Lumine and Paimon were fleeing when the Millelith surrounded them.
Lumine drew her trusty Dull Blade and was just about to fight her way out.
Just then, an unfamiliar man's voice rang out beside her.
"Miss! Stay still!"
A figure darted out, turning his bow into a pair of blades.
With a powerful surge of Hydro, he took down the Millelith in no time.
Only then did Lumine get a good look at him. He wore a scarf draped behind him, and his clothes were finely made, looking expensive at a glance.
"Keep up! Keep up!"
"They're over here! Don't let them escape!"
Lumine was still completely bewildered.
"Follow me."
Tartaglia glanced back and gestured to them.
Behind him, Lumine and Paimon exchanged a look, then hurried after him.
After running for a very, very long time, they finally shook off the pursuing Millelith.
"Huff... huff... that was exhausting."
Paimon floated in the air, panting nonstop.
"Which muscles do you even use to fly by magic?"
Lumine gave Paimon a speechless look. Surely she was the more exhausted one.
"Have some sympathy! My phantom limbs are really tired!"
"Oh, right!"
Paimon suddenly turned toward the man beside them and asked in confusion.
"By the way, who are you?"
"You can call me 'Childe.'"
Tartaglia explained.
"Wow, what an awful attitude. You save us once, and now you're treating us like servants."
Paimon put her hands on her hips and looked at Childe.
At that moment, far away in Snezhnaya, the Fatui Harbinger known as The Knave sneezed.
"Has the weather gotten colder?"
Lumine also put her hands on her hips and stared at Childe.
"Hahaha, that's not what I meant. A name is just a codename, after all."
"Just like 'La Signora,' whom you must have met in Mondstadt."
Tartaglia explained with a smile.
"Childe"? "La Signora"?
"You're a Fatui Harbinger!"
Paimon clutched her chest in shock, while Lumine held one arm protectively in front of her and watched Tartaglia warily.
"Uh, don't be nervous. I'm not here to fight you."
"'La Signora' left you with a pretty bad impression, didn't she?"
"Ah, that woman... I don't like her either."
"All right, let's forget what that woman did for now! I'm here to help you."
Tartaglia looked at Lumine and Paimon enthusiastically.
Lumine waved him off with a look of distaste.
"Shoo, shoo. We don't need help from the Fatui."
Childe scratched his head awkwardly, his gaze wavering.
"Hey, I'm a Fatui Harbinger, you know. Could you show me a little respect?"
"I'm not a bad guy. Uh... I probably am a bad guy, but I'm not here to cause you trouble."
After Childe spent a long time explaining himself, Lumine decided to trust him for now, though she still had her doubts.
He then took Lumine to the Northland Bank and gave her a talisman.
"To put it simply, this is a token that will keep the Three-Eyed Five-Manifestation Immortals from harming you."
Childe held a talisman in his hand as he spoke to Lumine.
"Did you say... immortals?"
Paimon looked at Childe in surprise.
"Head north out of the city. West of the Guili Plains, there's a stone forest called Jueyun Karst. The people of Liyue believe that's where the immortals' cave abodes are."
"They only believe it?"
Lumine asked, sounding puzzled.
Childe turned to Lumine and explained.
"That's right. They believe the legends, so they only make offerings to the immortals on the outskirts of Jueyun Karst and don't dare venture farther in. But I don't need to believe, because I know the immortals of Jueyun Karst really exist."
Childe paused before continuing.
"I also know that the Immortal Lord's cave abode you're looking for is there. But I heard that the Immortal Lord of Yin-Yang and the Two Principles was stolen away while his body was still asleep."
"In short, if there's anyone left in Liyue who can help you now... it can only be the Three-Eyed Five-Manifestation Immortals of Jueyun Karst."
Jueyun Karst.
Moon Carver, Mountain Shaper, and Cloud Retainer had returned here after failing to find the Immortal Lord.
They had flown over all of Liyue, using their Adeptal Energy to search for any trace of the Immortal Lord.
But they hadn't found a single sign. After their fruitless search, they could only return here.
At that moment, Qiu Bai was walking through a part of Jueyun Karst, sparing none of the Hilichurls or Slimes along his way.
He was looking for something. That's right: treasure chests.
Who would have imagined that Liyue's illustrious Adeptus of Yin-Yang and the Two Principles didn't even have any Mora!
"My lifelong reputation almost went down the drain."
Indeed, after five hundred years without using money, he had long since lost all sense of it.
When he went to eat at Xinyue Kiosk today, he had been stunned when it came time to pay. Fortunately, the director had been there.
"Qiu Bai! Why are you just like that Zhongli fellow!"
"I won't let you pick up bad habits! Find a way to earn some Mora! And no breaking the law!"
Qiu Bai rubbed his ears. He could still remember Hu Tao shouting right beside them.
Ah, I don't know how to run a business. I can only scrape by opening treasure chests.
From yesterday until now, he had already found over a hundred thousand Mora in them.
Lumine: "So that's why there are fewer and fewer treasure chests."
Qiu Bai resignedly beat up Hilichurls while gathering some precious medicinal herbs.
"Why didn't I think of this? With my Power of Yang, I could easily open a medical clinic."
"I've already come this far. I'll discuss opening a medical clinic with the director when I get back."
As Qiu Bai thought of this, something felt off again. Wouldn't opening a medical clinic cut into Hu Tao's business?
Forget it, forget it. I'll talk about it when I get back.
Just as Qiu Bai was fretting over Mora.
Lumine and Paimon spotted Qiu Bai walking ahead, not far in front of them.
"Qiu Bai!"
Paimon waved.
Hearing the call, Qiu Bai turned back to look at Paimon and Lumine.
"I never expected to see you here."
"My friends."
Qiu Bai turned around with a smile and looked at Lumine and Paimon.
Qiu Bai truly hadn't expected to see Lumine and Paimon here.
Had the plot already reached the part where they searched for the immortals?
"Qiu Bai, what are you doing here?"
Lumine asked in confusion.
"Aren't you scared to be here all alone?"
"We can protect you. The Traveler is really strong!"
Paimon folded her arms across her chest, looking incredibly proud.
Her expression made Qiu Bai laugh.
He reached out and patted Paimon's head.
"Don't worry, little Paimon. I'll be fine."
"I'm pretty strong too, you know."
Paimon quickly escaped from under Qiu Bai's hand. This man always gave her the strange impression that they were especially close.
"Don't touch Paimon's head!"
"I've decided to give you an ugly nickname!"
"I'll call you... I can't think of one right now. I'll tell you once I do."
Beside them, Lumine covered her mouth and laughed too.
"Hmph! Traveler, you're laughing at me too! Stop laughing!"
The group made their way deeper into Jueyun Karst, laughing and teasing one another.
Along the way, Qiu Bai pocketed every medicinal herb he saw without hesitation.
This left Lumine and Paimon watching him in confusion.
"Ahem, didn't you ask earlier what I came here to do?"
"It's because I've been short on Mora lately, so I thought I'd gather some medicinal herbs to sell."
Before you continue