"Splash!" In the center of Cider Lake, a figure suddenly surfaced from under the water. If anyone else had seen this, they might have thought some water monster had emerged from Cider Lake.
This figure was actually Yu Jin, who had been lying at the bottom of the lake for a long time.
He was currently chewing with great effort on a lump of dark, muddy substance. It was also dotted with traces of Frenzied Flame and rot.
"Bah! It's like eating dirt!" Yu Jin chewed for a while, but it was no use. So he impatiently shoved the entire lump of mud into his mouth.
Then he started to worry. The First Flame needed to burn souls, You Sui needed the accumulation of humanity, the Frenzied Flame craved suffering, and rot accumulated in stagnation.
What about him? He couldn't possibly keep stealing the "private savings" of You Sui and the others every day, could he?
Actually, that's not a bad idea! Yu Jin suddenly stopped worrying. He felt that his recovery still needed a lot of effort from You Sui and the others.
In high spirits, Yu Jin waved his arms, splashing large amounts of water. Soon, in a pristine white, Yu Jin returned to the shore.
He then walked back to Mondstadt and started to wander around.
Since Kaeya and the others cut off the source of the Dragon Scourge storm's power two days ago, the Sky over Mondstadt had become clear and bright again.
At the same time, Mondstadt, which had been quiet for a long time, also became much livelier. The small vendors who had disappeared began moving in and out of Mondstadt again, and residents, for the first time in a while, took to the streets.
Of course, this also included Yu Jin, who had nothing to do.
Wandering leisurely, Yu Jin arrived at Windrise. Actually, there wasn't much to see in Mondstadt; only two squares were crowded and lively. As for the rest, there really wasn't anything worth visiting.
The giant Anemo God statue still stood, and the Dragon Scourge that swept through the entire city of Mondstadt had not left any trace on it. He held his hands out, looking into the distance as usual.
However, quite a few people were gathered under the Anemo God statue now, including Lumine and Paimon, who had just walked out of the Knights of Favonius.
Paimon floated beside Lumine, constantly flying up and then down. This made Yu Jin wonder how high Paimon could actually fly.
"Not bad, cutting off the source of the storm is a great achievement," Yu Jin squeezed over and patted Lumine on the shoulder.
"Hmm? Senior?" Lumine turned to see Yu Jin beside her, staring at Venti.
"Hehe, of course! Lumine is super, super amazing!" Paimon, hearing someone praise Lumine, was even happier than if someone had praised her.
Yu Jin looked at the constantly fluttering Paimon, reached out and flicked her forehead, then said playfully:
"Since Lumine is so amazing, then you, her guide, should be even more amazing, right?"
"Uh..." Paimon covered her forehead, not even bothering to question Yu Jin flicking her head. Paimon had never fought before; when she encountered enemies, she hid faster than anyone.
This kind of thing absolutely could not be known by others, otherwise, what about her, Paimon's, reputation?
"Paimon's combat power is one-fifth of a wild boar!" Lumine, seeing Paimon's embarrassed look, promptly sold her out.
"Who said that! Have you ever seen me fight? At least... at least two-fifths of a wild boar!" Paimon stomped her foot, arguing with Lumine in exasperation.
"You two have such a good relationship," Yu Jin praised.
"Of course, Lumine and I traveled through wind and dew for two months to reach Mondstadt!" Paimon proudly put her hands on her hips, though it was unclear what exactly there was to be proud of.
Then she seemed to suddenly remember something and flew to Yu Jin's side, saying, "Lumine is an Adventurer now, so don't bully her just because you're a senior!"
"Oh? Welcome, welcome! If you have any questions in the future, you can come ask me." Yu Jin was only surprised for a moment, not expecting the Adventurers' Guild to resume work so quickly.
They were already eager to recruit people as soon as the Dragon Scourge was eliminated. Good, very consistent with his impression of Cyrus.
"Definitely, I'll have to trouble you a lot in the future, Senior!" Lumine smiled and nodded. She was very happy to make a friend and senior like Yu Jin.
