Chapter 232: Shenhe

Liyue, Mt. Aozang.

Nolan vaguely remembered that Mt. Aozang did indeed have a stone staircase leading straight to the summit. This was probably it.

The mountain was much larger than in the game. They were lucky to have stumbled upon this staircase; otherwise, it would have taken much longer to find.

"Great! With this staircase, we won't have to exhaust ourselves climbing up the cliffs anymore," Paimon said excitedly.

"Flight or not, climbing a mountain is still hard work," Lumine remarked as she dusted off her hands, which were now covered in dirt. Her clothes had also gotten a bit dirty during the climb, especially her knees, which were outlined by her white boots and now covered in dirt.

However, she could easily "clean" it off using wind elemental power. She just had to be careful not to damage her boots with too much force.

"Come on, Paimon was just trying to cheer everyone up! Even the flirty radish-head, Xingqiu, and Chongyun are all covered in dirt," Paimon said, spreading her hands in an innocent gesture.

Flirty radish-head... Hearing the nickname Paimon had given him, Nolan couldn't help but feel a little helpless. It seemed that this little creature had subconsciously started calling him that.

Hmm, this wouldn't do. If she called him that in front of girls who didn't have a high opinion of him yet, it might make it harder to win their affection. He needed to talk to Paimon about changing the nickname.

Thoughts swirled in Nolan's mind.

"Ahem, I think Paimon is right. Having this stone staircase is fortunate. Let's keep going; we should be getting close," Nolan said, clearing his throat before leading the way toward the stairs.

"It's still a bit before noon, so let's walk for a while longer before we rest," Xingqiu nodded and resumed walking with Chongyun.

As Lumine walked, she used her wind element to blow off the dirt clinging to her.

"Hmm? Something seems off with this flirty radish-head," Paimon muttered, fiddling with her white hair. She frowned for a moment, trying to figure it out but eventually gave up and slowly followed along.

Half an hour passed as they chatted about various interesting stories.

Nolan slowed down a bit, falling back to walk beside Paimon, who was on Lumine's left. After thinking for a moment, he spoke, "Hey, Paimon, there's something I'd like to talk to you about."

"You flirty radish-head, what bad idea are you cooking up now? Don't tell me you want me to switch places with Lumine at night so you can sleep next to her!" Paimon said indignantly, placing her hands on her hips and glaring at him.

"Uh..." Nolan was momentarily stunned. He hadn't expected Paimon to hit so close to the mark—so close that even he hadn't considered it himself.

"You silly Paimon, what are you even talking about!" Lumine blushed slightly as some thought crossed her mind, causing her fair skin to turn a bit red.

[Lumine Has Developed Good Feelings Towards you, Obtained 120 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv. 9 (125/900)]

Just as Nolan was about to explain, the affection notification popped up on his character panel. He silently praised Paimon for asking such a sharp question!

"Why would I compete with you for a spot next to Lumine while sleeping? Little Paimon, um... Could you maybe stop calling me flirty radish-head? If others hear it, it might hurt my image," Nolan said, getting straight to the point without any hesitation.

Hearing this, both Lumine and Paimon looked at him with exasperation. This guy was truly flirtatious. If he was asking this, it meant he had thoughts about other girls besides Fischl and Lumine.

Lumine let out a "hmph" and turned her head away to look out at the mountain, giving him the cold shoulder.

Paimon, too, put her hands on her hips and glared at him. "No way! You are a flirty radish-head, so of course I have to call you that!"

She said this with righteous conviction, as if it made perfect sense.

"Alright, I was thinking of treating you to a meal at the finest restaurant in Liyue Harbor. All-you-can-eat, no limits. But, oh well, I guess that's off the table now," Nolan said with a mock sigh of regret.

"All-you-can-eat! Delicious food!" Upon hearing this, Paimon's eyes lit up. She quickly abandoned her principles and said, "Ahem, if you keep your word, I might consider dropping the 'flirty' part."

"Haha, it's a deal then. As soon as we get back to Liyue Harbor, I'll treat you," Nolan replied, a slight smile on his face.

Lumine couldn't believe how easily Paimon had switched sides. She crossed her arms and looked at her with a gaze full of disdain and disappointment.

Nolan gave Paimon a knowing look. Paimon silently nodded, then floated to Lumine's right. Meanwhile, Nolan subtly moved closer, linking his arm with Lumine's and letting their shoulders touch.

