At one o'clock in the afternoon, most of the people at Wanmin Restaurant had left, and the usual clamor had subsided.
Ling Feng and his companions had moved to a larger table, where several dishes were laid out. Stir-fried meat slices, boiled fish, spicy chili chicken, and almond tofu – a perfect balance of three meat dishes and one vegetable.
"Ling Feng, thank you so much for your help at noon. I didn't expect so many customers today. We almost couldn't keep up. I'm truly grateful." Chef Mao scratched his head sheepishly. It was their job, yet they had troubled a guest like Ling Feng. He felt a bit embarrassed.
"No need for thanks. I only offered a little assistance," Ling Feng waved his hand dismissively.
"Alas, regardless, you did help us share the burden. I'll toast you with this wine first." Chef Mao picked up a wine pot and took a hearty gulp. As he reached for a second drink, Xiang Ling, standing nearby, quickly snatched the pot away and chided him.
"Dad! You're looking for an excuse to drink again. We agreed, you can only drink more on festivals or when guests dine with us. How can you not resist?"
"Hahaha, I couldn't resist. My apologies, my apologies."
"Right, let's all start eating quickly. It's all our fault for being so busy. I'm so sorry." Seeing his daughter stop him from drinking, Chef Mao felt a bit awkward and quickly shifted the topic.
"Chef Mao, Xiang Ling is doing this for your own good. Drinking too much is bad for your health."
"Grandma Ping is right. Come, let's eat."
They had arrived before noon and finally began eating at one o'clock. Everyone was enjoying their meal, except for Ganyu. After finishing her plate of Four-Party Peace, Ganyu had initially intended to stop eating. However, unable to refuse everyone's persuasion, she decided to have another bowl of rice. To everyone's surprise, she couldn't stop. Ganyu ended up eating three more bowls, leaving Ling Feng and the others astonished. Ganyu herself noticed something was amiss and became a little depressed.
At two o'clock in the afternoon, outside the entrance of Wanmin Restaurant.
"Yanfei... I'll have to trouble you to take Ling Feng and Shenhe to explore Liyue Harbor." Ganyu said to Yanfei. Ningguang's secretary, Baishi, had just come to find her, stating that there was an urgent matter requiring Ganyu's immediate attention. Thus, Ganyu had to entrust Yanfei with the task.
"Ganyu, please rest assured, it's my pleasure. I've lived in Liyue Harbor since I was little, and I'm very familiar with it."
"Thank you, I'll be counting on you." Ganyu nodded, feeling completely at ease entrusting Ling Feng and the others to Yanfei. She then looked at Ling Feng and Shenhe, handing Ling Feng a jade token.
"If you need anything... you can come to Yuehai Pavilion to find me. Show this jade token to the guards, and they will let you in."
"I have urgent matters to attend to, so I must take my leave." With that, Ganyu quickly departed, disappearing from sight.
Ling Feng examined the jade token in his hand. The front was engraved with the characters "Ganyu," while the back bore the inscription "Yuehai Pavilion."
"Is this an identification token?" Ling Feng mused. He suspected that the reason Ganyu gave them the token was because Yuehai Pavilion was an official institution in Liyue Harbor with strict security. Without proof of identity, entry would likely be denied.
Grandma Ping seemed to read Ling Feng's thoughts and said, "Ganyu has quite a few admirers in Liyue."
"But Ganyu spends all her time in Yuehai Pavilion. In the past, many of her admirers would come to visit. Although they always left empty-handed, they caused significant disruption to the staff working at Yuehai Pavilion."
"Furthermore, it wasn't just Ganyu; there were others. It greatly affected people's work. Therefore, the Liyue Qixing jointly established a rule: those not working for the institution are not permitted entry without a token or identification. Hence, you wouldn't be able to enter Yuehai Pavilion without this."
"So that's how it is." Hearing Grandma Ping's explanation, Ling Feng nodded in understanding, a faint smile on his face, though his heart was stirred. He hadn't expected Ganyu to have so many admirers.
"Ling Feng, you must take good care of this jade token. If it's lost and picked up by someone else, it could cause considerable trouble for Ganyu," Grandma Ping cautioned.
"Yes, Master, I will keep it safe. I'll put it away immediately." Ling Feng nodded and promptly stored the jade token in his system space. The system space was, in his opinion, the safest place in the world; even the upholder of celestial principles wouldn't be able to retrieve it.
Seeing the jade token vanish from Ling Feng's hand into thin air, Grandma Ping nodded with satisfaction, learning a bit more about her disciple. Among the adepti, she possessed the deepest understanding of space and was most skilled in spatial arts. Many adepti had their heavenly abodes personally carved by her. Even the Geo Archon had praised her spatial talent. Yet, when the jade token disappeared from Ling Feng's hand, she detected no spatial fluctuations whatsoever. Either Ling Feng's spatial abilities were so powerful that even she couldn't perceive them, or it was a unique ability exclusive to him. In either case, it proved Ling Feng's extraordinary nature.
"Alright, I'll be heading back to Yujing Terrace now."
"Farewell, Master. / Farewell, Grandma. x2 / Farewell, Senior Apprentice Sister. / Lu lu lu!"
After Grandma Ping departed, Xiang Ling said with a smile, "Ling Feng, I never imagined you were also Master's disciple. From now on, I'm your senior apprentice sister. If you need anything, you can come to me, and I'll do my best to help."
"Thank you, Senior Apprentice Sister Xiang Ling."
"Don't be polite. We're all family. Oh, and don't forget, we still have that cooking competition to look forward to."
"I certainly won't forget."
"Then I wish you an enjoyable time exploring Liyue Harbor. I have to go back and help Dad wash dishes. Guoba! Let's go!" With that, Xiang Ling left with Guoba, heading back to Wanmin Restaurant.
"Let's go. Where should we explore first? Is there anything you need to buy?" Yanfei asked as they walked, her intention being to have a target for their exploration.
"Well, let's buy some clothes first. I'm new here and don't have much to wear. And perhaps some daily necessities," Ling Feng replied.
"What about Shenhe?" Yanfei looked at Shenhe, who was constantly by Ling Feng's side. From the meal until now, Shenhe had remained close to Ling Feng, except, of course, when she went to the restroom.
"I have nothing to buy. I am merely following my master's orders to protect my junior apprentice brother," Shenhe stated calmly.
"So, in that case, it's clothes and daily necessities then?"