Lumine cautiously stood up, quietly picking up the Dull Blade nearby and hiding it behind her back.
Guixu looked at the large figure and the small figure not far away, and chuckled softly.
"Heh."
Then he walked over at a leisurely pace, a rather friendly smile playing on his face.
"Hello there, the two of you."
"Is there something you needed me for?"
Before Lumine could cautiously reply, Paimon impatiently flew straight over, making Lumine twitch the corner of her mouth.
This little one really wasn't afraid of bad guys at all!
Guixu watched the little creature hovering in mid-air with an expressionless face, though inwardly he felt a slight pang of surprise.
*Why is she so much like that woman in the sky?*
Paimon naturally had no idea what Guixu was thinking, and so she smiled with a touch of embarrassment.
"My name is Paimon, and her name is Lumine."
"Big Brother, do you have any food? We haven't eaten in ages, and we're so hungry right now~"
Paimon rubbed her rumbling little tummy and looked up at Guixu with pitiful, pleading eyes.
"I do. Do you want some?"
Seeing this cute little creature, Guixu didn't refuse. With a flick of his wrist, he produced a meal from Good Hunter that he had bought earlier.
"Whoa! That smells amazing!"
"Can we really eat this?"
Paimon's eyes lit up and drool pooled on the ground as she stared in disbelief at Guixu, who looked as handsome as an angel.
Well, in her mind, anyone who gave her good food could be an angel!
"Yes, of course you can eat."
"Fantastic!"
"Lumine, come quick, there's good food!"
Paimon impatiently called out to Lumine behind her, took the packaged meals, and flew over to her.
Guixu followed closely behind little Paimon as she walked toward Lumine.
Seeing Paimon already digging in right beside her, Lumine remained cautious and held her ground, looking instead at the approaching Guixu.
After a moment of hesitation, she spoke.
"Thank you. What's your name?"
"My name is Guixu. Don't mention it."
Guixu waved a dismissive hand.
"You... why would you come to a place like this?"
Lumine looked at the man before her. His attire was luxurious and grand, and his demeanor was extraordinary; he didn't look like someone who spent his days toiling outdoors.
Let alone being all alone in such a remote place.
Suspicious, however one looked at it.
Guixu looked at the young woman who bore such a striking resemblance to that fellow, and had no intention of hiding anything.
"I came looking for you, of course."
Lumine froze instantly, her mind failing to process the words for a moment.
"Looking for me?"
"I don't even know you."
Guixu gave a slight smile as he looked at Lumine's somewhat dazed and adorable expression.
*This girl is a lot easier on the eyes than that guy.*
*Aether, don't blame me for disrupting your sister's journey. Who told you, as an older brother, to act like a riddle-monger and make your own sister walk your old path.*
"Your brother is Aether, isn't he?"
At these words, Lumine was instantly stunned. She hurriedly grabbed Guixu's arm and asked anxiously,
"How do you know?!"
"Do you know my brother? Where is he now?"
Paimon, nearby, also stopped her covert snacking and looked over.
Neither the big one nor the small one had expected that just as they were talking about how to properly search for the brother, they would get news of him so quickly.
Lumine's heart was thoroughly knocked dizzy by this sudden surprise.
Yet, terrified that this might turn into a fright, she completely threw aside the fact that they were strangers and gripped his arm tightly with unmannered urgency.
Guixu didn't pull away, instead explaining to Lumine,
"I do know him, and he's doing just fine right now—at least a hundred times better than you, roughing it out here in the wild."
"Really?!"
Lumine's face lit up with joyful surprise.
Guixu nodded.
"Really. He woke up a few centuries earlier than you. Back then, he also traveled the seven nations and eventually joined Khaenri'iah. But later on, because that kingdom had too much ambition, over-developed war technology to invade other nations, and plotted to overthrow the deities, it was destroyed by the very god you encountered."
"Your brother also followed the cursed citizens and became part of the Abyss forces, with the goal of defeating that god."
"Right now, he's probably sitting on the throne of the Abyss, eating the delicious food offered by his subordinates and enjoying the treatment of a prince."
Guixu raised an eyebrow and glanced at the soot-stained Lumine, his expression bringing a flush of embarrassment to her face.
Yet, having received so much information all at once, her head was spinning.
Beside her, Paimon let out a gasp of shock.
"Ah! The Abyss Order!"
"Those are terrifying bad guys across the continent of Teyvat!"
"Terrifying bad guys?"
Lumine frowned. Just the name alone didn't sound like any benevolent faction; could her brother really have become a villain?
Seeing Lumine deep in thought, Paimon proceeded to give her a crash course on the Abyss Order.
"Mhm, mhm! The Abyss Order is a truly terrifying force on the continent of Teyvat!"
"Almost all the monsters across the whole of Teyvat can be controlled by them, and they're always causing trouble and wreaking havoc. Many people in the seven nations have been hurt by monsters controlled by the Abyss!"
Little Paimon shook her small fist in indignation.
Then, remembering that Lumine's brother seemed to be a member of the Abyss Order, she hurriedly covered her mouth and shook her head, saying,
"Of course, I'm not talking about your brother!"
