"You're welcome. It's all because of this troublesome lake; the water's too deep." Shao Yun looked at the Statue of the Seven nearby. "I won't bother you. Go take a look. Didn't you have some strange perception regarding this statue?"
To avoid disturbing the plot's progression, Shao Yun voluntarily moved to a corner, a bit further away from the statue.
He quietly watched as Lumine gained Anemo power.
He quietly watched as Lumine practiced her Anemo power.
"Wow, Traveler is amazing! To gain power so easily... It's not a simple matter for people in this world to be able to use elemental power."
"Perhaps it's because I'm not from this world," Lumine recalled something, lowering her gaze.
Paimon glanced over and saw Shao Yun idle on the side. She waved her hand: "Oh right, Shao Yun..."
"What is it?"
"Why don't you try? Maybe you can use Anemo power too," Paimon pointed at the statue.
Shao Yun waved his hand. "No thanks. I practically touched every inch of the statue just now, and there was no reaction. It seems I'm not destined for elemental power. I have this, and that's enough."
He patted the revolver at his waist.
"No worries, Traveler and Paimon will protect you well," Paimon said confidently, puffing out her chest and raising her head.
"Hahaha, then many thanks," Shao Yun shrugged. It seemed that in their eyes, without elemental power, he was no different from an ordinary NPC.
Next, they had to leave the small island on Starfell Lake. Lumine looked at the water, a hint of hesitation flashing across her face, which Shao Yun noticed.
"Do you need me to carry you across the lake?" Shao Yun kindly extended his hand.
"Emmm, I'd appreciate that," Lumine awkwardly reached out her hand.
"It's nothing," he said, picking Lumine up and wading across.
...
Originally, Lumine and Paimon were going to suggest lighting a fire for Shao Yun to dry his clothes, but Shao Yun found it troublesome. Anyway, it would air dry naturally in a while, so there was no need.
After passing Starfell Lake, to get to Mondstadt, they needed to cross the Whispering Woods.
This forest was truly vast, much larger than in the game. It was a proper forest, not just a small grove like in the game. One moment there was a path, the next there wasn't; one moment they had to climb rocks, the next they had to squeeze through bushes.
Lumine and Paimon led the way, and he followed behind. Shao Yun felt very uncomfortable, feeling quite useless.
"How about I lead the way?"
Shao Yun patted Lumine, who was walking ahead. They swapped positions, and he helped her remove a leaf stuck to the top of her head.
"This..." Lumine wanted to say something.
"Please, I just can't use elemental power; I'm not crippled. Besides, leading the way, which is physically demanding, can be left to me," Shao Yun said confidently, giving a thumbs-up.
"Emmm, how about this," Lumine couldn't argue with Shao Yun and proposed a compromise, "We can take turns leading the way so neither of us gets too tired."
"Good idea."
And so, they took turns leading the way, which indeed saved them a lot of energy.
...
When it was Lumine's turn to lead the way, Shao Yun could almost see the outline of Mondstadt, situated by Windrise, through the gaps in the trees.
"It seems we're almost at Mondstadt," Shao Yun muttered inwardly.
He vaguely remembered that the next part of the story would involve Barbatos purifying Dvalin.
Speak of the devil, a roar echoed from the sky, and then a colossal dragon flew overhead, stirring up a massive gust of wind.
"Ahhh, I'm going to be blown away!" Paimon was swept up by the gust. Fortunately, Shao Yun was quick-witted and grabbed Paimon's arm, preventing her from doing a 720-degree spin in the air.
"Are you okay, Paimon?" Lumine was there almost instantly, checking if Paimon was hurt.
"I'm fine, just a little dizzy from the wind," Paimon patted her chubby cheeks.
"That's good..." Lumine, seeing Paimon was safe, turned to look in the direction the giant dragon had flown.
He hadn't expected the scene where Venti purifies Dvalin to appear just as he mentioned it.
The three of them stealthily parted the bushes and hid behind a large tree. They peeked their heads out and witnessed a shocking sight.
A green-clad figure, dressed as a Bard, who was Venti, was conversing with Dvalin.
"Don't be afraid, relax, I'm back."
Venti said gently, extending his hands to caress Dvalin. Dvalin also calmed down, slowly bringing his head forward. Everything was moving in a good direction.
"Mama mia."
Shao Yun watched everything intently. Seeing this scene from such a close distance was truly magnificent: such a huge dragon and the tiny Venti. He really wanted to take out a small notebook and draw it.
Venti's hands emanated Anemo power, preparing to begin purifying the curse on Dvalin.
