Genshin Impact's Sweet and Hard Free People

Ke Qing was slightly resistant, after all, when had Yu Hengxing ever been hugged like a little girl like this, but she knew that this situation was unavoidable.

Xin Hui hugged Ke Qing, but no longer wanted to escape with her, because the Frost Armored Chuqiu King was chasing them like a madman.

This is a characteristic of the Frost-Armored Hilichurl King, and also a characteristic of all monsters. Once you provoke them, they will fight you fearlessly.

Knowing that the Frost Armored Hilichurl King wouldn't let him go, Xin Hui simply put Ke Qing down and took the ice-blue longsword, while also taking Ke Qing's Dragon's Roar from the Box.

He's going to...

Keqing was suddenly startled when she saw that Xinhui actually wanted to fight the Frost Armored Chuqiu King with two swords, and she suddenly felt scared.

Xinhui must not get into trouble!

That was all she could think about at the time.

How could someone without the Eye of God possibly defeat such a powerful monster?

But when she stood up shakily, wanting to help Xinhui, she saw a scene that she could not believe.

Xin Hui leaped forward and first threw the Dragon's Roar from the box with the sandalwood handle.

The Hilichurl King naturally disdained such a simple attack. With a swing of his thick arm, the blue ice crystals on his arm collided with the dragon's roar in the box, sending the latter flying.

Taking advantage of this moment, Xinhui lowered his body and slid towards Frostarmored Hilichurl King with extremely swift movements. Hilichurl King had already prepared to attack, but suddenly saw something being thrown from Xinhui's fist.

Then, in its slightly dazed eyes, it saw a white mist—what Xin Hui had scattered was actually snow!

King Qiuqiu even crossed his arms, thinking it was Xinhui's attack!

Just then, an icy blue sword blade suddenly emerged from the white snow mist, moving silently like a ghost.

Awooo!!!

A scream was heard from the Frost Armored Hilichurl King. Keqing looked back and saw that Xinhui was standing on the chest of the Hilichurl King, and the blue and white longsword was pierced into the latter's right eye.

After successfully landing the attack, Xinhui did not stop. He decisively drew his longsword, and the hot, black blood of the Hilichurl King that was on the sword spilled down, melting the snow upon contact with it.

After blurring Frost Armor Hilichurl King's vision with this attack, Xin Hui did not continue. Instead, he quickly sheathed his two swords and tucked them behind his back. He then nimbly ran back to Keqing, picked her up, and disappeared into the white expanse of land with her.

Behind them, came the angry and resentful roar of King Chuqiu.

……

"You don't have the Eye of God, why did you do such a dangerous thing?!" After the two escaped to a safe place, Ke Qing shouted at Xin Hui.

It's too dangerous. Even a light touch from the Hilichurl King would likely injure an ordinary person, let alone an enraged Frost Armor Hilichurl King.

“I promised your grandfather I would come into the mountains to find you, I can’t just leave empty-handed, can I?” Xinhui said with a self-deprecating smile.

"Furthermore, before Lord Yuheng possessed the Eye of God, wasn't he also doing some dangerous things as one of the Seven Stars?"

His statement was based on a conversation he had with Keyun a few days earlier when he was relaxing after work.

For example, Keqing, this little girl, is exceptionally strong-willed. Keqing knows very well that all her achievements are clearly the result of her own hard work, but in the eyes of others, they are attributed to the "Eye of God".

She had to believe that this purple crystal had stolen her pride, and was a provocation and insult from God.

But the Eye of God is indestructible; even if lost, it will return to its master. Ultimately, Keqing had no other choice and didn't want it to fall into the hands of thieves. Furthermore, being a pragmatist, Keqing gradually accepted the power of the Eye of God.

“Lord Yuheng.” A serious look suddenly appeared in Xinhui’s golden eyes.

"Just call me Keqing." Keqing paused for a moment when she heard Xinhui's soft call.

"Why did you cut off all contact with the outside world when you were carrying out such a dangerous operation in the snow-capped mountains?"

“That’s because…” Ke Qing’s expression showed more melancholy and frustration.

“The Thousand Rock Army cannot survive in this environment. They do not have the Eye of God, so they cannot see the chaotic elemental forces in the snow mountain, nor can they resist them.” As Ke Qing gave her answer, she glanced at Xin Hui.

"I can see it." This means that Xin Hui can see this place, where even the air is filled with elemental energy. It is probably impossible for several ley lines to erupt at the same time to reach this level.

Therefore, Keqing chose to bear it all alone, and even came to such a deep place by herself. Xinhui didn't understand. Was it that the immortals of Liyue were too busy? Or was the responsibility on the Seven Stars' shoulders too heavy?

But then she thought, asking someone like Keqing for help would be something she'd rather die than agree. Humans have their own pride, and that pride is incredibly important to Keqing.

Xin Hui's claim that he could see elemental forces was indeed unbelievable to Keqing. However, recalling Ningguang's words about the honorary knight of Mondstadt who could manipulate elemental forces without a Vision, she felt somewhat relieved.

Now, the two of them only have two paths ahead of them.

Either Xinhui takes Keqing back the way they came, or the two of them continue exploring the source of the mysterious power. In any case, Xinhui can't let her stay alone any longer.

"Then you can see it too, right? The source of that mysterious power?"

They were now inside a cave. Keqing looked out from inside the cave at the long, towering nails in the distance and asked a question.

Xin Hui nodded. Yes, that might be the extraterrestrial object Zhong Li mentioned—the Frostfire Nail.

Ke Qing looked at him, wanting to know Xin Hui's next plan. But Xin Hui didn't answer her; instead, he wanted to treat Ke Qing's wounds first.

