"So, where are you taking me?" Dain asked helplessly as he and Yu Jin walked along the edge of Wolvendom.
After'spying' on the Abyss Order, Yu Jin had dragged Dain away, saying he wanted him to meet a few people and show him he wasn't alone.
"A place you'll definitely be interested in."
"Besides the Abyss Order, I'm not interested in anything else."
Dain's refusal was decisive. He had indeed been interested in many things in the past, but those had all faded. Now, he only wanted to thwart the conspiracies of the Abyss Order.
"Do you want to see that tree?" Yu Jin pointed to the enormous object on Dragonspine that reached to the sky, adding, "We just spied on the Abyss Order with its help, you know."
"..."
"I admit I spoke a bit too loudly just now. Take me there; I'm also interested in this tree."
A hint of embarrassment appeared on Dain's face. He didn't expect to be proven wrong so quickly.
Originally, Dain had wanted to argue a bit and save face. But then he thought, Yu Jin probably doesn't even know what 'face' is.
So, he simply dropped his reserve.
"Very good, but unfortunately, our destination isn't it this time; it's a person at the foot of the tree." Yu Jin's single sentence choked Dain.
Dain clenched his fists, let out a breath, and said, "Let's go. Even if we go to the foot of that tree, I can still learn a lot of information."
As for the 'person' Yu Jin mentioned, Dain didn't have any expectations for him.
There were very few people in this world who could catch his attention. Yu Jin popping up was already surprising enough; if another one came along... Dain estimated he'd have to list Mondstadt as a 'high-risk area'.
"No need to be such a spoilsport; that person is also quite important." Yu Jin patted Dain's shoulder, then walked towards Dragonspine with his hands behind his head... Dragonspine was originally a desolate place, but now it seemed somewhat vibrant.
The biting cold wind had its fierceness drained, hitting one's face more like a soft cotton ball than the sharp ice blades it once was.
The first to sense these changes were always the unassuming green plants on the land. They were more sensitive than any animal; once conditions allowed, they would expand their territory to wherever they could grow.
In short, Dragonspine was starting to turn green.
Such obvious changes naturally attracted the attention of the people of Mondstadt.
Most people would only treat it as material for after-dinner chatter. But for the many Adventurers and alchemists in Mondstadt City, the current Dragonspine was an undeveloped treasure trove.
Affected by this, the camp at the foot of Dragonspine, which originally had only two or three scattered people, had grown to the size of a small town.
"What is this?" At a small stall in the camp, Yu Jin picked up a Sweet Flower and asked Sucrose, who seemed a bit shy.
"This is an octoploid Sweet Flower I developed. Senior Yu Jin, if you want it, just take it!"
Sucrose's words explained why this Sweet Flower was so special.
"Oct... octoploid?!"
Yu Jin fiddled with the Sweet Flower in his hand, which was as big as a sunflower, a little shocked.
As expected of Albedo's apprentice, he easily accomplished what most alchemists couldn't!
"Good work, Sucrose. You should keep it for yourself. Try to create even bigger ones in the future!"
Yu Jin put the huge Sweet Flower back. In just that short time, his palm was covered in the nectar flowing from the octoploid Sweet Flower's pistil.
"This is also thanks to the Perfume Bottle Mr. Yu Jin gave me." Sucrose touched her beast ears, a little embarrassed, upon hearing Yu Jin's encouragement.
With her current technology, she could at most cultivate tetraploid Sweet Flowers. As for this octoploid, it still relied on the Perfume Bottle.
This small Perfume Bottle seemed to be specifically made for holding plants and their extracts.
The Perfume Bottle could stimulate the activity of plant matter within the bottle, which was like adding wings to a tiger for Sucrose, who specialized in biological alchemy.
"Is that so? Then you're quite impressive yourself." Yu Jin understood after hearing this.
Perfumers are similar to Sucrose in some ways, but perfumers focus more on how to combine various substances in plants to create various wonderful uses.
While Sucrose researches how to improve plant traits.
In Yu Jin's opinion, it was all pretty much the same, and all good things.
"Bye-bye, try to make a sixteen-ploid!" In the distance, Yu Jin waved at Sucrose and then left the area.
Walking through the camp, Dain watched Yu Jin, who was constantly responding to others, and felt a bit out of place.
"You seem very popular?" After another exchange of greetings, Dain asked Yu Jin, who was still waving.
Yu Jin stopped his actions and said smugly, "Of course! If Mondstadt had a reputation level, I'd definitely be in the highest tier!"
His title of Senior was not just for show!
"Impressive." Dain responded indifferently.
"You flatter me." Yu Jin nodded, then led Dain out of the camp and into the snowy mountains.
Dain stepped on the thin green patches on Dragonspine's surface, looking at the faint golden light everywhere in the mountains, and for a moment, he felt a sense of wonder.
He had been to Dragonspine before, but back then, the snowy mountain was no different from a dead land, with no animals or people to be seen.
But now... Dain just took a quick look and could see several Adventurer teams made up of small green-clad people.
The snowy mountain had actually become lively.
Dain and Yu Jin walked through the mountains. The light pouring down from the Golden Tree spread evenly, without any change, making one forget the passage of time while walking within it.
"Finally here. This snowy mountain is still so tall."
The narrow rock wall opened up, revealing to Yu Jin and Dain a huge tree that almost filled their vision... and a small tent at its foot.
"Ta-da! Mondstadt's Chief Alchemist, Albedo, is here!" Yu Jin ran to the camp entrance, pulled Albedo, who had just walked out of the tent, and introduced him to Dain.
"This is your mother's fellow countryman." Yu Jin leaned close to Albedo's ear and whispered to him.
Albedo's eyes widened instantly. He looked at Dain before him. Mysterious, dark—that was Dain's first impression of him.
He bore some resemblance to his 'brothers' who lacked reason.
"Dain. Your mother is..." Dain withdrew his gaze from the Golden Tree and extended his hand to Albedo.
Life created by an alchemist? Dain recalled the advanced alchemy of Khaen'riah and thought that while it was miraculous, it wasn't impossible.
However, to be able to create artificial humans almost identical to real humans, his alchemy skills must have been among the best in all of Khaen'riah.
Perhaps he even had an impression.
Dain didn't mind helping Albedo, who was half a descendant of Khaen'riah.
"Rhinedottir." Albedo calmly spoke the name of his irresponsible master and mother.
Then he felt an extremely sharp aura rush towards him.
"Such a big reaction? Do you have a grudge against that Rhinedottir?" Yu Jin saw Dain's cape flutter without wind and poked his cheek, saying.
Quite tough, he could maintain a poker face even when gritting his teeth. Yu Jin admired Dain's expression management a bit.
Yu Jin's poke immediately made Dain lose his composure. The dark blue cape behind him settled down, and his clenched fists relaxed.
Swatting away Yu Jin's outstretched finger, Dain let out a breath.
"Phew... sorry, I was a bit out of line."
"I don't know your mother." Seeing that Albedo was about to ask something, Dain preemptively stopped him.
He truly didn't know Rhinedottir. Although his title as Captain of the Royal Guard sounded impressive, he was essentially just a security captain.
He was still far inferior to people like Rhinedottir who could influence the King of Khaen'riah.
"Is that so? It seems even news of her is hard to find."
Albedo gave a wry smile. Master, oh Master, where are you?
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