Genshin Impact: Watch me turn the tables and kill my servants at the start!

As Fanes drove his modified off-road vehicle up the winding mountain road through the clouds, Yakoda in the passenger seat was rummaging through a paper bag.

The back seat and truck bed were piled high with neatly bound gift boxes, and a few loose boxes slid back and forth with the undulations of the road, making a soft clattering sound.

The mountain scenery outside the car window had changed from the gentle hills near Liyue Harbor to steep cliffs rising abruptly from the ground, with a few old pine trees sticking out from the cracks in the rocks, casting long, thin shadows in the afternoon sun.

Fanes turned the steering wheel sharply, the wheels rolled over a protruding rock, and the whole car lurched violently.

Yakoda nearly dropped the paper bag in her hand. She grabbed the opening and glared at him, saying, "Boss! Drive carefully! If these cosmetics you bought through a proxy break, Sister Shenhe will be furious. She only recently started learning makeup, and if the eyeshadow palette breaks, she'll really throw you off the mountain."

Fanes eased off the accelerator, slowing the car down a bit: "Okay, okay. This road is terrible. Next time I'll have Zhidong send me a car with better suspension."

The platform where the Flowing Cloud Borrowing Wind True Lord's cave dwelling is located is still the same as it was a few years ago. The old pine trees in the courtyard paved with bluestone slabs are much more lush than before, with pine needles covering the ground and being blown back and forth between the cracks in the rocks by the mountain wind.

Fanes parked the car in the open space outside the gate. His legs were a little numb from the impact when he jumped out of the driver's seat. He bent down and rubbed his knees, then went around to the back of the truck bed and started unloading boxes.

Yakoda was already carrying the largest cardboard box into the yard. When she reached the gate, she called out, "Zhenjun! Sister Shenhe! We've come to see you!"

The curtain at the back of the courtyard was lifted from the inside. When Liu Yun Jie Feng Zhenjun came out, he was wearing a light blue, all-natural, pollution-free down jacket (referred to as "chicken feather"). His steps were still unhurried, and his dark eyes lit up slightly as they swept over the several large boxes piled up at the courtyard gate.

Lord Liuyun Jiefeng stopped on the steps, his hands tucked into his sleeves, watching the two carrying gifts. "It's been a few years, and you've both grown quite a bit. Yakoda, you've returned earlier than you mentioned in your last letter. Was your journey smooth?"

Yakoda placed the cardboard box at the bottom of the steps, dusted off her hands, and spoke with a relaxed tone that said, "Everything is fine."

"Successfully! The boss's car was a bit bumpy, but it went quite fast on the mountain roads. And he brought a lot of things with him this time, some of which were new snacks from Liyue Harbor, and some mechanical parts that Sandonne made as a side project."

Upon hearing this, True Lord Liuyun Jiefeng nodded slightly, his gaze falling on Yakoda's face, which was slightly reddened by the mountain wind, before shifting away, as if to confirm that she had indeed not encountered any trouble along the way.

As Fanes carried the second box into the courtyard, he saw Shen He walking out from under the eaves. Her long, silver-white hair was still neatly tied back, but her outfit was slightly softer than the style Fanes remembered from a few years ago. There was a light-colored piping around the collar, and the cuffs were narrower.

Shen He stopped at the bottom of the steps, his gaze falling on the box that Fanes was carrying: "Junior brother, is this for me?"

Fanes placed the box on an empty stone slab in the corridor, bent down and lifted the lid to reveal neatly arranged bottles and jars and a row of wrapped pastry boxes inside.

"Yes, Senior Sister. This is for you. There are some skincare and makeup products inside, as well as a few boxes of new pastries and candied fruits from Liyue Harbor. You can eat them slowly on the mountain as snacks, or store them up for later use."

Shen He squatted down and rummaged through the contents of the box. She picked up a bottle of face cream, looked at the label, and put it back. Then she picked up a box of osmanthus cake, opened the lid, smelled it, and as she closed the lid, a very slight smile appeared on her lips: "Thank you, junior brother."

Shen He's tone remained calm, but when those four words landed, there was no extra pause; it was as if they were poured out directly from his heart.

Liu Yun Jie Feng Zhenjun walked to the large wooden box that Fanes had just put down, lifted the lid and glanced at the row of exquisite mechanical parts inside.

His gaze became more focused than before, as if he had already measured the possible assembly positions and operational tolerances of every part with his dark eyes, but he only replied with a flat sentence.

"I didn't expect my apprentice to come and see me. It's enough that you came; the thought is what counts. Why bring so many gifts? Life is simple on the mountain; too many things just take up space."

Fanes sat down on the edge of the steps, picked up the tea that Liuyun Jiefeng Zhenjun had casually brewed, and took a sip: "It's nothing. It's inconvenient to buy things on the mountain, so it's only right to bring you some. Besides, those parts were extras from Sandone's place, so I just collected a box of them to keep them from gathering dust in the workshop."

Shen He closed the box and placed it against the wall in the corridor. He walked over and sat down next to Fanes, still clutching the box of osmanthus cakes in his hand. "How many days are you staying in Liyue this time? I saw a new construction team at the foot of the mountain a few days ago. Were they your people?"

Fanes shook his head: "It's not an engineering team, it's a mining exploration team from Ningguang, it has nothing to do with the Fools. The mining direction of the veins in the Abyss of Strata has been adjusted, and the General Affairs Department is supplementing some new geological data."

After a pause, Fanes placed his teacup on his lap. "I'm mainly here to discuss the iron ore contract, and I thought I'd drop by to see you all. I'll be leaving in a couple of days; there's a ship full of equipment waiting to be inspected at Zhidong's place."

Shen He nodded, not asking about the details of the contract. He lowered his head, opened the lid of the box of osmanthus cakes, took out a piece, looked at it in his palm, and took a small bite.

Liu Yun Jie Feng Zhenjun also walked to the corridor and sat down on the stone bench on the other side. The bamboo leaf pattern on his cuff brushed against the stone surface: "Yakoda has been quite active in Liyue these past few years. I heard from people down the mountain last time that she has completely changed the warehouse management system of Yangshizi Internet Cafe. Now you can see the real-time data of incoming and outgoing goods directly on the panel."

Yakoda was squatting in the middle of the yard, holding a pine branch and fiddling with the fallen leaves on the ground. When she heard her name called, she looked up.

"That system uses a new terminal program developed by Sandoni. I only helped with debugging; she was the one who actually wrote the code."

Liu Yun Jie Feng Zhenjun glanced at her, his gaze lingering on the corner of her slightly upturned lips for a moment. His tone carried a faint smile, but he did not pursue the matter further.

A mountain breeze swept in from outside the courtyard gate, swaying a few pine branches and casting dappled shadows on the bluestone slabs. Fanes sat on the steps, finished his tea, placed the empty cup on the stone slab beside him, and glanced at the half-eaten osmanthus cake in Shen He's hand.

"Senior sister, if you like that osmanthus cake, I'll bring you a few more boxes next time I come to Liyue. The temperature is low up in the mountains, so it will keep well and won't spoil easily."

Shen He thought for a moment, then carefully wrapped the half-piece of osmanthus cake back in the oil paper and tucked it into his sleeve: "Don't bring too much, I'll tell you after we finish eating."

Fanes stood up and dusted off his clothes. "Alright, we've moved everything and had our tea. I'll go check if the suspension on that mountain bike needs adjusting. Sister Shenhe, there are two boxes of pastries in the truck bed. Remember to put them in later."