"Click!"
The withered grass of deep winter was very fragile; with just a light step, the brown-yellow leaves turned into tiny fragments, disappearing into the larger clumps of grass.
"Hoo!"
A frost-white figure darted through the grass. Though slightly plump, it moved with surprising agility.
"Damn it, an enemy of The Order!" The Cryo Abyss Mage turned its head; the dark-blue figure behind it was still relentlessly pursuing it.
Not only that, the figure was getting larger and its details clearer. It wouldn't be long before the person behind it caught up.
"Let me give you a taste of a chill more biting than deep winter!" Irregular shouts emanated from the Cryo Abyss Mage's pointed mouth. Any ordinary person hearing it would feel their blood surge and their mind become agitated.
However, this had no effect on Dain, who was behind it. On the contrary, he could clearly understand the language unique to Abyss Monsters.
As it flew, icy crystals radiating coldness shot out from around the Cryo Abyss Mage, fiercely piercing towards Dain, who was close behind it.
Where the ice crystals grazed, several white streaks appeared on the brown-yellow grass. The already fragile withered grass, corroded by the frost, instantly developed a thick layer of ice, becoming even more brittle.
The biting cold had even reached Dain's side, and his exhaled breath turned into thick white mist.
Seeing this, Dain frowned. This wasn't because the incoming ice crystals were too troublesome, but because the clue had been lost again.
"Click! Click!"
Dain raised his arm and punched the incoming ice crystals several times. The ice crystals, which looked like steel blades, shattered completely under Dain's iron fist, exploding into countless icy fragments.
"Did it not know... or did it figure it out?" Dain stared intently at the frost-white figure flying ahead, his face showing no discomfort.
Even when the Abyss Mage occasionally teleported out of his sight, Dain could always find its trace immediately.
It seemed as if Dain was playing a game of cat and mouse, not in a hurry to catch the Abyss Mage, but rather wanting to play with it.
Dain, of course, wasn't that bored; he merely wanted this Abyss Mage to lead him to the Abyss Order's base in Liyue, or rather, to find the Abyss Herald lurking in Liyue.
Not long after parting with Ember, Dain tirelessly wandered through various parts of Liyue, searching for any trace of the Abyss Order.
But this time, the Abyss Order seemed prepared; Dain searched for a long time with very few clues.
Now that he had found this Abyss Mage, Dain intended to let it lead him to the Abyss Order's base.
However, it seemed... this fellow had figured it out.
It had run all the way from Nantianmen to Mt. Aocang, and now it was about to run out of Liyue territory, yet there was no sign of it stopping.
The only explanation was that it had seen through Dain's intentions.
Thinking of this, Dain's eyes sharpened. In that case, there was no need to waste time.
"Bang!"
A white gust of wind suddenly appeared behind Dain, blowing the surrounding withered grass up by its roots.
The Cryo Abyss Mage in the distance only felt its vision blur, then found that it could no longer control its body.
"Speak, where is your base?!" Dain squeezed the Abyss Mage's neck, his tone colder than the biting winds of deep winter.
"Hoh... hoh..." The Abyss Mage gasped for breath, constantly slapping Dain's arm with its short little hands, attempting to escape his grip.
Alas, its efforts were destined to be futile; Dain's arm didn't even tremble a bit.
"Crack—"
Dain exerted force with his palm, and the Abyss Mage's neck snapped from the inside.
Dain wasn't surprised that he didn't get any information. Extracting information from an Abyss Monster's mouth was as difficult as ascending to the heavens.
Instead of trying to pry something out of their mouths, it was better to save that time and investigate himself; perhaps the harvest would be even greater.
"Hmm... troublesome thing." Watching the Abyss Mage in his hand dissipate into nothingness, Dain shook his head and sighed.
It wasn't easy to find an Abyss Mage, and he didn't expect the clue to break so quickly, which made Dain slightly annoyed.
Of course, it was only a little; Dain had experienced even more frustrating moments than this.
"Who are you?"
Just as Dain was pondering what to do next, a huge shadow enveloped him. Dain looked up and saw a woman holding a massive boulder.
Her silver-to-gray hair was braided into a plait that reached her thighs. A high-collared, sleeveless gray-white qipao paired with a black bodysuit, along with her calm, ancient eyes, made her seem like a celestial crane living deep in the mountains, far removed from worldly affairs.
All in all, she was a woman dressed very uniquely.
But to Dain, none of these details were noteworthy. The only thing that caused a slight ripple in his emotions was the giant rock the woman was holding above her head.
The boulder was as large as a house, and judging by its texture, its material seemed quite dense.
Dain roughly estimated that the rock weighed tens of tons, comparable to several Ruin Guards.
Because of this, he took another look at the woman standing on the hillside above him.
"..."
After noting the woman's appearance, Dain turned and walked away without any hesitation.
"There's a smell of evil on your hand." Shenhe said, holding the giant rock above her head, staring intently at Dain's arm.
Dain raised his hand and glanced at it; it was stained with some defilement, left behind when the Abyss Mage died and dissipated.
However, Dain wasn't sure if the woman in front of him was referring to the defilement on his arm, or his true arm hidden beneath his gauntlet.
Or perhaps, both?
"None of your business."
Dain gave Shenhe a faint glance, his tone as steady as Shenhe's gaze.
"Oh, two face-paralyzed people!" On a more distant hillside, Ember, with the two little ones, lay hidden in the grass, his voice filled with excitement.
As soon as Shenhe appeared, Ember had a feeling—a new face-paralysis had appeared!
Ember was very interested in what kind of sparks two face-paralyzed people could create, so he pressed Xingqiu and Chongyun's heads down and started peeking.
"Huh? Why does that person look so familiar?" Xingqiu, lying in the grass, squinted his eyes and asked in confusion.
Pushing aside the debris blocking his view, Xingqiu looked out and saw a figure that had left a deep impression on him.
"Chongyun, why is your fierce little aunt here?!"
Xingqiu's eyes widened, and he immediately pulled his head back, speaking with a hint of fear.
He remembered now; when he went to find Chongyun for "heroic deeds," he would occasionally see the white-haired woman he just saw.
Her fierce eyes had left a very deep impression on Xingqiu.
Could it be that she didn't want him to find Chongyun for "heroic deeds"? Xingqiu couldn't help but reflect on himself.
"What, my little aunt?" Chongyun also looked very surprised upon hearing this. He poked his head out and observed carefully, confirming that it was indeed Shenhe.
"Senior, quickly pull that man away!" After realizing it was Shenhe, Chongyun showed little excitement; his reaction turned anxious.
"Why? I see your little aunt is face-paralyzed, and that man is also face-paralyzed. Don't you think it's fun when two face-paralyzed people meet?"
Ember looked like someone who enjoyed watching a spectacle.
"Ah? Face-paralyzed? Even worse!" Chongyun's anxiety intensified after hearing Ember's words.
His little aunt was already unfamiliar with social etiquette and not good at conversing with people. Now, encountering another face-paralyzed person who was equally stern, he feared they might start fighting.
What was even more critical was that Shenhe's strength was not weak; in fact, it could be said to be very strong. Chongyun even felt that, aside from her temperament not meeting the standard, calling his little aunt an Adeptus would not be an exaggeration.
"What's so bad about it? Could they even fight?"
"Boom!"
Ember hadn't even finished speaking when a huge roar completely drowned out his voice.
Scratching his head, Ember was a bit puzzled. He had only spoken; he hadn't used any force, had he? How did his words become reality so quickly?
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