The sky above Dragonspine suddenly turned hazy and murky. A gale swept up shards of snow, until one couldn't see the road ahead at all.
Seeing the grave expression that had come over Eula beside him, Ye Xi assumed she was angry, so he waved his hands and said, "This… really wasn't me…"
He hadn't expected it either—the very moment he brought up the blizzard, the storm had come.
Eula seemed to snap out of it, shaking her head. "Of course I know that."
"The storm's here now, so we need to hurry to the camp up ahead."
"Time is short—follow me, quickly!"
Before Ye Xi could react, Eula suddenly reached out, grabbed his arm, and swiftly led him across the deeply snow-covered plain.
Only then did Ye Xi realize that Eula hadn't been angry at all—she'd been worried about the sudden change in the weather.
Indeed. They hadn't gone more than a few steps—only a dozen or so seconds—before the storm had grown so fierce that visibility dropped to less than half a meter.
It was practically like walking with your eyes shut. If she hadn't been holding his hand, he would have lost her in under five seconds.
Judging by how calm Eula still appeared, she had likely encountered a situation like this before.
It was hard to imagine how Eula, alone, could make it back safely if she ran into a blizzard on the snowy mountain.
As for Ye Xi, he honestly couldn't care less. To begin with, he had the [Weather Report] Stand, which could pause a blizzard in an instant.
Even if he were trapped on this snowy mountain, he could simply create a Space Portal and return to the Serenitea Pot.
Or, if he were in the mood, he could use the [Abyss Core] to make a safehouse—enjoying the blizzard on one side while eating a hotpot in the warm room on the other.
To him, no matter how treacherous the environment, danger simply didn't exist.
Now he was rather looking forward to it.
If the storm really was this heavy, might they truly have to spend the night on the mountain?
Spending the night on this snowy peak with Eula—perhaps something quite interesting would happen.
As he was thinking this, the blizzard grew even more violent.
The howling wind seemed ready to sweep a person away at any moment, and the sky full of snowflakes buried the various rocks all around.
At this rate, they'd probably be buried alive by the snow before they even reached the camp.
He suddenly felt Eula's hand seem to tremble slightly.
That hand had grown colder and colder, as if, even with the protection of an Eye of God, this frigid wind was hard to fend off.
If this kept up, then even without any real danger, frostbite would be unavoidable.
This storm meant nothing to him, but to Eula, it might fill her with immeasurable fear.
To settle down on the mountain with Eula like this would inevitably feel like taking advantage of the situation.
At that thought, he stopped in his tracks and summoned the Weather Report Stand.
Seeing Ye Xi suddenly halt, Eula hurriedly turned her head. "Don't be afraid—hold on a little longer, we'll be at the camp soon!"
In her eyes, no matter how many incredible feats Ye Xi had accomplished in Sumeru and Liyue, against this dire situation, he probably couldn't cope either.
To be honest, even she was feeling a little panicked right now.
Seeing Ye Xi frozen in place, she assumed he'd been scared stiff.
The howling of the storm was deafening; the moment their words left their mouths, they were scattered by the raging wind.
So even standing very close, communicating was difficult.
Seeing that Ye Xi still gave no response, Eula leaned close to his ear and raised her voice.
But just then, the storm suddenly and without any warning ceased.
"Eh?"
The once-clamorous surroundings became utterly calm in an instant, leaving Eula slightly bewildered.
Ye Xi let out a breath and explained, "To tell the truth, I really can create a blizzard—and I can make one disappear too."
Watching the storm gradually subside, Eula's face was full of stunned amazement.
Controlling the storm!? He could actually do it to this degree! Was this guy a God!?
"Hm? Startled?"
Seeing Eula standing there motionless and dazed, Ye Xi reached out and waved a hand in front of her.
Eula abruptly swatted away the hand Ye Xi had waved before her eyes and, brushing the snowflakes off herself, said, "And here I was, thinking you were scared out of your wits, holding your hand because I was afraid you'd get lost."
"Turns out I was just flattering myself!"
"How could that be?"
Ye Xi hadn't expected Eula to sulk, and couldn't help finding it a bit amusing. "Pausing a storm takes time too. If you hadn't been holding onto me, I really might have gotten lost—thanks to you!"
"That's more like it."
Eula gave a soft laugh. "Still, that you actually didn't take advantage of the situation—should I call it growth on your part?"
Since he possessed the power to manipulate the weather, Eula figured that, given Ye Xi's fickle, flirtatious nature, he'd seize the chance to stay the night on the mountain with her.
And if it truly came to that, she honestly wouldn't have known how to face it.
Yet Ye Xi had gentlemanly dispersed the storm for her.
Ye Xi chuckled and said bluntly, "I saw how frightened you were, and besides, a storm this strong could hurt you."
"Who's frightened!"
Eula gave a huff, declaring plainly that she'd hold this against him.
And yet, in her heart, she felt very warm.
So it was out of concern for her that he'd done this.
She folded her arms and, gazing at the gradually subsiding storm, finally set her heart at ease. "Thanks to you. A storm of this magnitude, once it begins, lasts at least a dozen days or more! I've only run into it once before."
"That time, I barely managed to wait for the rescue team at the camp. I didn't freeze to death, but I couldn't avoid frostbite."
"I recuperated in the city for a long while before I recovered."
As she spoke, Eula still felt a lingering fear.
The snowy mountain was enormous in area—perhaps several times larger than the scale seen in the game.
Ye Xi felt something was odd. This blizzard had come so abruptly; given Mondstadt's climate, a storm on this scale really shouldn't appear.
"On the summit of this Dragonspine, there's a region that's blocked by wind and snow all year round."
"They say there's a nail up on the peak that fell from the sky—it's that very thing that keeps creating the blizzards."
Ye Xi was suddenly enlightened.
That was the Nail of Judgment that had fallen upon the snowy mountain!
So the storm was connected to that nail!
At that thought, he spoke up. "Perhaps I have a way to get rid of that nail."
"Ehhh—!?"
Eula was slightly stunned, her heart full of shock.
She hadn't expected that her offhand remark—
If the nail really could be removed, then Dragonspine's blizzards would become far rarer!
That way, the adventurers climbing the mountain and the knights on patrol would be much safer too! From then on, the work of patrolling the snowy mountain would no longer be dangerous!
"Really? You—you're just too amazing!"
"You're not actually omnipotent, are you?"
Eula was truly beginning to suspect that Ye Xi was a God. In fact—even mightier than a God!
Defeating the Dragon Kings of Liyue and Sumeru, commanding the storm—no matter how you looked at it, this couldn't be an ordinary person!
Ye Xi said with a smile, "When have I ever deceived anyone? Getting rid of that nail is just a trivial errand. If you think it can be done, then we'll go."
"But… how do we get up there…"
Eula gazed at the cloud-piercing summit. At that height, even without a blizzard, there was no climbing up.
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