Seeing the girl biting her red lips in pain but remaining silent as he used peppermint to soothe her wound, Xin Hui was stunned for a moment, and then instantly understood.

Ke Qing has her own principles.

"Let's go take a look together, that way we can look out for each other."

Before long, Xinhui gave an answer that exceeded Keqing's expectations.

Chapter Eleven: The Resurrection of the Dragon

Ke Qing has her principles, so what about me? Do I also have my principles?

Xin Hui shivered from the cold wind, and then, that dazed feeling returned.

The feeling was the same as when he entered the snow-capped mountains last time, except this time, his head wasn't dizzy.

Keqing clasped her small hands together, and warmth emanated from her palms. Keqing was continuously channeling elemental energy into his body to maintain his body temperature.

Although she was a little shy at first, Keqing still had a good impression of Xinhui, after all, he had the courage to come to the snow mountain to find her.

They climbed along the mountainside. The snow here could only be described as a blizzard; each snowflake felt like a knife cutting through the flesh. The immense snow and wind meant that even monsters could not survive on this mountainside.

In the distance, amidst the clouds, lies the summit of Dragon Ridge Snow Mountain, where a massive, broken ice pillar floats in the sky, emitting a bluish-green glow. Clouds swirl around it, and the ice pillar seems to be drawing upon the elemental forces of heaven and earth, making it appear utterly eerie.

"Did you come here just to find me?" Ke Qing asked somewhat inappropriately.

“Not entirely.” Xin Hui thought for a moment, “but mainly it was to find you, after all, it has worried me and Elder Yun for so long.”

"Is that so..." For some reason, when Xinhui said that he came here to find her, she suddenly felt a warmth in her heart.

The two slowly made their way up the mountain. Fortunately, the mountain wall was not too steep, but because Keqing had an injury to her leg, Xinhui was basically in front of her.

Just as they approached the summit, the Frost Nail at the top suddenly changed.

The Frost Nail suddenly emitted a bright light. After it flashed several times, several fragments from the snow mountain flew into the air and gathered towards the Frost Nail.

Those are fragments of the Frostfire Nail!

After being studied by Canria, the Frost Spike, which was already split into three pieces, was damaged again and split into even smaller fragments. Therefore, the Frost Spike that people see now is broken into pieces.

But now all those fragments are heading towards the spike. Has this caused some kind of change?

Xinhui and Keqing exchanged a glance, then quickened their pace.

……

A young girl stood there in the cold, domed sky.

Her hair was short and blonde, and her eyes were also blonde. Two five-petaled white flowers adorned her hair slightly higher up, and feathers decorated near her ears. She wore exotic blue and white clothing, paired with white and gold wooden-soled boots, and her skirt and other parts were decorated with many gold diamond-shaped ornaments. Two ribbons flowed in the wind from her back.

Beside her floated a cute, elfin-like creature, seemingly female, dressed in a loose white dress with pink sleeves. On her head was a headdress that appeared to be either a crown or an angelic halo, and her flowing white hair was adorned with black diamond-shaped hair ornaments.

Her calves looked chubby, and her cheeks were even more delicate, perfectly matching her petite figure.

If Abedo were here, he would surely recognize them: Luminous, the honorary knight of Mondstadt, and her guide, Paimon.

"Wow! What's going to happen? I'm so curious!" Paimon clapped her little hands excitedly, her soft voice ringing out.

"Hmm." Ying nodded slightly, her pale golden eyes observing the changes in the Frostfire Nail.

The Frost Nail is undergoing reconstruction; the broken lines are being repaired little by little, and at the same time, its power can be felt to be growing stronger.

When all the fragments were pieced together, Ying finally saw the full picture of the Frost Nail—a huge stone pillar inlaid with crystals!

It floated in the air, with what looked like a huge, deep pit below. When Ying stood below and saw it, she had an eerie feeling.

It felt just like divine punishment!

In particular, the surging force it generates has a profound impact on the surrounding environment.

Just then, the earth began to tremble, and a dark red light flashed from the mountainside, drawing attention.

When Ying turned her gaze there, her pupils contracted uncontrollably, filled with utter shock.

On the mountainside, a huge, bright red heart appeared!

That direction... is Sleeping Dragon Valley! That's the heart of the demon dragon Durin.

When Ying finally came to her senses, she stood there dumbfounded, her heart still miraculously beating as it hung in mid-air.

What is it doing?!

Ying was startled, her thin lips parted in surprise, and she swallowed hard, trying to calm herself down.

"Whoa, how terrifying! That heart is actually getting close to the Frost Spike?!" Paimon's exclamation came from beside him.

To be precise, the dragon's heart actually wanted to devour the Frostfire Nail!

"It wants to use the Frostfire Nail to reshape its body," Keqing's slightly authoritative voice rang out, explaining the purpose of the heart.

At this moment, Xinhui and his companion had already reached the mountaintop and witnessed the events that had transpired.

"I am Keqing, Yuheng of the Seven Stars of Liyue." Keqing walked over lightly and extended her fair right hand.

"I am Luminous, an honorary knight of the Knights of Favonius." Luminous quickly took over, although she was also curious as to why there was someone else here, she still knew the name of the Seven Stars of Liyue.

“I am Xinhui, a Liyue person.”

"Hello, I'm Paimon."

Xinhui greeted Paimon.

“Don’t worry about it, it’s just emergency food,” Ying said to Xin Hui, leaving him speechless.

Then Paimon stomped his little feet angrily and shouted things like, "Didn't I tell you, Paimon isn't for eating?"