Su Yuan, Aether, along with Paimon, Klee, and Eula, followed Eula's lead to a camp located in the northern part of Dragonspine.
From this camp, if one walks south and crosses a broken bridge, they will reach the Snow-Covered Path, and from there officially enter the territory of Dragonspine.
But as soon as they arrived at the camp, a brown-haired little boy came stumbling and running toward them, looking very excited and thrilled.
"Ah, it's really the Honorary Knight big brother! I didn't expect you to actually come here!"
"You must have seen the commission I posted at the Adventurers' Guild, right?"
Hearing the boy's words, Aether and the others looked confused, puzzled as they asked, "Commission? What commission?"
"My father, Joserf, has been missing for several days now…" Joel spoke sadly.
"According to the uncles and aunts at the camp, someone saw my father Joserf on a dark, windy night a few days ago—he seemed to have gone back up Dragonspine again…"
"Really… Did Father forget the life-and-death ordeal he went through on Dragonspine before? His memories haven't even fully recovered yet… I'm so worried about his safety. That's why I used my own pocket money to post a commission at the Adventurers' Guild…"
"But since I don't have much pocket money, the commission's priority probably wasn't high… so it makes sense that you didn't know about it…"
Of course, Su Yuan and Aether both remembered this little boy.
His name was Joel, and his father was Joserf, an adventurer who had once gone missing on Dragonspine for a long time.
Though he eventually came back, he had lost his memories due to all the hardships he suffered…
On the surface, this seemed like a happy ending, a joyful reunion.
But for Su Yuan—who knew the game's story from a "God's-eye view"—and for Aether, who had experienced all this firsthand alongside Albedo, they both knew the truth wasn't so simple…
Joserf was just an ordinary adventurer, a mere mortal.
Without food or water, and without outside support, how could a single person possibly survive for so long in Dragonspine's blizzards and bone-chilling cold?
And in the end, aside from memory loss, he returned without any injuries at all, perfectly intact?
The truth was, Joel's father Joserf should actually be a defective homunculus created through alchemy by "Gold," Rhinedottir—Albedo's brother, the one commonly referred to as "Albetwo."
Moreover, the time Joserf (disguised by Albetwo) went missing matched perfectly with the time Albedo went up to the mountain.
Could it be that Albedo's reason for going to Dragonspine was to deal with Albetwo?
"It's alright, Joel."
At that moment, Aether also seemed to realize that Albedo's journey to Dragonspine might indeed be connected to Albetwo.
He crouched down, gently patted Joel on the head, and said with a smile:
"Now that you've told us all this, we know about it too, don't we?"
"And besides, we don't need you to pay any reward. We just happen to have some matters to deal with on the mountain, so we can help you look for your father along the way."
"Thank you so much, Honorary Knight, big brother Traveler!" Joel said happily, then immediately gave the Traveler a big hug!
After that, everyone took a short rest, put on their cold-resistant clothing, and officially set out for Dragonspine!
"Eula, do you still remember when we dealt with that Albedo on Dragonspine—the one disguised as a Whopperflower—together with Albedo?" Aether asked Eula.
"Of course I remember. And it wasn't just the few of us. Amber and Bennett were there too. We had to put in a lot of effort before we finally defeated that Albedo." Eula nodded as she spoke. "So why are you bringing up the Albetri now?"
"Because right now we're comrades fighting against eerie forces, so I think you need to know this." Aether replied.
"Actually, apart from the Albetwo, there's also an Albetri. The Albetri was created by Albetwo, and Albetwo and Albedo are brothers—both were created by 'Gold,' Rhinedottir…"
"Joel's father, Joserf, actually died a long time ago. The Joserf you see now is just Albetwo in disguise…"
Over the next while, Aether explained everything that had happened before.
"I see… so you believe the reason Albedo went to Dragonspine this time is to deal with Albetwo…" Eula nodded thoughtfully.
"Albetri, Albetwo, Albedo…" Klee mumbled to herself from the side.
"So the reason big brother Albedo is named 'Albedo' is because there are so many people who look just like him!"
Hearing Klee's words, Su Yuan suddenly felt a chill run down his spine…
Was Klee just telling a cold joke? It felt on par with Cyno's bad puns back in Sumeru…
Or maybe it was just that Dragonspine was simply too cold?
Following the Snow-Covered Path southward, the group soon arrived near the Frostbearing Tree…
Though the Frostbearing Tree was normally a vivid crimson red, its current state was clearly not right…
Right now, the Frostbearing Tree was no longer its usual fresh crimson red, but instead a mix of scarlet and dark red, radiating an ominous aura…
"This is…" Su Yuan frowned as he looked at the scene before him and said, "The Frostbearing Tree has been tainted by eerie? As expected, the ley lines in this mountain really do have problems…"
At that moment, the ground suddenly began to tremble, shaking the snow off the trees and rocks around them…
Soon after, a hulking Frostarm Lawachurl, clad in a thick layer of frozen armor, appeared before the group!
"Everyone, be careful—monsters have appeared!" Eula immediately drew her greatsword, her stance tense as she faced the Frostarm Lawachurl.
"Hehe, bringing me along to Dragonspine was definitely the best decision!"
At that moment, Klee stepped forward excitedly!
"Even though bombs hurt people and Master Jean always comes knocking on my door because of it… monsters aren't people, so I can unleash my firepower as much as I want!"
"It's been so long since I've blown something up, my hands are itching! And that Frostarm Lawachurl's icy armor can only be broken with my Pyro power!"
Before anyone could stop her, Klee had already rushed forward!
"Jumpy Dumpty!!!"
"Everything can go BOOM!!!"
No one worried about Klee's safety—because when it came to sheer firepower, there was probably no one in Mondstadt who could rival her…
And seeing how thrilled and excited she was now, it was obvious Captain Jean had been holding her back for far too long—she really needed a proper outlet…
In fact, the group even started to feel a bit sorry for the Frostarm Lawachurl, wondering just what kind of state it would end up in after being bombarded by Klee…
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