It was no wonder Yu Jin said that, because he saw an old, hunched man holding hands with a young woman, laughing and chatting by the small pond in Springvale.
The woman was the Spring Sprite, who had taken human form, and the old man was Old Finch, who had previously entrusted him with cleaning the pond.
"Who?" Old Finch immediately pulled his hand away from the Spring Sprite, looking guilty.
"Uh…"
"Yu Jin. What's your name now?" Yu Jin saw the Spring Sprite's hesitant expression and knew what she was debating.
"Alright, Lord Yu Jin, thanks to you, my name is Qingquan now," Qingquan said to Yu Jin with a smile.
"Qingquan, this is…" Old Finch was a little confused, seeing Qingquan treat Yu Jin with such respect. In his mind, Yu Jin seemed to be an Adventurer who was a bit greedy but capable.
"Finch, this is Lord Yu Jin. Thanks to him, I was able to see you," Qingquan proactively took Old Finch's hand and introduced Yu Jin to him.
Old Finch was a little excited when he heard this. Seeing Old Finch about to rush forward, Yu Jin quickly retreated and said:
"Hold on, hold on! Just call me Yu Jin. Qingquan's transformation is due to her own reasons; I merely helped a little."
Hearing Yu Jin's words, Old Finch no longer tried to embrace him.
"What's going on with you two?" Yu Jin looked at Qingquan holding Old Finch's hand, a little curious.
Could it be that Qingquan liked older men? Or was it really Old Finch, an old ox eating young grass?
Qingquan showed an 'I knew it' expression and said, "Actually, Finch and I have known each other for a long time, but my previous state couldn't respond to his affection, so, thanks to you, here we are."
As Qingquan spoke, she smiled and raised her and Old Finch's hands. However, Old Finch's old face turned red; he wasn't as open-minded as Qingquan.
"Congratulations, congratulations, may you have many children soon, many children soon," Yu Jin nodded, offering his blessings to this couple who had overcome many hardships.
But he quickly changed the subject and asked Qingquan, "Do you know if there are any other Spring Sprites like you?"
Qingquan breathed a sigh of relief, recovering from her awkward state. It was a good thing Yu Jin changed the topic, otherwise, she wouldn't have known how to respond.
Qingquan lowered her head in thought for a moment, then said to Yu Jin with an apologetic tone:
"I'm sorry, Lord Yu Jin, ever since the previous Hydro Archon fell, many Pure Spring Sprites, dissatisfied with the current Hydro Archon's arrangements, went their separate ways. Everyone has been scattered for hundreds of years."
But Qingquan quickly added, "However, I do know the whereabouts of one Pure Spring Sprite: Rhodeia, the strongest Pure Spring Sprite."
When Yu Jin heard the words "strongest," his eyes almost lit up. Strongest? She could at least grant three wishes, right?
"Where is she?" Yu Jin asked eagerly. He could already see titles like 'Fishing Master Yu Jin' and 'World Chef Yu Jin' beckoning to him.
"In Qingce Village," Qingquan replied. Seeing how eager Yu Jin was to meet other Pure Spring Sprites, she couldn't help but ask curiously, "Is Lord Yu Jin trying to save everyone?"
"Hmm…" Yu Jin scratched the back of his head, then said somewhat guiltily, "Yes, yes, of course. For such good beings like you, I definitely have to help."
Hehe, it's alright to collect a small Reward, isn't it? Yu Jin felt his reason for making wishes was even more justified.
"Then I will thank Lord Yu Jin on behalf of everyone," Qingquan bowed deeply to Yu Jin.
She knew the hardships of the Pure Spring Sprites. Apart from those who submitted to the current Hydro Archon, the other Pure Spring Sprites were definitely not in good condition.
Even Rhodeia in Qingce Village was constantly on edge, and she was the strongest existence among the Pure Spring Sprites. If she was like this, the fate of other Pure Spring Sprites could be imagined.
"Just doing a favor. I won't disturb you two lovebirds anymore. Bye-bye!" Yu Jin chuckled and disappeared.
By the small pond in Springvale, only a somewhat shy Old Finch and Qingquan remained standing blankly.
The commissions Yu Jin took weren't too difficult. After spending some time completing them, he ran back to Mondstadt City.
"Miss Katheryne, I'm back again," Yu Jin said, holding the completed commission forms as he rushed to the counter.
