After leaving Mondstadt, head southeast, and you'll see a towering tree that stands out.
The tree's dense foliage blots out the sky, its rich leaves wantonly painting the heavens, visible even from a thousand miles away, a vibrant expanse of verdant life.
This is Windrise,
the place where the wind originates.
Due to the cool and peaceful shade beneath the tree, many Crysalflies choose to rest at Windrise.
Dong ~
A crisp sound rang out, and a Crystalfly, still unaware of its situation, was captured inside a glass bottle.
Does it sound good? If it sounds good, it's a good Crystalfly.
"The Crysalflies in Mondstadt are so beautiful! They're completely different from the Crysalflies in Liyue!"
Hutao blinked her plum-blossom-shaped eyes, her voice full of excitement.
"I want to catch a few more Windrise Crysalflies and bring them back to Liyue, then release them on Wu Wang Slope! It'll definitely be beautiful!"
"Alright, I'll help you!"
Xiao Amber eagerly stepped forward to help, her voice full of enthusiasm.
Don't let Amber's young age fool you; she already showed the initial makings of an Outrider.
She easily climbed to the top of Windrise, then used her Wind Glider to glide through the air, putting the escaping Crysalflies into glass bottles.
Her movements were clean and precise, truly beautiful.
"I haven't trained in a while, and I feel a bit rusty. I'll take this opportunity to practice."
Keqing threw a Lightning Stiletto into the air, and in the next second, her figure vanished, replacing the Stiletto's position.
Keqing was always a bit tsundere; even if she wanted to help, she wouldn't admit it verbally.
"Qiqi... will also help."
As Hu Tao's friend, Qiqi wanted to help.
However, Qiqi's reactions were always a beat too slow.
Often, after a Windrise Crystalfly had flown away, she would only then bring the glass bottle up.
"The Crystalfly... escaped..."
Looking at the Crystalfly flying into the sky, Qiqi said weakly.
"It's okay, it's okay! We've already caught enough Crysalflies!"
Hutao waved her hand casually.
While the four of them were catching Crysalflies, Ningguang and the others weren't idle; they found a suitable spot to start a fire.
Since there were quite a few people present, one grilling spot definitely wouldn't be enough, so several fires were needed.
Girls like Ningguang and Shenhe were already quite independent, having learned to cook at a young age, so this kind of task was a piece of cake for them.
There was even less to say about Sara and Beidou; one had wandered since childhood, and the other lived deep in the mountains.
Life skills like starting a fire were essential for them.
As for Ayaka and Yun Jin,
both came from privileged backgrounds and had no experience with starting fires, so they couldn't help much, but they were happy to collect dry firewood.
Especially Yun Jin; her opera troupe usually didn't allow her to do such things, so experiencing new things was relatively interesting to her.
As for Makoto, he had adopted the local customs after arriving in Mondstadt,
which was slacking off.
Slacking off for a while feels good, slacking off all the time feels good all the time.
"Next, everyone just has to wait to eat the Steak I make!"
Amber hadn't expected that while she was just catching Crysalflies, Ningguang and the others had already completed all the preparations.
Feeling a bit embarrassed, she proactively took over all the remaining tasks.
"Amber, are you sure you can make the Steak by yourself? Or should I do it?"
Makoto, who had been slacking off, spoke up now.
He wasn't comfortable letting Amber, a young child, do such dangerous things.
"No problem, Brother Makoto, please trust me!"
Amber looked full of confidence, her every gesture exuding the air of a great chef.
However, very quickly, the Steak she was making burned and emitted black smoke.
What was worse, when she cut open the Steak, it was completely raw inside.
Amber stroked her chin, a bewildered expression on her face: "How could this happen? It shouldn't be like this..."
Makoto smiled: "High-end ingredients often require the simplest cooking methods. Master Ann, who has been busy all day, decided to order takeout today..."
Amber was stunned for a moment: "Brother Makoto, what is takeout?"
"Oh, nothing, it's a type of food from my homeland."
Looking at Amber's confused expression, Makoto subconsciously thought of Raiden Ei.
Ei also tilted her head in confusion when she cooked, appearing completely baffled.
At this moment, the two figures unexpectedly overlapped.
Speaking of which, he wondered how Ei's seclusion was going, whether her cultivation had ascended.
Probably not yet.
After all, if she had ascended, she would probably have come to Mondstadt to find him.
