Genshin Impact: The Beginning of the Wind

She is indeed a capable and good person.

Nasita had no doubt about this, and now that Ying happened to be here, she could naturally entrust the task of exploring the Desolate Stone Desert to this powerful and trustworthy person!

With this in mind, Su Feng decisively took Naxida and the bottle beside him and rode the wind away from the location of Juer City, rushing towards Ying, who had already plunged into the desert.

Meanwhile, Ying, who had just finished dealing with the long forest book, couldn't help but twitch her lips as she looked at the increasingly terrifying sandstorm in front of her. Although she had only been in the desert for a short time, was it necessary to give her such a big lesson right away?

Although she knew that a mere sandstorm couldn't do anything to her, it was still very uncomfortable to be forced to soak in the sand all over her body!

She was soaked from being rained on in the rainforest and had to use wind to dry her clothes. Now she has to eat sand constantly in the desert, and after a sandstorm, she will definitely be covered in sand.

That feeling is probably not much better than being soaking wet.

Thinking about this, Ying's overall impression of Sumeru worsened considerably.

However, at that moment, a beam of light suddenly shot into the huge sandstorm from afar, and then, to Ying's astonishment, the sandstorm that had already formed and was raging was calmed down!

What power is this?

Could it be that the people in the desert have already mastered the power to quell sandstorms?

Ying was filled with questions upon seeing this, but she soon found out what was going on.

Chapter Fourteen: Paimon Stomping His Feet

"Ying, I never expected that we would meet again here."

How have you been lately?

Su Feng, who had just calmed the sandstorm with Lilupal, descended from the sky with Nasita and greeted Ying. However, upon seeing this familiar friend reappear, both Ying and Paimon showed expressions that were hard to describe.

Clearly, they were quite conflicted about Su Feng's appearance. It wasn't that they were annoyed with Su Feng, but rather that they were simply worried about the trouble that might come with him. They had already gone through enough trouble in the rainforest, so how could they encounter Su Feng again now that they were in the desert?

What will happen this time?

"Why do you all look at me like that? Have I done something to offend you?"

Although he didn't care much about other people's opinions and didn't sense any disgust from Ying or Paimon, Su Feng, who wasn't oblivious to people's expressions, naturally noticed the complicated feelings these two had for him.

When did he become a jinx?

Su Feng was bewildered, realizing that the two people in front of him were almost treating him like a jinx.

"Tell me, what do you need us to do this time?"

"But let's make this clear first, you need to settle the previous commission fee before assigning us any tasks! Otherwise, we won't do it!"

After exchanging a glance, Paimon, who was in charge of external communications, put one hand on his hip and extended his right hand in a demanding gesture, making it seem as if Su Feng was some kind of scumbag who owed a lot of money and was ready to run away at any time.

"When did I owe you any commission... Oh! It's about Lanaro, isn't it?"

"You've actually solved the problem for the Lanaros completely?"

At first, Su Feng didn't react, but he quickly guessed what kind of money Paimon wanted, and then he looked at the two in front of him with a face full of surprise.

Good heavens, how long has it been? They've already dealt with all the troubles that the Lanaro had accumulated for over five hundred years? The efficiency is simply terrifying!

Is this the power of travelers who travel to various countries?

He really is a very useful...tool!

"Of course! Who else do you think we are!"

Paimon, who rarely saw Su Feng show any surprise, crossed his arms, closed his eyes, and put on a proud expression. Ying, who was next to him, also put her hands on her hips, raised her chin slightly, and put on a "you're really amazing" posture.

However, their composure did not last long, because soon Paimon's stomach let out a 'earth-shattering' roar, and everyone was momentarily stunned.

"Wow!"

"You didn't hear anything! That wasn't my stomach making noise!"

Paimon was surprised by his stomach's uncooperative behavior and hurriedly covered it, trying to pretend nothing had happened. Unfortunately, there wasn't a single ordinary person present. Who could hide the rumbling stomach?

So when everyone's attention turned to him and he realized he couldn't hide anymore, Paimon decisively chose to go all out.

"So it's all your fault! If it weren't for you, would my stomach have been growling?!"

"Do you know what we ate when we were with Lanaro before?"

"I'm almost starving myself to eat boiled fruit!"

"I've made up my mind. Your commission fee has to be doubled, or else... or else I'm ignoring you!"

Furious, Paimon once again performed his signature Void Stomp and decisively began threatening Su Feng that he had to increase the commission fee in order to soothe her broken heart.

"Haha, okay, okay, I got it."

Seeing Paimon's performance, Su Feng couldn't help but laugh, and Nasita, whom he was holding, also covered her mouth and laughed softly. However, compared to Su Feng, who didn't hide his laughter at all, she at least knew not to be too obvious.

Of course, Ying also burst out laughing, and unsurprisingly, Paimon jumped up and down even more.

"Ying, why are you laughing too? Aren't we on the same side?"

Enraged, Paimon pounced on Ying and began to throw punches and kicks at her. Her adorable appearance made one want to grab her and give her a good rub.

"Alright, stop fussing. I'll settle some of the commission fee for you now. The rest will be settled when we get back to Sumeru City. Don't worry, the total commission fee will definitely satisfy you by then."