"Ad astra abyssosque!" Katheryne smiled and said a slogan to Yu Jin, then exclaimed, "Mr. Yu Jin completes commissions so quickly!"
"It's nothing, just small commissions," Yu Jin said, watching Katheryne confirm the completion of the commissions, then continued to ask:
"Miss Katheryne, are there any commissions near Liyue?"
"Oh? Mr. Yu Jin wants to go on another long journey?" Katheryne asked with a smile while looking for commissions.
"It's always good to go out and explore," Yu Jin said to Katheryne with a smile.
"By the way, there's a merchant escort commission here. Do you want to take it?" Katheryne quickly found a commission.
Yu Jin took it and looked, discovering that the destination of this escort commission was Qingce Village. What a coincidence!
"I'll take it!" Yu Jin waved his hand and accepted the commission.
However, the commission seemed to start three days later, so he still had some free time.
But why be idle? Yu Jin was a man who needed to save up four million Mora!
And so, under Katheryne's surprised gaze, Yu Jin took on another brand new commission.
This time, the client seemed to be a child who wanted him to find someone in Dragonspine.
However, because Dragonspine in Mondstadt was too dangerous, and this commission went deep into the mountain's interior, it had been accumulating and no one had taken it.
But Yu Jin wasn't afraid of danger. He hadn't been to Dragonspine in Mondstadt before, so it wouldn't be bad to take a look while he was there.
After preparing everything, Yu Jin walked out of Mondstadt City, heading towards the towering mountain range that reached into the sky.
Dragonspine is located in the southernmost part of Mondstadt. Unlike the surrounding terrain, this huge snowy mountain is perpetually covered in unmelting snow, clashing with the lush green of other nearby areas.
Even though Dragonspine is immense, logically speaking, it shouldn't be a snow-capped mountain, but no one cared.
Because ever since Mondstadt's history began to be recorded, Dragonspine had been like this. Over time, the Mondstadters grew accustomed to it.
But Yu Jin was not a Mondstadter. Standing at the camp below Dragonspine, looking at the distant snow-capped mountain, he felt it was extremely unusual.
Walking out of the camp, it was cold; entering the camp, it was warm. Repeating this, Yu Jin fell into deep thought.
"You have a problem," Yu Jin said, pointing at the distant snowy mountain, then he ran into the camp.
The client's name was Joel. Yu Jin immediately saw him in the not-so-large Dragonspine camp—he was the only child in the camp.
"You're Joel, right?" Yu Jin patted Joel's head, then said to him, "I've taken your commission. Tell me what's going on!"
"What commission?" Joel just found this guy in front of him very strange. Not only was he dressed oddly, but he also came straight up and talked about commissions. He was still a child; he couldn't issue commissions.
"Oh? Is that so? Let me see." Yu Jin pretended to open the commission form, then smiled and said, "It seems I made a mistake. What are you, a child, doing at the foot of Dragonspine? Don't you know it's very dangerous?"
An unknown kind person? How interesting.
"I'm here waiting for my dad. Are you going to Dragonspine?" Joel looked at Yu Jin with some anticipation in his eyes.
"Hmph, of course! An Adventurer coming here without entering Dragonspine at least once wouldn't make sense, would it?" Yu Jin looked at Joel's somewhat swollen eye bags, then said, "Do you want me to go into Dragonspine and look for your dad?"
"Really!" Joel was a little surprised. His dad had been in Dragonspine for a long time. He said he would take him to see the snow together, but he still hadn't returned.
"Do you know how your dad went up Dragonspine?" Yu Jin looked at the huge snowy mountain in the distance. If he didn't know, it would be troublesome.
"I know. I heard the Knights of Favonius uncle say that Dad seemed to want to follow the Snow-Covered Path all the way up, then go to the western slope of Dragonspine to look, and then, he also wanted to see the summit."
"Is that so?" Yu Jin kept these things in mind, then looked towards the distant snowy mountain.
Dragonspine, here I come!
--+--
T/N: Although I'm an inexperienced Editor, I do have a Patreon account! Although it seems like I don't have many supporters right now, my webnovel will be released in full every day, and the advanced chapters will be uploaded to Patreon.
It may not be worth it now, but who knows, it might be different in the future. Who knows!
patreon.com/Greyhounds
If you want to see it, then why not?