"Hey! Pal, don't touch that coffin, the paint isn't dry yet!"
"Yo, we've got a customer. Which day are you booking the funeral for?"
"Oh my, isn't this Master Zhongli's partner? You two haven't come downstairs in two days—would you like something to eat?"
Noticing Fu looking listless as she came downstairs, Hu Tao curiously went over to her. Fu just shook her head at her and walked away on her own.
Perhaps due to her own Dendro element affinity, Fu could feel her memory and cognitive abilities greatly improving. Yet, when faced with topics that didn't interest her, she still found them utterly boring. Anyway, she wasn't going to get involved in governance; once she helped Nahida smooth over some difficulties, she would just go wherever was comfortable and have fun. If worst came to worst, pretending to be Greater Lord Rukkhadevata to back Nahida up wouldn't be a bad problem either, and she'd get to hug a sweet, soft little loli every day.
Judging by the way those two were talking upstairs, their conversation wasn't going to finish in ten days or half a month.
Most importantly, whenever she stayed with them, her eyes would always unconsciously drift toward Zhongli's plump... Well, she couldn't really be blamed for that, considering her past life as a hardcore shut-in.
Why not go take a look at the City of Mondstadt—the land of freedom? She had plenty of free time now anyway, unlike in her past life when she was so busy she couldn't even get enough sleep.
Mondstadt, Cider Lake.
Cider Lake was shrouded in a light mist, with the City of Mondstadt looming vaguely in the sunlit haze. However, Barbatos should be fast asleep right now, so there probably wasn't much to see in the city.
Fu's four-leaf clover pupils, identical to those of Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, flickered. In the game's story, the water of Cider Lake was crisp and sweet, making it especially good for brewing wine. Hmm... how about trying a sip?
At this thought, Fu slowly descended toward the water's surface. After all, given her substandard flying skills, landing quickly was a bit too much to ask of her.
Suddenly, a massive burst of fire erupted from the water. Fu's expression changed drastically as she was instantly engulfed by the flames, and a huge mushroom cloud of fire rose from the center of the lake.
"New bomb test successful! Yay~"
A fiery red figure poked her head out from behind a rock on the lake shore, wearing a red wizard's hat. At first glance, she looked like an oversized Klee, looking with a sly expression at the lake where waves were churning from the explosion, countless dead fish washing ashore with the ripples. This was none other than Klee's elusive, budget mother from the main storyline—Alice.
"That's right, that's right. The firepower is indeed quite impressive, truly living up to Alice's standards."
A pitch-black, sun-baked figure nearby slowly began to applaud. Alice was so startled that she instinctively leaned back in a tactical retreat—until she caught sight of the four-leaf clover pattern in the other person's pupils.
"Oh my, oh my! Isn't this Sumeru's Dendro Archon? How did you end up looking like this?"
With a benign smile, Fu wiped her face in a rather menacing way. She didn't speak, just stared at Alice as if looking at an idiot, until Alice finally reacted after a long moment.
"Oops, oops, my mistake. A total mistake! I accidentally hit you while testing a new invention. I'm so sorry, truly sorry."
At this point, Fu exhaled a couple of puffs of smoke in a rather bewitching manner, and wisps of Dendro Elemental Energy washed over her body, clearing away the soot reeking of gunpowder.
"I just happen to look like the Dendro Archon; my name is Fu Li. It's a good thing I was the one getting blown up this time. If it had been anyone else, there's no telling whether they'd be left as a pile of mush or a pinch of dust."
Fu looked at Cider Lake, which had been blown into a muddy mess, and prepared to leave in mild disappointment before Alice called out to her.
"Wait a minute! Are you an otherworldly traveler?"
Fu's delicate body trembled slightly. Alice had actually seen right through her identity as a traveler at a glance—or was Alice herself an otherworldly traveler too? Still, she wasn't too worried; Alice's strength shouldn't be enough to take her out in a single blow, right?
"As expected of Lady Alice, who travels across all major worlds. I did indeed cross over by accident, unexpectedly arriving in this body."
But what Alice said next threatened to upend Fu's understanding of reality.
"It seems you don't even know yet. You actually crossed over in your physical body, not just your soul."
"Are you pulling my leg? In my previous life, I was a pure, full-grown man."
Alice seemed to have anticipated such a rebuttal. She narrowed her eyes and scrutinized Fu for a moment longer before confirming her deduction all the same.
