A true cure, by all medical rationale, should have demanded a meticulous, multi-tiered regimen. Healing was a slow, deliberate art. Even a common cold rarely vanished overnight without a trace. For all his peerless medical mastery, Baizhu had spent a lifetime treating the people of Liyue, and almost every affliction required weeks or months of careful regulation.
Yet reality now defied every law of medicine.
He had done nothing more than consume a single apple. Barely twenty seconds had ticked away. Upon the glowing status interface before his eyes, the glaring, crimson affliction modifier that had long served as a constant countdown to his demise was entirely gone. Not a single trace of its lingering corruption remained.
Twenty seconds.
For an ordinary person, it was merely the duration of a fleeting thought, a span of time too brief to walk even twenty paces at a leisurely stride. Yet twenty seconds in this otherworldly realm had completely severed the root of a torment he had carried for over two decades.
The decades of agonizing struggle, the sleepless nights, and the desperate experiments suddenly felt like a mirage, as insubstantial as the reflection of the moon in water. Baizhu called up his status interface again, his fingers trembling slightly as he stared intently at the clean slate, desperately seeking some hidden catch.
His fingers drifted naturally to his own wrist, pressing down against the skin to monitor his pulse. He would confirm the steady, rhythmic beat of a healthy heart, lower his hand for a mere heartbeat, and then immediately raise it to check his wrist once more.
The fear of waking up into a cruel reality gripped him.
A healthy body was a birthright most ordinary people took for granted, scarcely giving it a second thought. But for Baizhu, who had spent his entire life balancing precariously on the edge of a blade held by the God of Death, no one understood the crushing weight of health better than he did.
In the bustling streets of Liyue harbor, he had spent years watching children run and play, his heart heavy with a silent, consuming envy he never permitted himself to voice. The people of Liyue often boasted that there was no disease Baizhu could not cure, and indeed, reputation, wealth, and status had all accumulated at his feet.
But his singular, true pursuit had always been simple health.
The dream he had chased across decades had finally materialized into truth on this day. He possessed a healthy body. He could feel his internal organs, once withered and decayed, now pulsing with a vibrant, youthful vitality. He felt the strong, steady thump of his heart against his ribs. A deep, soul-deep comfort washed through him.
Even with his ironclad discipline, a hot sting gathered behind his eyes. Health, the priceless treasure he had deemed utterly unattainable in his lifetime, was now his. He could live an ordinary life.
Driven by pure instinct, his fingers found his wrist yet again.
Changsheng, who had remained entirely silent since Zhongli had entered the room, finally shifted her white scales and spoke up, unable to watch any longer.
"If you keep this up, you might as well tie your hand permanently to your wrist. You haven't checked a year's worth of patients as many times as you've checked yourself today."
Baizhu offered a faint, silent smile at the serpent's biting remark, offering no defense. Given his level of medical expertise, a single glance at a citizen of Liyue was usually enough to discern their ailment. Those rare cases that actually required him to take a pulse were invariably fatal, terminal afflictions.
Throughout any given year, how many people did he truly need to touch to diagnose?
Furthermore, ever since the great transformations began in Liyue with the introduction of milk and Healing Potions, the diseases he once found incurable had been reduced to the equivalent of minor colds, easily remedied with a single cup of milk. Bubu Pharmacy had not seen a single patient seeking active medical treatment in over three months. It functioned far more like a common herb dispensary now.
Yet Baizhu harbored no resentment over this shift; he felt only profound relief. As a physician, the core tenets of his master's teachings remained burned into his soul. He truly desired a world where all shelves gathered dust if it meant humanity was free from suffering. On this day, he had achieved what generations of his predecessors had been utterly powerless to resolve.
The physician could finally heal himself. He had eradicated his own terminal curse.
"My deepest gratitude to you, Mr. Ryen, and to you, Lady Ningguang. I cannot possibly repay the value of this gold, but I am deeply honored that my worth has been recognized by you all. I will devote every effort to creating value for Liyue to compensate for these hundred tons of gold."
Ningguang leaned closer to Yelan, murmuring a quiet instruction to lift the surveillance on the physician. She then turned back toward Baizhu, her expression softening.
"There is no need for such formality. Now that the misunderstanding has been cleared, you are a citizen of Liyue and shall be treated with the same regard as any other. Liyue has progressed to a point where no citizen should ever have to perish in regret to a mere disease. You do not need to repay the gold; we have access to as much of it as we could ever desire."
