the teasing at Ningguang's eyes faded. She touched her chin, but her smile only grew more pronounced.
Once Beisht and the Northland Bank issues were resolved, she really did need to consider her relationship with Ken.
Despite years of navigating Liyue's officialdom and power's peak, for the first time Ningguang had met a man who interested her.
That wasn't easy for her.
She had thought her love for Mora was too strong, that she'd lost the ability to love.
Apparently not.
Once current matters were settled, she should put the matter of Ken on the agenda.
With that thought—
Ningguang stepped through a vortex gate back to Teyvat. Tomorrow was the day to eliminate Beisht. She needed the plan to be foolproof and required her personal oversight.
...
The next morning.
At first light, Ken arrived at the Liyue Specialty Shop. As he entered, he saw Hu Tao sprawled on the counter, butt sticking up as she calculated something.
"Smack!!"
Ken stepped behind Hu Tao and slapped her butt.
The girl jumped like a startled cat.
Seeing it was Ken, Hu Tao glared. "You nasty guy, you scared me! Why'd you hit me?"
Rubbing her butt, Hu Tao pouted at Ken.
But even pouting and glaring, she carried no real threat.
Ken straightened her hat and asked, "What are you doing?"
"Hmph…" Hu Tao sighed, a bit resentful. "You don't know—I'm calculating my deposit interest. There's suddenly a rumor that the Northland Bank has been losing money every day. I think it's unsafe, so I'm going to withdraw my money… No, wait!! Is it your Treasure Hoarder Weasel?!"
The news about the Northland Bank losing money had spread across Liyue Harbor.
Hu Tao's first reaction was to withdraw her deposits.
But because the lines were too long and she couldn't get her turn, she had Meng line up for her, while she came back to calculate her deposits and interest from all these years.
Now seeing Ken, she suddenly realized.
The Northland Bank losing money—wasn't that Ken's Treasure Weasel's doing?!
She'd seen Ken's Treasure Weasel before—every time it returned with handfuls of Mora. The only places to score that much, that often, were… the Northland Bank or the Golden House!
The annoying part was she hadn't thought of it before—only after seeing Ken did it click.
"So hurry and withdraw your money. You can deposit it in other banks. The Northland Bank is going under."
Ken reminded her.
The Wangsheng Funeral Parlor had existed for millennia, and the wealth accumulated across generations was considerable…
Right now the Northland Bank hadn't yet caught on that Ningguang was targeting them. Withdrawing now wouldn't be a problem; later it might get troublesome.
"I'm such an idiot… Back when you let your Treasure Weasel hit the Northland Bank, I should've rushed to withdraw. Now what if the bank refuses to pay?"
Hu Tao panicked. Most of her family's assets were at the Northland Bank!
And since the Northland Bank was run by the Fatui—if they decided to go scorched earth, would they abscond with the funds?
"Don't worry. Even for the sake of their other branches in other nations, they won't refuse to pay."
Not to mention Ningguang had people watching; the Northland Bank staff couldn't bail.
Also, the Northland Bank's cross-national network enabled merchants' convenience. If they truly ran off with deposits, their other branches would be hit by public backlash and might collapse as well.
That's the practical reality. This time, the Northland Bank could only swallow the bitter fruit—maybe even gain a responsible reputation.
Ken's concern was that later the bank might simply not have enough liquidity… Banks don't keep all funds sitting idle; money flows between institutions. If their current funds ran short, withdrawals would get a bit more troublesome.
They'd likely need to transfer funds from banks in other nations.
"Got it. I'll go line up now and get my money back."
Clutching her little abacus, Hu Tao bolted. Nothing was more important than her money.
Though Hu Tao wasn't as obsessed with Mora as Ningguang, no one wanted to watch their assets go down the drain.
Watching the girl's hurried figure, Ken chuckled.
Hu Tao was Hu Tao—still as a maiden, swift as a rabbit.
After restocking the shop's goods a bit, Ken picked up little Klee and sent her to the Jade Chamber.
...
The magnificent Jade Chamber gleamed in the morning sun.
When Ken arrived with Klee, he found Lumine and Shenhe were there too.
"B—boss."
Seeing Ken, Shenhe greeted him a bit awkwardly.
After spending time with Lumine, Shenhe had gained a new understanding of the human world, even befriending the famed Liyue opera star, Yun Jin.
So when she saw Ken, the ice-sculpted beauty showed a touch more liveliness.
"Mhm, good morning, Shenhe." Ken greeted her without saying much.
Shenhe still wasn't great at conversation. The more he chatted, the more awkward she'd feel.
Ken let go of little Klee's hand to let her play, then walked around Shenhe to Lumine and asked, "How's it been with Shenhe lately?"
"Hmph-hmph…" Lumine pouted and muttered, "Of course it's been great. She's your person… so I'll take good care of her!"
The sour notes of jealousy spread.
Ken ruffled Lumine's hair and whispered in her ear, "As expected of Lumine—everything you do is handled so well. Looks like I need to teach you more things next time."
Such flirtatious words made Lumine blush instantly. She pressed her hands to Ken's chest, hurriedly pushed him away, and ran toward Shenhe.
Too embarrassing to be that suggestive in public.
Only Paimon watched and curled her lip, showing the disdain unique to single dogs.
Ken just smiled, entered the Jade Chamber, greeted Ningguang, and then headed alone to Guyun. Releasing a familiar elemental aura there should draw Beisht out.
After he left, Ningguang crouched before little Klee with a smile. "Klee, we're going to go fish-blasting with Sister Ningguang soon. Excited?"
Ningguang quite liked the Knights of Favonius's little Spark Knight.
After all, she was Ken's daughter.
And very powerful. If she could be won over to Liyue, that would be an invaluable force.
Thinking this—
Ningguang's smile grew warmer. "Is Sister Ningguang good to Klee?"
But this warmth made Klee a bit puzzled. After a moment, she suddenly understood.
Because everyone interested in Daddy seemed to ask her this sort of question.
Klee asked curiously, "I get it… Sister Ningguang, do you like my Daddy?"
As her words fell, everyone nearby looked over.
Ningguang: "..."