"Ryan, you can ask. If I know the answer..."
Ganyu didn't refuse Ryan.
Keqing, who was about to take her leave, couldn't help but stay after hearing Ryan's words, curious to know what he wanted to inquire about.
"I'd like to ask, Senior Sister Ganyu, do you know the origins of that little zombie from Bubu Pharmacy?"
Ryan inquired about this matter with Ganyu.
He himself wasn't particularly concerned about Qiqi's background. Rather than knowing her origins, he'd prefer to find out what she likes to eat, so he could trade it for some more zombie hair or zombie saliva.
But he had promised Hu Tao earlier that he would help ask.
"Qiqi?"
Hearing Ryan's words, both Ganyu and Keqing immediately understood that the little zombie Ryan was referring to was Qiqi.
"Hmm... I'm actually not too clear about Qiqi's appearance either. I only know it's related to a battle between Adepti and demons several hundred years ago, but I didn't participate in it."
"Perhaps Ryan, you could ask Auntie Ping; she should know more than I do."
Knowing that Ryan wanted to inquire about Qiqi's origins, Ganyu couldn't provide much information and could only suggest that he go ask "Auntie Ping."
And this Auntie Ping was also one of Liyue's Adepti, with the Adeptus title Streetward Rambler.
Her status as an Adeptus was no secret within the Liyue Qixing's intelligence, but people generally didn't bother her.
"Auntie Ping, huh... You're right, it's been several days and I haven't gone to see her yet. I'll go visit Auntie Ping later."
Hearing Ganyu's suggestion, Ryan nodded in understanding.
The Auntie Ping he spoke of usually resided in Liyue Harbor, just like Ganyu. He rarely saw her in Jueyun Karst, even less frequently than he saw her disciple, Yaoyao.
Currently, besides Auntie Ping giving him a Bolsa Qiankun after he transformed, he had only seen her during his first two visits to the city and when Auntie Ping had just taken Yaoyao as her disciple.
However, in Ryan's memory, she was a very kind and amiable Granny. Since she was of the same generation as Cloud Retainer, Ryan referred to her as Auntie Ping... Afterwards, Ryan bid farewell to Ganyu and Keqing and left Yuehai Pavilion.
Auntie Ping, or Granny Ping as others called her, usually enjoyed tending to the flowers she cultivated on Yujing Terrace, such as glaze lilies and silk flowers.
She also had a stone table set up in a corner, with a teapot on it.
If anyone went up to greet her and ask for advice on caring for flowers, she would first smile warmly and invite them to sit down and have a cup of tea.
"Auntie ~ Ping ~ ~!"
Spotting Granny Ping admiring flowers, Ryan quickly called out, running over happily like a child.
"Oh, it's little Ryan. Why have you come to visit Auntie? Come, quickly sit down and have a cup of tea."
Granny Ping, hearing the call, turned around and smiled warmly, waving at Ryan as he ran over.
"Alrighty ~ Auntie Ping's tea is the best! I've been wanting to drink it for a long time!"
Ryan immediately sat down obediently with Granny Ping.
"Hehe, that little fox who secretly took a sip of tea back then and was so bitter he hid in someone's arms, refusing to come out, has a sweet tongue now."
Hearing Ryan's words, Granny Ping smiled, pouring tea and teasing him.
"Cough, cough, Auntie Ping, that was when I was a child. Don't be like my master, always bringing it up..."
Ryan quickly coughed awkwardly a couple of times.
"Alright, alright, Auntie won't say anymore."
Granny Ping nodded with a smile, pushing the poured tea towards Ryan.
"Besides, having a sweet tongue is for being able to endure hardships."
Ryan added, then picked up the warm teacup.
"Enduring hardships is good."
"Speaking of which, little Ryan, is there something you came to see Auntie about? I heard about the situation at Yuehai Pavilion just now. Is that child Ganyu alright?"
