Xu Zheng shook his head. "It's a type of mechanical art."
Eula gave a thoughtful nod and mentally noted the term down.
The more she learned about Liyue, the more she realized how wildly different it was from Mondstadt.
Those differences extended beyond just culture—they seeped into every detail, including engineering and craftsmanship.
Just then, a Cryo Whopperflower burst out from the ground and hurled a frozen projectile straight at them.
This kind of attack? Totally harmless against a seasoned fighter like Eula.
She was just about to dodge when she suddenly recalled what Xiangling had told her.
"Take care of Xu Zheng for me, okay?"
Eula turned and saw—to her horror—that Xu Zheng wasn't moving. Not even flinching.
Without thinking, she lunged forward, scooped Xu Zheng up in one arm, and leapt back, narrowly avoiding the attack.
Since they were about the same height, holding him single-handedly was awkward as hell. Eula had to squeeze tight, afraid he'd slip right out of her grip.
Held tightly against her chest, Xu Zheng wanted to say, Actually, I'm not a kid anymore. My physique can easily handle dodging a Whopperflower's attack.
Once they'd put some distance between themselves and the flower, Eula finally set him down. She kept her eyes warily trained on the monster.
"You okay?" she asked, concern in her voice.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"Why didn't you move just now? Did you not see the attack coming?"
"I was gonna form an ice shield. Didn't feel like dodging."
Xu Zheng had a strict personal policy: If I can tank it, I don't move. Shields over footwork, always.
I'm rocking a maxed-out DEF goblet. You think I'm scared of you?
A flicker of awkwardness passed over Eula's face. She had thought he was frozen in fear from lack of combat experience.
Turns out, he just didn't feel like dodging.
The Cryo Whopperflower finished charging and materialized an ice shield of its own.
"You stay here. I'll handle it," Eula said, lifting her claymore and striding toward the flower like a woman on a mission.
"Be careful. It's Cryo too," Xu Zheng called after her, slightly doubtful whether her elemental attacks would even work.
But Eula didn't use her Vision.
She timed her strike perfectly—just as the flower stiffened from summoning its shield, she spun her greatsword in a wide arc and slammed it forward.
Boom—!
The shield shattered instantly, and the monster was sent flying.
"Damn."
Xu Zheng whistled under his breath. So that's what raw strength looks like.
No wonder she's a physical DPS main. That thigh muscle was not just for show.
The flower tried to stagger to its feet and regroup, but Eula was already on top of it, sword raised for the finisher.
Just then, another Cryo Whopperflower burst from the ground not far behind her and lobbed a frozen missile toward her back.
"Watch out!" Xu Zheng shouted.
He gathered Cryo energy and summoned a wall of ice between Eula and the second flower, blocking the attack just in time.
Eula finished off the first flower with a clean strike, then turned and made quick work of the second.
…
Later—
"Xu Zheng, thank you for blocking that shot," Eula said sincerely.
"No problem," Xu Zheng waved it off. "All in a day's work."
"But, Eula-jie, you looked really cool swinging that big sword around."
"I—uh—well, thank you," Eula stammered. She wasn't used to being praised to her face, and it caught her off guard.
"Eula-jie, I wanna learn the greatsword too. Will you teach me?"
"Of course," Eula replied without hesitation.
Xu Zheng waited for a moment.
Nothing.
No system notification.
He had hoped that if he proactively asked someone to mentor him, the system would react.
But nope. Crickets.
After walking a bit further, they encountered a squad of Millelith soldiers up ahead.
One of them stepped forward as they approached.
"Hello there. Have you seen any suspicious individuals in the area?"
Xu Zheng and Eula had just arrived in this part of the forest. They hadn't seen anyone.
Well—unless you counted the sheer number of monsters they'd wiped out on the way. But humans? Nada.
If anyone looked suspicious, it'd probably be them—creeping through the woods, looking around every bush for that automaton.
The soldier suddenly remembered something. "Oh right—I've got a sketch here. Could you take a look?"
He pulled out a wanted poster and unfolded it.
Xu Zheng took one glance and froze.
Levien.
That slippery bastard who'd gotten away last time.
No wonder the Millelith were still carrying his portrait around—they were actively hunting him.
"Sorry, we haven't seen him," Eula answered calmly.
"Alright, thanks anyway," the soldier replied and jogged off.
Neither of them thought too much of it. If Levien really did show up, they'd catch him and drag him back to Liyue for trial.
Or… end things on the spot.
…
"Captain, over there," one of the Millelith pointed toward Xu Zheng and Eula.
"What is it?" the captain asked.
"When I showed those two the wanted sketch, they said no, but I saw their expressions change. Just for a moment."
"You think they're lying?"
The soldier nodded. "I think they saw him. There's no way someone would react like that to a random sketch unless they recognized the face."
The captain mulled it over. "Alright. I'll go check. You report this to HQ."
If those two reacted to Levien's face, they were probably involved somehow—and dangerous.
"Be careful, Captain."
…
"Excuse me, you two—please wait a moment."
They hadn't walked far when a voice called from behind.
Xu Zheng turned around and saw the Millelith captain jogging up to them.
"Yes? What's the matter?" he asked.
"Good day. I'm the captain of a Millelith squad currently patrolling this area. There's been a surge in monster activity, so we're escorting civilians for their safety."
He smiled warmly, though something about it felt forced.
"If you don't mind, I'd recommend joining our squad for now. We'll take you safely to your destination once we complete our mission."
The truth?
The captain had taken one look at Xu Zheng and Eula and immediately felt a pang of envy.
The guy: tall, pretty-boy handsome.
The girl: elegant, powerful, and insanely hot.
The two of them? Walking hand in hand like some perfect couple straight out of a fairytale.
Absolutely disgusting.
Couples like this deserve to step on dog poop the moment they leave the house.
Still, he kept his thoughts to himself and smiled like a good soldier.
"Sorry, we've got our own business to handle," Xu Zheng politely declined. I've got a goat to catch, bro. No time to babysit a Millelith patrol.
Besides, that monster threat he mentioned? Xu Zheng didn't even consider it a threat. He could solo the entire zone if needed.
And with Eula around? Please.
The captain froze. His suspicions only grew deeper.
A regular civilian would've been thrilled to have Millelith protection.
But not these two. They practically snubbed the offer.
There weren't even any villages nearby—what were they doing in a monster-infested forest if not meeting up with Levien?
And then… he noticed the Vision on Eula's hip.
His heart skipped a beat.
These two… weren't just civilians.
And they were way, way out of his league.
He'd need backup—multiple squads, at least.
His rusted brain spun into overdrive, calculating how to stall them long enough until reinforcements arrived.