With the introduction by the Conqueror of Demons, Cloud Retainer was not as harsh as she was in the original work, and her tone quickly softened.
Especially after hearing Xiao mention that Orion was the person the Lord mysteriously transmitted a message about that day, saying there was no need for caution, Cloud Retainer grew even more curious about Orion. Where had that boy come from? How was it possible that the Lord had been watching him the moment he arrived, and that he possessed such terrifying elemental power? Besides, his face seemed familiar... as if he had seen that face before—or, to be exact, one very similar to it?
Unlike ordinary people, Cloud Retainer, having lived for thousands of years, could sense the Anemo Element power and Geo element power on Orion.
To be able to wield two elemental powers without a Vision—this child is truly terrifying.
She then heard that Orion wanted to seek the Method of Transformation, and she suggested looking at the original object first.
On the small tea table in the middle of the lake, Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's pure white jade body (a tree branch) lay stretched out. Every inch of her skin was crystal clear, like the finest suet jade (a tree branch). Her figure was slender and straight (a tree branch), seeming as if it would never yield to any external force (an especially hard tree branch).
"An Immortal Treasure, truly an Immortal Treasure! Little friend, where did you acquire such a Heavenly Material Earthly Treasure?" Cloud Retainer's sharp beak and beady eyes were pressed close to Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's jade body (a tree branch), her exclamations of amazement ringing out ceaselessly.
From Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's perspective, a giant bird face, like a wide-angle lens, was scrutinizing her up and down.
Cloud Retainer suddenly turned her head, and the wide-angle bird face abruptly pressed close to Orion's face: "Little friend, such a treasure should be fated to be mine. I will teach you the Method of Transformation; how about you take off a segment for me to use in artifact crafting?"
[Name: Greater Lord Rukkhadevata
Status: Trembling]
Orion pushed her bird face away: "I advise you not to think that way. This item is indestructible, and she is conscious; she is not an inanimate object."
"She has already developed sentience? Truly extraordinary." Cloud Retainer nodded, then whispered: "It just so happens that this Immortal has no one to chat with normally. Having a tree branch as a listener is not a bad idea."
"Will it take long?" Orion asked.
Cloud Retainer looked up and calculated: "If it were a sentient animal, it might take several years to learn, but reaching this level of quality, it would probably only take three to five days, ten days at most.
The problem is that this is a plant, not an animal, so learning will be much slower. It will probably take at least half a month?"
Orion calculated: Half a month—wasn't that exactly when the Rite of Descension began? Perfect!
"Then I shall trouble the Venerable Adeptus."
"It's no trouble. You all must be tired from your journey. How about we have dinner tonight right here in this Immortal's Cave Dwelling?" Cloud Retainer extended a dinner invitation.
Orion and Skirk didn't mind, but Xiao directly refused: "I still have to guard Wangshu Inn. I'm heading back first."
He then looked in Orion's direction: "If you ever need me for anything in the future, you can call my Dharma Name or my given name." Then, he vanished using Windwheel Double Stance.
Cloud Retainer looked in the direction Xiao had vanished and shook her head: "Still such a lonely person."
After speaking, her bird head turned towards Orion and Skirk: "Why don't the three of you dine with me? It's rare for the mountain to be lively today, and Qiqi is here too. I'll show you my [Automatic Cooking Divine Machine 1.0]!"
While cooking, Cloud Retainer told Orion and Skirk that she actually had an apprentice, but that apprentice refused to eat cooked food, preferring to only forage for herbs on the mountain, so as not to become attached to the mortal world.
This point was actually quite a headache for Cloud Retainer
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.
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"Why isn't there any here either?"
At the foot of the mountain, Shenhe, with her messy hair, pushed aside another patch of grass, but there were no plants left here either.
She had circled this area three times already and wondered who had foraged for herbs so thoroughly, leaving nothing behind for her.
Shenhe sighed, a rare occurrence: "I guess I'll go look somewhere higher up."
