The First Blood protagonist, Lumine, successfully regrouped with the main party.
Along the way, they did not encounter any monsters,
or rather, they did, but Alhaitham never actually saw them.
Thinking back to Lumine's earlier ferocity, Alhaitham felt deeply conflicted.
At the slightest rustle or suspicious sound, Lumine would immediately raise her gun and unload an entire magazine, followed by a grenade for good measure.
After the explosion, she would calmly conclude:
"The best way to eliminate danger is to eliminate it before it happens."
Alhaitham was genuinely afraid that if he accidentally made some strange noise, Lumine would reflexively spray him down.
He had no confidence that he could withstand weapons capable of shearing trees in half and blasting craters into the ground.
With his elemental power suppressed, survival was out of the question.
Even without suppression, one burst would still be fatal.
Speaking of trees, Alhaitham was still baffled.
What kind of world grows trees that snap cleanly in the middle and continue growing as if nothing happened?
No wonder Lumine said he would want to spend his entire life researching this world.
It was bizarre.
Utterly bizarre.
He had never imagined a world so outrageous,
a place that seemed to ignore the fundamental laws governing countless worlds, including Teyvat itself.
"What are you two doing, Ryen? Guizhong?"
Lumine hadn't thought much at first, but her sharp intuition immediately sensed something off.
These two had always called each other brothers, sure, but they had never stood this close before.
They were practically glued together.
And Guizhong's face was flushed.
Suspicious.
Lumine's heart jolted, and she fixed Ryen with an unprecedentedly sharp gaze.
Unfortunately, that stare might have worked on Guizhong,
but Ryen?
Was he some innocent, shy boy?
His skin was thick enough to tank an RPG.
Even if Lumine had witnessed everything earlier, he could still calmly claim he was just checking Guizhong's oral hygiene.
Facing Lumine's piercing scrutiny, Ryen remained perfectly composed.
His face didn't redden, his heartbeat didn't waver,
one hand even rested gently on Guizhong's back, lightly "comforting" her.
At least, that was his idea of comfort.
Guizhong did not agree.
"Waiting for you at the entrance," Ryen replied casually.
"And my little Paimon too."
Paimon immediately lit up and tried to rush over, only to be stopped by Lumine.
Lumine stared at Ryen suspiciously.
"Oh? Then why are you standing so close together?"
"We're good comrades," Ryen said naturally, wrapping an arm around Guizhong's shoulders.
"What's wrong with being close?"
He grinned.
"We're inseparable comrades walking the grand path of art!"
Guizhong's cheeks grew even redder, but she said nothing.
Maybe that was true before,
but now…
This brotherhood had changed.
"Then why is Guizhong's face so red?" Lumine pressed on, refusing to let go.
"Please," Ryen rolled his eyes.
"We just finished fighting a snow monster. You expect us to calmly spray machine guns?"
"This was Guizhong's first time using heavy firearms."
Lumine froze for a moment, then scratched her cheek awkwardly.
"Oh… right. But still, "
"Why do you have so many questions?" Ryen cut her off.
"Did you turn into a scholar after going to Sumeru?"
He continued grumbling,
"Do you really need to be this obsessed with my love life?
Should I call Ningguang and Ganyu over to perform for you?"
Lumine stiffened, then muttered,
"…Fair enough. You've got a whole pile of ships anyway. Why should I care?"
She straightened up.
"I'm heading inside. I've got a lot to talk about with Nahida and the others."
With that, Lumine walked past Ryen and Guizhong into the snow monster cave.
Only the two of them remained outside.
Guizhong finally exhaled in relief.
She quickly shook off Ryen's hand and said softly,
"Let's go too."
Before she could take a step, Ryen grabbed her.
He lifted her chin, meeting her flustered eyes, smiling lazily.
"What, kissed me and won't admit it? Backing out now?"
"I didn't kiss you!"
Guizhong bristled like an angry kitten, glaring at him.
Ryen pointed at the corner of his mouth.
"Then whose saliva is this?"
"Ugh! Don't say that! It was a moment of impulse, forget it immediately!"
She huffed.
"Didn't you say we're comrades? Keep it pure, you jerk!"
Ryen raised an eyebrow.
"Impulse? Fine. I'm feeling impulsive too."
With that, he pulled Guizhong into his arms and returned her "impulse" in full.
Guizhong's eyes widened in disbelief.
She reacted by slapping his back hard,
, but soon her gaze softened.
She wrapped her arms around his neck instead.
As for Ryen's wandering hands, she didn't even bother stopping him.
After an unknown amount of time, Ryen finally let go.
Guizhong's legs gave out, and she collapsed straight into his arms.
"This corrupted brotherhood," Ryen murmured, amused,
"is surprisingly sweet. Don't you think?"
Guizhong was silent for a moment, then muttered,
"Your hand…"
Ryen glanced down and made no move to withdraw it.
"What about it? You brought this on yourself."
Guizhong shot him an irritated glare.
"Let go! That hurts!"
Only then did Ryen release her, albeit reluctantly.
He still didn't let her pull away completely, looking at her meaningfully.
"You should understand, I treated you as a comrade all along.
You're the one who made the first move."
Guizhong's eyes turned cold, her voice sharp.
"So what am I to you now?"
Ryen answered without hesitation,
"A good comrade."
Ryen smiled faintly and said in a low voice,
"You know me. I've always been someone who neither initiates nor refuses…"
"And also someone who doesn't take responsibility, right?"
