Chapter 36 – Lumine and Paimon in the Chicken Coop

Qiu Xue looked at Zhongli, who was lost in the past, feeling somewhat puzzled.

Although she could repair Erosion, if cracks appeared again before it was fully restored, she would have to mend it anew.

There was another method, which required knowing whose memories Zhongli had just fallen into—a place, a person, or a scene?

If it was a person, that would be easier to handle. The Ley Lines recorded everything; all she needed was an item corresponding to that person.

Then, using her Authority, she could resurrect them, though the difficulty varied depending on the person being revived.

If she were to resurrect a Demon God, it might consume most of her power, though it was merely a temporary drain that could be recovered.

Unlike herself from a thousand years ago, who would have had to expend her Origin.

Moreover, this Demon God would be the weakest of its kind, stripped of its former Authority and strength.

“What’s wrong, Zhongli? What are you thinking about? Let’s get going.”

Qiu Xue smiled as she spoke to Zhongli.

She was still somewhat puzzled as to why Zhongli had been staring at her. Could it be that Morax had fallen into memories because of her?

Logically speaking, she had previously interacted with Zhongli as a male, and it had only been two days since she took on a female form.

Moreover, she had just met Zhongli in front of her; there was no way he could have feelings for her.

Perhaps her current appearance resembled someone from his memories?

Appearing before Zhongli in this form and with this personality was entirely unintentional.

Still, she quite wanted to tease Zhongli, this old man, to see if this unchanging rock of millennia could be stirred by her antics.

Excluding the time of her birth and slumber, she herself had only lived for a few hundred years.

And among the goddesses related to Morax, it seemed only the God of Dust, Guizhong, remained.

“The God of Dust, Guizhong?”

“Once this matter is settled, I’ll ask Morax about it.”

“After all, with her current abilities, she can still resurrect a Demon God.”

Qiu Xue thought to herself.

“Apologies, old friend.”

“I was thinking about some things from the past.”

Zhongli snapped out of his reverie, looking at Qiu Xue with a smile.

“Once this matter is settled, can you tell me about it?”

Qiu Xue smiled brightly, looking at Zhongli not far away as she asked.

“Haha, they’re all things from the past.”

“Of course, I can.”

Zhongli nodded upon hearing this, smiling as he replied.

Once this matter was settled, he also wanted to ask his old friend why she had transformed into such a beautiful woman.

“What kind of riddle are those two talking about?”

Paimon waved her hand, puzzled, as she asked Lumine beside her.

Lumine shook her head: “I don’t know either.”

Zhongli walked up to the three of them.

He explained to Lumine and Paimon: “Apologies for the delay. Let’s set off now.”

“Then let’s go.” Upon hearing this, Qiu Xue took the lead, stepping forward with her graceful legs.

Half an hour later, the four of them arrived in Liyue Harbor.

It was already noon.

“Wow, what a beautiful big sister!”

“Big sister, would you like some candy?”

Two children, a boy and a girl, saw Qiu Xue, who looked like a fairy, and ran over with sparkling eyes.

Unable to resist, Qiu Xue bent down and patted the heads of the boy and the girl.

“Big sister smells so nice.”

“Here’s some candy for you, sister.”

The little boy produced a piece of candy from his hand and handed it to Qiu Xue.

Holding the candy in her hand, a warm feeling flowed through Qiu Xue’s heart.

She smiled happily.

“Wow, big sister, your smile is really beautiful!”

The little boy looked at the pretty sister in front of him and spoke happily as she smiled.

“Xiao Peng, it’s quite rude to run up to four people like this and only give candy to one.”

The little girl beside him spoke with a somewhat instructive tone as she watched the boy.

“Xiao Hong, I understand.”

Hearing the little girl’s words, the boy scratched his head somewhat sheepishly.

Then, he took a few more pieces of candy from his pocket and gave them to Zhongli, Lumine, and Paimon behind him.

“Oh right, Mom was just looking for me earlier. If I don’t leave now, I’ll get a scolding later!”

After saying this, as if remembering something, the little boy ran toward the inner part of the street.

“Hey, wait for me! Goodbye, pretty big sister!”

Xiao Hong chased after Xiao Peng in the direction he ran.

Zhongli watched the direction the children ran off to, a faint smile lingering at the corner of his mouth.

“Children are truly wonderful, carefree and without worries.”

Paimon, standing behind, watched the two children run off and spoke slowly.

“I really don’t know whether I should feel sad or happy.”

Paimon held the candy the little boy had given later and scratched her head.

“But it seems like children really like Qiu Xue!”

Paimon looked at Qiu Xue ahead and excitedly stomped her feet.

“Isn’t Paimon a child too?”

Lumine glanced at Paimon and said teasingly.

“Hey, I’m not like them!”

“Paimon is not a child!”

Paimon stomped her feet angrily, turning to look at Lumine.

Meanwhile, Lumine had already tossed the candy into her mouth, then widened her eyes.

“Mmm… Sunsettia flavor.”

“Delicious!”

Lumine pursed her lips, indicating that the candy was delicious, as if she hadn’t heard Paimon at all.

“Hey, Traveler, are you even listening to me?!”

“You’re driving me crazy! Paimon is going to grab your hair!”

Beside them, Qiu Xue watched Paimon and Lumine playfully fighting and chuckled softly behind her hand.

Especially seeing Lumine’s and Paimon’s hair all messy, like bird’s nests, she couldn’t help but marvel at how close the two of them were.

“Next, I hope the two of you can accompany me to borrow the Cleansing Bell.”

Zhongli looked at Lumine and Paimon, who were still playfully fighting, and chuckled softly before addressing them.

“The Cleansing Bell?”

Hearing Zhongli speak, Lumine and Paimon stopped their playful fighting and looked at him curiously.

“Currently, the Cleansing Bell is in the care of an old friend of mine, named Madame Ping.”

“She is near Yujing Terrace. If you ask her, she will naturally know.”

Zhongli looked at the somewhat puzzled Lumine and Paimon and slowly explained.

“Alright… but, Mr. Zhongli, won’t you be coming with us this time?”

Paimon looked at Zhongli with some surprise.

After all, for every previous preparation, except for Lumine’er at the Scent of Spring—Liyue’s racing queen—Zhongli had accompanied them.

“Hmm… I have reasons for not showing myself.”

“And my old friend is the same, so I must trouble the two of you to handle this.”

Zhongli glanced at the lovely woman beside him, then looked at Lumine and Paimon and explained slowly.

Qiu Xue also nodded with a smile upon hearing this.

Although she had already been seen by Madame Ping, Zhongli beside her had not.

Later, we should also ask Zhongli why cracks suddenly appeared in the Erosion.

“Sigh… Why is Mr. Zhongli being so mysterious this time?”

“And Sister Qiu Xue, aren’t you going either?”

Paimon scratched her head in confusion, then turned to look at Qiu Xue beside her and slowly asked.