Acquaintance

Lingyuan and Fujin stared at everything before them in astonishment.

Neither of them could quite believe it.

In just an instant,

all the snow on the mountain had vanished.

And from the looks of it, it had become part of the sword.

Mu Yang turned around.

"Is this enough?"

The lion beast and koi exchanged glances.

Then nodded.

Mu Yang looked around.

This had originally been a barren mountain.

There were only scattered rocks.

Not even small animals lived here.

Perhaps other animals had sensed the danger and left beforehand.

That was why he had never felt energy like Fujin's or Lingyuan's approaching.

Seeing how easygoing Mu Yang was,

Fujin moved closer to inspect him.

That was simply her personality.

After circling Mu Yang several times,

she finally asked, "Do you have a name?"

Mu Yang answered without hesitation.

"Mu Yang. That's all I remember. I don't know if it's my name."

"Then we'll call you Mu Yang from now on. I'm Fujin, and she's Lingyuan."

Fujin sounded excited.

She loved making new friends.

Lingyuan, however, was different.

She did not get too close to Mu Yang.

Nor did she give him a friendly look.

Perhaps because she had just been sent flying twice.

Mu Yang asked, "Was the 'disaster' you mentioned caused by me?"

Lingyuan grew angry the moment she heard that.

"If it wasn't you, then who was it?"

"The snow you made spread all the way to my mountain!"

Mu Yang lowered his head.

"Sorry. In that state, I couldn't control my power..."

Fujin stepped between them again to smooth things over.

"Alright, alright. Since it was unintentional, don't keep holding onto it."

"And it didn't really affect your mountain. The temperature merely dropped a little."

"This area was already barren. Other than rocks, there was nothing here."

Mu Yang let out a sigh of relief.

Though he had not created this setting himself,

the idea of speeding up his absorption of the surrounding energy had been his.

Fortunately, it had not caused any severe consequences.

Fujin asked what Mu Yang planned to do next.

For example, whether he wanted to find out why he had appeared here.

Mu Yang said he had no clues.

Fujin was extremely enthusiastic.

She said that instead of staying here alone,

he might as well live with them on the mountain across the way.

She also wanted to introduce him to another new friend.

Mu Yang knew it was probably the Medicine Master.

Of course he agreed.

Fujin and Lingyuan were still appearing in their beast forms.

The ancestors of Chenyu Vale had likely not yet migrated here.

If he did not go spend time with them,

there was no point wandering around aimlessly.

Besides, he had personally written the setting of them being friends.

Mu Yang accepted Fujin's invitation.

Fujin happily swam circles around him.

Fujin was delighted.

Lingyuan merely gave a "Hmph."

It seemed making friends with this mountain overlord would take some time.

On the way back,

Fujin excitedly told Mu Yang about their mountain.

About what they usually did for fun.

Mu Yang listened attentively.

Occasionally, he offered a comment.

Lingyuan suddenly asked an unexpected question.

"Why did you turn into such a strange form?"

Mu Yang did not understand at first.

"Is a human form strange?"

"Human?"

Lingyuan did not understand.

But Fujin's eyes sparkled.

"Wow! So this is what humans are like!"

"I've heard the birds mention them. They seem to live in that direction."

The direction Fujin pointed toward was The Chasm.

According to Teyvat's history,

the ancestors of Chenyu Vale had come from The Chasm.

After the Heavenly Nails fell,

they migrated toward Chenyu Vale.

And settled here.

When Fujin heard that Mu Yang knew things about humans,

she flew straight from Lingyuan's back onto Mu Yang's shoulder.

She asked him questions nonstop along the way.

It was clear she loved the subject.

Lingyuan did not like the topic at all.

She had no interest in human affairs.

And the newcomer stealing her friend away

was not very interesting either...

Mu Yang could feel the barbs in Lingyuan's gaze.

Before long, the three of them finally left the barren mountains.

After crossing a lake,

they arrived at Lingyuan's mountain.

This place was far livelier than the barren mountain of nothing but rocks.

The grass was lush and green.

It brimmed with life.

Birds sang amid fragrant flowers.

Fujin leaped from Mu Yang's shoulder into the water.

Only after swimming around inside did she poke her head out and blow bubbles.

"The lake has returned to normal now too."

Fujin told Mu Yang.

Earlier, the snow had gradually spread over the surface of the lake.

The changing temperature had affected the friends living underwater.

That was why Lingyuan had been so eager to find the cause.

"Don't be fooled by how she acts. She's actually very good to everyone."

Mu Yang nodded in understanding.

A classic cold-on-the-outside, warm-on-the-inside type.

Afterward, Mu Yang asked Fujin to apologize to the friends in the water for him.

After all, he had caused this disaster.

He was willing to offer them some compensation.

"How did you two go out for a while and come back with a human?"

The speaker was a snow-white snake.

She was currently hanging from a tree, flicking her tongue.

Her eyes were blood-red.

They looked rather unsettling.

Fujin jumped out of the water.

She said to Mu Yang,

"This is the good friend I mentioned before—the Medicine Master."

"Medicine Master, this is our new friend, Mu Yang."

Lingyuan turned her head away.

"Hmph. I haven't acknowledged him as a friend yet."

The Medicine Master clearly understood Lingyuan's personality.

She did not correct Lingyuan's sharp words.

Instead, she jumped directly down from the tree.

First, she coiled around Mu Yang's arm.

Then around his neck.

"This aura... It doesn't seem human either."

Mu Yang explained himself again.

It was the same old story.

He did not remember much.

Fortunately, the Medicine Master did not mind.

Like Fujin, she quickly became familiar with him.

Mu Yang settled down here just like that.

When he fell asleep and opened his eyes for the second time,

it was not after a single night had passed.

Instead, he had arrived at the next point in time.

The four of them were now extremely close friends.

While asleep, he had gained many memories of the time they had spent together.

It was as though he had experienced it all himself.

This simulation was fucking realistic.

When Mu Yang woke up, he found himself inside a small wooden cabin.

He had built it with his own hands.

Fujin and the others did not really understand it.

But Mu Yang's true soul was still human.

If he really had to sleep out in the wilderness under the open sky,

it would be a miracle if he could fall asleep.

Food was not an issue, though.

He only needed to absorb some of the surrounding energy.

Though he occasionally craved a bite of something.

Once the simulation was over, he had to get Yanxiao to make a full Manchu-Han Imperial Feast.

Mu Yang walked out of the little wooden cabin.

As usual, he went to hang out with his friends.

He wondered what kind of antics they were up to today.

The moment Medicine Master saw Mu Yang,

he said helplessly, "Those two are at it again."

Mu Yang smiled. "What are they betting on today?"

Fujin and Lingyuan's favorite pastime was competing in all sorts of things.

Though usually, Fujin was the one pulling tricks.

Lingyuan, this Daidaishou,

always got fooled silly.

Sometimes, with no other choice, she could only run to Mu Yang for advice.

At first, she had been reluctant.

Later, she discovered that Mu Yang knew a lot.

Their relationship gradually grew closer.

With what Mu Yang taught her,

Lingyuan won against Fujin a few times.

And then she started getting cocky again.

Just then, she spotted Mu Yang arriving.

"Mu Yang, come be the referee!"

"Coming, coming."

Mu Yang walked over with Medicine Master.

"What are you competing in today?"

Lingyuan declared with absolute confidence,

"Swimming!"

Mu Yang: ???

You're a lion beast competing in swimming against a koi.

You've really gotten carried away!