"If your soul had possessed a Teyvat native, you would inevitably have had a constellation bound to you. But you don't have a constellation at all—which means your current body is your original one, not that of a Teyvat native."
For a moment, Fu stood frozen in place, taking a long time to slowly process this revelation.
Looked at this way, her ability to switch elements didn't seem quite so bizarre anymore. In that case, how about naming her Hydro and Pyro forms? She could call them the Infinite Flame and the Boundless Sea.
On second thought, better not—those two names sounded a bit unlucky.
"Then tell me, do I have a chance to travel back?"
"Your identity hasn't been bound to the Teyvat continent yet, so theoretically you can, but practically it's very difficult. Unlike me, who got muddled into being bound as a Teyvat native and is now agonizing over how to unbind... Want to try dying one more time to see what happens?"
"...\u00adNo thanks, I think things are pretty good right now."
Fu was no fool; if she really kicked the bucket this time around, she wouldn't even have a place to cry her eyes out. Better change the subject.
"Well, how did your new bomb experiment turn out just now?"
"Oh, it's beyond reproach! This is a product I made using materials from across worlds!"
Across worlds? She was sure that wasn't a slip of the tongue, right?
"Can I take a look?"
"Sure thing!"
Smiling sweetly, Alice unwrapped a red... bundle of explosives tied together. A green light shone from within. Upon seeing clearly what was emitting that green glow, Fu's face drained of color in an instant, and she bolted away without looking back, vanishing without a trace.
"Holy crap, uranium!"
Alice was still standing in the same spot, laughing heartlessly.
Elsewhere, Fu flew for goodness knows how long, soaring right past the City of Mondstadt. It suddenly occurred to her that she wasn't even human anymore, so what on earth was she afraid of radiation for? Even if she wanted to go back and settle scores with Alice now, she had no idea where she might have run off to anyway.
Pfft, her luck today was utterly rotten. Oh well, she might as well go check out the Stormterror's Lair. Barbatos should still be fast asleep right now—wonder how he managed his slumber anyway? Did he seal himself away in a cave, or just crash and sleep straight through?
Soon enough, she arrived at Stormterror's Lair... no, the ruins.
Ancient Mondstadt used to be a mighty realm as well, but it was a pity their king wasn't the most suitable king for Mondstadt. Yet after the death of the Decarabian, he didn't leave behind massive elemental pollution like other Gods. Perhaps deep down inside, he still loved his people; what a tragedy.
Against this backdrop dominated by gloomy gray tones, a speck of cyan-green stood out quite strikingly. Curled up asleep in a corner formed by several crumbling walls was a person. Wow, a five-star drop!
As she drew closer, a wave of wild joy surged in Fu's heart—it was fully-geared Venti!
Seeming to sense someone approaching, Venti's delicate, maiden-like face knitted into a slight frown, but he merely rolled over and continued sleeping soundly.
"Hey! You boozehound, wake up!"
Venti didn't react.
"Wake up! Or I'm going to take liberties with you!"
Still no reaction from Venti. He even rolled over, scratched an itchy spot, and went right back to sleep.
"Fine, fine, let's try this move then!"
Fu slowly reached behind her back and pulled out a bottle of Dandelion Wine from her all-purpose back. Popping the cork, she waved it right in front of Venti's nose as bait. Sure enough, the other's nose began to twitch.
"Fragrant... so fragrant!"
Venti's emerald eyes snapped wide open, stars twinkling in his pupils. He snatched up the Dandelion Wine and began chugging it down in huge gulps.
The water level of the wine in the bottle dropped extremely fast, as if poured into a bottomless pit. A bottle weighing at least two catties was downed in one go just like that. Fu had seen plenty of sights in her life, but she had truly never witnessed this one.
"Lord Tree Sister~ is there more, is there more!"
After finishing the wine, Venti still looked unsatisfied, gazing at Fu with pitiful, irresistible puppy-dog eyes. Fu felt a wave of helplessness and patted her money pouch. The traveling expenses Yae Miko had given her were quite substantial; at least up until now, they hadn't noticeably diminished.
"Alright, this round is on me, but you're going to have to pay a price~"
With a wicked grin, Fu gently lifted the other's chin, hoping to see Venti flustered, but Venti wasn't as innocent as he looked on the outside.
"Sure thing, I can handle this price!"
Venti suddenly sprawled out flat on the ground in a sprawling pose. Now it was Fu's turn to be dumbfounded—this completely deviated from the script!
"Ahahaha~ get up, get up! I was just teasing you, this round's on me."