"Woah~! We got a lot of Primogems this time. I didn't expect that ruin to hide so many treasures. It was definitely the right decision to go in and check it out. Right, Paimon?"
"Mm, mm, mm! There were so many good things inside. If we didn't have a special storage space, we wouldn't have been able to take everything."
On the way to Liyue, Lumine and Paimon shared what had happened in the ruin. Although it was a tough battle, the outcome was very good; they successfully obtained what they wanted.
The most important thing was the Primogems, a full 60 Primogems! This was the reward for completing an Adventurer's Guild commission along with all its associated tasks. It was truly wonderful.
"So, do you really plan to reach Liyue before the Rite of Descension begins?"
Durandal didn't know how many times she had asked this question. Lumine, besides clearing Hilichurl camps, wasn't even letting go of the ruins they passed.
Usually, those ruins that produced artifacts were understandable; those artifacts could enhance Lumine's combat power, making them essential items.
But what about the ruins? Is the reason they're so keen on new ruins because they want the big golden treasure chest after clearing them?
Every time Lumine opened a big treasure chest, she would excitedly hug Paimon or Durandal, then immerse herself in the joy of acquiring treasures.
"The more the merrier; this is so we can live better while traveling. If we just focus on traveling, what about our expenses later in Liyue? We need Mora for that."
"What about the Adventurers' Guild? Isn't the Adventurers' Guild established in all Seven Nations? Completing daily commissions should be enough to support oneself, right?"
When Lumine and her companions left Mondstadt, Katheryne of the Adventurers' Guild told her not to forget an Adventurer's duties when she arrived in Liyue, and to report to the Adventurers' Guild there. They would also give Lumine daily quests, and the Rewards would be the same.
With these Rewards, plus her savings from Mondstadt, she theoretically wouldn't have to do anything.
But... she couldn't stay idle, or rather, she couldn't bear to see a treasure chest and do nothing; she had to claim all the treasures inside to be satisfied.
"What I want isn't money, Durandal. What I truly want is the sense of achievement at the moment of acquiring a treasure."
She doesn't invest or buy houses, so what use is so much money? Paimon is the greedy one, not her, the Traveler.
She knew very well that her journey had an end; when she found her brother and reached the end of her journey, she might leave this world.
So, pursuing wealth was meaningless to her. The reason for her obsession with treasure chests was the emotional impact of acquiring them.
Lumine said a lot, but Durandal didn't quite understand what she was trying to express.
Simply put, she viewed money as dirt and had no interest in wealth whatsoever, right?
Thinking this, Durandal, under Lumine's gaze, pulled out 10 Primogems from behind her back.
The moment Lumine saw the Primogems, her eyes lit up, and she immediately pounced, trying to grab the Primogems from Durandal's hand, but Durandal easily dodged her.
Unsuccessful, Lumine didn't stop her actions; she continued to lunge at Durandal, wanting to get those 10 Primogems.
Just as she caught Durandal and thought she was about to obtain this unexpected fortune, she suddenly noticed Durandal's gaze, as if it read, "Is this your so-called sense of achievement?"
This scene was like a teacher checking for cigarettes in a classroom, asking a student if he smoked, deliberately putting a cigarette in his mouth, and then pretending to not find a lighter.
The result was that the student, who claimed not to smoke, reflexively pulled out a lighter from his person, ready to light the cigarette.
Lumine gave an awkward smile and, under Durandal's gaze, put the Primogems away.
"Um... let's hurry. We're very close to Liyue now; we might even get there this afternoon. Quickly."
"Eh? Don't run so fast, Traveler. Wait for me!"
This person... I really don't know how to describe her personality. Is she really the Abyss Prince's sister? Or have the years of being sealed changed her personality?
However, such a personality isn't annoying, just a little mischievous.
Durandal slowly followed Lumine and Paimon from behind, observing the surrounding architecture. As they got closer to Liyue, more and more buildings appeared.
Whereas before they would only occasionally see a merchant caravan, now several passed by them every day.
Besides these merchant caravans, Durandal also noticed other gazes; someone was watching them in the shadows, and it had been going on since Wangshu Inn.
It wasn't Xiao, but someone else. Among them were human gazes, and also other gazes. According to Xiao, those watching her should be Adepti.
Of course, it could also be the Geo Archon. After all, although the most common thing she did in front of Lumine was cooking, subtly developing into a 'cooking wife,' her combat power was terrifying.
