The Embers of King's Teyvat Journey

"Hey! Old Finch, you're actually dating a young girl!"

I'm not trying to ride the coattails of the official hype; this draft was written before the PV even aired.

Sigh, I originally thought the boss of Fontainebleau was a puppet, but the official team messed it up and the outline has to be changed.

Chapter 47 The Strongest Pure Water Spirit

2023-08-28

It's no wonder that Yu Jin said that, because he saw a hunchbacked old man holding the hand of a young woman by the small pond in Qingquan Town, chatting and laughing.

The woman was none other than the spring spirit who had taken human form and the old Finch who had previously entrusted him with cleaning the pool.

"Who?" Old Finch immediately pulled his hand out of the spring sprite, looking guilty.

"Forehead……"

"Ember. What's your name now?" Ember saw the water sprite's hesitant expression and knew what she was wondering about.

“Yes, Lord Ember, thanks to you, my name is now Qingquan.” Qingquan said to Ember with a smile.

“Qingquan, who is this…” Old Finch was puzzled by Qingquan’s respectful attitude towards Yu Jin. In his mind, Yu Jin was just a somewhat greedy but capable adventurer.

“Finch, this is Lord Ember. It is thanks to him that I am able to meet you.” Qingquan took the initiative to take old Finch’s hand and introduced Ember to him.

Old Finch was somewhat excited upon hearing this. Seeing that Old Finch was about to pounce, Ember quickly retreated, saying:

"Stop, stop! Just call me Ember. Qingquan is the way she is now because of her own actions. I was just helping her out a little."

Hearing Ember's reaction, old Finch stopped trying to hug him.

"What's going on between you two?" Yu Jin asked, looking at Qingquan holding Old Finch's hand with some curiosity.

Is it that Qingquan likes older men? Or is it really an old cow eating young grass?

Qingquan revealed an expression of "I knew it," and said, "Actually, Finch and I have known each other for a long time, but I wasn't able to reciprocate his feelings in my previous state, so, thanks to you, that's how it is."

As Qingquan spoke, he smiled and raised his and Old Finch's hands. However, Old Finch's face turned red; he wasn't as magnanimous as Qingquan.

"Congratulations, congratulations, may you have a son soon!" Yu Jin nodded, offering his blessings to this loving couple who had gone through so much hardship.

But he quickly changed the subject and asked the spring, "Do you know where there are other spring spirits like you?"

Qingquan breathed a sigh of relief, recovering from her embarrassment. Thankfully, Yu Jin changed the subject; otherwise, she wouldn't have known how to respond.

Qingquan lowered his head and pondered for a while, then said to Yu Jin with deep regret:

"I'm sorry, Lord Ember. Since the fall of the former Water God, many pure water spirits have gone their separate ways because they were dissatisfied with the current Water God's arrangements. We have been separated for hundreds of years."

But Qingquan quickly added, "However, I do know the location of a pure water spirit. Lotia, the strongest pure water spirit."

When Yu Jin heard the word "strongest," his eyes almost lit up. The strongest? He could probably make at least three wishes.

"Where is she?" Ember asked anxiously, already seeing titles like Fishing Master Ember and World Chef Ember beckoning to him.

"At Qingce Manor," Qingquan replied. Seeing how eager Yu Jin was to see the other pure water spirits, she couldn't help but ask curiously, "Does Lord Yu Jin want to save everyone?"

"Hmm..." Yu Jin scratched the back of his head, then said somewhat guiltily, "Yes, yes, I definitely have to help such good beings as you."

Hehe, it's okay to take a little reward, right? Ember felt his reason for making a wish was even more valid.

"Then I thank Lord Yu Jin on behalf of everyone." Qingquan bowed deeply to Yu Jin.

She knew all too well the hardships faced by the water sprites. Aside from those who had submitted to the current water god, the other water sprites were definitely not in a good position.

Even Lotia from Qingce Village lives in constant fear; she is the most powerful of the pure water elves. If she is like this, one can only imagine the plight of the other pure water elves.

"Just doing it on the spur of the moment, I won't disturb you two's life anymore. Bye-bye!" Yu Jin chuckled and disappeared.

Beside the small pond in Qingquan Town, only the somewhat shy Old Finch and Qingquan stood there blankly.

The quest that Ember accepted wasn't too difficult. After completing it in a while, he ran back to Mondstadt.

"Miss Catherine, I'm back again." Ember ran to the counter with the completed commission form in hand.

"Towards the stars and the abyss!" Catherine said to Ember with a smile, then exclaimed, "Mr. Ember, you complete your commissions so quickly!"

"It's nothing, just some small requests." After watching Catherine confirm the completion status of the requests, Ember continued to ask:

"Miss Catherine, are there any requests near Liyue?"

"Oh? Mr. Ember is planning another long trip?" Catherine said with a smile as she searched for commissions.

“It’s always good to go out and explore more,” Yu Jin said to Catherine with a smile.

"Oh, right, here's a caravan escort job. Do you want to take it?" Catherine quickly found a job.

Yu Jin took it and looked at it, and found that the destination of the escort mission was Qingce Manor. What a coincidence!

"Take it!" Yu Jin waved his hand and accepted the commission.

However, the commission seems to start in three days, so he'll have some free time for a while.

So what are you waiting for! Ember is a man determined to save up four million Mora!

And so, to Catherine's astonishment, Ember took on a brand new commission.

This time, it seems the client is a child who wants him to go to the snowy mountains to find someone.

However, it seems that because the snowy mountains of Mondstadt are too dangerous, and this request is located deep in the heart of the mountains, it has been piling up and no one has accepted it.

But Ember wasn't afraid of danger. He'd never been to the snowy mountains of Mondstadt, so it wouldn't hurt to take a look while he was there.

