"Observe this world more with my eyes?" Lumine separated from Venti at Windrise and walked on the road to Mondstadt.
Due to the proliferation of monsters in Teyvat, ordinary roads, if left unguarded, would be destroyed by those monsters in just a few days.
Therefore, most of the roads built in Mondstadt were merely compacted dirt roads. Only roads with little human presence could be used for a long time in the wilderness.
Although the road surface was a bit bumpy, it was not a problem for Lumine. She looked up and observed the scenery near Mondstadt carefully for the first time.
The yellowish-brown road under her feet stretched into the distance, with lush green grass on both sides.
Windrise is a plain, with few mountains and trees. So, Mondstadt City could be seen at the end of the road.
Because it was far away, Mondstadt looked a bit blurry. The lower buildings were obscured by the towering city walls, but there were always tall windmill blades and conical roofs that were higher than the city walls, allowing a glimpse of the city's appearance.
Closer still, orange-red Windwheel Asters were very conspicuous in a green field. Together with the light blue dandelions, they formed the unique landscape of Mondstadt.
"Romantic and free?" This was the feeling Mondstadt gave Lumine. Everything she had just seen was part of this feeling.
"Indeed, it's very similar to that bard!" Paimon nodded when she heard Lumine's words. Mondstadt's characteristics were inextricably linked to Venti's personality.
"Hmm~, the Dragon Scourge is over, so when are we going to Liyue?" Paimon looked at the blue sky and stretched.
The appearance and disappearance of the Dragon Scourge felt like a dream. They hadn't had time to do anything before the Dragon Scourge was resolved.
"Go to Liyue, huh… there's still some time before the Rite of Descension, so I plan to save up some Mora first," Lumine said after a moment of thought.
Liyue is the nation of contracts, and also the most commercially developed nation in Teyvat. To go there, Mora is indispensable.
"Saving Mora? You're right, I heard that Liyue has the most delicious food among The Seven Nations, so with Mora, we can eat to our heart's content!" Paimon thought of the Liyue delicacies she had heard about, and almost drooled.
Lumine saw Paimon wiping her mouth and smiling foolishly, then put her hands on her hips and said speechlessly, "Still eating? Last month you ate three hundred thousand Mora of mine! If it weren't for you, we could have gone straight to Liyue already!"
Paimon was small, but her appetite was astonishing. Every time they ate, Paimon ate more than she did.
"Hehe! I can't help it, there's so much good food in Mondstadt! I couldn't resist!" Paimon scratched her head a little sheepishly. She could resist anything, but she had no resistance to good food.
"Eat less! Be careful not to get fat and be unable to fly!" Lumine pinched Paimon's face and warned.
"Mmm… I… I know!" Paimon's small hand grabbed Lumine's wrist, and she responded indistinctly.
"Good to know!" Lumine withdrew her hand and rubbed her fingers. She had to admit, Paimon's little face was very comfortable to pinch.
Soft and smooth, it felt like fine silk when pinched.
"Watch me pinch you!" Paimon saw Lumine release her hand, immediately flew in front of her, and tried to pinch Lumine's cheek as well.
But who was Lumine? Paimon's little movement was instantly seen through by Lumine. She turned around, dodged Paimon's pounce, and trotted away along the road.
"Hahaha, Paimon, you're too slow!"
"Darn it! Lumine, don't run! Watch me catch you!"
"Then let's see how fast you can fly!"
... Outside Mondstadt City, next to the Teleport Waypoint, Yu Jin was squatting on the ground, bored, waiting for Lumine to arrive.
He looked up at the Teleport Waypoint suspended in the air, emitting a faint blue light, and couldn't help but wonder if it was broken.
Otherwise, why had he been waiting here for a long time, and Lumine still hadn't arrived?
Just as Yu Jin was bored, a girl's giggle suddenly came from a distance—Lumine and Paimon had arrived.
Seeing Lumine and Paimon chatting and laughing, Yu Jin immediately appeared in front of them.