Even though she had already shown her goodwill, observation was still necessary, so she didn't pay too much attention.
"Hmm? What are they planning to do now?"
Durandal, following behind, noticed Lumine and Paimon had stopped, seemingly having discovered something, and were quietly running in another direction.
Durandal followed, and just as she was about to ask, Lumine gestured for her to be quiet and pointed in a direction, indicating for Durandal to look there.
Following Lumine's indication, Durandal noticed a group of Treasure Hoarders not far away.
Over the past few days, Durandal and her companions had dealt with Treasure Hoarders quite a bit.
These people would ambush passersby, stealing their belongings, and if they were merchants, their goods would also be taken.
This was also why merchants would hire Adventurers when traveling to other places for business.
At first, when they saw Durandal's three "weak women," they tried to steal their things, but Lumine easily dealt with them.
Durandal had originally intended to act as well, but Lumine, considering Durandal's strength, decided to handle them herself to avoid casualties.
Eliminating these Treasure Hoarder members wasn't without its rewards; at least they had some money, and occasionally they could find secret letters on them, which provided clues to Domains in Liyue.
Overall, these Treasure Hoarders held an appeal for Lumine that was no less than the treasure chests in Hilichurl camps.
The reason Lumine was acting stealthily this time, instead of directly rushing in to confront them, was because in the middle of these Treasure Hoarders was a wooden cage, in which a female was imprisoned.
These Treasure Hoarders... besides stealing things, they also engage in this kind of kidnapping? Truly eye-opening.
"What are you going to do?"
"Of course, I'm going to save her; standing by isn't my style. It's just... how to save her now is the problem. Their patrol routes and numbers are a bit too many; I can't find an opportunity to sneak in."
Lumine tried hard to observe the Treasure Hoarders' patrol routes, but this wasn't a game after all, so their patrol routes couldn't be fixed.
Moreover, many people were just staying near the cage, so there was no way to rescue the person.
Lumine and Paimon exchanged glances, nodded, and took out their weapons: "It seems we'll just have to go in."
"I'll help too."
Durandal summoned her great scythe: "While you're busy dealing with the Treasure Hoarders, that person might be taken hostage. I'll stay near the cage and won't actively attack."
Lumine was still a bit uneasy, but after much hesitation, she agreed to Durandal's plan. As a companion, she trusted Durandal to control her strength.
The Treasure Hoarders chatting by the bonfire suddenly felt the atmosphere become strange. Before they could react, Lumine descended from above with her Wind Glider, launching a plunging attack that caught them off guard.
Seeing this, the Treasure Hoarder members grabbed their weapons and charged, the unexpected numbers putting considerable pressure on Lumine.
Besides those wielding hammers for close combat, there were also some attacking from a distance with crossbows.
Those individuals, relying on the advantage of attack range, continuously fired arrows, delighted to have caught another target.
At this moment, one of the Treasure Hoarder members felt a pat on his shoulder.
"Stop messing around! We're in a fight! You need to concentrate to aim with this crossbow, don't bother me."
He had just pushed the hand away when those hands patted his shoulder again, which annoyed him. He angrily turned around to scold, only to see a scythe almost as tall as her hanging nearby, reflecting a cold gleam in the sunlight.
Cold sweat instantly covered his forehead. He looked at the expressionless Durandal, and just as he was about to surrender, she raised her scythe and swung it high down towards him.
"Aaaah!!!"
A tragic scream interrupted those who were fighting. They all turned around and saw Durandal had appeared behind them at some point, with an unconscious Treasure Hoarder member lying in front of her.
She effortlessly wielded her great scythe, looking at these Treasure Hoarder members who liked to shoot from behind, throw various element bottles, and hurl throwing knives.
"Let's finish this quickly. We're very close to Liyue now. If we capture them and bring them to Liyue, we might even get the bounty money."
Durandal wasn't sure if these Treasure Hoarders had bounties on their heads, but when she and Lumine occasionally encountered some Millelith, after learning that they weren't ordinary people, the Millelith told them that if they subdued Treasure Hoarders, they could take them to the General Affairs Department to claim a Reward.
With so many Treasure Hoarders here, who knows how much bounty they could collect if they brought them in.
As soon as she thought of this, Lumine's eyes sharpened. It hadn't been long since she gained the power of the Geo Element, and this was a perfect opportunity to let these Treasure Hoarders experience the "weight of rock, a comforting embrace."
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