...That night, Qiqi, Skirk, and Orion stayed directly in Cloud Retainer's Immortal's Cave Dwelling. Cloud Retainer opened three guest rooms for them, then took Greater Lord Rukkhadevata and left.
She said she was going to research overnight.
What an Elderly Single Women Exchange Meeting.
Orion walked into Skirk's room, touched the hard plank bed, and asked, "Are you going to sleep here?"
"It's the same no matter where I sleep," Skirk replied expressionlessly.
Orion nodded, indicating that he wasn't used to such a hard bed. That fellow Cloud Retainer usually maintained her giant bird form and had clearly never slept on a super soft mattress imported from Fontaine, but he had a group of good girls waiting for him back home who were clamoring for attention.
Thus, Orion returned to the Strange Domain with a thought.
He turned around and saw Skirk, who had also appeared beside him.
Question marks popped up on Orion's forehead.
"Wait, how did you get in too?"
Skirk squinted at him: "Didn't I say it's the same no matter where I sleep?"
Orion: "..."
"So I chose a place that was more comfortable to sleep in. Is there a problem?"
"No problem at all. You're absolutely right, Sis."
Receiving approval, Skirk nodded, tossed her hair, and walked into the Main House. Orion followed her in.
As soon as he entered the house, he saw Lumine completely sprawled out on the sofa in the luxurious living room, while Noelle stood to the side brewing tea.
And on the single armchair next to them was an unexpected person.
"Jean? Why are you here?" Orion was surprised. Jean rarely showed up in the main hall at other times, except when she suddenly appeared at night to find him.
The other girls from Mondstadt were the same; they seemed to tacitly choose to only appear in their own rooms, seemingly avoiding meeting others, and hadn't even come out to greet Lumine and the others.
But today, Jean was acting contrary to her usual behavior, coming straight into the living room.
Skirk nodded toward Jean in acknowledgment and sat down on the side. Noelle quickly rushed over to brew her a cup of tea.
Orion looked at Lumine, who had only taken off her boots and looked half-dead on the sofa, and asked, "What have you been busy with these past few days? Why have you exhausted yourself like this?"
Lumine, still burying her face in the cushion, raised a hand and mumbled listlessly, "I took on a big job that will take several days. I've been running all over Liyue recently."
Orion rubbed his chin in confusion. In the Liyue storyline, there were no complex and lengthy World Quests like the Aranyaka or the Narcissus Crux Institute. If he had to name a quest that involved a lot of running around, it would be the main storyline's Rite of Descension, right? But Zhongli wasn't dead yet?
"What kind of quest is so troublesome?"
"Helping prepare for the Rite of Descension."
"..."
Only you could find something to do even here! Truly a Born Workhorse Holy Body!
But the problem was that the main storyline hadn't even started, yet Lumine had already participated in the planning of the Rite of Descension. This meant she had already shown her face to the celestial powers. What reason would they have to arrest her after the Lord's assassination?
Orion thought for a moment, and suddenly a Khvarena flashed in his mind.
Right, Childe Tartaglia! How could that active boy not show up at a time like this to make connections? If Lumine was already involved in various Liyue events, Childe would definitely appear to boost his presence, right? So Orion leaned down and asked, "Have you met a Snezhnayan named Ajax, or Childe, or Tartaglia?"
Lumine tilted her head and revealed her face: "Huh? No, I've never met anyone like that."
Orion and Skirk exchanged glances, both looking confused.
There was no doubt that Childe was in Liyue right now, but why wasn't he showing up?
"Ah!" Lumine seemed to recall something: "But Paimon and I met Dainsleif today. He seems to be looking for someone, running to the Northland Bank every day."
Orion:...For a moment, the provocative words he had said when he encountered Dainsleif back in Chapter 73 floated into Orion's mind.
[At the Northland Bank in Liyue, there is a Fatui Harbinger named Childe, who is said to be the grand-disciple of Surtalogi, and this boy's temperament is supposedly very similar to Surtalogi's when he was young.]
Orion scratched his cheek.
Surely... that couldn't be it?
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