Just as the three of them were stunned, Lumine's Anemo power seemed to lose control or be affected by something, suddenly overflowing.
This small interlude directly led to Venti's failure to purify Dvalin.
Dvalin roared, and Venti instinctively used his hand to block the gust of wind.
With one claw, Dvalin was about to strike Venti. Fortunately, Venti leaped backward, dodging the attack.
He immediately sensed someone behind him.
Almost instantly, he turned his head, frowning slightly, and looked sternly at the three figures peeking their heads out from behind the tree.
"Who's there!"
Now was not a good time for introductions. Lumine and Paimon, startled, pulled their heads back. Shao Yun also intended to shrink back, knowing the plot—if they hid, Dvalin would leave shortly, and everything would be fine.
[New Quest: Repel Dvalin.]
[Reward: A pendant that can enhance strength.]
The sudden quest caught Shao Yun off guard.
No, what kind of unethical quest is this, system? Isn't this interfering with the plot's direction?
Since there was a reward, Shao Yun stepped out, raising his hands.
"I'm sorry, we didn't mean to!" He extended his hands, signaling Venti to relax.
"Don't be rough! We're not bad people, just passing through!" His tone was a bit panicked.
Because Shao Yun clearly saw Venti's two braids starting to glow, and it looked like he was about to be killed. He didn't want to die right after arriving.
Venti ultimately didn't make a move; he just looked at Dvalin, then at the people in the distance.
Seeing that his plan had failed, Venti sighed, realizing he had to find another way, and then vanished as a wisp of clear wind.
Now Dvalin's attention was fully focused on Shao Yun.
"Relax, relax!"
Shao Yun stared intently at Dvalin, hoping it would calm down.
This dragon didn't look big in the game, but why did it look so huge now? Its mouth could swallow dozens of him.
Dvalin flew up. Just as Shao Yun thought it would fly away as in the plot, its mouth suddenly began to gather elemental power, as if preparing to attack.
What the heck, what's going on? This isn't what was agreed upon!
[New Quest: Repel Dvalin!]
The system reminded him again. At this instant, Shao Yun understood: the damned system just wanted him to repel Dvalin. What was the point of that? If he hid, the dragon would leave on its own.
Now Lumine and Paimon were hiding behind the tree, and Dvalin had focused all its attention on him, treating him as an enemy.
"Oh, my goodness!"
Shao Yun's brain raced, trying to find a solution. Should he just turn and run?
"Use Death God's Eye skill. Host, please take out your weapon to cooperate with its use," the system prompted out of nowhere.
A skill prompt at this moment? Death God's Eye... Wait, I remember that activating this skill allows me to see the enemy's weak points.
Shao Yun's right hand rested on the holster at his waist. He activated Death God's Eye, and everything around him instantly slowed down significantly, turning into slow motion. At the same time, Dvalin's weak point became clear: it was the purple spike on his back, formed by dragon blood and an Abyssal curse.
He drew his Cowboy Revolver, his gaze fixed on that purple spike. In Shao Yun's own eyes, almost instantly, six red crosshairs appeared on that purple spike.
Six rapid shots, hitting the cursed spot without missing.
This approach was indeed effective; it interrupted the casting.
Dvalin roared in pain towards the sky, then vigorously flapped its wings and flew away.
"You scared me to death! I thought I was going to be eaten!" Paimon hid behind Lumine, timidly watching the giant dragon receding into the sky.
Shao Yun holstered his gun, turned to look at the two, and stepped forward to check on them with concern.
"Are you two okay?"
Lumine checked herself, then Paimon, and shook her head.
"Paimon and I are both unharmed."
That's good. Shao Yun relaxed, though on second thought, they were hiding behind the tree, so they probably wouldn't have been hurt anyway.
"It's you, Shao Yun. Don't be so reckless next time; it's too dangerous," Lumine checked Shao Yun's body with concern, looking for any injuries.
"Someone's got to explain the situation, right?" Shao Yun scratched his neck. If the system hadn't suddenly issued a quest, he would have hidden with them too.
Lumine's gaze fell on Shao Yun's waist. Something was sparkling and swaying in the sunlight's reflection.
Lumine raised her hand to shield her eyes, pointing there as she asked,
"Shao Yun, what's that sparkling thing hanging from your waist?"
At her words, Shao Yun looked down at his waist.
"Let me see... holster, backpack, nothing missing... huh, wait, what's with this gem? When did it appear?"
Looking at the red gem that had appeared on his waist at some unknown time, the pattern... it looked so familiar.
Paimon was sharp-eyed; she recognized it at a glance, pointing at Shao Yun's waist and exclaiming in surprise,
"A God's Eye!"