She paused briefly, her sharp eyes assessing him.
"However, the fact that you managed to successfully fuse milk with an alchemical potion entirely on your own, without any guidance or understanding of their underlying nature, speaks volumes. Your innate talent for pharmacology is something Liyue desperately needs."
Ningguang took a step forward, her tone businesslike yet appreciative.
"Liyue no longer requires traditional pharmacies when ordinary illnesses can be solved with milk, meaning Bubu Pharmacy's utility has significantly diminished. Moving forward, you will be integrated into the Liyue Alchemy Workshop, specifically tasked with leading the research into alchemical potions."
Baizhu was a rare prodigy, particularly in the realm of experimental medicine, which was precisely what the leadership of Liyue required. Although the current Five-Nation Alliance boasted no shortage of geniuses within the collective workshops, a closer look revealed a distinct imbalance.
The chief architect of the workshop was Mondstadt's Albedo, with Sucrose serving as his primary assistant. The backbone of the research teams consisted entirely of Sumeru's scholar collectives. Liyue itself lacked a standout, top-tier researcher in the field of pure alchemy.
The talents of the Liyue people had naturally manifested in commerce and martial prowess. The only area where Liyue held uncontested dominance was the forging department, where their smiths handled the incredibly intricate processes of crafting customized blades with ease.
Baizhu's inclusion would directly shore up Liyue's deficit in alchemical research, ensuring that Liyue's own top-tier minds were actively shaping the workshop's future.
"The Alchemy Workshop? I understand. I will give it my utmost effort," Baizhu replied with a quiet nod, offering no further objection.
Then, with a subtle shift of his sleeve, his fingers slipped back onto his wrist, confirming his state of health once more. He felt he could monitor this steady, smooth pulse for the rest of his life without ever growing weary of it. This was the long-denied health he had bartered his soul to achieve.
"Take this," Keqing said casually, tossing a small object through the air toward him.
Baizhu caught it, turning the curious artifact over in his palm. When Ryen had handed similar items to Qiqi and the others earlier, he had assumed they were merely decorative ornaments.
"This is... a totem? A Totem of Undying?"
A sharp jolt of awareness struck Baizhu's heart, and his fingers instinctively tightened around the artifact. Even with his health fully restored, he had not forgotten the solemn vow he had made to Changsheng. He had sworn to achieve true immortality, to ensure everyone he cherished would live forever, and to become the absolute final bearer of their generational contract.
The moment the Totem of Undying settled into his palm, that ancient, consuming thirst for immortality flared anew within his chest.
"This item... its value is entirely beyond measure," Baizhu murmured, his gaze resting heavily upon Keqing.
Keqing merely dismissed his concern with a light wave of her hand.
"It matters little. Liyue's daily production of Totems of Undying numbers in the thousands now. It has already become standard, mandatory equipment for anyone entering this world."
Ryen smiled warmly from the side, nodding in agreement as he spoke in a relaxed, conversational tone.
"That item won't grant you true immortality. It simply allows you to bypass the concept of death exactly once."
"So that is why it is named a Totem of Undying... it is effectively a second life," Baizhu murmured.
He did not look down upon the artifact simply because it fell short of true immortality. The sheer logic of the item remained absurdly powerful. To entirely negate a non-natural death and instantly restore a body to its absolute peak condition was nothing short of a miracle.
"My thanks..." Baizhu said softly.
Before he could finish, Ryen looked at him with a knowing glint in his eyes.
"Do you still intend to research the secrets of true immortality?"
At those words, the room fell entirely still. The gaze of multiple gods, adepti, and leaders converged upon the frail-looking doctor. Faced with the scrutiny of beings who had walked the earth for millennia, Baizhu did not flinch. He remained silent for a long moment before offering a firm nod.
"Yes. I gave my word to Changsheng that I would be the final contractor. I swore an oath before my master's memory that I would bring true immortality to everyone I hold dear. It remains the ultimate pursuit of my life."
Ryen did not offer an immediate response, as though he had merely asked the question out of passing curiosity, turning his attention back to playing with Klee and Qiqi.
"Immortality..." Zhongli let out a slow, quiet sigh, his voice carrying the weight of ages. "True immortality is not the blessing you imagine it to be."
He set his teacup down with meticulous care.
"I have lived for six thousand years. Had it not been for the discovery of Ryen's world, I fear I would have been drawing dangerously close to losing my rationality to the relentless erosion of time. Look no further than Azhdaha, who forgot everything and lost his sanity. What use is an eternity spent in such a state?"