Lumine found walking like this a bit uncomfortable. She tried to pull away, but Nolan held her even tighter, intertwining their fingers.

"Sigh."

She let out a soft sigh, eventually resigning herself to it.

Up ahead, Xingqiu and Chongyun noticed the thick romantic tension between the two behind them. To avoid the emotional damage to their single hearts, they quickly picked up their pace, putting some distance between themselves and the couple.

Around noon, Nolan and the others discovered a massive, orange-red piece of amber protruding from the mountainside near the long staircase.

"Huh, that's strange. What is this thing?" Paimon, hovering in mid-air, touched her hair and looked at the amber with some confusion. Instinctively, she thought it might be some kind of treasure.

But how could a treasure be in such a conspicuous spot? If it were valuable, the adventurers who frequently explored Mt. Aozang would have taken it by now.

"I've heard about this," Xingqiu said, recalling something from his extensive reading. "Apparently, those who come to the mountain seeking immortals and accidentally offend them end up sealed in this amber."

"Ugh, maybe we should turn back. Paimon definitely don't want to get trapped in amber!" Paimon said, waving her hands in panic. She had never heard of this before coming here.

"Heh, relax. We have the 'All-Purpose Adepti Seeker' and Chongyun's aunt with us. I'm sure the immortals will forgive us. Besides, we haven't offended any immortals. What are you so worried about, little Paimon?" Nolan said, holding Lumine's soft hand while giving Paimon a teasing look.

He did recall that amber was more common around Mt. Hulao, but it seemed that even here in Mt. Aozang, Cloud Retainer also used amber to seal things. It appeared that the immortals had a preference for using amber to imprison those who displeased them.

"Hmph, maybe the immortals are single too. Who knows, they might feel offended seeing you two holding hands all the time," Paimon retorted, crossing her arms with a look of dissatisfaction.

". . ."

Nolan instinctively wanted to refute her, but the words got stuck in his throat. Suddenly, he realized that little Paimon might actually have a point.

Most immortals were beyond worldly concerns, but it wasn't impossible that they could get annoyed by watching them flaunt their affection and decide to send them tumbling down the mountain.

Lumine found it amusing to see this flirtatious guy actually get scared by Paimon's words. Taking the opportunity, she quickly pulled her hand away from Nolan's grasp, crossing her arms in front of her chest and giving him a glare, making sure he wouldn't get another chance to hold her hand again.

Her palm was nearly sweating from being held for so long!

"Alright, alright," Nolan said with a hint of regret, shrugging his shoulders.

"Ahem, it's said that breaking these amber pieces can release whatever is sealed inside. How about giving it a try?" Xingqiu suggested, trying to change the topic.

"Wouldn't that upset the immortal?" Chongyun, standing next to him, scratched his head in confusion.

"The books say it won't. After all, when an immortal seals someone in amber, it's just a light punishment. If someone can break the amber and free them, it's considered good fortune for the imprisoned, and the immortals won't mind," Xingqiu explained, recalling the details from his readings.

"I see. Well, then, it wouldn't hurt to try," Nolan nodded thoughtfully. He remembered that some of these sealed amber pieces might even contain treasure chests, so it could be worth the effort.

"Alright, you and Chongyun give it a shot. You both use greatswords, so it should be much easier for you than for me with my one-handed sword," Xingqiu said with a light laugh.

Nolan and Chongyun didn't hesitate. Nolan unsheathed the "Moonlight Greatsword" from his back, while Chongyun summoned his weapon through his Vision. The two stepped forward and swung their greatswords at the orange-red amber.

Surprisingly, the amber was quite fragile. With just one strike, they managed to create numerous cracks. One more hit would likely shatter it completely.

But just as they were about to swing again, the amber, now riddled with cracks, suddenly broke apart on its own.

A black figure, about half the height of a person, burst out with a forceful impact.

The figure lunged directly towards Nolan, and before he could react, he only caught a glimpse of a pair of red, ferocious eyes before feeling himself being flung through the air.

"Bang!"

Nolan's entire body slammed into the rocky mountainside behind him, causing spiderweb-like cracks to spread across the stone. The intense pain in his back and abdomen almost made him cry out, but he managed to hold it in, preserving his dignity as a man.

The whole event happened so quickly that by the time the half-sized black figure had finished ramming into Nolan and was turning to flee, the others had only just begun to react and were able to get a clearer look at the creature.

