Mr. Zhongli, we can't slack off anymore!

Qingyun Peak.

The young master led the travelers to the highest peak in Liyue—Qingyun Peak.

At the summit, there is a wind field. Equip the traveler with the wind wings he gave him, and he will be blown by the wind to higher places.

Jump over three floating stones, and you'll see another wind field. Just like before, you'll reach the highest point in Liyue, a floating island made of rising stone.

On the island, there is a pavilion, a table, a few books, and a vase.

One of the books was open, and the handwriting on it looked very familiar to the traveler.

“It’s Zhongli’s handwriting,” the traveler recognized immediately.

He had taught me how to write Liyue script, so I recognize it.

The desk was covered in a layer of dust, which meant that no one had been here for a long time.

The island is thousands of meters above the ground, with thick clouds overhead. Several famous mountains in the vicinity only peek out from the clouds. Looking down, the scenery on the ground is blurry. If you fell from here, your bones would be smashed to pieces.

It was so quiet that even birds couldn't reach it. The traveler became uneasy.

"Didn't you say you'd take me to find him? He's not here."

That was the first time she had used the Wings of Wind. She had overcome her fear with sheer willpower, but looking back at the route she had taken made her shudder.

I don't know if it was because I ate too much and felt dizzy and disoriented, or something else.

"You'll see him soon. Why are you standing so far away? Come here." The young master was standing at the edge of the floating island.

The traveler, filled with doubt, was unwilling to go: "Since he's not here, let's go down. I suddenly don't want to see him anymore."

"Since you're already here, just one last step is needed. Come on." The young master opened his arms, as if he wanted to give the traveler a "leap of faith" in the next second.

The traveler backed away step by step until his back pressed against the pavilion's pillar: "I should go back to work. Goodbye."

"Are you scared?" The young master approached step by step, eventually trapping the traveler between his arms.

The traveler switched to his spear and fought desperately, but the young master dodged the attack and easily subdued the traveler's weapon-wielding hand, destroying the wind wings on the traveler's body.

"They don't even have the strength to defeat the Treasure Thieves, yet they want to challenge the Executor of the Fools? I must say, their courage is commendable."

"Let me go!" the traveler shouted angrily.

"Haha, it sounds like a kitten meowing on the street. Even when a weak person gets angry, it's still cute." The young master looked relaxed, completely unfazed by the traveler's bluff.

"I shouldn't have trusted you, you bastard!" the traveler cursed.

"I'm doing this for your own good. Only in this way will the person you want to see appear," the young master said, picking up the traveler in his arms.

"Ah!" The sudden feeling of weightlessness made the traveler exclaim in surprise. She immediately knew the young master's intention and struggled to resist.

The young master paid no attention to the traveler's struggles and carried her to the edge of the floating island: "If you move again, you'll fall."

The traveler retorted, "If I don't move, you won't throw me off?"

The traveler's will to survive made her cling tightly to the young master.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm doing this for your own good. If this method doesn't work, I'm out of ideas. Let go, and I promise you'll fall straight to the ground without scraping against the trees and rocks, saving you from suffering," the young master said carelessly.

He didn't intend to kill her; he just wanted to tease her. He said he would save her even if she were thrown from 10,000 meters in the air.

"I don't want to see him at all. If you care about me, put me down!" The traveler wouldn't fall for it.

"I just want to help you, I don't want to take advantage of you. It's not appropriate for you to hug me like this." The young master continued to scare her, only then realizing how fun it was to tease girls.

"What's the use of chastity when we're about to die!" the traveler shouted until his voice cracked.

"Then let's jump together, and when people see our two corpses, embracing each other, they'll think we committed suicide for love. Then it'll be written in a book and passed down to future generations. Hahaha... Thinking about it, it's not a bad deal."

"I'd rather die than stay with you!" The traveler was enraged and, with a touch of pride, let go of his hand.

"Alright." The young master smiled and released his hand.

The traveler was simply thrown down there.

