At this moment, Qiu Nian had already returned to Liyue Harbor.
He walked along the busy streets toward Bubu Pharmacy.
He could sense that Morax was currently inside.
It seemed they had already finished buying the kite.
After a short while, Qiu Nian arrived at the entrance of the pharmacy.
Inside, Lumine, Paimon, and Zhongli were speaking with a small girl behind the counter.
The girl was petite and adorable.
A talisman was stuck to her forehead.
She wore clothing that made her resemble a little zombie and carried a Cryo Vision.
There was no need to guess—
This was the adorable Qiqi.
"Then please go to Mt. Tianheng, use the Guizhong Ballista, and help me hunt the Cocogoat."
Qiqi's soft, gentle voice reached Qiu Nian's ears.
"A cocogoat? I've never heard of that."
Qiu Nian walked into the shop, looking puzzled as he addressed the three of them.
"Qiu Nian! Where have you been?"
Paimon greeted him cheerfully.
"Nowhere in particular."
"I was just taking a look at the scenery around Liyue Harbor."
Qiu Nian explained calmly.
"Oh…"
"We've been busy preparing the Rite of Parting here, and you've just been wandering around."
Paimon gave him a teasing look.
"Haha…"
Qiu Nian only laughed without responding.
"To be honest…"
"I didn't really understand it either."
Lumine glanced at Qiqi, then at Qiu Nian, shaking her head.
Cocogoat… what exactly is that?
"Mr. Qiu Nian, you've arrived."
"As for the Guizhong Ballista she mentioned, I have heard of it."
Zhongli greeted Qiu Nian and then fell into thought.
"The Guizhong Ballista is an ancient siege weapon constructed by adepti on Mt. Tianheng."
"It is a product of advanced mechanisms."
"It is located among the ruins of the old Tianheng settlement and is capable of automatically attacking large monsters to defend against external threats."
Zhongli explained to Lumine and Paimon.
"Mr. Zhongli really knows everything about Liyue."
Paimon said admiringly.
"Not entirely."
"For example, this cocogoat… I have never heard of it."
Zhongli shook his head.
"The cocogoat is a legendary half-adeptus beast."
At that moment, Qiqi's small head popped up from behind the counter.
"That's it?"
Paimon turned toward Qiqi, confused.
"The cocogoat is a legendary half-adeptus beast."
"What does it look like? Don't know."
"Where does it appear most often? Don't know."
"Where did it come from? Don't know."
Qiqi nodded each time she said "don't know," spreading her little hands and tilting her head.
The gesture was unbearably cute.
Meanwhile, in Xuehua's livestream—
"Oh my god, Qiqi is too adorable!"
Xuehua stared at the screen, her heart practically melting.
[Qiqi is too cute!]
[Haha, she really doesn't know anything!]
[But what exactly is the cocogoat?]
"Cocogoat…"
Qiu Nian couldn't help finding it amusing.
In all of Liyue, a half-adeptus with horn-like features…
There was probably only one.
Ganyu.
Under Zhongli's thoughtful gaze, they decided to search for clues at the Guizhong Ballista first.
Soon after, the four of them set off for Mt. Tianheng.
When they reached the ruins there, they found numerous enormous ballistae.
Most of them were already broken.
Only one looked relatively intact.
Lumine and Paimon gathered some materials.
With Zhongli's help, the Guizhong Ballista was successfully repaired.
During this time, Qiu Nian simply stood nearby, admiring the scenery.
Tonight's moon was particularly bright.
Lumine and Paimon then operated the ballista's built-in scope, searching for the mysterious cocogoat.
But after looking for quite a while—
They found nothing.
"There seem to be people over there."
Suddenly, Qiu Nian's voice interrupted them.
"Hey! What are you doing up there?!"
Looking toward the source of the voice—
Three Treasure Hoarders were standing below.
"Huh? That giant crossbow… you actually fixed it?!"
"What are you doing messing with that thing?!"
One of them shouted in shock.
"That is not a crossbow."
"It is the Guizhong Ballista."
"And before asking questions, you should introduce yourselves. That is proper etiquette."
Zhongli corrected them calmly.
"Can't you tell?"
"Hmph! We're big shots from the Treasure Hoarders."
The leader sneered.
"They say this place is full of treasure."
"But that giant machine has been guarding the area—it's really troublesome."
"Last time we came here, one of our brothers nearly got skewered by it!"
"We risked our lives to break it."
"And now you've gone and fixed it again?!"
"Looks like we'll have to teach you a lesson today!"
The man shouted angrily.
"To defile the wisdom of the adepti for personal gain…"
"You deserve to be taught a lesson yourselves."
Zhongli frowned slightly, arms folded.
Lumine's hand flashed with light.
A simple sword appeared in her grasp.
She leapt down toward the three Treasure Hoarders.
Moments later—
She defeated them effortlessly.
The three men fled in panic.
"I didn't expect you to be that strong."
Qiu Nian praised her as she walked back.
"Of course!"
"Our Traveler is the Honorary Knight of Mondstadt!"
"Three Treasure Hoarders are nothing!"
Paimon said proudly.
Lumine placed her hands on her hips, looking smug.
"Hahaha…"
Seeing the two of them acting so proud, Qiu Nian burst into laughter.
Meanwhile, in Xuehua's livestream—
"Lumine's expression is so cute!"
Xuehua laughed while watching Lumine's smug pose.
[The Traveler is adorable]
[Lumine really is the type who gets prettier the more you look]
[I kind of regret choosing Aether]
[Aether is handsome too]
[True, Aether isn't bad]
[But Aether isn't as mischievous as Lumine lol]
The viewers in the chat began debating the sibling protagonists.
Enjoyed these chapters? Access advanced chapters and exclusive content by visiting my Patreon. https://patreon.com/WillOFD129?