With Klee's Jumpy Dumpties clearing the way, Lumine and the others made it to the entrance of Starglow Cavern without much trouble. Though several avalanches had occurred along the way, Mona and Shenhe worked together to create ice walls using Hydro and Cryo to slow the snowslides. All in all, it was a journey filled with close calls but no real harm.
At the cavern entrance, Shenhe waved her hand lightly, drawing a simple Cryo talisman in the air. Feeling that its power far exceeded normal, she said calmly:
"The Cryo energy in this cave is extremely active. This should be the place we're looking for."
"I can feel it too. The temperature here is freezing! It's so cold, so cold!"
Mona shivered as she clutched one of Klee's flaming Jumpy Dumpties. She made a mental note to buy some cold-weather gear after she got her next paycheck. This mountain was just too cold.
Perhaps sensing the drop in temperature, or maybe just being influenced by Mona's complaints, Paimon spotted a Warming Seelie hiding in the nearby bushes.
"Paimon, are you bullying this little creature? You, an emergency food with the combat power of a single boar, actually have the nerve to pick on someone?"
"How can you say that, Lumine? Do you remember that story Su Bai told us? About him and that idiot named Itto?"
Lumine tilted her head. Su Bai had told her many stories. Paimon bringing it up so suddenly made it hard to recall which one she meant.
"The one where they pulled out a Seelie's pedestal, and the Seelie followed them around. Don't you remember?"
Hearing that, Lumine finally had a vague recollection. She vaguely remembered Su Bai saying that Itto, the idiot, had noticed that every time he guided a Seelie back to its pedestal, a treasure chest appeared. So Itto concluded there must be a pile of chests buried under the pedestal.
Itto had then dragged Su Bai along to dig one up. They found nothing, and Itto got arrested by the Shogunate for damaging historical artifacts, spending a few days eating free prison food. She had laughed for a long time when she heard that story.
Wait. If Su Bai and his idiot friend could do it, then they should be able to keep this Warming Seelie following them too, right? That way, they wouldn't have to keep holding Klee's Jumpy Dumpties.
The more Lumine thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. If they could pull the pedestal out and carry it with them, they'd have a portable heat source. It would make both fighting and keeping warm much easier.
"Paimon, I didn't know you had it in you. I always thought you were even dumber than Su Bai's friend Itto."
"What do you mean? Paimon isn't dumb! Lumine is the real idiot!"
Seeing Lumine suddenly brandish a shovel, Paimon the Coward wisely shut her mouth. Sometimes it was better to be dumb—at least that way Lumine wouldn't try to cook her.
Clang.
A sharp sound echoed as the shovel struck the frozen ground. Lumine stared at the broken shovel in disbelief. Was the ground really that hard? She had taken this from a Treasure Hoarder. Those guys had used it to dig into ruins. How was it so useless in her hands?
"Let me try."
Shenhe took the broken shovel and walked over to the stone pedestal embedded in the frozen soil. Under their astonished gazes, she took a deep breath, channeled her strength into her arms, and pulled the pedestal out of the ground like she was yanking a carrot.
"Oh my god, Shenhe! That's insane! How... how..."
Paimon was so shocked she couldn't even form a proper sentence. Was Shenhe even human? That was terrifying. Even Mona, who had been slacking off, was startled by the display, causing ripples to form on her water mirror. She finally understood why Hu Tao had described Shenhe as "strong enough to move mountains." How could a human have that kind of strength?
Only Klee wasn't surprised. She had seen Shenhe's strength before. Realizing its home had been stolen, the Warming Seelie froze for a moment, then quickly flew into the pedestal.
"Um... why isn't there a treasure chest?"
"Paimon, Shenhe just ripped the little Seelie's home out of the ground. We should be grateful it's not cursing us out. And you're still thinking about treasure chests?"
"Hehe, it's not like the Seelie can use chests anyway. I'm just helping share the burden."
Deep inside Starglow Cavern, at the site of the second Nail fragment, several Abyss Mages were huddled around it, muttering among themselves. They were clearly up to no good.
"The second fragment is down there. Once we take out those Abyss Mages, we can thaw it out."
Looking down from above, Lumine readied her sword, ready to deliver a dose of justice from the sky. But as she prepared to jump, Shenhe grabbed her by the collar and pulled her back.
"Another group of unfriendly people is coming."
Following Shenhe's gaze, they spotted a squad of Fatui emerging from a tunnel, heading toward the Abyss Mages. Lumine's eyes lit up. There was nothing she loved more than watching enemies tear each other apart. If only she had some snacks to enjoy the show.
While she was still daydreaming about snacks, the two factions below, unaware of the audience above, had begun to confront each other. It looked like they were negotiating.
"The Fatui really are no good. They're actually negotiating with Abyss Mages!"
"Exactly! Master Jean told Klee that if she sees Fatui within bombing distance, she can use her Jumpy Dumpties on them."
Paimon waved her little fist with righteous indignation. Klee nodded in agreement. The Fatui were definitely not good people.
"Klee, have you ever bombed Abyss Mages from high up before?"
"Huh? No. It's so hard to control the wind glider up there. Klee can't drop bombs downward."
"Then listen to my command later. Today, you'll get to experience the joy of bombing Abyss Mages and Fatui from above."
"Yay! Sister Lumine is a good person!"
Klee hopped around excitedly. Ever since Ningguang had provided her with so many materials, she hadn't had a chance to go all out. Today, she could finally have some real fun. Lumine, meanwhile, was hoping the two sides would start fighting so she could swoop in and pick up the scraps later.
"Looks like both sides want to do something with that Nail fragment."
"And it seems they're about to start arguing."
Seeing the Abyss Mages below forming shields, the group above craned their necks to watch. Klee pulled out a pile of Jumpy Dumpties from her backpack. With just one command, she could turn the cavern floor into a bombardment zone.