Guizhong looked at him with clear disappointment.
"That's not it," Ryen replied calmly.
He reached out and gently rubbed Guizhong's head, his tone softening.
"Since you've already made things clear, of course I have to take responsibility.
But I also don't want to lose a good comrade."
"How about this," he continued lightly.
"When everyone's around, we're comrades.
When no one's watching, you're my little sweetheart."
"How does that sound? Sneaking around like this, doesn't it feel kind of fun?"
If it were anyone else, Ryen wouldn't even say something like this.
But this was Guizhong.
She was exactly the same kind of mischievous, fun-loving troublemaker as he was.
Sure enough, the moment his words landed, Guizhong's eyes lit up, excitement barely contained.
"So we'd be… hiding it from everyone? Secretly having fun?"
Ryen nodded with a smile.
"What do you think?"
"I think… that sounds way too fun!"
Guizhong was instantly thrilled. She jumped up and wrapped her arms around him.
"So we act in front of everyone every day?"
"As long as you want to," Ryen said gently, resting his forehead against hers.
"You want to play, I'll play with you.
You want to hide it, I'll hide it with you.
You want to make it public, then you're my woman."
"Whatever you want… you and Ganyu are the same to me."
Ryen might never refuse anyone who came to him, but he was never irresponsible.
Once someone crossed that line with him, he treated them equally.
One moment Guizhong was his comrade.
The next moment, once intimacy happened, he could immediately accept her as a woman.
It was simply the way he lived.
And at the very least, it made Guizhong deeply moved.
As expected, the moment she heard this, Guizhong beamed and planted a quick kiss on his lips.
"Good attitude. I'm very satisfied. That's your reward."
Ryen raised an eyebrow and leaned close to her ear, whispering,
"That's not how rewards work.
Remember how Ganyu rewarded me?"
Instantly, Guizhong's face turned completely red.
She turned her gaze away, unable to meet his eyes.
Ryen chuckled softly.
"Once we're done with the Twilight Forest, should we… elevate this 'brotherhood' a bit?"
"Hey, aren't you rushing things a little?!" Guizhong protested.
Ryen shrugged.
"When meat walks right up to a tiger, have you ever seen the tiger let it go?
Don't be shy, you're not a kid anymore."
Guizhong pouted. After a moment of silence, she asked softly,
"You'll take responsibility… right?"
"Of course. My possessiveness is actually pretty strong."
Hearing that, Guizhong clenched her teeth and said in a low voice,
"Then… then after the Twilight Forest is done, I'll come find you, no!
You come find me! I… I'll give myself to you."
Ryen laughed quietly and helped her steady herself.
"Let's go. If we stay here any longer, Lumine's going to start overthinking things.
Don't let our act fall apart so quickly."
The moment acting was mentioned, Guizhong immediately straightened up.
She patted her cheeks, glanced at Ryen, and instantly returned to her usual lively self, skipping back into the cave.
Ryen followed a few steps behind, unconcerned.
The moment he reappeared, just as Lumine was about to ask something, he spoke first with absolute confidence.
"Guizhong and I checked earlier, the Snow Queen's castle isn't far from here.
Head out, turn right, and go straight. About an hour or so."
Lumine immediately dropped her suspicions.
The Snow Queen's castle really was near the snow monster cave, confirming direction was enough.
And Ryen wasn't lying. He still had a magic map.
"You came back just in time, we were talking about Sumeru," Lumine said cheerfully, waving.
Ryen sat down naturally beside Lisa and asked quietly,
"How's Sumeru?"
Lisa's nose twitched slightly. Acting casual, she leaned into Ryen's arms and took a subtle sniff, a playful glint passing through her eyes.
That scent couldn't fool her.
Just as she suspected, brotherhood had indeed changed.
Still, Lisa didn't say anything. It wasn't her business.
"Sumeru's situation isn't looking good," Lumine said, spreading her hands and gesturing toward Alhaitham.
"When I arrived, Alhaitham was already wanted.
Not long after reaching the desert, Cyno was wanted too."
"The Fatui have a lot of manpower, and two Harbingers are present, Doctor and Scaramouche."
"But Sumeru City isn't completely without insiders. Nilou has returned, and Dunyarzad will help keep watch."
"For now, only Tighnari has barely managed to keep his identity intact."
The Cryo Archon frowned slightly.
"Two Harbingers… That suggests they're deeply involved in the god-creation plan.
But I haven't heard anything about Scaramouche's movements lately…"
"…Damn it. They can even hide something like this from me now?
They really have grown powerful."
Seeing her sour mood, Tartaglia subtly shrank back.
Ever since the embarrassing incident of wasting a Totem of Undying, he had become the Cryo Archon's favorite emotional punching bag.
Dragged out and scolded at every opportunity.
"The Scaramouche and Doctor matter can wait," Lumine said.
"I actually came back for this, to speak with Acting Grand Master Jean."
Jean paused for a moment, then replied gently,
"Deploying troops? No problem, "
"Not yet!" Lumine waved her hand seriously.
"There's something more important."
"When I was in the desert, I encountered an Abyss Herald."
"He was sent by my brother, to find me."
"To be precise…"
Lumine's expression sharpened slightly.
"He came to demand the enchanted weapons from me."
~~----------------------
Patreon Advance Chapters:
[email protected] / Dreamer20