Baizhu did not back down, offering a quiet counter-question.
"Yet now that Mr. Ryen's world exists, erosion is no longer an insurmountable obstacle. Does the Lord of Geo still hold onto that same perspective?"
Zhongli watched the physician in absolute silence. After a long pause, a rare flicker of genuine approval surfaced within the archon's ancient eyes.
"An excellent point. As I am now, I find myself wishing to live much longer. I wish to continue experiencing this eternity."
He looked toward the window, his voice turning reflective.
"There are far too many things I have yet to witness. I wish to see more of the vistas across these realms, and I desire to see the other worlds upon the Imaginary Tree that Ryen once spoke of. I want to see the powerful, thriving Liyue that Ryen envisioned alongside me."
He took a slow sip of his tea, his posture entirely relaxed.
"To desire a long life is no crime. All mortals have their pursuits, and the gods are no exception to this rule. Greater wealth, higher authority, supreme power, an extended existence..."
He looked around the room.
"Mortals cannot escape these desires, and neither can I. Since I am incapable of rising above it, and indeed no one truly can, what right do we have to cast judgment upon others? To exist without desire is to strip away the very essence of living. Immortality is your pursuit, just as it is the latent pursuit of the vast majority of mankind. It is nothing to be despised."
Baizhu's eyes lit up with a brilliant intensity as he absorbed the archon's words, giving a respectful bow of his head.
"Thank you for your understanding, Rex Lapis."
"However, from my perspective, your frantic pursuit of immortality is entirely redundant," Zhongli added smoothly, shaking his head as his tone shifted.
Baizhu froze, staring at the former archon in confusion. Zhongli, however, merely directed a subtle, knowing smile toward Ryen.
"If my deductions are correct, anyone who has received the benefits of your constitution sharing has already achieved true immortality."
Ryen raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"Is that so? Even I wasn't aware of that."
"Because you have never had cause to patiently observe the slow, granular ticking of a lifespan," Zhongli explained softly, setting his cup down.
"A mortal life is akin to a spring flowing from the high mountains, constantly draining away. If one listens with absolute stillness, the steady departure of vitality can always be heard. Back in Teyvat, even for a being such as myself, though the stream flows incredibly slowly, the water remains strictly finite."
He gestured toward the ground beneath them.
"Yet upon entering your world, or more accurately, the moment one receives the shared attributes of your unique constitution, that draining entirely ceases. Your boundless vitality does not diminish with the passage of time. Whatever quantity of life force one possesses at the beginning remains completely unchanged, no matter how many centuries pass over them."
Ryen rubbed his chin in deep thought, a low murmur escaping him.
"That actually makes perfect sense. Outside of very specific modification packages, I've never heard of a single Steve ever dying of old age. That works out well, it saves me the trouble of trying to figure out a way to extend Ningguang and the others' lifespans down the road."
Upon hearing this revelation, a wave of profound joy swept through Ningguang, Keqing, and Yelan. Though they had never openly discussed the matter, it was a silent anxiety that occasionally weighed upon their minds. Ryen was destined to live forever, and the likes of Ganyu shared that timeless existence.
But Ningguang and her mortal companions were ordinary human beings. If no solution were ever found, a century would pass, their youth would fade, and their lives would inevitably gutter out. To discover that they had already baseline secured an endless existence entirely by accident removed a massive, unspoken burden from their shoulders.
"In other words... so long as we remain connected to this world and retain Mr. Ryen's shared constitution, our lifespans are effectively infinite?"
Baizhu's gaze burned with an intense, absolute fervor as he looked at Zhongli. The older man gave a slow, deliberate nod.
"That is precisely how it functions."
Baizhu stood entirely frozen, a profound sense of disbelief coloring his voice as the realization settled into his bones.
"So... not only have I completely cured my illness on this day, but I have already obtained the very immortality I sought?"
"Evidently so," Zhongli replied smoothly.
With the absolute confirmation of the Geo Archon ringing in his ears, Baizhu's emotional composure shattered entirely. At this singular moment, a piercing, bittersweet truth carved its way into his heart.
No matter how desperately one bled and fought for a lifetime, the miraculous treasure one deemed entirely unattainable was often nothing more than the effortless, unremarkable daily reality of someone else.
The twenty-odd years of agonizing sacrifice, desperate research, and terrifying choices suddenly felt incredibly poignant, leaving behind a sharp, hollow ache of profound relief.