"Ah—" The feeling of weightlessness irritated my scalp, the cold wind pierced my cheeks like needles, and my body slammed straight to the ground, leaving only afterimages of the surrounding scenery.

A series of images began to play in the traveler's mind: his relatives and friends appeared in his mind, and his short life passed by in a flash. The image finally settled on Zhongli's back.

No matter how the traveler called out to him, he refused to turn around.

As the ground drew ever closer, the traveler closed his eyes in despair.

"Ugh!" The traveler's face bumped into two soft mounds, and his body sank into someone's arms.

The traveler opened his eyes and saw Shen He's face.

"It's alright now," Shen He said reassuringly, her face expressionless, lost in thought.

She lightly touched the stone wall with her toes, leaped among the trees, and brought the traveler back to the ground.

"Huff... huff huff..." The traveler collapsed to the ground.

Shen He picked up a talisman with his fingertips and held it in front of the traveler.

"Alas... Miss Traveler, I'm at my wit's end. He didn't even show up when I was in a life-or-death situation. I think you should break off your friendship with him." The young master slowly walked out from between the rocks.

“You fools are harming people here; I will never forgive you.” Shen He’s eyes were sharp.

"It's a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding. I was just trying to help this young lady find someone. Even if you don't help her, I won't let her die." The young master didn't draw his weapon; he didn't intend to fight Shen He.

"Nonsense. I think you'll tell the truth if I knock your head against the rock face a few times." Shen He was burning with fighting spirit.

The young master waved his hand: "It's a pity that I have official business to attend to today and can't find the time to have a good fight with you. Let's save our duel for next time."

"Goodbye, Miss Traveler. I'll treat you to a meal later as an apology. I hope you'll be stronger when I see you next time." With that, the young master disappeared into the dense forest.

"I'm afraid this is a ploy to lure you away from the mountain. Protecting you is more important, so I won't chase after them." Shen He helped the traveler up from the ground and put her arm around his shoulder.

"Thank you." The traveler hadn't recovered yet; his face was deathly pale, his stomach was churning, and a wave of acid gushed up his throat.

"You're welcome. My name is Shen He, and I am a disciple of the True Lord Liuyun Jiefeng. I returned to my sect today and saw that you were in danger, so I came to your rescue," Shen He explained.

Huh? Do you usually talk this much? That's out of character, Shen He!

The traveler kept his words to himself.

“Are you going to Liyue Harbor, young lady? I can give you a ride.” Shen He said.

"Did Zhongli send you?" the traveler asked.

"I don't have much interaction with Mr. Zhongli." Shen He's words didn't sound like a lie.

"Oh, did your master send you?" the traveler asked, somewhat disappointed.

"Yes...no...she told me not to say that she sent me to rescue you. Anyway, it's better if you come with me. Master might have a deeper meaning in sending me here." Shen He let slip.

"I knew it." The traveler felt slightly relieved.

*

As the young master walked along the mountain road opposite Liyue Harbor, a figure blocked his way.

“I saw you the moment the traveler landed on the floating island, Mr. Zhongli,” the young master called out the name of the person before him.

"If that's the case, why are you still making things difficult for her?" Zhongli turned to face the young master, his hands behind his back, his fists clenched so tightly they made a "crackling" sound.

Seeing that he couldn't suppress his anger, the young master felt a surge of joy: "Of course it's because I haven't settled the score with you and the lady for cheating me last time, and when I came to Liyue to invite you to dinner, you didn't even give me the face to come out and see me, making me search all over the city."

"Now we're even. If you had come out to see her sooner, none of this would have happened. Why is the dignified Prince Yan throwing a tantrum over a little girl?"

"I'm blaming her, how can we settle this?" Zhong Li appeared calm on the surface, but the rock element particles emanating from his body caused the surrounding rocks to tremble.

"I'm only doing this out of kindness to help her see you. Even if you hadn't found someone to save her, I would have still intervened." The young master stated his position first, then put on the mask symbolizing the power of the Evil Eye: "However, I would be more than happy to fight against the Rock God!"