After resting for a while,
everyone prepared to return.
At that moment, the Den Den Mushi in Su Han's hand suddenly rang.
It was Ningguang.
"What is it?"
"Miss Ella you mentioned earlier has now arrived at the Chasm under secret escort by the Millelith. Would you like to come take a look?"
Two weeks ago,
the Dragon Vein purified the Chasm.
At Xiao's invitation, Su Han went to investigate and, along the way, signed a contract with the Black Serpent Knights, allowing them to live beneath the Dragon Vein.
The condition was that they would help train soldiers.
At the same time, they would command the hilichurls to contribute to Liyue.
Regarding this,
Halfdan fully agreed.
To help the Black Serpent Knights relax somewhat, during Su Han's previous trip to Mondstadt, he hired the underage Miss Ella with a high salary.
He did not expect her to have already arrived.
"No problem. I happen to be near the Chasm anyway."
After ending the call,
Su Han smiled at Paimon and the others. "Want to take a look at the Chasm? The place is quite interesting now. It might really surprise you."
"What's the Chasm?"
It was Paimon and Lumine's first time in Liyue.
They had no idea what the place was for.
Mona, who had already spent some time in Liyue, explained, "It's a large mining site, but I heard it was shut down for some reason. Places like that are usually filthy. Su Han, you're not planning to trick us into mining, are you?"
"I'm not that scheming. Besides, even if you wanted to mine, it wouldn't be your turn."
Seeing how mysterious Su Han was acting, everyone became interested.
Even Zhongli wanted to take a look.
However, the old gentleman's focus was different. He wanted to see how effective the Dragon Vein's transformation had been after all this time.
As for Venti, he simply went wherever there was fun.
The group set off together once more.
In less than five minutes, they arrived at the edge of the Chasm.
Flying in the air, Paimon stared at the magnificent scenery and could not help opening her mouth wide.
"Wow, it's huge! This is really a mining site?"
It was also Lumine's first time seeing such grand scenery, and her eyes widened in amazement.
Mona was visiting for the first time as well. After her brief shock, she quickly sensed something unusual.
"There seems to be a strange and sacred aura in the air. What exactly is this?"
The feeling was incredibly refreshing.
Even her soul felt comfortable.
Venti and Zhongli sensed the same aura.
Unlike Mona, however, the two of them perceived the Dragon Vein far more clearly.
Venti leaned toward Zhongli and whispered, "Old man, what treasure is this? Staying here actually makes my erosion feel reduced."
"This is the Dragon Vein, the treasure mentioned in Storm Riders."
"What? Even Dragon Veins exist? Is Su Han actually a god?"
Seeing Venti's exaggerated expression,
Zhongli looked utterly disgusted.
Could this fellow not act seriously for once?
Besides, if Su Han were truly a god, Zhongli would have sensed it long ago.
He simply had a capable father and more treasures than others.
There was nothing surprising about it.
However, thinking about how nearly all of Su Han's treasures had been used for Liyue, the old gentleman felt that Venti's jealousy was somewhat understandable.
While everyone admired the scenery,
Venti quietly moved beside Su Han and spoke mysteriously.
"Hey, want to come to Mondstadt and become a pope? The beautiful women in the church would be yours to choose from. You'd be a favored follower of the Anemo Archon."
Before Venti could finish speaking,
a small stone spear suddenly shot out and smashed him away.
"Ow!"
"Old man, that's unfair!"
Only an afterimage remained in the air.
Moments later, everyone watched as Venti fell straight into a cave below.
Paimon asked in confusion, "What happened to the bard?"
Zhongli revealed a thoughtful expression and said, "He likely slipped. There's no need to worry about him. I noticed hilichurls working over there just now. Shall we go take a look?"
"Hilichurls working?"
Paimon found that utterly absurd.
In her understanding, hilichurls only fought or caused trouble.
They never worked.
Could it be that Su Han had successfully trained hilichurls? That would be incredible.
Facing the questioning looks from Paimon and Lumine, Su Han smiled.
"Let's go. You'll understand once we get there."
Although Venti was no longer helping,
the old gentleman merely made a small move, and everyone flew across just the same.
Only after everyone had completely left,
did Venti crawl out of a large hole at the mountain's base while rubbing his waist.
Rubbing his back, he grimaced and said, "The old man is still so stingy. He can't take a joke at all. I was only trying to test Su Han. If beauty were really needed, it would at least have to be someone like Lisa."
Even so,
Venti did not dare complain too much about Zhongli.
Otherwise, being smashed into a hole would be the least of his problems.
At the outer area of the Chasm,
many houses had already been constructed.
Uniform concrete structures stood with white-painted walls and red tiled roofs, giving a very comfortable appearance.
After walking around, Venti said in surprise, "How was this built? It looks beautiful."
"Concrete reinforced with steel bars. The new Guili City now uses this kind of construction. It's inexpensive and very sturdy."
Venti looked extremely envious. Thinking about Mondstadt's old district, he could not help asking, "Then could Mondstadt be renovated too?"
"As long as Mondstadt is willing to pay, there's no problem. Cement production is very high right now, so we can offer you a low price."
"No problem. I'll contact the Acting Grand Master later."
Although the Anemo Archon loved taking things easy, who would not want their homeland to become cleaner and more orderly?
Mondstadt might appear fine on the surface, but the old district was already badly worn.
Whenever it rained, the ground turned muddy. Boots would be soaked every time someone passed through. It was unbearably dirty.
Su Han asked in confusion, "Can Mondstadt afford it?"
He had spoken with Jean that morning, and their finances were nearly in deficit.
Venti lowered his voice and said, "I still have some savings. Worst case, I'll dig up some antiques or sell some wine."
"I see."
Su Han immediately understood.
This god was still different from the old gentleman.
At least he had his own private funds.
While the two chatted,
Paimon, Lumine, and the others had already arrived at the mining area.
They saw countless hilichurls working in orderly fashion.
Some carried ore, others transported waste, and the smarter ones had even learned to use tools.
Paimon could not believe what she was seeing.
"Are these really hilichurls? Why aren't they violent or arguing?"
Lumine observed carefully and realized Paimon was right.
If not for their appearance,
she might have thought they were ordinary people.
But how exactly had Su Han accomplished this?
It was simply astonishing.
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