Click~
With a crisp shutter sound, Fischl's signature chuunibyou pose was captured in Su Bai's Kamera. Looking at the image of Lumine striking such a dramatic pose, Su Bai barely suppressed his laughter and tucked the Kamera away, wearing an expression of complete innocence.
Paimon, who had been coaxed into posing with Lumine, burst out laughing when she saw the picture. She never expected Lumine to have such a chuunibyou moment. It was hilarious.
Huh? Why did it suddenly get dark? Paimon looked up from the Kamera to find Lumine staring at her with a forced smile. Paimon shuddered and nearly dropped the device.
"Paimon, what exactly were you taking pictures of?"
"I, I, I was just taking scenery shots! The snowy mountain looks great!"
Paimon blurted out a flimsy excuse. Lumine scoffed and snatched the Kamera from her hand. Seeing her own ridiculous pose, Lumine felt a wave of embarrassment. Was she really that chuunibyou? Which meant everyone had seen it.
"Don't worry, Lumine. The snowstorm was too heavy just now. We didn't see anything."
"Speaking generally, the snowstorm was indeed quite heavy."
To add credibility, Su Bai shook the snow off his four tails. Zhongli also looked as if he hadn't seen a thing.
The rest of the group hadn't been paying attention to Lumine at all. Through the snow, they had spotted a Hilichurl camp not far away. It looked pretty large.
"Sister Hu Tao, Sister Hu Tao, let's go borrow that place from the Hilichurls! The fish that old man gave Klee is about to die. Brother Albedo said grilled fish tastes bad if it dies first."
Klee held up two fish that were still flopping around. An old man fishing at Wangshu Inn had given them to her. She had wanted to try fishing herself, but for some reason, after she tossed a few bombs, the old man handed her two fish and told her to stay away from the river. Strange.
Azhdaha scoffed. That old man was odd. Seeing him give his only two fish to Klee, she, as the leader, wanted to repay him. But before she could even approach, the old man ran off with his fishing rod. Was she really that scary?
And that hypocrite next to him had tried to cozy up to their group. Disgusting. Having once split into good and dark halves, Azhdaha was extremely sensitive to good and evil. That hypocrite's stench made her sick.
"Little Hu Tao, you might want to prepare a coffin for the man next to that old man. He doesn't look like a good person."
Azhdaha never hid her feelings. Her disgust for someone was always written on her face. The moment she heard there might be a customer, Hu Tao pulled her aside to chat. But hearing Azhdaha's opinion, she outright refused to do business with that person.
Wangsheng wasn't the only funeral parlor in Liyue. They didn't want to waste a good coffin on someone like that. Hearing Hu Tao mention the name Zhiyi, a flicker of disgust crossed Su Bai's face as well.
In Su Bai's eyes, Zhiyi was a deeply scheming person. He couldn't say for sure if the man would stop at nothing to achieve his goals, but those "coincidental encounters" Zhiyi had orchestrated in the past left Su Bai uncomfortable.
Zhiyi thought his acting was flawless. Unfortunately, compared to Yae Miko, his skills were worlds apart. Su Bai could see through his true intentions at a glance.
"Sister Shenhe, is this your first time seeing a snowy mountain? The view is beautiful."
Hu Tao linked arms with Shenhe and pointed at the distant mountain. From afar, it looked like a sprinkle of powdered sugar over colorful pastries. Quite striking.
"No, I came here with Master when I was young. She told me stories about Su Bai's childhood."
"Shenhe, Hu Tao, I think we should hurry to that Hilichurl camp. If we don't, we'll miss lunch."
Afraid that Shenhe was about to spill embarrassing stories about his childhood, Su Bai quickly cut in. Sure enough, Cloud Retainer's disciple had inherited her master's gift for conversation.
At the Hilichurl camp near the mountain's edge, the once peaceful site was suddenly filled with elemental reactions of every kind.
"Eat your fill and be on your way~"
"Everything can be blown up!"
"Fate has decreed!"
"True name: Hungry Fungus!"
Before the poor Hilichurls even knew what hit them, they were gone. Azhdaha pouted, disappointed that she hadn't even gotten to fight.
On a large rock, Zhongli gazed up at the snow-covered peak. His amber eyes glowed faintly gold before slowly closing. If he wasn't mistaken, something seemed wrong with the Nail of Frost up there.
Thinking of the Nail in The Chasm, Zhongli felt the need to investigate. Perhaps he would find clues he had missed before.
"Zhongli, what are you looking at? Come warm yourself by the fire!"
"I'm afraid I'll have to take Zhongtuo and leave for now. There's something we need to look into. I apologize for not being able to continue with you all."
Azhdaha wanted to refuse, but seeing Zhongli's serious expression, she swallowed her objections.
"Fine, fine. I'll go with you."
"But once we're done, I'm coming back to play. Don't you dare stop me."
"Don't worry. Once we're finished, I won't stop you."
With that, Azhdaha said her goodbyes and left the camp with Zhongli. Her displeasure was written all over her face.
After walking some distance, a few Hilichurls blocked their path. Already frustrated, Azhdaha grabbed a Mitachurl and used it as a weapon, smashing the rest. The contrast between her small body and the unconscious Mitachurl in her hands was striking.
Seeing Azhdaha so irritable, Zhongli looked away. Barbatos's familiar Dvalin protected Mondstadt. The Raiden Shogun's familiar Yae Miko managed Inazuma. Why was his own dragon so useless? Had she been infected by that drunkard next door?
Azhdaha didn't care what Zhongli was thinking. After clearing the Hilichurl camp, she casually impaled the Mitachurl into the ground.
The frozen ground stood no chance against Azhdaha's strength. The Mitachurl, the referee of this match, turned to ash in her hands.
"Spit it out, Morax. Why did you drag me back? What's so important you can't handle yourself? If it's something trivial, don't blame me for wanting a spar."