Genshin Impact: Watch me turn the tables and kill my servants at the start!

Fanes learned the lesson of entrusting professional matters to professionals in his previous life.

Phanes left Sandonne's blueprints, Shinonin's assembly ideas, and the tin box full of Mora's small treasury in his workshop at the Winter Palace. Before leaving, he simply said, "I've drawn the direction, I've paid the money, the rest is up to you," and then walked away nonchalantly.

Sandone snorted behind him, indicating that "I know what to do even if you don't tell me." Xinoning had already spread out his toolbox on the table and started studying the details of the roll of blueprints. Without even looking up, he waved to the door as a farewell.

Fanes felt he had finally done something serious. For the next few days, he completely entered a state of "waiting for news," spending his days wandering around the Winter Palace and occasionally squatting in the square to watch the little black dog sweeping snow with its tail.

After two days, he got bored and then remembered that there was a colleague he hadn't seen in a long time in the Winter Palace.

The girl's room was still the same as when Fanes first came; the curtains were half-drawn, and warm yellow light shone down from the crystal chandelier on the ceiling.

Columbia was curled up on the sofa, her long, light-colored hair spread out on the cushions, her face still covered by the mesh veil. When she heard the door open, she only turned her head slightly, her voice soft and lazy, with that perpetually sleepy tone: "Little Twelve? Why didn't you tell me you were coming back this time?"

Fanes walked over and sat down on the small stool opposite her: "I was busy arranging projects the past two days, but I had some free time today, so I came to visit you. Sister Rosalin isn't here in Zhidong, and you're the only person I know who hasn't gone out of town."

After thinking for a moment, Denis added, "By the way, shall we go for a walk? We've been cooped up in the Winter Palace for days, I want to go out for a stroll."

Columbia sat up straight on the sofa, stretched, and asked slowly, "Where to?"

Fanes thought for a moment: "Snowfields. Aren't there many snowfields in winter? Anyway, it's not difficult to ride Little Black out for a spin. Let's find something interesting to look at."

Columbia tilted her head: "Sure. I haven't been to the snowfields for years."

So that afternoon, Phanes rode on his little black horse, with Columbia riding behind him, and flew all the way to the northern snowfields outside Winterfell.

Xiao Hei's wings spread out like two huge black curtains in the cold wind, blocking the biting north wind from the airflow, while the small area on its back was much warmer.

Columbia sat behind Fanes, her light-colored long hair blowing back in the wind, her mesh veil trembling slightly in the cold air, but she seemed to be enjoying the feeling, one hand gently resting on Fanes' shoulder for balance.

The snowfield was even larger than Fanes had imagined. The endless white stretched to the horizon, with only one or two old trees, their branches bent under the weight of the snow, occasionally peeking out from the snow, like a few drops of ink accidentally spilled onto a vast white sheet of paper.

Little Black flew for about half an hour, and all he could see were similar sights. Fanes lay on the dragon's back, looking down at the vast snowfield, feeling as if the reflections were blinding him.

"Sister Columbia, what fun things are there usually on the snowfield? We've been flying for so long and haven't even seen a rabbit."

Columbia's voice drifted from behind, with its leisurely tone: "There aren't many fun things to do on the snowfield. Occasionally you might stumble upon ancient ruins or frozen monster lairs, and if you're lucky, you might even encounter fairies."

Fanes' ears twitched: "Fairies? You mean those little orbs of light that float around?"

"Hmm. The fairies here in Zhidong are a bit different from those elsewhere; some like to bury treasure chests in the snowfields. If you can find a fairy burying a treasure chest, you can dig up good stuff by following it."

Fanes sat up a little straighter on the little black boy's back, squinting as he scanned the area below. The snowfield was a vast expanse of white, with nothing but fine snowflakes swirling in the wind.

I patted Xiao Hei's neck to signal it to lower its altitude. Xiao Hei obediently glided down for a while, and the airflow that swept across the ground blew a shallow groove in the snow.

Just as Fanes was about to give up, he suddenly saw a small, pale blue light moving behind a low snow hill ahead.

The point of light flickered and drifted, moving slowly, stopping every now and then to circle a spot a few times, as if checking the location of something. Fanes pointed in that direction: "Sister Columbia, look over there!"

Columbia glanced in the direction he was pointing—though her eyes were closed, what she sensed was probably clearer than what Fanes could see with his naked eye. A slight smile curved her lips: "Good luck. It really is a fairy burying a treasure chest."

At Fanes' command, Little Black landed on the snow, its massive claws sinking half a foot into the snow. Fanes slid off the dragon's back, walked across the ice to the vicinity of the fairy, and crouched down to observe it carefully for a while.

The fairy spirit was a small, pale blue ball of light with two slightly swaying wings on top. It was busy working beside a crevice in a snow-covered rock, and the faint light emanating from the edge of the ball of light cast a small, faint blue halo around the surrounding snow.

It circled a rock half-buried in the snow twice, seemingly confirming its location, before plunging headfirst into the snowdrift next to the rock.

Fanes walked over and squatted down next to the rock, brushing away the snow from the surface with his hands.

After digging for a few minutes, his fingers touched the edge of a hard object. After digging through the snow, he revealed a treasure chest that was mostly buried. The iron edges were rusted, but the chest itself was well preserved. A simple mark hung on the lock of the lid.

Fanes reached out and patted the loose dirt off the lid of the box, then glanced back at Columbia, who was still sitting on the dragon's back: "Sister Columbia, we really found one!"

Columbia remained seated on the dragon's back, her chin resting on Little Black's scales, her voice carrying a faint "see, I told you so" chuckle: "Open it and see what's inside."

Phanes pried open the lock on the treasure chest, the rusted metal making a creaking sound. Inside, a layer of dry moss provided moisture protection, and neatly arranged on top of it were several items—a few well-worn old Mora coins, a small piece of crystalline blue ore, and a neatly folded, yellowed parchment.

Fanes first picked up the blue ore and examined it against the light. Several fine light patterns flowed inside, making it look like some kind of elemental crystal.

Then, unfolding the parchment, one finds a simple hand-drawn map with a route winding through snow-covered mountains marked on it. At the end of the route is a small circle, and next to it is a line of writing that has faded considerably.

He examined the parchment twice, turning it over and over: "It looks like a treasure map."

Columbia slid off the little black boy's back and stepped barefoot on the snow, but the snow seemed to avoid her, melting slightly and then freezing back into ice.

Walking up to Fañes, he glanced down at the parchment, scanned it through the mesh screen, and gave a dismissive assessment: "It's probably a route map left from several hundred years ago. The destination is likely in the glacial region further north. It's not a good time to go now; let's wait until spring when it warms up."

Fanes carefully folded the map and put it in his pocket. He then put away the blue ore and a few old Mora, closed the treasure chest lid, and flattened the surrounding soil, restoring it to its original buried state.

The fairy circled around Fanes twice more as he put away the last item, its wings flapping faster than before, as if to confirm that someone had accepted the object it was protecting.

Then it gracefully rose into the sky, drifting into the gray-white clouds overhead, the point of light growing smaller and smaller until it finally merged completely into the horizon.

Fanes stood on the snowfield, looking up in the direction where the fairy had disappeared, his breath condensing into white mist that dispersed in front of him. Little Black, crouching behind him, yawned, while Columbia had already climbed back onto the dragon's back and sat down.

"Let's go back, it's getting dark. If the wind picks up again, it'll be hard for Little Black to fly."