The wind of Mondstadt gently brushed across the grasslands of Windrise, making the leaves of the old tree rustle, as if softly recounting old stories.
Lumine and Paimon stood by the Statue of The Seven, gazing at the towering tree nearby that seemed to connect to the blue sky. Its emerald leaves swayed in the wind, yet not a single thought of relief arose in their minds.
The two had traveled all the way from Liyue, searching all around the Statues of The Seven along the route.
But not to mention the blonde stranger, they had not seen even a single suspicious figure. Only a few Crystalfly fluttered around the statue, their wings glistening with fine light in the sun, which instead made the surroundings seem even more empty.
"What should we do, Lumine?" Paimon hovered in mid-air, her chubby hand rubbing her rumbling stomach, her voice full of frustration. "Zhongli said Venti was seen near the Statue of the Seven, but there are so many Statues of the Seven. We can't just keep searching blindly, can we?"
"Could it be that just as we teleported to another statue, your brother appeared at our original location?"
"Hmm~ I'm so hungry. I knew we should have bought more food to bring from Liyue. Now, we can't even see a single apple."
Lumine didn't answer, only subconsciously raising her hand to press it against her chest.
A sudden, inexplicable dull pain spread there, as if an invisible hand were squeezing it, making even her breath hitch for a moment.
She warily scanned her surroundings: the old tree at Windrise was lush with leaves, sunlight filtering through the layered foliage to scatter dappled spots of light, fallen leaves spiraling down to the ground, and Crystalfly gliding slowly across the grass. Everything was impossibly peaceful.
Yet that feeling of palpitation grew stronger and stronger, as if a pair of eyes were hiding behind the tree shadows or rocks, quietly watching her every move.
"Lumine? What's wrong?" Paimon noticed her odd behavior and quickly flew over, her small paw gently poking Lumine's cheek. "Your face looks so pale. Are you too tired from the journey?"
Lumine shook her head, lowered the hand pressed against her chest, and forced a smile. "It's nothing. Maybe I just ran too fast earlier and got a stitch."
She didn't want Paimon to worry, and she couldn't even explain the source of this abnormal sensation.
Was it a lingering aura from the Abyss?
Or... a premonition related to her brother?
Lumine didn't know. She could only temporarily suppress this unease in her heart.
"Let's go find Venti first. Since he saw that person, he's bound to have more clues."
"Ahaha, are you two looking for me?"
Just as Lumine finished speaking, a clear voice tinged with a hint of intoxication suddenly drifted down from above, as light as wind chimes.
Lumine and Paimon looked up simultaneously. Venti was sitting askew on the thickest branch of the giant tree at Windrise, his legs dangling. An empty wine jug rested by his feet, while he held an unopened bottle in his hand.
Sunlight fell upon his hair, casting a soft glow as the liquid in the glass bottle swirled into fine ripples.
Before the words had even fully landed, Venti's figure transformed into a wisp of pale green wind, gliding gently down the tree trunk.
When he materialized again, he was already standing behind them, smiling as he held out another bottle of wine to Lumine: "I just got this Apple Cider from Angel's Share. It's very sweet. Want a taste?"
"No, no!" Lumine hurriedly waved her hand in refusal.
"Speaking of which, although I know you love drinking, I rarely see you enjoying yourself so leisurely here at Windrise. Didn't you used to prefer drinking at Angel's Share or The Cat's Tail?" Paimon asked.
Hearing this, Venti slowly turned his gaze to the great tree behind him, a faint touch of melancholy sweeping across his eyes as the smile on his lips dimmed.
"Ever since Lydia left, I come here to sit whenever I have a moment." He pointed to the branch he had just occupied, as if greeting an old friend, his tone tinged with nostalgia. "She and I used to drink here all the time. She'd say drinking Apple Cider was like drinking sugar water, yet she always drank the most, only to end up leaning on my shoulder and falling asleep. When she woke up, she'd stubbornly insist she wasn't drunk."
Lumine and Paimon followed his gaze and saw that on the branch Venti had just been sitting on, there was still a brand new, unopened bottle of Apple Cider. The bottle was polished to a bright shine, and not a single crease could be found on its label.
The label also bore a painting of a small Cecilia flower, the veins on its petals drawn with extraordinary detail. This was Lydia's favorite flower.
Now, this bottle of wine was clearly one that Venti had deliberately left for her.
Paimon's voice softened instantly as she said cautiously, "Venti, don't be sad... Lydia definitely wouldn't want to see you like this."
"Haha, I'm not sad at all!" Venti immediately returned to his usual playful expression, reaching out to pat Paimon's head and messing up her hair, "The departed have passed on, and those of us left behind must live well, so as not to let down the memories they left behind, right?"
But the lingering loneliness in his eyes, like moonlight veiled by a thin layer of gauze, ultimately fooled no one.
He changed the subject and looked at Lumine and Paimon, his tone instantly turning a bit more serious: "Speaking of which, you two running over from Liyue to find me so suddenly must not be just to watch me drink or hear me tell old stories, right?"
"Did something happen in Liyue? Ever since Yunqin left, even the old man has been zoning out on his own a lot."
"The last time I went to Liyue, I saw him standing and facing the sea for a whole hour, looking terrible."
The air fell silent in an instant, leaving only the sound of the wind rustling through the leaves.
Lumine thought of Yunqin's pale face at the very end, and the gentle smile on her lips, her heart feeling as if it had been lightly pricked.
Paimon also slumped down, her usual liveliness gone, her small head slightly lowered, clearly also remembering the girl who always smiled gently.
After a moment of awkward silence, Venti broke the tension first. He raised an eyebrow and swirled the apple cider in his hand. "Looking at you two, you must be here for something important."
"Don't mince your words. Go on, what is it?"
Lumine and Paimon exchanged a glance, and Paimon nodded softly. "Venti, we're here to find the Traveler's brother."
When Venti heard "find the Traveler's brother," the hand holding the apple cider paused, and a flicker of obvious confusion crossed his eyes.
He tilted his head, his tone tinged with a hint of bewilderment. "Find the Traveler's brother? Why are you looking for him all of a sudden? A while ago in Liyue, weren't you saying you didn't have any clues at all?"
As he spoke, he circled Lumine halfway, as if inspecting them for any new information.
Seeing his bewildered expression, Paimon quickly explained, "No, it was Zhongli who told us!"
"Zhongli?" Venti raised an eyebrow, finally wiping the carefree expression from his face. He leaned against the old tree trunk and listened intently.
Paimon swallowed hard and poured out the whole story, from meeting Zhongli on the streets of Liyue to hearing him mention that "Venti saw a blond stranger near the Statue of the Seven in Mondstadt." She even mimicked a few of Zhongli's gestures as he recited poetry.