213: Daines Reeb lived a life of integrity and honesty.

Dainsleif's actions throughout his life may not have been flawless, but they could certainly be described as upright and honorable.

He never expected that today, in this small forest in Mondstadt, he would be called despicable by an Abyss Herald pointing a finger at him.

The Water Abyss Herald's chest cavity was heaving violently, but unfortunately, it was now hollow from top to bottom, only letting the air pass straight through.

Dainsleif wanted to retort, but for a moment, he genuinely didn't know what to say.

Defending himself felt beneath him, but arguing back might confirm his despicable actions.

He was in a dilemma.

Seeing that Dainsleif didn't even bother to explain, the Abyss Herald's chest heaved even more in anger: "Fine, fine, you don't even deign to speak to me! I never considered myself a good person when I was human, but I didn't expect you to be such a sanctimonious hypocrite. And to think His Highness the Prince..."

Just as the Abyss Herald was about to mention something crucial, its head suddenly tilted, and it fell silent.

Huo Xi led Yakoda around the edge of the pit and walked over to Dainsleif.

Dain turned his head and noticed Huo Xi; he still remembered him.

He looked at Lumine, then at Huo Xi, and finally crossed his arms: "I did not intentionally lead him here."

Huo Xi patted his shoulder: "I understand, I understand. You definitely didn't do it on purpose."

"Mhm, as long as you know. I don't care about this matter either."

Yakoda shrank her neck behind Huo Xi: "He sounds super concerned."

Huo Xi looked at Lumine and saw that she was staring at Yakoda with the expression one might use when looking at a Treasure Hoarder.

Huo Xi quickly intervened to introduce Yakoda to everyone, and then introduced Lumine, Paimon, and Dain to Yakoda. After they all got acquainted, the misunderstanding was resolved.

Lumine hadn't expected to run into Huo Xi here, but she knew Huo Xi liked to wander around when he had nothing to do. She originally thought Huo Xi had run off to Barbara or Jean, but instead, he was accompanying an unfamiliar girl!

Lumine, behind Dain, pulled out a small waterskin and gestured toward Huo Xi.

Huo Xi didn't understand, but then Lumine pointed at Yakoda, pulled out a watch and pointed to the evening, and finally put the mouth of the waterskin in her mouth and sucked hard.

The entire bag of water was instantly emptied!

A drop of cold sweat appeared on Huo Xi's forehead. He understood: if he didn't explain Yakoda's situation clearly tonight, this waterskin would be his brother's fate.

Not good. Lumine's technical skills were improving faster than her strength.

However, after Huo Xi's mediation, everyone quickly exchanged information, and Huo Xi figured out the current timeline.

No wonder Lumine hadn't been seen for the past few days. She had entered the quest [We Will Be Reunited] and had progressed straight to the middle-to-late stage. This Abyss Herald was the guy who went to raid Boreas's lair.

The general content before this part of the quest was: Lumine accepted a mission to investigate the whereabouts of the Treasure Hoarders, then discovered that the Great Treasure Hoarder from Sumeru had died in a Liyue Domain, and that Domain contained a massive upside-down statue of the seven.

Afterward, Lumine encountered an Abyss Herald in the Domain. That Herald realized this was his boss's sister—damn it, he had stumbled into the wrong place—and quickly ran away.

Lumine then met Dainsleif, and the two tracked the Herald to Mondstadt. They learned from Barbara that Mondstadt had indeed lost a statue and also heard some things related to the ancient nation of Khaenri'ah and the [Loom of Fate] plan, but this was not important for now.

Then they discovered the Abyss Herald had gone to raid the Wolf King's lair. They first set up traps, then used the characteristic that a Weekly Boss must fight you when opening a Weekly Domain to summon the Wolf King, making it step into the traps. They intended to deal with it the same way Stormterror was dealt with, but Lumine arrived right at that moment.

Guys, you should know that the current Lumine is nourished by ORT daily, trained by Skirk daily, and occasionally Eunectes, Guizhong, Griseo, and Clara shove a bunch of Black Technology her way. Furthermore, she possesses Immortality. Are you kidding me?

For a moment, the Abyss Herald actually felt pressure comparable to a Minor God!

In the game, this guy realized it was a tough fight and just teleported away. But now, teleport? If you teleport, I'll make you fly!

As soon as he used Abyssal Power, Lumine would remotely siphon it away. The Abyss Herald learned for the first time what it meant to be entangled by a nightmare.

He was chased and hacked all the way here by Lumine.

He originally thought he could use the terrain in the forest to shake off Lumine, but unexpectedly, Dain suddenly jumped out from behind a tree. The Water Herald was elbowed away by a punch, but this was exactly what he wanted—hadn't he successfully escaped?

But when he landed, feeling the violent Elemental Power beneath his feet, he knew at that moment he was done for.