After taking a sip of hot tea, Granny Ping finally asked about Ryan's purpose.
"Auntie Ping, don't worry, Senior Sister Ganyu has already woken up."
"I came to ask you about something. Do you know the origins of that little zombie from Bubu Pharmacy across the way?"
Ryan first explained Ganyu's current situation to reassure Granny Ping, then glanced in the direction of Bubu Pharmacy and inquired.
"Qiqi, ah. I do know a bit about that child's background. If you want to hear it, Auntie will tell you in detail."
Granny Ping took a sip of tea to moisten her throat, then began to narrate under Ryan's expectant gaze:
"The cause of the matter was a battle between Adepti and demons several hundred years ago. The entities involved in the battle were either Adepti or demons, so there are no human records."
"At that time, Qiqi was just an ordinary herb-gathering girl who accidentally wandered into the Adepti-demon battlefield while collecting herbs on the mountain."
Granny Ping recounted a little-known history to Ryan.
"Initially, she didn't know the dangers of the place. In order to gather herbs from a high spot, she accidentally fell and injured her leg, so she had to hide in a cave to rest and tend to her wound."
"But the battle between Adepti and demons affected the mountain where she was hiding, causing the mountain to collapse, trapping her between life and death in the cave."
At this point, Granny Ping glanced at the attentively listening Ryan, then smiled and somehow produced a few biscuits, handing them to him.
Ryan subconsciously took the biscuits, holding them in both hands and nibbling on them, waiting for Granny Ping to continue.
"And Qiqi's Vision was obtained in the last moments of her life. She wanted to stop time, to return to when she was living well."
"The fear of death, the yearning for survival, and the longing for her family... all of this coalesced into the pattern of ice..."
After giving Ryan a few biscuits to go with his tea, Granny Ping continued with the most important part of the story... 'If only time could stop in the past, how wonderful would that be...'
In the collapsing cave, tears streamed from the dying girl's eyes, falling onto the Vision that had suddenly appeared.
The obsession to live allowed the girl's Vision to unleash astonishing power. The collapsing mountain was covered in a layer of frost, and solid ice propped up the continuously pressing mountain, causing both warring factions to halt their conflict.
Both sides of the Adepti-demon battle now realized that ordinary people seemed to have been affected.
This was an absolute red line that could not be crossed, otherwise, that one might have to intervene.
Suddenly, the Adepti had no intention of fighting further, and their enemies fled into the distance.
Mountain Shaper used Adeptal arts to support the collapsing mountain, but the Adepti discovered that the girl, who had yearned to live, had already lost her life, leaving behind only a Vision still supported by obsession, continuously emitting cold air.
Faced with this situation, the Adepti felt pity and each infused a wisp of Adeptal power into the girl's body, using it to revive her form.
However, this method of revival did not reverse death; it merely left her half-dead, becoming what people called a zombie.
And the girl's desire for the past years was also a will to protect, thus earning the recognition of the Adepti. Coupled with the Adeptal power within her, she became a legitimate Three-Eyed and Five-Wielding Adeptus, with the true name: Adeptus of Salvation from Suffering and Calamity, Child of Resurrection.
Thus, the awakened girl was reborn, but she was unable to control the Adeptal power within her, falling into an unprecedented frenzy... To quell the turmoil, Mountain Shaper had no choice but to intervene, sealing this unfortunate girl within the amber generated by the Strollflower in Hulao Mountain.
Hundreds of years later, the little zombie in the amber was accidentally discovered by someone who had gone up the mountain to seek Adepti and the Dao, and they dug out the entire piece of amber, intending to send it to Wangsheng Funeral Parlor for cremation.
After all, zombies were generally handled in this manner.
However, the girl woke up during this time. Out of an obsession with life, although she remembered nothing, she still broke the amber and escaped to a safe place, hiding in the mountain forest.
After that, the Adepti did not pay much attention, only knowing that she was taken back to Bubu Pharmacy by Baizhu...