Its black, thick skin was covered in coarse hair, with short front legs, longer back legs, and a stubby tail. No matter how one looked at it, it was clearly a wild boar.

The only difference was its black coloration, unlike the typical brownish-red wild boars.

But how could a wild boar move so quickly, and with such force that it could instantly knock Nolan, the strongest among them, off his feet?

Using the strength in his elbow, Nolan pushed himself out of the indent he had made in the mountainside.

As he landed on the ground, Nolan could only clutch his abdomen, kneeling on one knee while watching that strange black wild boar. He quickly called out:

"Hey, hey, hey! Stop just staring at it! It's about to get away! Hurry up and stop it!"

If he let this wild boar escape, Nolan felt he wouldn't be able to shake off the frustration building up inside him.

"It's too fast. Only your impressive archery could possibly stop it," Xingqiu said, just as he was about to give chase.

But he quickly realized that the black wild boar was already more than a hundred meters away, running downhill at a speed that left him in the dust.

Catching up was simply impossible.

"Damn it!" Nolan gritted his teeth. He couldn't stand the thought of letting it go. Summoning his adventurer's hunting bow, he tried to stand up to take it down.

Seeing him stumble, Lumine hurried over to support him, concerned. "Are you okay? Maybe you should rest first."

"If it had been any other monster that knocked me down, I could bear it. But a wild boar? Now I'm furious! Nothing can calm me down!" Nolan's anger flared.

In the game, one of the few things that annoyed him most was getting rammed by wild boars while exploring the open world. What was worse was not being able to get revenge before they ran off.

And now, in reality, he'd been hit by one again—and it hurt even more. If he didn't take it down, he felt like he wouldn't be able to move on from this!

Lumine rolled her eyes at him.

She hadn't expected this idiot to be so stubborn at times.

After spending so much time with him, she could sense that Nolan had a peaceful temperament similar to hers, which was why she felt they got along well.

With Lumine's help, Nolan stood up. Despite the pain in his stomach, he managed to nock an arrow to his bowstring, though his aim wavered as he tried to focus.

By this time, the black wild boar was nearing a bend further down the mountain path. If he didn't release the arrow now, it would disappear from sight.

"Damn it!" Nolan cursed. He couldn't believe he'd been knocked down by a wild boar, and now he couldn't even get his revenge!

Just when he thought he was about to miss his chance and let the boar escape, a swift, icy aura shot past the group, chasing after the black wild boar.

For a brief moment, they could make out the outline of a humanoid figure within that icy energy.

It was similar to Nolan's "Lumine's Sword Intent."

The ice figure was fast, agile, and graceful. Within less than a second, it easily caught up to the black wild boar, circled around it, and exhaled a freezing breath that instantly encased the boar in a block of ice.

"Whoa, that was incredible! What was that?" Paimon's starry eyes widened in amazement.

Xingqiu and Chongyun shared the same sense of bewilderment.

"That was a talisman spirit, something I created using adeptus techniques combined with the Cryo element under my control."

"Who's there?!" A soft voice suddenly spoke from behind them, startling everyone as they instinctively turned around.

Standing before them was a beautiful woman with a serene, almost ethereal presence.

She had long, flowing silver-white hair, with a lock of it gently covering her right eye. Her peaceful, pale face was accentuated by snow-white eyebrows that seemed to soothe anyone who gazed upon her.

Even Nolan's frustration toward the wild boar faded away, and the pain in his back and abdomen seemed to lessen.

The woman was dressed in a black, form-fitting leather bodysuit, with a short top in black and white covering her chest. From the bottom up, or when a breeze blew past, one could faintly glimpse her lower chest, wrapped in the tight black bodysuit.

The fabric around her waist and lower abdomen was made of semi-transparent black silk, with open spaces on her hips revealing glimpses of her snow-white skin. Her long, shapely legs were beautifully accentuated by the snug black bodysuit, tracing elegant and full curves that could rival even the brightest moon on a clear night.

In addition, her body was adorned with numerous red ribbons tied into intricate floral knots.

Overall, she possessed a tranquil and graceful aura, the kind of presence that could only belong to an immortal.

Nolan looked at this elegant and ethereal woman, and a flash of recognition crossed his mind. The figure before him was identical to the one from the game.

She was one of their targets at Aozang Mountain.

—Shenhe!

(Insert Image of Sexy Shenhe Here)

(End of Chapter)

2.5k Words

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