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

Snapped!

"All in!" The pitch-pot vendor exclaimed in amazement at the young man's skill, striking the drum beside him to congratulate him.

The adults and children watching applauded.

The young master, clutching his prize from the pitch-pot game, ran to the traveler and asked, "How was it? Not bad, right?"

As he spoke, he placed the tiger-head hat he had won on the traveler's head.

Yesterday at the dinner table, the young master invited the traveler to celebrate the Lantern Festival together. The traveler told him that he would be leaving Liyue before the Lantern Festival, but the young master insisted on taking the traveler to the night market.

The two arrived at the night market before dark. Many stalls were still empty, so the young master led the traveler to browse through them one by one.

"There's a ring toss game over there. How about I win you a little kitten to play with?" The young master was eager to try.

The traveler stopped him, saying, "Hey! I'm leaving soon, it's inconvenient to take this with me."

"It's alright, you'll come back eventually. I'll take care of you after you leave, and you can ask me for it when you come back." The young master was already making plans, and he had a reason to meet again next time.

"Hmm... what if I don't come back?" The traveler knew that D'Artagnan was a cunning fellow and wouldn't believe his little lie.

"Not coming back? Where are you going?" the young master asked.

"It's probably Nata."

“What’s so great about that place? One of our Executors is there, and he’s incredibly busy. You know, it’s not a good thing to keep an Executor busy.”

"If you're tired of Liyue, why don't you come to my hometown, Zhidong? You can come back with me, and I'll cover your travel expenses. What do you say?" The young master offered the traveler a suggestion, his calculations so ambitious they seemed to reach the Sky Isles.

"This is my private matter, so please don't interfere." The traveler was afraid of letting something slip by if he talked too much, so he quickly ended the conversation.

The young master persisted: "If you tell me, maybe I can help."

"Help? I asked you for help last time, and you threw me off the floating island... What do you want this time?" The traveler recalled what the young master had done to him; he hadn't avenged his great grievance and couldn't forgive him for even a little bit.

I don't believe him for a second!

Upon hearing her words, the young master panicked: "You've already hit me, just forget about it... haha..."

"Alright, alright, let's leave it at that. What else do you want to do?" The traveler forcefully changed the subject.

It's impossible for her to forget. I was really not satisfied with just hitting her once. Last time, I scared her so much that she had a physical reaction. She vomited for a long time when she got back and had to drink stomach-soothing porridge for three days in a row.

Seeing that the traveler wouldn't tell him the reason, the young master threw a tantrum: "I'm not playing anymore, it's no fun."

He became completely dejected, and the tuft of hair on his head drooped down as he lost his composure.

"Alright, it's getting late, let's all go home!" The traveler breathed a sigh of relief; his day's outing with the dog was over!

"No, please. I'll treat you to dinner. And...and...do you want to see whales?" The young master had no intention of letting her go back.

"Um, I don't have much of an appetite tonight. But... whales?" The traveler was quite curious about where he could see whales.

Upon hearing that the traveler wanted to see whales, the young master smiled broadly and said, "I know a place where you can definitely see them. I'll take you there!"

The young master led the traveler to a sparsely populated beach.

It was sunset, and the sea was dyed orange-red by the setting sun.

The sea breeze was as pleasant as usual today.

"Watch closely!" The young master took out his bow and arrow, aimed at the sea, and gathered water elemental light particles on the arrow.

After a melodious twang of the bowstring, the arrow shot straight into the sea.

A water elemental rune array appeared on the sea surface, and a giant whale leaped out from the center of the array. Its huge body churned up seawater and stirred up waves. After drawing an arc in the air, it plunged into the ocean, creating splashes.

The water splashed far, even reaching the traveler, who quickly dodged.

"Are you afraid of water?" The young master was puzzled by her behavior, but he was amazed by her agile movements.

"No, it's just a conditioned reflex, haha. It's not good to get your clothes dirty," the traveler explained.

She will always remember Zhou Ben—the Golden House, where a single splash from a whale could take away most of her character's health.

"Would you like to see it again?" the young master asked with great interest.

The traveler shook his head: "Forget it. I'm satisfied with seeing it once. Besides, your injuries haven't healed yet. Let's talk about it after you've recovered."

The injury on his hand hadn't fully healed yet; I noticed it when he drew the bow.

"You weren't in Liyue by then, were you? I don't know where to look for you." The young master's smile was somewhat bitter, but he tried his best to appear optimistic.

"Thank you."

"If you hadn't been with me these past two days, I wouldn't know what to do. There are so many places in Liyue that I haven't been to yet, and it would be too late to set off now."

"But I don't care anymore, and I don't feel regret. Journeys aren't always happy; they are often accompanied by regrets."

The young master sensed something was off about her words and asked, "Why are you talking like you're never coming back?"

"Perhaps. No one knows which parting will be the last." The traveler looked into the distance, wanting to remember what this place looked like.

The young master took the traveler's hand and said earnestly, "Since we won't see each other again, it's better to say some things than to keep them bottled up inside forever."

A blush crept onto his fair cheeks: "I'm not very good at talking, I tend to speak very bluntly... please don't take offense."

"Huh?" The traveler had no idea what crazy thing he was about to do next.

"I like you," the young master said.

"Huh? Huh?" The traveler blushed for three seconds, then immediately calmed down, his brain working at lightning speed.

Then she pulled her hand out of his and patted his head: "If you like me, I'll draw you next time and give you three gold items in ten pulls! The same goes for your exclusive weapon! And the other brother from your Wanda International team too, okay? Don't get off track!"

"Wh...what?" This time, it was the young master's turn to be confused.

"I mean, I like you too. Okay, okay, let's go home! Let's go home!" The traveler said dismissively, keeping his distance without turning back.

Her inner monologue: Ha, Old Mi, trying to trick me into spending money again? Don't try that! Even if you turn the game into a otome game, I won't spend any more money!

"So, is our relationship...?" The young master hesitated, unsure of the current situation.

“We are good friends,” the traveler said, dispelling his expectations.

How could the traveler possibly believe what he said? He was only 18 years old, and he had plenty of time to change his mind.

Like a big boy, his "like" is seen by travelers as "you're an interesting person, I can have some fun with you".

Besides, the traveler isn't from this world; she can't spend all her time glued to her phone and playing games.

"Ah? Just good friends?" The young master was clearly not satisfied.

“They are very, very good friends,” the traveler added, also afraid that if she said too much, the boy might do something drastic.

“Okay, but I won’t give up. I just love challenging strong opponents.” He quickly perked up and prepared for his next “attack.”

"Sigh... It doesn't matter, you can treat me." The traveler shrugged helplessly.

"Are you hungry? I'll treat you to whatever you want to eat." The young master stayed close by.

Let's go eat seafood!

*

At night, a traveler sits by the window, lost in thought.

I ate too much tonight and can't digest it all; the seafood smell on my hands won't come off. Next month is getting closer and closer.

The day of departure seems both near and far; it may be postponed, or it may be just around the corner.

dong dong!

There was a knock on the door.

The traveler became alert; who would be looking for him so late at night?

"Traveler, the Emperor has sent me to see you off." The voice outside the door was cold and clear; it was Xiao.