After preparing everything, Ember left Mondstadt and headed towards the towering, cloud-piercing mountain range on the horizon.

Dragonspine is located in the southernmost part of Mondstadt. Unlike the surrounding terrain, this massive mountain is perpetually covered in snow, standing out starkly from the lush greenery of the surrounding landscape.

Even though Longji Snow Mountain is incredibly tall, logically speaking, it shouldn't be a snow mountain, but nobody cares.

Because the Dragon Ridge has looked like this since the earliest recorded history of Mondstadt, the people of Mondstadt have become accustomed to it over time.

But Ember wasn't a Mondstadt native. He looked out at the snow-capped mountains in the distance from his camp at the foot of Dragonspine and felt something was very unusual.

Stepping out of the camp, it was cold; stepping back in, it was warm. This cycle repeated itself, and Ember fell into deep thought.

“You have a problem,” Yu Jin said, pointing to the distant snow-capped mountains, before running into the camp.

The client's name was Joel, and Ember spotted him immediately from the small snow mountain camp—he was the only child in the camp.

"You're Joel, right?" Ember patted Joel's head and said, "I've accepted your request. Tell me what's going on!"

"What kind of request?" Joel found the guy in front of him very strange. Not only was he dressed oddly, but he also came up to him directly and talked about a request. He was still a child and couldn't make a request.

"Oh? Really? Let me see." Yu Jin pretended to open the commission form, then said with a smile, "Looks like I made a mistake. What are you doing down at the foot of the snow mountain? It's very dangerous, you know?"

An unknown kind-hearted person? How interesting.

“I’m here to wait for my dad. Are you going to the snow mountain?” Joel looked at Ember with a hint of anticipation in his eyes.

"Hmph, of course! It wouldn't be right for an adventurer to come all this way and not venture into the snowy mountains at least once!" Ember looked at Joel's slightly swollen eye bags and then said, "Should I go into the snowy mountains to look for your father?"

"Really!" Joel was pleasantly surprised. His father had been in the snow mountain for a long time, and he had said he would take him to see the snow, but he hadn't come back yet.

"Do you know how your father climbed the snow-capped mountain?" Yu Jin looked at the huge snow-capped mountain in the distance. If he didn't know, then he would be in trouble.

“I know. I heard Uncle Westwind Knight say that Dad said he wanted to go up the snow-covered road first, then go to the western slope of the snow mountain, and then he wanted to see the top of the mountain.”

"Is that so?" Yu Jin memorized these things and then looked at the distant snow-capped mountains.

Longji Snow Mountain, here I come!

Chapter 48 Dragon Ridge Snow Mountain

2023-08-28

Dragonspine Mountains, one of the dead zones of Mondstadt. The perpetual snow and harsh climate mean that only monsters and a few daring adventurers inhabit this place.

However, it is precisely because of the existence of these adventurers that there is a relatively safe road in the Dragonspine Mountains—the Snow-Covered Road.

By following this path pioneered by our predecessors, those who come after can avoid many unnecessary troubles and thus enter the snow-capped mountains in a better state.

However, safety is relative; even on the snow-covered road, quite a few adventurers have died.

"Why is it so cold here!" Yu Jin shivered, and the ice crystals on his body shattered, turning into part of the vast snow.

By this time, Ember had been walking along the snow-covered path for quite some time. He was now surrounded by steep rock walls, and he was passing through the small gaps between these walls.

As far as the eye could see, all that could be seen were snow-covered rocks. But life is always tenacious; even with such harsh conditions in the Dragonspine Mountains, Ember could still see Hilichurls moving about in the distance.

He casually plucked a sprig of mint from the ground and chewed it. Looking at the Hilichurls still howling in the wind and snow in the distance, Ember thought their vitality might be stronger than the mint in his mouth.

Continuing forward, Yu Jin soon came to a fork in the road. He looked at it; one path led to a cave, and the other to an open area.

He glanced at the map, then turned and walked to the left. Even disregarding the quest, the enormous, red-glowing tree in the distance to the left was more appealing to Ember.

"Big tree, big tree, why are you so big~" Ember ran to the giant honeysuckle tree and sang a song he had learned from who-knows-where.

Why sing? Because Yu Jin was very happy. He saw such a big tree struggling to grow in such a difficult environment, and he felt that its spirit was very precious.

Moreover, judging from the condition of the white tree's surroundings, it must have suffered a devastating blow before. But it persevered and sprouted new buds from beneath the original ruins.

Ember stroked the honeysuckle tree, and beneath its pale bark, a faint, eerie red light emanated.

"Is it blood?" Ember squatted on the ground, poked at the exposed red crystals under the honeysuckle tree, and smelled it with his finger.

It seems so, and the blood appears to be synthetic, artificial life?

Yu Jin scratched his head, surprised that there were so many capable people in this world. But creating life had always been synonymous with trouble and danger. He wondered what it would be like in this world.

Although he himself often creates life.

"Bye-bye, big tree!" Ember said to the honeysuckle tree before running deeper into the snow-capped mountains.

He could sense that the tree was sentient, but unfortunately it had no intention of greeting him, so Ember decided not to linger.

Anyway, the tree doesn't have legs, so he can bother it when he's done with his commission.

Passing through the honeysuckle tree, the embers continued along the road toward the heights of the snow-capped mountains.

It was another fork in the road, but this time he truly didn't know which way to go. Yu Jin looked around; one path led to a mountain trail, while the other led to higher up in the snow-capped mountains.

Which way should I go? Ember fell into deep thought. Of course, I want them all!

At the crossroads, Ember's body began to split open from the middle, and grotesque fleshy buds sprouted from the darkness. The tender pink buds wriggled and grew endlessly.