Upon seeing Paimon's appearance, Su Feng couldn't help but smile. He casually waved his hand at the ground, and under everyone's gaze, a golden light flew out directly from the scorching sand.

When Paimon saw this scene, she was startled by the sudden appearance of the golden light, but she quickly realized what was floating in front of them.

"This...this is...an elemental crystal? And the most perfect kind at that?"

Paimon stammered a little after seeing the solid topaz floating in front of him. As a concrete manifestation of Teyvat elemental power, the price of elemental crystals was obviously not low, and as the top-grade solid topaz, it was even more priceless.

Having witnessed the price of some solid topaz blocks before, Paimon's eyes were now fixed on Mora!

"Cough cough!"

"Are you sure this is part of our commission?"

Paimon, who had never received such a large sum of money before, went to great lengths to avoid losing face in front of so many people by clinging to the sturdy topaz.

"Of course it's for you, and this is my portion. Nasita will definitely thank you when we return to Sumeru City."

Paimon's appearance made Su Feng's smile even more obvious, but he didn't continue to tease the little guy. Instead, he gave a straightforward and affirmative answer. After all, Ying had helped solve the difficulties of the Lannaros, so it was not unreasonable to give a generous reward now.

Of course, if a portion of the commission fee isn't settled now, how can we ask Ying to continue contributing to the matter of the Desolate Desert?

So even if it's just to keep the donkey pulling the millstone, you have to give it something in return!

"Then I'm not welcome!"

Paimon didn't care about any of that. After confirming that the solid topaz in front of him was their reward, he didn't hesitate to hug it to his chest and showed a proud look to Ying.

"Well, here's the commission I asked for, so..."

"I know! I'll take you out for a big meal if we have the chance, but you've already spent almost 400,000 Mora this month~"

How could Ying not know what Paimon was really thinking?

But what can Ying do when faced with this little guy? Of course, she can only helplessly agree!

Chapter Fifteen: Arrangements for Lirupal

After a little commotion, everyone finally started talking about serious matters. Everyone had treated the earlier antics as a way to relax, but once the conversation turned to business, everyone became serious.

Everyone knows when someone is being reckless.

"The Desolate Stone Desert was the main battlefield five hundred years ago. You can even find the ruins of Kanria below it. Although I hate to admit it, even now the Desolate Stone Desert is only barely maintaining its seal."

"Five hundred years ago, although the gods and Sky Isles ended the calamity, in reality they only temporarily pushed the abyss out of Teyvat and then sealed the breach to continue their lingering existence."

This may sound harsh, but it is the truth. After all, the numerous fissures throughout Teyvat and the various abyss problems that keep the gods busy speak volumes.

The Abyss now holds the advantage.

So, is there anything I can do to help?

Luminous seemed quite serious about this matter. Although she still didn't understand what exactly happened five hundred years ago, she clearly saw what kind of calamity the Abyss had brought to Teyvat.

If the abyss were to erupt again, then the entire Teyvat would probably be completely destroyed.

With this in mind, Ying was very serious at the moment. Although there was very little she could do right now, she would never stand idly by.

"We hope you can help us check if there are still any Abyss-side people active in the Desolate Stone Desert—not just the Abyss Order, but possibly other Abyss-side powerhouses."

"We hope that we won't be suddenly attacked by the power of the abyss while we are reinforcing the seal of the desolate desert."

Nasita was very serious when she said this.

The celestial phenomenon of burning truth appeared far too quickly. Logically speaking, a seal that gathers the power of three gods should not have problems so soon. It is precisely because of this that she suspects that someone is secretly and slowly destroying the seal.

If such a being truly exists, then intervening at a crucial moment to disrupt Su Feng and Naxida's efforts to reinforce the seal could cause a great deal of trouble.

"So you're planning to use the power of mortals to explore the desolate desert first? No wonder I was dragged here to work by Elhesen as soon as I returned to Sumeru City!"

Ying was a very intelligent person. After listening to Nasida's brief explanation of the situation, she guessed what Nasida was planning.

“That’s right, and I’m afraid only you can do this. After all… Elhesen can only send a limited number of people right now. Others can probably only act as atmosphere-building groups at most. I suppose Elhesen knew this, which is why he chose to bring you over, right?”

Su Feng affirmed Ying's idea and even guessed why Ying had appeared in the desert so quickly.

Clearly, she had just returned to Sumeru City after resolving matters with Lanaro when Elhesen sent her on a mission to the desert.

Although these words were quite harsh and even showed considerable contempt for the current Order of the Church, Nasita, still held in his arms, glared angrily at Su Feng.

Unfortunately, even so, Nasita had to admit that what Su Feng said made sense.

After all, Nasita was somewhat aware of the current state of the Church.

"Is there anything else I should be aware of?"

After confirming her mission, Ying was ready to set off immediately, since the matter sounded quite urgent.

As a kind person, she didn't want to see Teyvat experience another unimaginable catastrophe.

"Take Lilupal with you!"

Just then, Su Feng suddenly spoke up. He opened his palm again and released a powerful wave of light energy into Lilupal's silver bottle.

With the infusion of this light force, Lilupal, who had previously been a nobody during their conversation, suddenly became the focus of everyone's attention.

"she is......"