Recalling his thoughts, Makoto said to Amber: "Xiao Amber, pay close attention,"
"When making Steak, you should pay attention to three details: cooking temperature, flipping rhythm, and frying time."
"Your problem is that the cooking temperature is too high, and secondly, your flipping rhythm is also off..."
"The reason you succeeded in making Steak at home is because Amber's Grandfather was watching over you and helping you control the heat."
"Now that he's not here, you've messed up."
Makoto paused, then said earnestly: "You have to learn to grow; you can't rely on anyone."
In the future, Amber's Grandfather would silently bid farewell to everyone, returning to Liyue alone.
Even Amber wouldn't know, living by herself.
Makoto was giving Amber a heads-up in advance.
Throughout this process, Amber listened very carefully, nodding as if she understood, yet didn't quite.
Makoto wasn't in a hurry; it was clearly impossible for a child to learn everything at once, so they had to take it slowly.
After this, Makoto personally taught Amber how to make Steak,
going into every detail: when to put the meat in, when to flip it, and when to take it out.
"It's a success!" Looking at the fragrant, perfectly colored, flavored, and textured Steak, Amber was overjoyed.
Ningguang and the others also happily joined in, Amber's joy unknowingly spreading to them.
Just then, a noisy, strange sound broke the joyful atmosphere.
Everyone looked up and saw a large group of Hilichurls carrying shields and flaming clubs.
The smell of the Steak must have attracted the Hilichurls' attention, and they were heading towards Windrise.
Now there was one piece of bad news and one piece of good news.
The bad news was that there were many Hilichurls; it seemed an entire tribe had been mobilized.
The good news was that these Hilichurls didn't seem very intelligent.
Makoto personally saw a Hilichurl swinging a torch trip over itself without encountering any obstacles.
Upon seeing the tide-like Hilichurls, the Little Ones' smiles vanished, replaced by a vigilant and serious expression, as if facing a formidable enemy.
At this moment, the Visions tied to them glowed brightly, as if ready for battle at any time.
Amber and Hu Tao, who didn't have Visions, felt a mix of tension and envy.
Visions were so cool! If only they had Visions too!
It was just that Visions weren't easily obtained, and they didn't know if they would be lucky enough to become Vision holders.
Makoto stood silently to the side, not even putting the menacing Hilichurls in his eyes.
Instead, he quietly observed the two young girls, taking in their expressions.
Makoto could see Hu Tao and Amber's longing for Visions.
He smiled silently, thinking that in the future, they would also possess Visions.
One would become the top Pyro DPS, and the other would become the top, well... the second Pyro Bow user.
However,
if you knew that Visions were obtained after losing loved ones, would you still want them?
Master Hu was old, and one day he would leave Hu Tao.
If he died of old age, Makoto couldn't change the outcome.
And Uncle An would also bid farewell to Amber and leave, his whereabouts unknown thereafter.
Whether it was the Knights of Favonius or the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, Makoto had to prepare for many things early.
Gathering his thoughts, Makoto glanced at the approaching Hilichurls.
Eula's backstory mentioned that she used a Bone Whistle to create the sound of ocean waves to scare away the less intelligent Hilichurls.
Now, he wanted to try it too.
Makoto took out a Bone Whistle from his backpack, then closed his eyes and began to play the sound of ocean waves.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
After all, it was a Talents upgraded to max level; Makoto's Bone Whistle achieved a lifelike effect.
The less intelligent Hilichurls' expressions changed drastically upon hearing the sound of ocean waves, and they hurriedly turned and fled.
They truly believed that a tidal wave was coming to engulf the area.
Ningguang and the others didn't know what was going on; they had already prepared for battle, but all the Hilichurls were scared away.
What was happening?
The sound that scared away the Hilichurls was very familiar, the sound of ocean waves that had once appeared on a turbulent sea.
However, this was an endless grassland.
There was a Falcon Coast nearby, but even the edge of that beach wouldn't have such exaggerated tidal waves, would it?
Where did the sound of tidal waves come from?
Ningguang turned her head to look behind her.
She noticed that Makoto had a Bone Whistle in his hand at some point, and the sound of ocean waves was coming from the Bone Whistle.
...
I'm late, I'm late, everyone rest early.
------------------------
I've posted 70+ chapters in advance on Patreon.
Webnovel updates will still be daily, as usual.
It might not seem tempting right nobut who knows what the future holds?
[email protected]/TripleCrown
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"