The morning in Mondstadt seemed a bit more unnatural than usual. People's faces bore obvious signs of exhaustion; many yawned as they worked absently. It seemed Dvalin's anguished howls last night had brought a wave of tension to the citizens of Mondstadt.
Knock, knock, knock~
Su Bai, still deep in his dreams, was roused by a knock at the door. He rubbed his eyes and groggily opened it. Amber, wearing her rabbit-eared headband, stood at the entrance.
"Su Bai, Su Bai! Do you have any more of those talismans? If you do, give me a few! I'm heading to Stormterror's Lair to investigate today. Taking your talismans along might make things a lot safer."
Su Bai was wide awake now. He looked Amber up and down, scrutinizing her carefully. Amber's face flushed bright red under his sudden, intense gaze.
"Su... Su Bai, why are you looking at me like that?"
"Oh, nothing. I just think you're a pretty decent person, Amber. I'm trying to memorize how you look while you're still alive. Later, when I have time, I'll carve a wooden statue of you as a memento."
"Huh???"
Amber's little mind worked quickly, and she immediately understood: Su Bai must have misunderstood her. He probably thought she was going deep into the heart of Stormterror's Lair.
"I'm only going to the outer perimeter of Stormterror's Lair to investigate some monsters! I'm not going deep inside. Besides, the whole place is protected by that Anemo barrier. Even if I wanted to go in, I couldn't."
"Oh, I thought you were going to challenge Stormterror to a duel. If you ever get that kind of death wish, I can hook you up with the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor in Liyue. Director Hu and I are pretty close. She'd definitely give you a discount out of respect for her employee."
Su Bai let out a long breath. Though his words were still sharp, his demeanor had relaxed considerably. He genuinely didn't want someone as warm-hearted as Amber to come to any harm.
He took a few talismans from a box and handed them to Amber. Before she could even pay, he shut the door, leaving only a parting remark:
"That Honey-Roasted Carrot Ham you brought last time was delicious. Consider these talismans my support for your work. Be careful out there—the wilderness isn't safe these days."
She'd woken him up this early. Sleeping was the fastest, simplest way to replenish his adeptal energy. Just as he turned to go back for a morning nap, Klee's childish voice rang out from outside the door.
"We're back!"
The door burst open. Klee walked in loaded down with bags. Yae Miko followed behind, also carrying a mountain of things. Seeing Su Bai already awake, Yae Miko shot him several surprised glances.
"What's this? Our little fox is up so early today? Has the sun started rising in the west?"
Su Bai ignored her teasing. Having lived together for so long, he knew Yae Miko's temperament well. The more you engaged with her, the more she'd double down.
Knock, knock, knock~
Another knock. Great. Looked like this morning's nap was thoroughly ruined. Su Bai stretched, a little annoyed, but business was business.
He opened the door and found a young man standing there with his entire head wrapped in bandages. Startled awake, a fruit knife instantly appeared in Su Bai's hand.
"My friend, which tomb did you crawl out of? If you don't mind, I can help bury you back in—consider it a good deed."
"Brother Su Bai, it's me! Bennett!"
'Huh?' Su Bai carefully sensed the being in front of him with his adeptal energy. Well, I'll be—the aura was indeed Bennett's. But how had Bennett gotten covered in so much Cryo and Anemo energy?
"Bennett, what kind of trouble did you run into? You're a mess."
A strand of adeptal energy wrapped around Bennett, quickly dispelling the residual Cryo and Anemo. The unfamiliar warmth made Bennett close his eyes in comfort.
"There. I've dispelled the elemental energy clinging to you."
"Where did you even fall into? Normally, only something pretty powerful could leave elemental traces on you for this long."
Bennett scratched his head. Yesterday, while looking for Razor, he'd seen a massive wolf fighting him. Without thinking, he'd charged in. The result was both he and Razor getting thoroughly beaten by the big wolf. Later, he learned that wolf was Razor's... parent.
After hearing Bennett's explanation, Su Bai stroked his chin. He seemed to remember hearing about that wolf from one of the adepti. It used to be quite formidable.
"What was Razor fighting the wolf about? Was he seriously injured again?"
"No, no. It was because Razor said he wanted to avenge me and fight Stormterror. That big wolf disagreed."
"That makes sense. Razor's strength really isn't up to par."
Razor's power was indeed far below Dvalin's. If he were that wolf, he wouldn't agree to Razor going after Dvalin either. That was practically suicide.
"No, Brother Su Bai, that's not it. It wasn't that the big wolf disagreed with Razor going. It was that Razor disagreed with the big wolf going with him."
"Uh... that's... surprisingly wholesome?"
Inside the house, Yae Miko's sharp eyes flickered as she overheard Su Bai and Bennett's conversation. She'd easily coaxed the story of her gifted talisman being activated out of Su Bai.
She'd been wondering how to get back at Dvalin. Who knew someone would volunteer to be her blade so quickly? Yae Miko murmured to herself:
"Andrius... let me witness the wolf pack's protective nature for myself. And while I'm at it, let Dvalin experience how the fox clan protects its young."
"Little Klee's bombs are also in production. If everything goes according to schedule, we should make it in time."
Outside, Su Bai deeply realized that sometimes, reality really was stranger than fiction. He'd read novels for years and never encountered a plotline like this.
"Almost forgot why I came! Brother Su Bai, I'm here to buy talismans. I thought I might miss you, but turns out you're the one selling them!"
"I'll take two. I'm going to give one to Razor. Brother Su Bai, how much Mora for two?"
"Talismans? Nothing valuable. They're a gift."
Su Bai pulled out two enhanced talismans and handed them to Bennett. With Bennett's luck, a regular talisman's shield would probably shatter on contact.
"No, no, Brother Su Bai! You already saved me last time. I can't just take things from you without paying!"
Bennett absolutely refused to accept them. Su Bai didn't want to take the kid's money. For a moment, the two were locked in a standoff, neither willing to budge.
"Alright, alright. How about you treat me to breakfast? I haven't eaten yet this morning."
"Deal! Brother Su Bai, you have to try Good Hunter's Teyvat Fried Egg. It's super delicious!"