"Wow! You scared me to death! Yu Jin, why are you so elusive?!" Paimon noticed she was covered by a shadow, turned her head, and saw Yu Jin's figure. She was instantly startled.
"Is there something wrong with you two?" Yu Jin looked at the specks of dirt on Lumine's white boots and asked in confusion.
"Uh… what could be wrong with us?" Lumine also felt exceptionally confused after hearing Yu Jin's words. What could be wrong with her and Paimon?
"Don't you two know how to use the Teleport Waypoint? Why aren't you using it, making me wait by the Teleport Waypoint for ages?" Yu Jin pointed to the Teleport Waypoint in the distance and said somewhat indignantly.
The fact that Lumine could use the Teleport Waypoint was no secret; even Katheryne knew about it.
"Actually, I don't like using Teleport Waypoints," Lumine said with a hint of disdain.
"Why? Aren't Teleport Waypoints very convenient?" Yu Jin was puzzled. Lumine didn't like using something as convenient as instant teleportation?
"Senior, you don't know, teleporting through a Teleport Waypoint is very uncomfortable. It's like…"
"It's like countless people shouting loudly in your ears!" Paimon immediately added, seeing Lumine deep in thought.
"Yes, it's just like Paimon said! If I didn't cover my ears every time before teleporting, I'd probably have been deafened by now!" Lumine patted her chest and said with some lingering fear.
She had a strange sense of familiarity with the Teleport Waypoint, so after activating it, Lumine eagerly tried it out.
And then she regretted it, because she hadn't taken any precautions and almost threw up during the teleportation.
"Hiss—, why does it sound so similar to Enjou and their Abyss Passage?" Yu Jin listened and stroked his chin. How could this Teleport Waypoint be so similar to the Abyss Passage?
"I think so too," Lumine nodded. She even felt that the Teleport Waypoint and the Abyss Passage were things of the same nature.
"But why is Lumine fine? Didn't Enjou say that humans would go crazy if they passed through the Abyss Passage?" Paimon recalled Enjou's words and found a blind spot.
"You forgot, Lumine is from outside this world," Yu Jin reminded him.
"This Teleport Waypoint probably works like the Abyss Passage, both traversing through the Ley Lines. The memories of the Ley Lines are poison to the natives of Teyvat, but for Lumine, it might not be the case," Yu Jin felt his guess was almost certainly correct.
Then he looked at the suddenly enlightened Paimon and said with a hint of playfulness, "However, why is Paimon fine? Could it be that Paimon is also from outside this world?"
"Ah? This… I don't know why either." Paimon felt Yu Jin and Lumine's gazes and was so anxious she almost cried.
"Hahaha! Paimon, did you forget that you can run into a pocket dimension?" Yu Jin saw Paimon's tearful expression and stopped teasing him.
"Oh, right! You almost led me astray. Every time I teleport, I'm lying in my little space." Paimon gave Yu Jin's shoulder armor a few hard knocks. He had scared her to death just now.
She almost really thought she was from outside this world. If that were the case, she would have to go search for her own world. Paimon only wanted to be taken care of by Lumine now, and didn't want to do anything else.
Although her past was also vague, that was good enough for Paimon.
Because having a past meant she had a traceable origin, and being vague allowed Paimon to no longer be bound by past experiences.
So, Paimon felt perfectly at ease about being taken care of by Lumine. She didn't want any inexplicable identity or experiences to fly in and tell her what to do; she would cry herself to death if that happened.
"But Senior, is there something you're waiting for me for?" The topic finally returned to normal.
"Not you, but both of you!" Yu Jin corrected him.
"Alright, alright! Both of us. So, what's up, amazing Senior Yu Jin?" Paimon spread his hands and echoed.
"Actually, it's nothing much," Yu Jin said with a smile, crossing his arms:
"I just wanted to tell you two that when you travel, don't have any burdens. Do whatever makes you happy! Don't listen to anyone's nonsense!"
"Worst comes to worst, just call me if something happens!" Yu Jin patted his chest armor, then waved his hand grandly, pointing in an unknown direction and shouting, "So, travel to your heart's content! Damselette!"
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