198: Honesty

The former Hydro God and the Mistress of Flowers—both are illustrious figures in the allogene plot, impossible to forget.

As mentioned before, Teyvat possesses primordial elements like Primal Anemo, Primal Geo, and Primal Pyro, each governing different domains. Among them is Primal Hydro, known as the Primordial Sea, the Elemental Power that nurtures life.

After the Hydro Dragon, born as the heart of the Primordial Sea, was hit and killed by Great King Fa driving a heavy truck, those sisters on Celestia thought, 'Isn't it bad to leave this place empty? I reckon something should take that spot.'

And so! The one who replaced the Hydro Dragon as the heart of the Primordial Sea was none other than the God created by the Ruler of Life, named Egeria.

However, Huo Xi had always thought Egeria was a beautiful Damselette around Furina's age; he didn't expect that after being resurrected, he would be a noble lady. His overall temperament was somewhat like Aglaea of Amphoreus, though he looked like Aglaea from a thousand years ago, before she had lost her humanity.

Moreover, it must be said that while people may criticize or praise various aspects of the Heavenly Principles' lineage, no fault can be found with their looks.

Not only are the four shadows under the Principles all white-haired beautiful Damselettes, but from the Ruler of Life to Egeria and then to Focalors, they have all inherited the fine tradition of not wearing shoes, which could be called quite delightful.

Speaking of which, Huo Xi suddenly remembered that among the four shadows—not counting the filler, Gold Rhinedottir—if one only speaks of the original Four, the Shade of Space is barefoot, the Ruler of Life is barefoot, and the Shade of Time is also barefoot. Only one dark-skinned, round-faced little girl is wrapped up tightly, though I won't say who.

Returning to the scene, the one standing next to Egeria is even more of a heavyweight. As the saying goes: 'Of the seven nations' Gods and men, Sumeru's desert claims half; open the history books and see, the seven nations all stand aside.'

Among the seven nations, Fontaine and Sumeru have many modern Gods and men, but ancient Sumeru had even more, and this person is the most ancient of the ancients.

This Flower Goddess is the White Moonlight that the desert's strongest God, Scarlet King Deshret, could never attain. He is the close friend of Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, the Desert Dancer whose every step blooms with flowers, the Mother of Jinn who could create a species just by scraping his feet on the sand, the last remains of the Angel Clan, a heavenly creation with a fetish for humans carved into his base code, the Lord of the Oasis, the Mistress of Flowers—Nahab Mariscatta.

To be honest, Huo Xi couldn't quite remember the Flower Goddess's past experiences; he only remembered that his prophecies were incredibly accurate and that he had single-handedly schemed against both the Scarlet King and Greater Lord Rukkhadevata.

The reason for his scheming was actually biased toward humanity; it seemed he wanted to eliminate all the Gods together and return the right to choose to humans.

But the method he thought of was extremely radical. He detonated himself to tear a hole in the world, directly letting Abyss Power flow in, wanting to go out in a bang with the Heavenly Principles.

But do you want to guess which race in Teyvat fears Abyss disasters the most?

Truth be told, Huo Xi was a bit wary of this Flower Goddess, Nahab Mariscatta. It wasn't because he couldn't defeat him or anything like that, but because this guy was both obsessive and intelligent, and he happened to have a face that made people willing to give everything for him.

Huo Xi was afraid that while he wasn't paying attention, he would sneakily pull some fancy tricks in his own home.

After staring at Huo Xi's expression for a moment, Nabu suddenly smiled with tacit understanding and said to the nearby Egeria, 'It seems Mr. Huo Xi is dazed from looking at the two of us~'

Speaking of which, Lady Egeria, we really did many willful things in our past lives. Since we've been resurrected this time, let's just "enjoy life properly"~'

Egeria was stunned, then happily cupped his own face. 'Ara~ Miss Nabu is still the same honest person as in his previous life~ I feel the same way!'

‘Sigh, it's just that I don't know what has become of my children, and in this ghost form of mine, can I still conceive children?’

The conversation between the two made the corners of Huo Xi's mouth twitch.

He felt that in the few seconds he had spent recalling the Flower Goddess's deeds, Malikata had already read his expression and then deliberately said those words to make him lower his guard.

As expected of a character who had no feelings for the Scarlet King and was full of nothing but revenge against the Heavenly Principles, yet could still turn the Scarlet King into a love-brained simp.

But fortunately, as long as they are Servants summoned by Huo Xi, absolute control remains in Huo Xi's hands. If Malikata does anything out of line in the future, he can just give him a good knocking.

At this moment, Egeria suddenly took another step forward. 'Mr. Huo Xi, are you listening to us?'

'Ah, ah? Oh, sorry, Lady, I was just dazed by your beauty,' Huo Xi explained.

Malikata chuckled while covering his mouth. 'See, I told you so~'

But his gaze never left Huo Xi's eyes for a moment.

Egeria continued to ask, 'Mr. Huo Xi, I would like to ask if I can still see my children? And do I still have the ability to conceive offspring?'

Huo Xi thought for a moment; Egeria's offspring probably refers to his Dependants, the Oceanids. He would definitely be able to see them. Moreover, at this point in time, Focalors is still alive. Counting Furina, this is a triple combo, fam.

So Huo Xi promised, 'You will see them, Lady. However, conceiving them yourself will be a bit difficult. The new master of the Primordial Sea is about to return to his place, and you can no longer control the Primordial Sea. If you want to use your own body to conceive offspring, you would at least need an Incarnation for it to be possible.'

Egeria stroked his cheek. 'Then how can I achieve an Incarnation?'

'You need a token.'

'A token?'

Huo Xi explained the relationship between tokens and Incarnation to the three of them.