Returning to the present, the next thing Dain and the others needed to do was find the eye of the world's first Ruin Machine.

And this Ruin Machine is what is now called a Ruin Guard, an invasion weapon of the ancient nation of Khaenri'ah.

Based on Dain's description, Lumine quickly recalled the massive Ruin Guard they had seen in Stormterrors Lair during their raid on Stormterror, so everyone immediately agreed to go and take a look.

Since they had already met, Huo Xi and Yakoda naturally went along with them.

Paimon followed Lumine, while Lumine and Yakoda chatted and laughed ahead of them, establishing a close friendship at light speed.

Behind them, Huo Xi and Dain, the two grown men, followed quietly, not saying a word.

Not long after, Dain suddenly spoke: "I have met Surtalogi's apprentice."

"Oh?" Huo Xi looked at him: "How did it go?"

Dain's expression suddenly darkened: "A bit... weak. I accidentally crippled him. I feel like we don't need to worry about him for now."

Huo Xi: ... Dain continued: "I heard about you in Liyue, and Lumine also told me. Are you a type of Deity?"

"No, I am a Descender. Didn't you Khaenri'ahns have a lot of aliens?"

"Oh... that's good then."

Huh? Good how? Dain, are you a Closet Pervert? What exactly did you associate that with?

In silence, the group arrived at Stormterrors Lair and successfully found the Ruin Machine that had been staring at Celestia.

Dain quickly used Abyssal Power to remove the Ruin Guard's eye. This was the Prototype of the core for all Ruin Guards across Teyvat.

Afterward, everyone discussed where to store this Prototype so that the Abyss Order wouldn't find it. Lumine suggested keeping it in the Church of Favonius, but Dain refused, as he disliked deities and related organizations.

And in Huo Xi's opinion, the fact that the sky harp could be lost indicated that the security level there was mediocre.

Finally, Dain decided to keep it himself. He hid the object inside his own body.

Wait, everyone, don't misunderstand. He didn't hide it in his stomach or his Heated Intestines, but simply used Abyssal Power to conceal it within his body. Please don't misunderstand.

At least when Genshin Impact first came out, Sichuan Opera still meant Face-Changing, and most players wouldn't think along those lines. Now, however, it's hard to say.

Lumine, seeing Dain could hide things inside his body, had a sudden thought: Huo Xi could do it too! She was about to speak up and suggest it, but Huo Xi quickly covered her mouth: "Here, apprentice, have some candy!"

Lumine, with her mouth covered and a handful of candy stuffed in, looked at Huo Xi with a bewildered expression.

Huo Xi was afraid that if Lumine suggested it, Dain might agree. Because this item needed to be taken by the Elder Brother-in-law later on. If it were in his hands, given his current maximum Single Universe Combat Strength Level, even Surtalogi wouldn't be able to take it, and the plot would completely collapse.

But at that moment, Paimon also thought of it. Huo Xi quickly covered Paimon's mouth and stuffed a handful of candy in hers too: "Hey! You must be starving for sweets, you eat candy too!"

Yakoda found it amusing and wanted to open her mouth for candy too. Huo Xi quickly extended a third hand from behind, covered Yakoda's mouth, and stuffed a handful of candy in.

Dain looked at Huo Xi, who now had three hands, and fell silent.

Now, under no circumstances would he put the Prototype with Huo Xi, at least not until he figured out exactly what Huo Xi was.

After concealing the Prototype, Dain looked at the group again: "Next, let's go back and destroy that upside-down statue of the seven as well. I won't feel safe otherwise."

Paimon lamented that this matter should definitely not be told to Barbara, and the group set off together on the journey back to Liyue.

Dain ran at full speed, which was extremely fast. Lumine was now skilled enough to travel from Liyue Harbor to Jueyun Karst in a single day and night, so her speed was also considerable, but Yakoda couldn't manage it.

Because force is mutual. If Miss Ya stepped hard on Teyvat, she would launch herself forward, but Teyvat would also be kicked away by her. At that point, the stars in the sky would fly around like billiard balls, and that would be a huge problem.

So, considering Teyvat and the universe, Huo Xi could only reluctantly carry Yakoda, holding her ripped stockings to let her sit on his shoulder.

Lumine was running when she looked back and saw Huo Xi running while carrying Yakoda. She immediately became displeased. She approached Huo Xi and negotiated with him, saying he couldn't show favoritism.

A moment later, Dain turned back to see if everyone was keeping up, only to see Huo Xi running incredibly fast with his legs. His arms were held flat, with Lumine and Yakoda each sitting on one shoulder. While they had their arms around each other, to maintain balance, each of their other hands was intertwined with Huo Xi's two hands.

Finally, Paimon was riding on Huo Xi's neck, wearing sunglasses and gripping Huo Xi's head like a safety helmet.

Dain: ... Dain silently turned his head back.

Too embarrassing to watch.