Lumine's mind was in such turmoil from the news about Aether that she simply stopped thinking about it.
Since this man knew Aether's whereabouts, as long as she followed him, she would surely be able to see her brother sooner or later.
Lumine looked up at the man before her.
Only now did she notice just how handsome he was.
His mature and steady demeanor, combined with his black, gold, and red formal attire, made his already striking face even more captivating.
Even after traveling through so many worlds, she had to admit that the Guixu before her was the most handsome man she had ever seen.
Lumine's cheeks flushed slightly. After thanking Guixu, she wore a rather indignant expression.
"Thank you... Guixu."
"Thanks to you for telling me about Aether, otherwise I'd still be foolishly braving the elements and sleeping rough to look at for him."
"And look at him—he has nothing to worry about for food or drink, with people waiting on him hand and foot, yet he couldn't even bother to come look for me!"
Lumine was furious with Aether right now.
If he woke up so early, why didn't he wake her up too, or at least come pick her up once she woke?
Instead, he went off to live a comfortable life while leaving her to wander outside for so long.
That was the last straw!
There was no place for Aether in this family anymore!
Watching the fuming young girl before him, Guixu burst into laughter.
"Ha, he knew you'd wake up recently all along, but he wanted you to walk the seven nations on your own to regain your strength, which is why he stayed hidden."
"In fact, if you ask me, he just wanted to act like a riddle-monger. Back then, he watched with his own eyes as the god who fought you guys was nearly beaten to pieces by me; whether that god is even alive now is hard to say."
"His grand plan has lost all meaning anyway."
"Who knows what goes on in his head, insisting on making a young girl like you walk the seven nations entirely on her own."
Guixu shook his head, finding it difficult to understand Aether's train of thought.
Lumine, meanwhile, stared blankly at Guixu as if she had just heard something terrifying, and stammered,
"Y-You... what did you just say?"
"Huh?"
Guixu blinked in surprise and replied,
"I said your brother's plan is meaningless."
"No, the sentence before that!"
"Oh, that god was beaten almost to pieces by me..."
"That god was defeated by you?!"
Lumine's jaw dropped as she let out a cry of sheer disbelief.
Guixu looked at the young woman before him with mild perplexity.
"What's wrong? Is there anything surprising about that?"
"My true body was healing its wounds back then, and I had split off a wisp of my origin to walk the continent, when that white-haired woman using black-and-red cubes actually tried to attack my friend."
"So that avatar of mine had a fight with her and dissipated, and that woman was heavily injured by me as well."
Lumine took two steps back, staring at Guixu as if she were looking at a ghost.
"A... an avatar!!"
What... what kind of towering powerhouse was this!
The strength of that god was something she and her brother together couldn't defeat even at full power!
And yet, she was blasted to pieces by just a wisp of Guixu's avatar!
Little Paimon also hid behind Lumine with a look of sheer terror, shivering and no longer daring to eat her food.
"Even though I don't really understand, being able to defeat a god that easily—you must be a terrifyingly scary person!"
Seeing the big and small figures suddenly grow so terrified, Guixu amusement showed as he waved his hand.
"Alright, no need to be so scared. I'm not a bad guy."
Seeing that Guixu was still so gentle, little Paimon—her restraint finally crumbling under the temptation of food—carefully flew forward and asked tentatively,
"Um, are you a God?"
Guixu replied,
"A God? I suppose not. I am a god from another world."
"In the past, dissatisfied with the constraints of a God's position, I broke through the cosmic barrier with the help of a friend and came to this universe of trees and seas, eventually landing on the continent of Teyvat."
"I suffered some injuries from traversing the cosmos back then, and it took me over a thousand years of recuperation to recover. I only recently woke up to walk around."
"Whoa! That's amazing! A god from another world!"
Paimon's eyes shone with adoration. In her worldview, it was hard to even imagine someone stronger than a God.
She never expected to actually lay eyes on such an existence.
Lumine was also immensely shocked, never expecting Guixu to be an otherworldly being just like her.
Except Guixu was far more thoroughly otherworldly than she was; she and her brother merely traveled between world bubbles.
Yet the Guixu before her had crossed universes directly.
He certainly lived up to such immense strength—truly formidable!
At this point, Lumine completely let down her guard.
For no other reason than that Guixu was simply too powerful; if Guixu wanted to harm her, it would be no more than lifting a finger—there was no need for petty tricks.
Looking back, Lumine took one glance and turned red with fury in an instant.
"Paimon! Save some for me!"
The food Guixu had taken out had already been half-eaten by Paimon in that short span of time!
How on earth did such a small belly fit so much stuff?
Unable to care about anything else, Lumine rushed forward to snatch the food back.
"Lumine, that's my chicken leg!"
"Shut up! You've already eaten three chicken legs!"
"Who says! I..."
Amidst their bickering, the big one and the small one scrambled over the food.
Guixu sat to the side, watching the two of them eat with a smile, occasionally producing more dishes to replenish the spread.