Everyone looked at Balladeer with suspicion, thinking that he certainly wasn't that kind-hearted.
Sure enough, Balladeer added, "As for whether you can last until rescue arrives, that's another matter."
"Damn it, you!"
Kaveh really wanted to hit him, even though he knew he couldn't win.
"After Furina is rescued, Xavier will come looking for us, and besides, it might not last half a month."
Alhaitham's rational analysis reduced everyone's anxiety.
And everything really was as Alhaitham said; the sandstorm didn't last too long and stopped by evening.
What surprised everyone was that not only did the sandstorm stop, but the night sky was incredibly bright.
A giant moon hung in the sky, illuminating the endless night.
The group found a relatively good spot and chose it as their campsite.
They lit a bonfire and took out the prepared dry food from the pack beasts.
A group of people sat around the bonfire, as if it were just an ordinary outdoor camping trip, having experienced no danger.
"That's right, if nothing unexpected happened, your streamer should already be dead."
"Don't worry, don't worry, Hall Master will definitely give him the most spectacular funeral."
"Oh, right, and Furina, I'll arrange everything for her too!"
Even while resting, Hu Tao didn't stop, interacting with her phone.
"Oh no, why do I feel like this isn't an act? Why hasn't Great Demon King come back after so long? What's going on?"
"It's definitely not an act, look at this sandstorm, and the sand on the ground, and the endless Desert."
"Then what should we do? Should we call the police...?"
"What are you worried about? They're not even worried. Besides, do you know which Desert it is? You're going to call the police?"
The fans clearly weren't optimistic about Xavier's current situation, with some even thinking that Xavier was likely swallowed by the sandstorm.
What made them curious, however, was what reason could possibly make Hu Tao still joke around here.
It couldn't be because Hu Tao really wanted to hold a funeral for Great Demon King, could it?
And although the others were also somewhat worried, ever since Xiao said that, they seemed to have calmed down a lot.
At this moment, Xavier on the other side also noticed that the storm had already subsided.
Pushing open the rock, besides the sand piled at the cave entrance, there seemed to be no other movement.
Standing in front of the cave, Xavier looked out into the distance.
In the vast Desert, there was only the bright moon hanging high in the sky.
"So... so beautiful!"
Furina also walked over, looking at such a magnificent Desert landscape, she couldn't help but cover her mouth in surprise.
She was born in the Nation of Water; how could she have seen such a landscape?
"How is it? Isn't it great?"
Xavier smiled, then sat down in front of the high cave.
Furina also sat beside Xavier, dangling her feet.
Although there was a round, bright moon in the sky, one could still vaguely see the distant stars.
And illuminated by the moonlight, those ancient buildings that remained.
And the towering mountains standing in the Desert.
"Xavier, what do you think might be there?" Furina asked, pointing to a distant mountain.
She was like a child full of innocence, with no distracting thoughts, only saying what she thought.
After thinking for a moment, Xavier asked in return, "Have you heard the story of Alibaba and the Forty Thieves?"
"I know!" Furina's eyes lit up. "It's the company that created Alipay, right!"
"Bang!" Xavier gave her a flick on the forehead, "Alibaba is a person, not a company!"
Furina covered her head and said, "Ow, ow, ow, you should have said so earlier, how would I know...?"
Xavier felt that he might have been a bit too heavy-handed. This was a folk tale from another country, so it was normal for Furina not to know.
"Ahem, I'll concede that I was wrong for now."
"Anyway, this story is about a man named Alibaba. One time, he went up the mountain to cut firewood and saw 40 people riding horses to a cave..."
Furina was very interested in this story she had never heard before.
She leaned closer to Xavier and pressed, "And then? And then?"
"Then, Alibaba followed them and found that these bandits had hidden a lot of treasures inside the cave."
"And when they entered the cave, they would shout a special incantation. Can you guess what it is?"
"I guess... I guess it must be 'Makka Pakka, open quickly!'"
"..."
"Oh, that's not right? Then it must be 'Heavenly spirits, earthly spirits, something something, quickly manifest!'"
Xavier couldn't bear to listen anymore, so he continued, "It's 'Sesame, sesame, please open!'"
"Wow, that's too hard! Who could have thought of that!" Furina said with a look of disdain.
But even so, she still pestered Xavier to continue the story.
"..."
"Finally, Alibaba possessed all the treasures and distributed them to the poor, and everyone lived happily ever after."
Xavier told the story slowly, taking a long time to finish it.
By this time, Furina's eyelids were already drooping.
Half-asleep, she asked, "Then Xavier, can we go to that mountain tomorrow? Will we meet Alibaba and the Forty...?"
Before she could finish her sentence, Furina fell directly asleep.
Fortunately, Xavier was quick-witted and prevented this silly girl from falling directly in front of the cave.
If she were even unluckier, she might have fallen straight down.
Xavier shook his head and smiled, then carried Furina into the cave in a princess carry.
Then he took out a blanket from his personal space and covered her with it.
Suddenly, Xavier detected a ripple.
This ripple came from his system, reminding him that the time was almost up.
Even though the Level 6 system could increase his stay in Teyvat to 14 hours, it was clearly still not enough.
But to Xavier's surprise, at this very moment, the system's notification sound rang out.
"Ding! Congratulations, Host, you have leveled up to Level 7!"
"Ding! Congratulations, Host, your residency time has increased to 16 hours and has been refreshed!"
This made Xavier overjoyed; he didn't expect to level up at such a time, it really was perfect timing.
It seemed he didn't need to go home after all.
Otherwise, leaving Furina alone here would be very dangerous; if other wild beasts came, with her strength and small stature, she definitely wouldn't be able to fight them off.
This brought Xavier much peace of mind, as his greatest concern had been resolved.
Looking at the sleeping Furina, Xavier opened his system panel to check it.
He really wanted to know if the Level 7 system had given him any new functions.
And the Old Six System did not disappoint Xavier; it indeed gave him new functions!
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