"Cough, cough, cough!" Just as Yu Jin, Lumine, and Paimon were chatting happily, a loud cough rang out.
Venti, seeing that the main character had arrived, no longer waited. He strummed his lyre, and to the accompaniment of the melodious music, began to tell an ancient story.
"The story I am about to tell begins in ancient times, when the gods still walked the earth..."
"The Anemo Bard played the strings, and the lyre of the heavens answered him one by one..."
"A dark age then descended, when lion fangs decayed, and eagle banners were not unfurled..."
"The Sky Dragon swallowed the poisonous blood of the evil dragon and fell into a deep sleep, only for no one to recognize him upon his awakening many years later..."
... The music was sometimes melodious and lively, sometimes deep and poignant. Combined with Venti's tone, a legend from ancient times appeared in everyone's minds.
After listening, Yu Jin was filled with emotion. So that big guy had such a tragic past, which made him feel a little guilty.
Then he led the applause. Dvalin's tragic experience and Venti's superb storytelling skills were two different things. Since he told it so well, Yu Jin had to show his appreciation.
"Here, next time you tell a story, let me know, and I'll come listen again." Yu Jin slipped a handful of Mora into Venti's pocket.
"I thank you!" Venti's eye twitched uncontrollably. The good atmosphere was completely ruined by this guy, Yu Jin.
Yu Jin's actions opened the floodgates, and everyone present applauded. Those with spare Mora also imitated Yu Jin's actions and slipped Mora into Venti's pocket.
This included Lumine and Paimon. Paimon even strongly demanded that Lumine give her pocket money in advance, just so she could personally put Mora into Venti's pocket.
By the time everyone dispersed, Venti's pockets were bulging. They were sparkling with gold, all Mora, enough to buy several bottles of fine wine!
"Whew—" Venti calmed his urge to hit someone, put on a smile, and said to Lumine, who hadn't left yet:
"Oh... my! You're the one who scared Dvalin away that time, aren't you?"
"Dvalin? Who's that?"
"Stormterror, Paimon, have you forgotten what Lisa told us?"
"What? How did you know I scared Stormterror away?"
"Stare—" × 3
Lumine, Paimon, and Venti's gazes immediately converged on Yu Jin, making Yu Jin feel even more guilty.
"You... don't worry, it's probably, maybe, perhaps, just some psychological trauma," Yu Jin explained, feeling Venti's devouring gaze.
"What did you do to Dvalin?!" Venti, disregarding his conversation with Lumine, immediately ran to Yu Jin's side and urgently questioned him.
He was afraid Yu Jin had accidentally killed Dvalin.
Yu Jin scratched his head, pushed Venti away, and said, "He's fine. I just called a group of people to train some newcomers on him. I didn't make a move, you can rest assured about that!"
"Is that really true?"
"It's really true!"
"Ay—, alright, as long as he's not in any trouble." Venti, hearing that Dvalin was fine, could only let it go.
What else could he do? Fight Yu Jin? Even if he and Dvalin teamed up now, they probably wouldn't be enough to beat Yu Jin.
"Um, do you know what this is?" Lumine's voice came, and then she walked over, holding a large, pure teardrop.
Yu Jin looked at Lumine, thinking, she really is the protagonist, easily accomplishing what ordinary people cannot!
But Venti was not as calm as Yu Jin. He looked at the crystal-clear, large teardrop in Lumine's hand, and with a solemn expression, also pulled out a teardrop.
However, this teardrop was crimson, and it constantly emitted an ominous and dangerous aura.
"Dvalin was once a gentle child, but now he has become so sad. I also have a teardrop Crystalize here; you try to purify it." Venti presented the teardrop Crystalize to Lumine.
Lumine listened to Venti recount Dvalin's past while taking the crimson teardrop Crystalize.
The teardrop Crystalize continuously brightened in Lumine's hand. Eventually, the crimson color disappeared, and the teardrop became pure and clear.
And Venti, seeing this scene before him, his expression changed from solemn to relaxed.
It seemed Dvalin could finally escape the corrosion of the poisonous blood.
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