If one were to say where Egeria's token is most likely to be found, it is undoubtedly the Vourukasha Oasis in Sumeru; that is where he fell.

Clervie's token is more special. He is currently a ghost, and his token is also a ghost—specifically, an Earthbound Spirit burned out by the Knave's flames. He needs to find that Earthbound Spirit and merge with it to complete his Incarnation.

Malikata rubbed his brow in distress. 'In that case, things are a bit difficult for me. If only the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata were still here. In my previous life, I once deposited a wisp of Khvarena with her, which contained some of my clearance.'

Huo Xi nodded. He also remembered reading some text before about the Flower Goddess giving the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata some Khvarena or something, though he didn't know exactly what it was for.

Huo Xi also sighed with his arms crossed. 'Yeah, if only the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata were still here... Hmm?'

Huo Xi was stunned, and then his eyes gradually widened.

He suddenly turned to look at Shenhe, who often returned to her master's home, as well as Guizhong, Lumine, and Paimon, who had definitely been to Cloud Retainer's abode.

The four of them just blinked their eyes, neither confirming nor denying.

Only then did Huo Xi remember.

He had completely forgotten that Greater Lord Rukkhadevata was left with Cloud Retainer!

...As a result, Huo Xi did not go to disturb Perfected Lord Cloud Retainer that night.

After all, it was very late, and at the thought of the potentially towering rage he might face from Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, he honestly didn't really want to face it. It wasn't fear, but purely because he was in the wrong. He couldn't exactly say, 'I was so obsessed with my Director's rounded thighs that I forgot about you,' could he?

Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's stats are much higher than Hu Tao's; this is high, that is also high, truly the Three Highs.

If she suddenly said, 'My thighs aren't exactly lacking in fullness either,' how would he answer?

So Huo Xi urged Shenhe to find some time to scout for information for him, while he prepared himself before going to welcome Greater Lord Rukkhadevata.

Maybe bringing the Flower Goddess and the Hydro God along to take the heat would be somewhat useful when the time came.

Thus, that evening, everyone except the resting Skirk gathered in the Realm of a Thousand Stars for a long-overdue feast. There was an abundance of fine wine and cuisine, and they even put on quite a few talent performances.

There was live painting by Griseo, a sword dance by Yunli, and even a mecha transformation show jointly presented by Clara, Guizhong, and Eunectes. This was the program Huo Xi looked forward to the most.

But when Eunectes rolled out an Original Gundam that was less than two meters tall and then wore it like a suit of Iron Man armor, the smile on Huo Xi's face vanished.

‘That's a giant robot! Giant robots are supposed to be huge, and people sit inside to pilot them! It—it's not used like this!’

At this moment, Huo Xi felt that a man's romance had been trampled upon.

Eunectes must have studied Iron Man first and then thought the Original Gundam was similar. She hadn't even looked at the blueprints properly; talk about path dependency.

Huo Xi wasn't idle either. Everyone present was part of his family, so he naturally went around clinking glasses with each of them, whispering sweet nothings and making the girls quite happy.

Not only that, as the host and Master, he also had to help Clervie integrate with everyone as quickly as possible. Fortunately, with Lumine and the others there, everyone quickly hit it off.

The two ladies, the Hydro God and the Flower Goddess, stayed elegantly by Huo Xi's side, chatting with him from time to time. Huo Xi initially wondered if Malikata was plotting something strange again, but he soon felt at ease because the other party behaved very normally.

Every frown and smile displayed the elegance and approachability of a former angel. Occasionally he would adjust his chest, and while eating, his jade feet would inadvertently slide over Huo Xi's body before he turned to apologize. The way he brushed his hands down over his two half-moons as he sat also made one's throat feel itchy.

After the meal, Huo Xi was a bit worried about Skirk's condition. He took some food and left the table, heading alone toward Skirk's room.

Meanwhile, Malikata, who was talking with Egeria, suddenly smiled.

Egeria tilted his head. 'Nabu, what's wrong?'

Malikata waved his hand. 'I just think our little Master is quite cute. Despite having such terrifying power, his personality is like a child who hasn't even reached fifty.'

'True, he looks so young, maybe only fifteen or sixteen? At such a young age, what's the difference between him and a baby?' Egeria agreed, then looked at Malikata again. 'Doesn't your Angel Clan have an innate love for humans? You'd even earn money yourselves and put it in treasure chests for people to find, but the Master isn't human, is he?'

'Tsk, tsk, tsk!' Malikata wagged his finger. 'I've identified it carefully; his body is indeed not human, but his soul radiates the brilliance of humanity, making me unable to stop myself!'

Egeria blinked again. 'But don't angels suffer misfortune once they fall in love with a human? Aren't you afraid that getting close to the Master will cause you to die again?'

'Tsk, tsk, tsk!' Malikata denied again. 'You're right, but his body happens to not be human!'

Egeria's eyes widened. 'Then you mean...'

'He is in my strike zone, yet he bypasses the Angel Clan's judgment! This is probably the only case on the Teyvat continent!'

Egeria clapped his hands softly. 'Wow, then congratulations! Are you going to actively pursue the Master next? Do I need to ask the other children for a walkthrough?'

'No need,' Malikata refused directly.

Egeria tilted his head. 'Why?'

Malikata gave a toothy grin, displaying the beauty of the Angel Clan to the fullest. He adjusted his chest and shook his feet. 'I've been making small gestures and observing his expressions. By watching the changes in the way he looks at us, I've already figured out his preferences and even his priorities! Come, let me tell you...'

...On the other side, in Skirk's room, Huo Xi lay on the bed with a bewildered expression.

Directly above his line of sight was Skirk, staring at him with eyes glowing with a red light.

'Perhaps we should be candid with each other now, Huo Xi.'