At that moment, The Doctor, also known as Dottore, was deep in a forest. Despite wearing thick clothes in the sweltering heat, he was breaking out in a cold sweat.
He felt an immensely powerful pressure bearing down on him.
But that sense of danger lasted only a moment before disappearing.
Several Fatui stood behind him, watching their Harbinger in confusion.
"What's wrong with Lord Dottore?"
"No idea. He suddenly stopped talking a moment ago."
The two Fatui beside him stared at The Doctor, bewildered. Since he wore a mask, they couldn't see his expression.
The curvaceous Mirror Maiden grew irritated as she looked at the two Fatui recruits before her.
"Can you two idiots shut up?"
Seeing how utterly clueless the two greenhorns were, the Mirror Maiden stepped forward and gave each of them a hard slap across the face.
"All right, all right! We'll be quiet..."
"What gives you the right to hit us?"
The two Fatui recruits clutched their swollen cheeks and complained pitifully to the Mirror Maiden.
Did she have any idea how much psychological damage a slap like that could do to a grown soldier of Snezhnaya?
"I want some berries."
"Could we..."
The Cryo Bracer nearby was just about to speak, but when he saw the two recruits getting slapped, he swallowed his words.
"I've only ever felt something like this in Her Majesty's presence."
"But whoever it was had no intention of attacking me?"
The Doctor murmured under his breath, recalling that fleeting moment.
He had truly felt that this segment of his was about to be destroyed. Was some god watching this place?
"But even if this segment is killed..."
"I still have to get that thing."
A crazed, twisted smile curled across The Doctor's lips. He showed no sign of fear.
After all, neither his original self nor his segments at their peak were in Liyue.
Looking back at the Fatui behind him, The Doctor's lips twitched sharply before his smile vanished.
Then he headed forward alone. Seeing this, the Fatui behind him hurried after him.
On the other side of the mountain, Qiu Bai paid no further attention to The Doctor. Instead, he carried the bottle of water toward Xiangling.
He reached Xiangling's campfire.
Smoke drifted slowly upward from the fire, its flickering light illuminating Xiangling's and Guoba's faces.
"Mr. Qiu Bai, you're back!"
Xiangling stood up and greeted Qiu Bai with a smile.
"Yes. Here's the water you wanted."
Qiu Bai chuckled softly and handed the water to Xiangling.
"Then let's get started! I'll try making a few dishes first!"
Xiangling spoke happily.
She put two ingredients into the pot along with a Hydro Slime. Once she finished that dish, she started on the next.
After a flurry of bizarre cooking maneuvers, Xiangling produced several sticky, gooey dishes.
"Mr. Qiu Bai, give these a try!"
Beaming, Xiangling brought the dishes to Qiu Bai one after another.
Then she introduced each of them:
"This one's Penglai Tofu simmered with Hydro Slime!"
"This one's stir-fried Jueyun Chili with Pyro Slime!"
"And this one's dry-fried fish with Electro Slime!"
"And this one's Cryo Slime salad!"
"And there's also..."
Qiu Bai's lips twitched sharply as he listened to those strange dish names.
Apart from the Cryo Slime salad, which looked fairly normal.
As for the others... their names alone were enough to scare anyone away.
"Ah, fine. If I don't brave hell, who will?"
With tears in the corners of his eyes, Qiu Bai tasted all the dishes.
Xiangling wondered why Mr. Qiu Bai looked so miserable while eating them.
Still, she watched him with wide, expectant eyes, quietly waiting for his verdict.
Wait... why are these actually pretty tasty?
Qiu Bai found that rather strange.
In Xiangling's hands, these dishes really had turned out delicious.
Puzzled, Qiu Bai pressed his lips together, savoring the flavors of the dishes. But before he could give his verdict...
He felt something strange in his stomach. Several elemental powers were repelling one another, as though they were about to explode.
That was trivial for Qiu Bai, though. He gently calmed the elemental powers within his body.
Then he addressed the expectant Xiangling before him. "Hmm..."
"Hmm?!" Xiangling's large, expectant eyes stayed fixed on Qiu Bai.
"They're quite good, especially the Cryo Slime salad. It's cool and refreshing, like jelly."
"But... Xiangling, don't ever let a customer eat three or more of these dishes together."
"Otherwise, the elemental powers might repel each other and cause trouble."
Qiu Bai spoke slowly under Xiangling's eager gaze.
He also explained that people must never eat three of these dishes in one sitting or one after another.
"Oh, I see! Thank you, Mr. Qiu Bai!"
"I'll remember that. Hmm... so no eating three or more together?"
Xiangling picked up the dishes and tasted two of them herself. She pursed her lips. The flavor really exceeded her expectations.
Then Xiangling seemed to sink into thought.
A little while later, she seemed to have an idea. She grinned goofily and looked at Guoba beside her.
"Lu!" Σ(ﾟДﾟ|||)
Under Xiangling's gaze, a frightened expression appeared on Guoba's face.
Qiu Bai's lips twitched at Guoba's expression. Apparently, Guoba had been fed quite a few strange things.
"Looks like these dishes still need some work. It wouldn't be good if they hurt the customers..."
"Thank you so much for your help today, Mr. Qiu Bai!"
"If you ever get hungry, come to the Wanmin Restaurant. My treat!"
Xiangling looked at Qiu Bai happily, thanking him with heartfelt gratitude.
Generally speaking, Qiu Bai never got hungry. But who could turn down a free meal?
"Thank you, Xiangling."
"It's getting late. Let's head back to Liyue Harbor."
Qiu Bai made the considerate suggestion. After all, it was somewhat unsafe for a young girl to be out in the wilderness alone.
"Hehe, there's no need, Mr. Qiu Bai."
"I'm already used to being out here by myself."
Xiangling looked at Qiu Bai a little sheepishly. She often stayed away from home for three days at a time, all to create delicious dishes.
"Xiangling, remember not to head toward that mountain."
"It's dangerous over there."
Qiu Bai pointed to a distant mountain, then turned to Xiangling beside him and spoke gravely.
The reason he warned her away was that the Fatui Harbinger, The Doctor, was in that direction.
Although Xiangling found it a little odd, she saw how serious Mr. Qiu Bai had suddenly become.
So she replied, "Don't worry, Mr. Qiu Bai. I won't go there."
That wasn't her destination anyway. Afterward, Qiu Bai and Xiangling said their goodbyes.
She wanted to go back and take a look at that Pyro Regisvine, because she felt that the plant...
Was somewhat similar to Mondstadt's Cryo Regisvine. In that case, its leaves should be useful for making delicious dishes too, right?
At the thought, Xiangling's eyes sparkled, and she nearly drooled.
If Mr. Qiu Bai hadn't pulled her back, she really would have gone to pluck some leaves from that plant.
Guoba also waved, bouncing about as he said goodbye to Qiu Bai.
Still somewhat worried, Qiu Bai gave Xiangling a small object. It looked a little like a yin-yang symbol and glowed faintly.
"If you run into trouble, crush this."
Then Qiu Bai turned and left, while Xiangling stood behind him holding the little object he had just given her.
Watching Qiu Bai walk away, Xiangling felt that spending the afternoon together had shown her how easy he was to get along with.
He was a little like her teacher, even teaching her how to solve problems when she ran into trouble.
Qiu Bai headed in another direction rather than returning to Liyue Harbor.
Before you continue