At this moment, Dottore, the Fatui Harbinger, was standing deep within a dense forest.
Despite the scorching heat, he was wearing his usual thick clothing yet cold sweat was dripping down his back.
He felt an overwhelming pressure, as if something immensely powerful was bearing down on him.
However, this sense of crisis only lasted for a brief moment before disappearing completely.
Behind him, a few Fatui soldiers exchanged puzzled glances at their silent superior.
"Lord Dottore, is something wrong?"
"I don't know… He suddenly stopped speaking just now."
Two of the soldiers whispered to each other in confusion. Due to Dottore mask, they couldn't see his expression, making them even more uncertain about the situation.
Just then, Mirror Maiden, a curvaceous and imposing Fatui officer, turned her sharp gaze toward the two clueless recruits, irritation evident on her face.
"You two idiots, can't you shut up?"
Before they could react, she swiftly delivered a hard slap to each of their faces.
SMACK! SMACK!
"Wuuu… fine, we'll be quiet…"
"But why did you hit us?!"
The two recruits clutched their now swollen cheeks, looking at Mirror Maiden with a mix of grievance and disbelief.
Did they even realize how much psychological trauma a slap like that could cause to a proud soldier of Snezhnaya?!
Nearby, a Fatui Cryo Agent hesitated.
"I… kind of want some berries."
He had just started to speak but quickly shut his mouth upon seeing the two recruits nursing their bruised faces.
Yeah, maybe not worth the risk.
Meanwhile, Dottore muttered under his breath.
"This feeling… the only other time I've experienced this was before Her Majesty, the Tsaritsa."
"But… whoever it was, they had no intention of attacking me?"
For a brief moment, he had been absolutely convinced that this particular segment of his consciousness was about to be erased.
Was it a god watching him?
Dottore lips twisted into a deranged smile.
"But even if this segment is destroyed, I still must obtain that artifact."
There was not even a trace of fear in his voice.
After all, his true self along with his most powerful segments were not in Liyue.
Turning to glance at his subordinates, Dottore eye twitched before he reined in his grin.
Without another word, he walked forward alone.
Seeing this, the Fatui soldiers immediately hurried after him.
Qiubai paid no further attention to Dottore.
Instead, he simply carried the water container and made his way back toward Xiangling.
As he reached her campfire, he saw smoke curling into the evening sky, while the warm glow of the fire flickered against Xiangling and Guoba's faces.
"Mr. Qiu Bai, you're back!"
Xiangling stood up and greeted him with a bright smile.
"Yeah, here's the water you asked for."
Qiu Bai chuckled slightly before handing over the water container.
Taking it from him, Xiangling eyes lit up with excitement.
"Alright then, let's begin!"
"Time to try out some new dishes!"
"Mr. Qiu Bai, try it!"
Xiangling beamed with excitement as she placed dish after dish in front of Qiu Bai.
Then, with a proud smile, she began introducing each one:
"This one is Boiled Penglai Tofu with Hydro Slime!"
"This one is Stir-Fried Jueyun Chili with Pyro Slime!"
"And this one, Dry-Fried Fish with Electro Slime!"
"Oh! And this one is Cryo Slime Salad!"
"And, and…!"
Qiu Bai eyelid twitched violently upon hearing these bizarre dish names.
Out of all of them, only the Cryo Slime Salad looked somewhat normal.
The others? Just hearing their names was enough to make anyone hesitate before taking a bite.
Qiu Bai let out a long sigh.
"Ah… whatever. If not me, then who?"
With tears welling up in his eyes, he reluctantly took a bite of each dish.
Xiangling tilted her head in confusion.
"Why is Mr. Qiu Bai eating with a pained expression?"
Still, she remained silent, eagerly watching him with bright, expectant eyes, waiting for his review.
Qiu Bai mind was a whirlwind of conflicting thoughts.
"Wait… why does this actually taste kind of… good?"
Despite the unorthodox ingredients, Xiangling culinary skills somehow turned them into edible—no, delicious dishes.
He licked his lips, still processing the unexpected flavors.
However, just as he was about to give his verdict, something strange happened.
