"It's not all bad," Shen Yuan feels the need to say. "I've made some good friends here, people my life would surely be emptier without. The locals are reasonably friendly, and the city itself can be quite pleasant, when something horrible isn't happening."

It's just that horrible things keep happening. He grimaces and embraces the change in subject.

"Oh good, you got yours." He pulls his own omni out to compare it Lan Xichen's. "They're communication devices, yes, though they also give you access to a sort of interdimensional archive. You can use them to send images over a distance as well, still or moving."

He demonstrates the steps for opening the camera feature on his omni, and then -- does he dare? Does he dare to take a selfie with a master cultivator, a sect leader in his own right?

He absolutely does. Afterwards he shows Lan Xichen the picture of the two of them with a bright laugh, amused by his own silliness.