At this moment, Xiangling eyes widened in shock as she covered her mouth.
Guoba, too, stared at Qiu Bai with wide eyes, utterly astonished by what he had just witnessed.
With just a casual flick of his finger, three stonehide lawachurl had been reduced to black specks and disappeared into thin air?
And that strange white light, how did it manage to restore the burned grassland to its original lush greenery?
"Mr. Qiu Bai, you're amazing!"
"Thank you, Mr. Qiu Bai!"
Still in shock from what had just happened, Xiangling finally regained her senses and quickly expressed her gratitude.
"No need to thank me. I was simply strolling around."
"I didn't expect to run into you here, let alone see you struggling against monsters."
Qiu Bai turned to Xiangling with a smile, then glanced down at Guoba, who was still frozen in amazement.
"Looks like I surprised you too."
Qiu Bai chuckled softly, looking at Guoba.
He had to admit, this display of power was quite effective.
"Hehe, I originally came out to find ingredients."
"I wanted to test out a new dish I've been working on, but I ended up running into three stonehide lawachurl."
"If it weren't for you, Mr. Qiu Bai, I don't think I could've won."
Xiangling scratched her head and shifted awkwardly, feeling a little embarrassed.
After all, she had been personally trained by Streetward Rambler (Madam Ping), yet facing three stonehide lawachurl at once had still proven difficult for her.
It was only now that Qiu Bai noticed the large backpack strapped to Xiangling back, with a cooking pot fastened to its right side.
"So, what ingredients are you looking for?"
Qiu Bai asked curiously.
"Slimes!"
"Different elemental Slimes enhance different flavors in dishes!"
"Except for Geo Slimes… they're just way too tough to eat."
Xiangling excitedly explained, specifically emphasizing that Geo Slimes were inedible.
Qiu Bai mouth twitched slightly at her words.
"Why don't you come with me, Mr. Qiu Bai?"
"That way, you can be the first to try my latest dish!"
Xiangling eyes sparkled with excitement as she eagerly stared at Qiu Bai.
By now, Guoba had also snapped out of his shock and waddled over to Qiu Bai feet.
"Lu-lu-lu~ (^▽^)"
"Alright, alright, I'll go with you!"
Qiu Bai quickly waved his hands in surrender, stepping back a few paces.
Facing such an enthusiastic girl, who could possibly say no?
Besides, he was in the body of a god. He should be able to handle whatever strange dish she cooked up… right?
"Who knows, it might actually taste pretty good?"
"Alright then, let's set off, Mr. Qiu Bai!"
Hearing his agreement, Xiangling cheered excitedly. She then put away her Dragon Bane Spear and set off on her journey to find Slimes.
Qiu Bai followed behind her while Guoba happily hopped ahead, leading the way.
"Go sniff out the monsters, Guoba!"
"And don't mess up like last time, leading us to three stonehide lawachurl!"
Xiangling glared at Guoba with a scolding look.
"Lu... o(╥﹏╥)o"
Guoba looked up at Xiangling with a pitiful expression.
Seeing him like this, Xiangling softened a bit.
"Alright, alright, I won't blame you anymore. If you find some Slimes for me, I'll make you a delicious plate of Jueyun Guoba when we get back!"
She crouched down and patted Guoba head to comfort him.
"Lu Lu Lu!"
Guoba instantly perked up, his eyes shining with excitement. He started hopping forward again, full of energy.
Seeing Guoba enthusiasm, it seemed like Xiangling's words had done the trick.
"Mr. Qiu Bai, let's hurry and keep up with Guoba!"
Xiangling quickly turned around and called out to Qiu Bai before dashing ahead.
Qiu Bai twitched the corner of his mouth.
"A battle-hound?"
He hadn't expected Marchosius, who had once possessed intelligence, to end up in this form. But perhaps, in some ways, this wasn't such a bad thing for him.
Lost in thought for a moment, Qiu Bai then noticed that Xiangling and Guoba had already run far ahead and quickly chased after them.
After a thorough search, they finally found a few Hydro Slimes and Cryo Slimes near a riverside.
"Found them! Guoba, you're amazing!"
"Now, leave the rest to me!"
Saying this, Xiangling dashed toward the Slimes without hesitation.
"Take this!"
"Witness my master's spear techniques!"
Qiu Bai watched Xiangling fight the Slimes and couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth again.
"...Is she trying to trigger Vaporize?"
Before he could finish processing the thought, Xiangling had already finished the battle and returned with a chunk of Hydro Slime remains in her hand.
"Mr. Qiu Bai! I'm back!"
She beamed proudly as she held up the slimy material.
"Guoba, let's go find the next target!"
After a few more rounds of searching, Xiangling finally managed to gather the remains of six different elemental Slimes.
Of course, along the way, there were plenty of times when Guoba messed up.
Like that one time, he actually led them to a massive burning tree. And not just any tree, but one that could attack people!
If it weren't for Qiu Bai, Xiangling might have been in real danger because of Guoba's mistake. But instead of fear, she had an incredibly bold idea. She actually wanted to pluck a leaf from the Pyro Regisvine and see if it was edible!
If Qiu Bai hadn't grabbed her and pulled her back, who knows what would have happened.
And by "what would have happened," it meant the Pyro Regisvine, because if things got serious, Qiu Bai would have one-punched it into oblivion.
Qiu Bai would personally show it what "Explosion" in Pyro Regisvine really meant.
"That was really close... Thank you so much, Mr. Qiu Bai!"
"Now, it's time to test my new recipe!"
Xiangling quickly set up a small camp in the wild, pulled the backpack off her back, and slowly unzipped it revealing a variety of ingredients and seasonings.
"Wow... She really came prepared."
Qiu Bai watched, slightly surprised as Xiangling skillfully took out ingredients from her pack.
Then, she placed a cooking pot over the firewood.
"Guoba! Fire-breathing time!"
"Lu Lu Lu!"
Guoba puffed out a small burst of flame, quickly igniting the kindling.
After that, Xiangling turned to Qiu Bai with an apologetic smile.
"Mr. Qiu Bai, could I trouble you to fetch some water?"
By now, after all the running around, the sun had started to set over the horizon.
"Sure, leave it to me."
Qiu Bai smiled as he took the water container from Xiangling.
"Thank you, Mr. Qiu Bai!"
With that, he walked off towards the nearby riverbank. But as soon as he got there, he suddenly felt something off.
"Hmm? This feeling…"
Qiu Bai narrowed his eyes.
"Interesting."
Using his spiritual sense, he quickly picked up on something and a faint smirk appeared on his lips.
Because he had just found a big rat.
"The second-ranked Harbinger of the Fatui."
"Dottore."
"Why is he here? …Is it because of me?"
Qiu Bai hadn't expected Dottore to appear in Liyue, but he wasn't too concerned.
After all, even though Liyue currently had three Fatui Harbingers lurking around, that wasn't enough to affect his plans with Morax.
Unless they harmed the people of Liyue.
At that thought, Qiu Bai expression suddenly turned ice-cold.
If that happened, then he wouldn't hold back.
Meanwhile, on a distant mountaintop, Dottore suddenly felt an overwhelming chill crawl up his spine.
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