His stomach churned, and a chaotic mix of elemental energies inside him began violently repelling each other.
For a moment, he felt like he was about to explode.
But this wasn't a big deal for Qiu Bai, he quickly calmed the energies within his body.
Then, looking at Xiangling expectant puppy-dog eyes, he finally spoke.
"Mmm..."
"Mmm?!"
Xiangling's eyes sparkled, her gaze locked onto Qiu Bai, eager for his response.
After a pause, he nodded thoughtfully.
"It's quite good. Especially the Cryo Slime Salad it's cool and refreshing, kind of like jelly."
"However Xiangling, make sure your customers never eat more than three of these dishes at the same time."
"If too many are eaten together, the conflicting elemental energies might cause some unexpected reactions."
Qiu Bai carefully explained, emphasizing the potential dangers of consuming multiple elemental dishes in one sitting.
Xiangling nodded in understanding.
"Ohhh, so that's how it is! Thank you, Mr. Qiu Bai!"
Then, she picked up two of the dishes and took a bite herself.
Her eyes widened slightly, the flavors were even better than she expected!
Still chewing, she suddenly fell deep into thought, as if an idea was brewing in her mind…
After a moment, Xiangling suddenly thought of something and let out a silly laugh. She turned to look at Guoba beside her.
"Lu!" Σ(?Д?|||)
Guoba, upon being stared at like that, made a startled expression.
Seeing this reaction, Qiu Bai mouth twitched slightly.
"Looks like Guoba has been fed quite a lot of… unusual things, huh?"
Xiangling nodded to herself.
"These dishes still need some improvement. It wouldn't be good if they ended up harming customers…"
Then, with a bright smile, she turned back to Qiu Bai.
"Thank you so much for helping, Mr. Qiu Bai!"
"If you ever get hungry, come to Wanmin Restaurant. I'll treat you!"
Her gratitude was genuine, and her smile was pure and sincere.
Rationally speaking, Qiu Bai never really gets hungry.
But who could say no to free food?
"Then I'll gladly accept your offer, Xiangling."
Glancing at the sky, Qiu Bai expression softened a little.
"It's getting late. Let's head back to Liyue Harbor."
He was being thoughtful after all, a young girl staying out in the wild alone was still a bit dangerous.
"Hehe, no need, Mr. Qiu Bai."
"I'm already used to being in the wild on my own!"
Xiangling grinned, looking slightly embarrassed.
After all, she often spent days away from home, wandering the wilderness just to create the perfect dish.
Qiu Bai sighed slightly but then spoke in a serious tone.
"Xiangling, listen to me don't go toward that mountain."
"It's dangerous."
He pointed toward the distant peak and turned to Xiangling with a calm yet firm gaze.
The reason?
That mountain was where the Fatui Harbinger, Dottore, was located.
Although confused, Xiangling hesitated upon seeing Qiu Bai sudden serious expression.
In the end, she nodded.
"Alright, Mr. Qiu Bai. Don't worry, I won't go."
She had no plans to head in that direction anyway.
With that, the two exchanged farewells.
Xiangling, however, was still thinking about something.
She wanted to check out the Pyro Regisvine she had seen earlier.
It felt similar to the Cryo Regisvine in Mondstadt, if its leaves were anything like that…
Wouldn't they make for an amazing new ingredient?
Just the thought made her eyes sparkle with excitement.
She was even starting to drool a little.
If Qiu Bai hadn't pulled her back, she might have actually gone and plucked some leaves from that burning tree.
Guoba waved happily, hopping around as he bid farewell to Qiu Bai.
Still a little worried, Qiu Bai handed Xiangling a small object before leaving.
It looked similar to a Taiji symbol, glowing faintly with a soft light.
"If you run into trouble, crush this."
With that, Qiu Bai turned and walked away.
Xiangling watched his retreating figure, clutching the small talisman in her hands.
Spending the entire afternoon together, she found that Qiu Bai was a very easygoing person.
Almost like a teacher.
Someone who not only helped her when she was in trouble but also taught her how to handle things on her own.
Meanwhile, Qiu Bai himself walked off in another direction, not returning to Liyue Harbor.
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