After leaving the ruins of the ancient capital, Jiang Bai spoke up softly.
“Director, what should we do next?”
He remembered Cartis had said something about a stash of Mora he’d left behind—originally meant for a junior he’d taken a liking to. But since Jiang Bai had helped remove the Skyfrost Nail, Cartis had reassigned that money as his reward.
Which meant… the money was his now.
Heh. This money, I’m keeping for myself.
Director not included.
“Cartis’s remains have already been cremated, right?” Hu Tao asked.
“Yeah,” Jiang Bai nodded.
He’d cremated the body the night they received it.
“Then, following the terms of the contract, we’ll scatter his ashes into Cider Lake, hand over his personal effects to the person he named, and publish the book.”
“Alright, then I’ll head to Mondstadt, Director. Want to come with me?” Jiang Bai blinked at her, eyes full of hopeful innocence—praying she’d say no.
But the answer dashed all his hopes.
“I’ll come. Haven’t been to Mondstadt in a while. It’ll be nice to look around.”
“…Alright then.”
Jiang Bai forced a smile, but inside, he was clutching an imaginary handkerchief and weeping bitterly.
She totally saw through me. She’s coming along to split the reward, isn’t she…
I haven’t even touched the money yet, and it’s already half gone. The pain…
Hu Tao could sense something was off with Jiang Bai’s mood, but she couldn’t quite place it.
So happy I’m coming along?
Was he nervous because he didn’t know his way around Mondstadt?
But hadn’t he managed just fine in that unfamiliar place when they picked up the bomb?
Maybe he was worried he wouldn’t be able to find the person they were supposed to hand the belongings to? Or maybe he was concerned the family would be too emotional?
Hu Tao gave up guessing—they’d be heading into the city together anyway; she’d figure it out sooner or later.
“Let’s go, then.”
She opened her Wind Glider and pulled out a winter face-covering—just like the one Jiang Bai had worn before—only the eyes visible, everything else bundled tight. She prepared to glide down the mountainside.
There was nothing left for them to do on Dragonspine. The cleanup after the explosion had already been handed off to Albedo. Their own business lay elsewhere now.
Watching Hu Tao wrap herself up like a snowball, Jiang Bai couldn’t hold back a laugh.
He’d worn that headgear before too, but it had been different—no one had seen him back then, so no one could laugh.
But now? Now he had every right to laugh at her.
“Director, I think the Treasure Hoarders could really learn from your look. No one would recognize them dressed like that.”
The masks the Treasure Hoarders wore barely hid anything—anyone who knew them could tell who they were in a second.
But Hu Tao? Unrecognizable.
“Cut the nonsense. Put it on.” Hu Tao tossed a matching face mask right at his face.
Only those who had tried flying through a blizzard over Dragonspine would understand just how important it was to protect your ears and face.
There was one time she’d used her glider here, just for a short distance—and afterward, her ears and cheeks felt completely numb, like they didn’t even belong to her.
Once she got back to Liyue, she immediately stocked up on this kind of full-face cover.
Sure, it looked ridiculous—but it was warm.
Style or comfort? Comfort wins every time!
Jiang Bai wisely zipped up without protest, and the two of them transformed into “mysterious people in black.”
Goggles on, they soared together down the mountainside.
Through the snow and wind, Jiang Bai spotted a group ascending toward the summit. Most of them wore green—the registered adventurers from the Adventurers’ Guild.
They were probably heading up to investigate the explosion.
But Jiang Bai didn’t care anymore.
He pushed through the howling wind and left the chill of Dragonspine behind.
—
At that moment, clad in a black cloak, Diluc arrived on horseback at the foot of the snowy mountain.
Dawn Winery wasn’t far from Dragonspine, but even so, the journey had taken quite some time.
He looked up at the towering white peak, tied his horse to a nearby tree, and threw on a thick fur-lined cloak before heading up the slope.
—
By now, Kaeya had reached the summit. He stood staring at the shattered remains of the Skyfrost Nail—now a cloud of suspended shards floating in the air.
“Well, well… it really did blow up!” His tone held a trace of admiration—and surprise.
“Who would’ve thought we’d actually pull it off?”
Klee puffed out her chest proudly. “It’s all thanks to Klee’s bombs!”
A child’s mood came and went like the wind.
She’d already forgotten all about the sadness brought on by the domain’s visions—now she was beaming, eager to show off her achievements to Kaeya.
“All that floaty ice? Klee blew it up! And Klee found a hidden domain too! And Klee beat up a huge hilichurl!”
She stretched her arms wide, trying to show him just how huge that hilichurl had been.
Kaeya ruffled her hair with a chuckle. “Klee is amazing! Truly worthy of being our Spark Knight.”
“Heehee!”
“I’m going to take a look inside that domain. You go warm up by the fire, alright?”
He’d already seen the entrance—he was planning to check out what lay within.
“There’s a big hilichurl and an Abyss Mage in a bubble! And it’s super, super cold inside, so be careful, Big Brother Kaeya!” Klee warned him earnestly.
She didn’t want to go back in there. Those visions… made her heart ache.
“I will. Thanks for the heads-up, Little Klee.” Kaeya kept his usual easy smile, calm as ever.
As captain of the cavalry in the Knights of Favonius, he was far from ordinary.
“They’re Cryo-affiliated enemies—you might find them a bit annoying,” Albedo added.
Kaeya waved him off casually. “Just means I’ll need a little extra time.”
Seeing him so nonchalant, Albedo nodded and said no more.
“Big Brother Albedo, Klee’s sleepy…” Klee yawned with a little whimper.
“Go nap at the camp. I’ve still got some experiments to run.” Albedo took her hand and walked her back.
He planned to retrieve a fragment of the Skyfrost Nail and study its properties.
The Nail still held many secrets.
And he intended to uncover them all.
—
Jiang Bai and Hu Tao landed on a mountain ridge not far from Dragonspine. Once out of the cold zone, Jiang Bai immediately shed his heavy coat.
The sun was bright and blazing outside. Wearing that many layers under its rays? Asking for heatstroke.
“Ugh… freezing in one place, sweating to death in another,” he muttered, pulling off his face cover with a groan.
The contrast between climates—so close in distance—was jarring.
Teyvat’s ley lines really are something else…
“And that’s just the weather,” Hu Tao chimed in. “There are parts of Liyue where even the light changes when you enter. That gloomy atmosphere? Once is more than enough.”
“Oh?” Jiang Bai’s curiosity was piqued.
“There are places like that in Liyue? Where?”
“Cuijue Slope.”
“We passed through there once, didn’t we? I didn’t notice anything weird.”
“We only passed a tiny corner of it. Cuijue Slope is huge…”
—
This is a fan translation of 胡桃拿我冲业绩 by 余溯. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!
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