"Lime..."
After Zhongli left, Yun Xu looked at Lime, who was curled up in his arms, with some hesitation.
As one of the oldest of the Seven Archons, Zhongli naturally had some understanding of Teyvat's rules.
Elemental Dragons are the pinnacle of all elemental life, products of Teyvat's planetary will, and reflections of Dragon King Nibelungen.
Perhaps it was precisely because of Dragon King Nibelungen's existence that the ultimate form of life in Teyvat became dragons, but Teyvat's rules also limit each type of Elemental Dragon to only one at a time.
As long as the original Elemental Dragon has not fallen, no new Elemental Dragon will be born.
Although Lime is not powerful, perhaps influenced by the "Dragon Pill," his body has indeed begun to evolve towards an Elemental Dragon.
But missing something, he is destined to be unable to complete the evolution; his progress can only continually approach but never arrive, as if it has become a curse.
Lime's situation is not yet serious; at least he still has a considerable amount of time each day to remain conscious... "So, Yun Xu, you want to embark on the path of dragon slaying?"
That night, in Yun Xu's living room, Lumine asked with some surprise after understanding the whole situation.
"Eh? Although it's a classic story, isn't the Electro Dragon innocent?"
Paimon, who was beside her, quickly swallowed the snack she had stuffed into her mouth.
"My pastries are also innocent. Can you eat a little less, you flying white food-guzzler?"
Before Yun Xu could speak, the dialogue device, responsible for entertaining guests, placed a plate of refreshments on the table and spoke to Paimon in an annoyed tone.
"Who, who's a white food-guzzler?! You… you sweeping robot!"
Paimon retorted, puffing out his cheeks.
"Caw caw, I'm a robot, caw caw, someone's triggered by a robot, haha."
The dialogue device said this as he flew back to fetch other things.
"No, not really. Dragon slaying is a thankless task. I want to use the Electro Dragon for alchemy."
Yun Xu gently shook his head.
After all, Cloud Retainer had taught him not to wantonly take lives.
"...Won't that be even more troublesome?"
Lumine looked at Yun Xu, who spoke so casually, speechless.
"No, I just want to take some materials from the Electro Dragon, or rather, from various dragon creatures, to complete the refinement of the Dragon Pill."
"Since the nascent Dragon Pill can allow Lime to Breakthrough Teyvat's rules and begin evolving, why can't the finished Dragon Pill break through that inexplicable Ancient Dragon Authority?"
Yun Xu shook his head and explained his plan to Lumine.
After he returned today, he tried to feed Lime a piece of meat decomposed from the Dragon Pill, but he immediately fell unconscious and hasn't woken up since.
So Yun Xu believed that the nascent Dragon Pill was not enough for Lime to evolve, and thus set his sights on the finished elixir.
Currently, it wouldn't be long before he could expand the star swallowing cauldron enough to hold the entire Dragon Pill, but since the goal was to help Lime complete his evolution, Yun Xu felt it couldn't hurt to add more dragon materials.
"So you want us to help?"
Lumine nodded and asked Yun Xu the reason he had called her over.
"Yes, I think with your knowledge, Lumine, you might know where the Electro Dragon is, or at least the whereabouts of other dragons."
Yun Xu nodded.
In Teyvat, anything referred to as a dragon is more or less related to Elemental Dragons, such as the Dragonspine Drakes and the Natlan Dragonfolk.
Even the flying dragon Ursa, which once ravaged Mondstadt, might have been an evolved form of some kind of Dragonspine Drake, as this species has strong adaptability.
The only one unrelated to Teyvat's dragon race is the abyssal monster, the evil dragon Durin.
"I see... Speaking of dragons, besides Azhdaha, we also know a Sky Dragon named Dvalin in Mondstadt."
Hearing Yun Xu's words, Lumine finally nodded in understanding. After a moment's thought, Dvalin seemed to be the only dragon that fit Yun Xu's requirements.
The dragon disaster that struck Mondstadt was no secret, and Dvalin's existence was naturally not something that needed to be concealed.
"That's great, Lumine! Can I hire you to catch him?"
Hearing that Lumine indeed knew where a dragon was, Yun Xu's eyes lit up as he asked expectantly.
"Catch him... Me?"
Lumine was stunned by the question.
Then, realizing what he meant, she immediately shook her head.
"Catching him is out of the question. This dragon is a familiar of Barbatos, the Anemo Archon, who is a god just like Zhongli, one of the Seven Archons."
Lumine explained Dvalin's identity to Yun Xu.
Besides, whether she alone could defeat Dvalin was also a question.
When she purified Dvalin, she had the help of the Acting Grand Master Jean and the Darknight Hero.
"If we can't catch him, helping to gather some materials or bringing back some blood would also work."
Yun Xu had no choice but to lower his demands, as he really couldn't afford to provoke them.
"That won't do either. Dvalin has only just recovered, and I can't bear to cause him DMG."
Lumine still shook her head.
"...What if I pay more?"
Yun Xu asked tentatively.
"What do you mean by that? Is the Traveler that kind of person? How much are you adding?"
Hearing Yun Xu's question, Paimon said discontentedly.
"Uh... Ten million Mora would be okay?"
Yun Xu asked somewhat uncertainly, though he noted that even the most difficult Adventurers Guild commissions didn't seem to offer that much Reward...
"Deal! If you help me with one more small thing, I'll definitely bring Dvalin's materials back to you within three days."
Lumine immediately stood up and clasped Yun Xu's hand.
"Uh... Okay, but what kind of help?"
Yun Xu hadn't expected Lumine to change his mind so quickly, but it was good that he could help.
"Go ask your master, or any other adeptus, or if all else fails, ask Zhongli, to get some rare aged wine. With that, I'll be confident."
Lumine explained this to Yun Xu.
The wine treasured by an adeptus or the Geo Archon must be excellent, right?
With that, she would be confident in handling that drunk poet.
"Alright, I'll go ask tomorrow..."
Although he didn't know why Lumine wanted the wine, Yun Xu still agreed.
Just like that, the next day, Yun Xu set off to visit Cloud Retainer.
After having lunch with Cloud Retainer, Yun Xu brought up the matter of the aged wine.
"Wine, you say? Your master naturally has some treasured, otherwise, wouldn't it be a loss of face not to be able to entertain guests?"
"Speaking of which, I haven't told you yet, have I? Before you took human form, there was a time when your master carelessly lost a bet to Li Shui and Moon Carver, and had to bring out fine wine for them to drink to their hearts' content. As a result, halfway through, I looked back and found you, gurgling and blowing bubbles, lie in the wine jar..."
"At that time, Li Shui was afraid you'd get drunk and wander off, so he tried to grab you, but you stood up, still tipsy, and boxed him with your front paws."
Cloud Retainer said this while using his adeptal power to retrieve a jar of treasured fine wine from his abode.
"Mhm, mhm, thank you, Master."
Yun Xu held the wine jar with both hands, his ears having drooped down and covered his head from the start.
As long as he closed his ears, he wouldn't hear it, mhm mhm... PS: The preview said that the twins traveled through the star sea in a spaceship. I'll see what it is after the 5.7 story update. If it's not useful, I might consider using it for alchemy.
Also, remember to use the redemption codes:
SHEZHIQIBIAN
SHIKONG
SIKEKE0618