"Thank you, Brother."
Xue Qinghe stood at the door, cupping his hands in a salute to Aether and Paimon.
"Mm, we're heading back to rest."
"Qinghe, goodbye."
Aether and Paimon waved at Xue Qinghe before heading back to the courtyard cottage.
"Traveler, why do you think Qinghe didn't try to absorb the spirit seed directly? Why is he waiting?"
Paimon, facing away from Aether, asked the question that had been bothering her.
Earlier, they had gone to Qinghe's room to help him try evolving his martial soul, but after some hesitation, he hadn't absorbed the green elemental seed directly. Instead, he asked Aether to help preserve it and extend its lifespan.
"Who knows? Maybe he has his reasons?"
Aether adjusted the blanket, making sure it was warmer.
"Alright… but why did he pretend to be a boy?"
"Huh? How did you know he was pretending?"
Aether was surprised. When did Paimon develop the ability to see through disguises?
"I saw it that night! I told you I'm pretty impressive!"
Paimon said with a somewhat annoyed tone.
"…You were pretty impressive back then. You're amazing, Paimon!"
Aether recalled how Paimon had grown larger that night. If she had that much power, it would've been easy for her to see through Qinghe's disguise.
"Hmph~"
Paimon puffed out her chest at the compliment, and then continued:
"Traveler, after we help Keke hunt that spirit ring tomorrow, where should we go next?"
"I don't know. We'll just go wherever. Maybe we could check out another kingdom?"
Previously, during their travels across Teyvat, they had planned to search for the gods, hoping to gather news about Aether's sister.
Now, Aether needed to follow the commission's instructions to break his seal so that he could return to Teyvat.
"Mm-mm! Don't worry, no matter where we go, I'll be with you!"
Paimon nodded, enjoying the carefree travel.
Every new place they went brought new friends and new adventures.
"Thank you, Paimon."
Aether turned over, looking at Paimon's back, and pulled her into an embrace.
"Hmph~ Well, you are my best partner, after all…"
Paimon didn't resist but whispered contentedly.
They were used to this kind of interaction, and she had long since gotten used to it.
…..
As dawn broke, the sun rising over the horizon.
"Good morning, Qinghe~"
Paimon was the first to wake up. After opening the door, she saw that Xue Qinghe had already been waiting in the pavilion.
"Good morning, Paimon~"
Xue Qinghe smiled and waved at Paimon.
"Eh? Where's Keke? Why isn't Keke here?"
Paimon rubbed her sleepy eyes. Normally, by this time, Keke would already be in the pavilion with Qinghe, waiting for breakfast. Why was it just Qinghe today? Was Keke still asleep?
"I'm not sure. Keke might still be asleep?"
Xue Qinghe seemed puzzled as well.
"Mm~ I'll go wake Keke up. I'm a bit hungry."
Paimon mumbled, flying over to Keke's little house and knocking on the door.
"Keke, wake up, the sun's up!"
"Keke? Keke?"
"Keke's not up yet?"
Aether came out and nodded at Xue Qinghe, then looked at Keke's room.
"Yeah, Keke should have woken up by now…"
Paimon pinched her chin, deep in thought. Suddenly, she flew back to Aether and said, "Traveler, do you think something happened to Keke?"
"…"
Aether furrowed his brows and walked over to Keke's door.
"Keke?"
When no answer came, Aether reached out and pushed the door open.
"Keke's not in the room? Where did she go?"
Paimon flew into the room, but there was no sign of Keke.
"It's fine. Nothing bad will happen to her under my watch…"
Xue Qinghe also arrived, shaking his head.
He then looked at Aether and Paimon, adding, "Could she have gone out on her own? Brother, Paimon, don't worry, I'll ask around."
With that, Xue Qinghe called for a servant.
"Your Highness, Miss Keke left early this morning."
The two guards on duty outside the courtyard reported.
They had just switched shifts when they saw Miss Keke walking out of the courtyard alone, greeting them on her way out.
"She left? Did she say where she was going?"
Xue Qinghe asked again.
"Miss Keke didn't say anything. We didn't dare ask too much…"
One of the servants replied.
Over the past few days, they had learned that the guests staying here were His Highness's most distinguished visitors, so they didn't dare to pry into their affairs.
"Brother…"
Xue Qinghe looked at Aether, hoping for guidance.
"It's fine. I'll find out where she went."
Aether waved his hand and activated his Elemental Vision.
Before him, a gray line appeared, extending from the small house and spreading out into the courtyard.
Under normal circumstances, they would have followed the line to search for Keke.
But now, she was carrying the commission buff, and when Aether looked up, he saw a faint golden beam of light shooting into the sky in the distance.
That was where Keke was.
"Keke must have gone out for something. Let's wait here for now…"
Aether was about to say more when suddenly, he froze.
The golden pillar of light that had been visible through his Elemental Vision disappeared in an instant.
What was going on? Why did the commission's marker suddenly vanish?
Normally, there were two reasons for this:
One, the commission was complete. But there was no sign of the seal reacting inside him, so the commission had clearly not been completed.
The second reason was either a timeout or a failed mission…
A timeout didn't exist in this world, so there was only one possibility—the mission had failed!
Could Keke have…?
Aether's expression darkened, then he said:
"Let's go. We need to find Keke. She might be in trouble!"
"Ah! Keke's in trouble?"
Paimon screamed and hurried to follow Aether out of the courtyard.
"Brother, Paimon, wait for me!"
Xue Qinghe called out and quickly chased after them.
…..
About half an hour earlier, at an alleyway in Heaven Dou City, two leisurely figures emerged.
"So, the relationships between Dean Flender, Grandmaster, and Dean Liu Erlong are more complicated than I thought…"
One figure walked behind, hands clasped behind his head, muttering to the person in front.
"Fatty, keep it down. If the dean hears us gossiping about him, we'll be in trouble."
"Eh, Boss Dai, since when did you become so timid?"
The fat one, Ma Hongjun, said disdainfully.
"Not timid. It's called respect," Dai Mubai retorted.
"Alright, alright… Hey, Boss Dai, now that we're out here, how about we…"
Ma Hongjun licked his lips and put his arm around Dai Mubai's shoulders, showing a thirsty grin.
"What's this? Can't control your evil flames again?"
Dai Mubai, being an old hand, immediately understood Ma Hongjun's intentions.
_
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