Accompanied by sharp electrical sounds and mechanical breaking noises, the two Ruin Guards that had just stood up came crashing down.
The wounds on the two Ruin Guards were quite different.
The one Jiang Ning dealt with died from a single spear thrust, with only a piercing mark near its single eye-like feature, while the other...
Its parts gradually turned to ash, returning to the ley lines, leaving behind only two core-like components.
"All done!" Jiang Ning cheerfully went to collect the materials.
[Ding! Taking advantage of others' weaknesses, striking while they're vulnerable - as a villain, why wait for the opponent to be ready for a duel? Defeating them while they're unstable, task completed. Reward: Enhanced Cryo element control.]
The system's voice was also quite pleased.
After heading into the wilderness, it was the perfect time to rack up achievement points.
As an academically poor student, he was always able to find loopholes in the system's programming, and the system kept issuing tasks.
Tasks like "destroying flora makes you evil" and "kicking every stray dog you pass makes you very bad" kept coming.
In just one afternoon, he had already completed a third of this month's achievement quota.
Jiang Ning was delighted, and the system was even happier.
"Senior Sister, we can head back now," Jiang Ning said.
Shenhe replied: "Why don't we walk around the wilderness a bit more?"
For some reason, after entering Liyue Harbor, Shenhe had been feeling somewhat irritated.
Especially when her junior disciple started getting to know more people, this feeling became particularly prominent.
Whether it was her junior disciple talking with Senior Ganyu, or that chef from Wanmin Restaurant, or even the Liyue Qixing's Keqing, it all felt... uncomfortable.
However, when her junior disciple spoke with Zhongli or those Millelith soldiers, she didn't have any strange feelings.
Shenhe didn't understand what was wrong with her, but she knew that when she was alone with her junior disciple, she was very happy, and when fighting alongside him in the wilderness, she felt filled with strength.
So, Shenhe wanted to spend more time alone with her junior disciple.
Jiang Ning said: "Oh, alright then, let's walk around the wilderness. I haven't been to this place before anyway."
"Mm..." Shenhe's lips curved up in a smile that Jiang Ning found stunning.
The two of them were quite happy, but the monsters in the wilderness weren't so fortunate.
The two of them spent the afternoon fighting side by side, dancing together in combat.
They managed to destroy a couple of hilichurl camps, leaving families scattered and homes destroyed.
Quite a few slimes also met their demise.
The Liyue wilderness monster extinction plan had begun!
They only returned to Liyue Harbor when it got dark.
After submitting their commission at the Adventurers' Guild, they finally returned home.
Ganyu wasn't home today, probably working overtime again.
Jiang Ning couldn't understand such overtime workaholics. Wasn't it better to do your work during working hours and then happily go home? Why the need for overtime?
Besides, was the Yuehai Pavilion really so short-staffed that they always made his senior sister work overtime?
Wouldn't the Geo Archon do something about this? Honestly, if he were the Geo Archon, he would definitely force his senior sister to take mandatory vacation.
And give the people at Yuehai Pavilion a good scolding while at it.
They couldn't let Senior Ganyu handle everything.
"Junior Brother, I want to go for a walk..." Shenhe said.
Jiang Ning was startled, then said: "I'll go with you..."
But Shenhe shook her head: "No need, I'll be back soon."
Shenhe felt she needed to figure out exactly what was making her uncomfortable, so she thought it better to think things through alone...
Jiang Ning was surprised - his senior sister actually wanted to be alone? Had something happened?
But no matter how much Jiang Ning thought about it, he couldn't think of anything wrong.
So he decided not to overthink it and wait to ask his senior sister when she returned.
Jiang Ning continued practicing his spear techniques and adeptal arts in the courtyard of Ganyu's mansion. Mr. Zhongli was right - in the path of martial arts, like rowing upstream, not advancing meant falling behind.
...
Shenhe walked through the streets of Liyue Harbor, with its myriad lights and bustling atmosphere.
But she constantly felt out of place.
It was as if in this vast Liyue Harbor, there was no place for her to belong.
This feeling made Shenhe very uncomfortable.
As she walked, she came to a street that seemed to mainly sell porcelain and similar items.
Although many pieces were exquisitely crafted and clearly of high quality, Shenhe had no interest in them whatsoever.
Shaking her head, just as she was thinking about heading back early to avoid worrying her junior brother, she made eye contact with a woman.
The woman wore traditional Liyue women's clothing, something between a qipao and a dress.
With elegant coloring, both her appearance and figure were of superior quality.
She stood at the entrance of an empty shop, and noticing Shenhe's appraising gaze, she smiled.
"Miss, with such a pretty face, wouldn't you like to come in and take a look? I guarantee you'll never forget it~"
The woman's voice was clear and crisp, with a slightly cloying drawl, her lips and teeth moving in a way that seemed to stir one's heartstrings.
Her eyes carried a hint of seductive charm.
But obviously, Shenhe wasn't someone who understood such nuances. She just asked confusedly: "What kind of place is this?"
The woman said: "This place? This is the 'Spring Fragrance Kiln,' with the finest goods around. Compared to what's inside, I'm just a common flower."
"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Ying'er, an employee of Spring Fragrance Kiln."
"..." Shenhe still looked confused, clearly not understanding what Ying'er meant.
Faced with Shenhe's pure eyes that held a hint of modern college student-like innocence and confusion, Ying'er actually felt somewhat embarrassed.
She felt it wasn't right to speak this way to such a pure young woman.
So Ying'er said: "Um, we're just a private kiln that fires ceramics at high temperatures. But don't worry, customer, Liyue officials permit private kilns like ours to operate."
Shenhe shook her head: "I don't understand these things... and I don't want to buy anything."
True to Liyue's reputation as a gathering place for merchants, and following the principle that friendliness remains even when business fails, Ying'er continued chatting familiarly:
"You're a new face, aren't you? Just arrived in Liyue?"
"Mm..." Shenhe nodded slightly, not wanting to interact too much with strangers, and prepared to leave.
Ying'er narrowed her eyes, looking at Shenhe as if sensing something:
"Customer, you seem to have something troubling you. Why not discuss it with someone? It might help ease your mind, and perhaps we could find a solution?"
Hearing this, Shenhe stopped in her tracks.