"I ran into an old acquaintance the other day, which made me remember that I still had this bow."
Zhongli closed the box with a trace of emotion in his voice, cutting off the cold gleam of the ancient weapon.
"I just wonder when I'll ever be able to return it to her."
"Well, as long as she's still alive, you're bound to see her again." Hu Tao was much more optimistic. She gave Zhongli a hearty slap on the back and said cheerfully, "Anyway, I'll keep this antique safe for you for now. Whenever you run into its owner again, remember to invite her over to the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor for a chat. And absolutely not because I'm curious—I just want to see what kind of person the owner of this bow is. Really!"
The lively girl gave Zhongli a playful wink, then skipped over to put the box away. This time, she thoughtfully wrapped it in oil paper to keep the dust off.
Infected by her cheerfulness, the Consultant of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor couldn't help feeling a sense of anticipation himself.
That's right. As long as she was still alive, there would always be a day when they met again.
How wonderful.
"Achoo!"
Baimeng rubbed her nose and nervously glanced around. Seeing that no one had heard her excessively cute sneeze, she collapsed back into her soft chair with a sigh of relief.
Just a short while ago, at the dining table, she had overruled all objections and decided to head up to the Surface to find a way to recover her strength.
Sniffling again, Baimeng rubbed her chilly arms and tossed a couple of logs into the nearby fireplace.
"Is it really this cold?"
She didn't know if it was because she had squandered her power on the first day, but even after all these days of recuperation, there was no sign of her physical form recovering. Not only that, but her body temperature kept dropping; the more Abyss energy she absorbed to try and recover, the more sensitive to the cold she became.
Huffing into her palms, she slowly stretched her stiff fingers. Her movements had become sluggish, like a rusted robot. With no other choice, Baimeng had to stop absorbing Abyss energy and look for alternative solutions.
That being said, Baimeng couldn't think of any good way to solve the problem for the moment.
"Knock, knock." A knock sounded at the door.
"Your Highness, this humble servant has an urgent matter to report."
"Come in."
The Abyss Mage respectfully pushed the door open, holding a long scroll that was practically dragging on the floor. With his head bowed, he floated carefully over to the God of Dreams.
"The scouts we sent out have discovered an alchemist who might be able to resolve Your Highness's worries. Here is his dossier; please review it, Your Highness."
The Abyss Mage held the scroll high above his head, cautiously stealing a glance at the lazy god before quickly and panickedly lowering his gaze to count the fuzz on the floorboards, accompanied by the frantic beating of his own heart.
In that fleeting, panicked glance, the white-haired god was reclining on the plush seat, her waterfall-like hair gleaming in the firelight of the fireplace. Her loose black dress had slipped down, revealing delicate fingers with the luster of jade. She lowered her gaze in boredom, her wine-colored eyes flashing with a look so mesmerizing that it made one want to drop to their knees beneath her pomegranate skirt and willingly surrender everything.
Plucking up the long scroll, Baimeng casually gave the top of the Abyss Mage's head a ruffle.
It was ice-cold, like touching snow, but equally soft and fluffy. If it were summer, she probably wouldn't be able to resist pulling the little fellow into her arms to cool off. But right now, she was in much greater need of a Fire-element Abyss Mage to use as a body pillow.
"Good job. Hard work."
Whether it was her imagination or not, Baimeng could have sworn she saw little pink flowers floating out from the top of the Abyss Mage's head.
*It was worth all the time I spent on fur maintenance!* the Cryo Abyss Mage thought happily.
What the God of Dreams didn't know was that ever since the first time she praised an Abyss Mage's fur, monsters across the entire Abyss had begun meticulously grooming their pelts. Daily brushing and washing aside, they had even purchased massive amounts of essential oils and fabric softeners.
To the point where adventurers had started wondering why all the monsters they encountered recently had such fluffy, soft fur and emitted pleasant fragrances.
Even the Prince of the Abyss was no exception—he spent even more time tending to his long golden hair.
It was just a pity Baimeng hadn't noticed yet.
She was engrossed in reading the dossier, massaging the Abyss Mage's soft ears with one hand while feeling grateful that the game's built-in translation system still worked, saving Baimeng from being an illiterate god.
She flipped through the scroll, which roughly detailed the exploits of an alchemist. It said that one day he had suddenly appeared in Mondstadt; he looked very young, but his art of creation was nothing short of miraculous. Not only could he pluck new life from ashes, but he could even breathe life into a painting.
*Ooh, he's practically a real-life Ma Liang with his magic paintbrush, or the painter who dotted the dragon's eyes,* Baimeng marveled.
It was said that this miraculous alchemist also held an important position among the Knights of Favonius in Mondstadt, making alchemical potions for the people and solving their problems.
*He really does sound like he could solve my problem.* Utilizing the speed-reading techniques she had honed by cramming before exams, Baimeng roughly scanned his achievements and the places this genius alchemist frequented, giving her a rough idea in her mind.
As for the research into his background, Baimeng skipped it—she didn't have the habit of flipping straight to the end of a book before reading the plot.
Before checking a walkthrough, Baimeng preferred to experience the story firsthand; if she ran into trouble later, it wouldn't be too late to ask the almighty encyclopedia for help.
"You're dismissed. Oh, and send Aether to me."
Tossing the scroll casually onto the table, Baimeng finalized her preliminary plan in her mind.
The moment the Abyss Mage backed out the door, Baimeng dropped all pretenses and let her body collapse into the soft cushions. Heaven knows how hard she had been trying to maintain a pose; her whole body was sore, and her hands had almost cramped up.
*I'm getting old, completely useless now,* Baimeng sighed inwardly, though she had no idea what her true age in this body actually was, or what state she had been in during the millennia of "death." Perhaps she was like Schrödinger's cat? Before someone opened that game display screen, nobody knew what was happening inside.
"Knock, knock." An elegant knock sounded, stopping after two beats as the person quietly waited for a response. Baimeng could practically picture the smile on the young man's face outside the door, and his straight, upright posture.
"Come in."
This time, Baimeng couldn't be bothered to crawl back up from the cushions. She just lay there lazily, gesturing for the blonde youth to approach.
"Do you have any instructions for me?"
Ever since her true personality had been exposed in front of him, Aether's expression wouldn't change even if he saw the god yawning ungracefully. The Prince of the Abyss obediently walked to her side, gently taking the god's outstretched hand in both of his, his body heat gradually warming her icy fingers.
"Pack your things; we're leaving now."
"So soon?" Aether raised an eyebrow in surprise; he had thought they would at least spend some time preparing and come up with a foolproof strategy before heading out.
"There's no time to lose."
Baimeng flipped over, bounced up, and stretched her stiff body.
"Understood. Then, please give me a moment."