It took a day and a half to walk from Liyue Harbor to Jueyun Karst, so a round trip would take three days. There's no way he'd only spend half a day collecting herbs and then head back, right?
Yuto's mission only gave him a deadline of ten days, and he definitely wanted to pay off everything in one go. He certainly didn't want to make the long journey from Liyue Harbor to Jueyun Karst again.
As for whether the collected herbs would lose their freshness, there was no need to worry. Qiqi's Cryo element power served as a natural refrigerator, providing excellent preservation. Normally, it could guarantee that the quality wouldn't decline for seven days after harvesting. It was precisely for this reason that Qiqi typically went out to collect herbs once every seven days.
Since that was the case, Yuto had to adapt. Subtracting the three days for travel, the remaining four days would be his time limit for collecting herbs.
Yuto and Qiqi found a sheltered and flat spot at the foot of Huaguang Forest to set up their camp for the night. When they descended the mountain, they flew in the direction of Huaguang Forest, which was their destination for tomorrow.
Originally, Yuto wanted to light a bonfire at the campsite, but the moment he lit a torch, he noticed a hint of disgust and fear in Qiqi's eyes, so he decisively extinguished the bonfire.
When the two finished their busy day and sat on the soft grass, their moods relaxed. At this moment, Qiqi could no longer contain his curiosity about Yuto and asked, "Yu... Yu... Zhi..."
"Qiqi, you can just call me Yuto. You don't need to remember the surname."
"Okay, Qiqi's memory is bad, can't remember long names. Yuto, how did you walk on the cliff?"
"Uh, hmm, hmm... How should I explain this to you? Qiqi, you're a Vision user of the Cryo element, right? Just imagine concentrating your elemental power on your feet, then using that power to stick your feet to the cliff, and you can walk."
After listening to Yuto's explanation, Qiqi stared at his tiny feet. Yuto's gaze also shifted to his small feet. Those fair and tender little feet gradually began to glow with elemental light. Because they were so close, Yuto felt a trace of coolness.
Immediately after, frost appeared on the ground where Qiqi's feet had stepped, then a small patch of ice quickly formed. Qiqi stood up at the sight, but his feet didn't stick to the ice. Instead, he almost slipped, his body falling backward uncontrollably. Luckily, Yuto was quick and caught him from behind.
Qiqi's small body fell directly into Yuto's arms. Yuto's first feeling was not like catching a little girl, but rather like catching a soft ice cube. If he had a Qiqi-style pillow on a scorching hot night, he probably wouldn't even need air conditioning, that was Yuto's first thought.
After being caught by Yuto, Qiqi didn't show any shyness. Instead, he calmly stood up, looked at his small feet again, and said dejectedly, "Qiqi can't do it. Instead, it got even more slippery."
"Don't be discouraged, Qiqi. I didn't succeed on my first try either. I remember it took me two months to learn this. You need to try to dilute the 'ice' characteristic of the Cryo element, only retaining the pure, unadulterated elemental power. That's how you can stick your feet to the cliff."
"Qiqi doesn't understand, but Qiqi will try his best." After saying that, Qiqi took out his notebook and wrote down what Yuto had just said. Yuto secretly glanced at it and found that he had written down his words verbatim. Although he probably didn't understand the meaning of what he had just said, he thought he would ponder it later.
"Qiqi, it's getting late now. You go to sleep first. I'll take watch."
After finishing his notes, Qiqi shook his head at Yuto and said, "You rest first. I'll take watch. I need to do my flexibility exercises... Don't peek."
"Flexibility exercises?" Yuto noticed that after Qiqi said "don't peek," he actually showed a subtle hint of shyness, which was a very rare occurrence.
"Flexibility exercises allow me to maintain the same physical state as humans. But if I relax, I'll revert."
Yuto was clearly very interested in the flexibility exercises Qiqi mentioned, but Qiqi obviously didn't like anyone seeing him do them. This put Yuto in a dilemma, so he decided to compromise and watch openly.
"Qiqi, speaking of which, I've just recovered from a serious illness recently. Lying down for so long, my body has also become very stiff. Why don't you teach me how to do some flexibility exercises too?"
Upon hearing this, a ripple appeared on Qiqi's normally placid face. He asked curiously, "You... are willing to learn... my... flexibility exercises?"
"Yes, my muscles have been very sore after waking up these past two days. I was thinking of asking Mr. Baizhu for advice, but I didn't expect you to know how. Qiqi, are you willing to teach me?"
A clear ripple finally appeared on Qiqi's face, revealing a very rare expression of indecision. His fidgeting made Yuto find Qiqi even more adorable.
After much consideration, Qiqi finally agreed to Yuto's request: "Alright, but... don't laugh at me."
"How could I? If you teach me flexibility exercises, then you're the teacher, Teacher Qiqi."
"Teacher..." Qiqi clearly enjoyed this title very much. Ever since he broke free from the amber seal and was taken in by Mr. Baizhu, he had messed up many things due to his memory problems, which had caused many people to be dissatisfied with him.
Furthermore, as an undead zombie, some people wanted to use him, and some people feared him. But with Yuto, he didn't feel any malice towards his existence, nor did he feel any fear from him. This feeling made him very comfortable.
Such a person who would care for him and look after him, in all of Liyue Harbor, seemed to be only Mr. Baizhu and Yaoyao.
Qiqi led Yuto to the side of the campsite. Under the moonlight, Qiqi began his flexibility exercises first, muttering as he did them: "Seven, two, three, four, seven, two, three, four... Five, six, seven, seven, five, six, seven, seven..."
In Yuto's eyes, Qiqi's flexibility exercises were like the simplified broadcast exercises learned in elementary school. Although Qiqi would forget what number he was on as he chanted, Yuto didn't mock Qiqi. He even followed Qiqi and did the flexibility exercises with him, a satisfied smile on his face.
After half an hour of flexibility exercises, Yuto was the first to fall asleep at the campsite. Perhaps because of the exercises, he slept exceptionally soundly this time, even though he was sleeping outdoors without a soft mattress, pillow, or bedding.