"If it really respawns… then that means this place is going to have a standing threat again, right?" Lumine frowned. "We have to tell Acting Grand Master Jean when we get back."
While she was talking, Kairo was already looking down at the biosignal scanner in his hand with interest.
Not far away, there was still a bright pulse — not as bright as the Cryo Regisvine just now, but only a little weaker.
Since the Regisvine's body had already sunk back into the leyline, he walked over.
"Eh? Kairo, what are you doing?" Paimon floated after him, confused. "The big ice tree already disappeared!"
By the time she finished, Kairo had crouched down and picked up two things.
One was a strange, ice-blue crystal.
It looked like a star carved from solid frost — the edges jagged like frozen blades, and in the middle sat a clear, glassy core that kept circulating a dim, mysterious glow. Just touching it sent a biting cold along his fingertips; the thing was packed with Cryo.
The other was an oval ice-blue gem. Its surface was smooth enough to be a mirror, giving off a soft, cold sheen, and inside it flowed a slow, glacial power that actually lowered the air temperature around it.
"Waaah, what's that?!" Paimon yelped, eyes sparkling.
Lumine stepped closer and her gaze sharpened. "That Cryo is really dense… stronger than normal Cryo cores. Is this what's left from the Regisvine?"
Klee tilted her head. "So even though the big ice tree went away, the good parts still stayed?"
"Mhm," Kairo nodded. "This is the essence. Even without the body, this alone is worth it. Honestly? This is more valuable than the Whopperflower."
He weighed them in his hand. He couldn't really use them himself, but selling them? Either Mondstadt's chief alchemist or Liyue's merchants would throw money at him for this kind of rare, pure Cryo material.
"Ohhh, so we made money again!" Paimon instantly got it.
Right then, Lumine's gaze drifted deeper into the valley. Her eyes lit up and she pointed. "Look! There are a ton of Mist Flowers over there — and some weird cold plants!"
Paimon also saw it. "Yeah yeah! All of them are soaking in Cryo! They've gotta be rare materials — let's dig them all up!"
At the end of the frozen cleft, because the Cryo element was still heavy, clusters of blue-white plants were growing like a cold garden.
Mist Flowers bloomed quietly, petals like carved ice, glowing faintly when the wind brushed past. Beside them were odd shapes — transparent leaves like frozen glass, pale-blue fruits that puffed out cold whenever you touched them. All of it screamed: expensive.
"Then let's work," Kairo smiled. "Anything that can survive in Cryo this thick won't be ordinary. Take it back and we can sell it, or give it to the alchemy workshop — they can make a lot of good stuff."
Everyone moved.
Kairo and Lumine dug up the denser herb clusters and Cryo vines.
Fischl fired her enhanced arrows to shoot down the icy fruits growing high up.
Klee happily popped small bombs on the frozen soil and blew open permafrost, scooping out the Cryo ore hidden underneath.
Even Barbara — who usually only ever collected medicinal herbs around Mondstadt — couldn't resist. She carefully picked Cryo-infused herbs with a mix of nerves and excitement on her face.
Clink — clink — thump.
Tools hitting frozen ground, plants being pried free, light ice cracking… the sounds echoed in the cold valley.
Before long, one big sack was full. Then another.
"Eheheh, it's full!" Paimon slapped a bag that was swollen like a boar's belly. "We're gonna be rich again!"
Kairo glanced at the sky.
The sun was already sliding down. The red-gold dusk spilled over the ice-blue valley and, for a moment, cold and warm colors twined together — beautiful enough for a painting.
"Alright, let's head back." Kairo patted the dust off his hands and hefted a bulging sack onto his shoulder. "Today's haul is good. We'll sort it back in Mondstadt."
Everyone nodded and, carrying the spoils, started the trek home.
By the time they reached Mondstadt's gate, it was evening.
A whole row of Westwind Knights were on duty. They were checking merchants, villagers, and adventurers coming back — and then Kairo's team showed up carrying another mountain of stuffed bags.
"...They got a big score again," a young knight muttered, envy written all over his face. "Every time they go out, they come back like that. That's what real adventuring looks like…"
Another knight sighed. "We stand guard every day, wind, rain, sun… and still don't make as much as them. Should we just… quit?"
"Quit and join the Adventurers' Guild and follow Kairo?"
Before he could fantasize further, the older knight beside him bonked his helmet. "In your dreams. Joining the Guild is easy. Joining his party is not. Can you track resources like him? Can you solo high-tier monsters? Can you make friends with three different Vision-holders in half a month?"
"...No."
"Then stand straight."
Just then, a little cold wind slipped past them.
"Eh? It just got cold?"
They looked around.
Nothing.
Then they looked at Kairo's bags — and saw faint ice-blue light leaking from the seams.
"Wait… did they bring back Cryo materials this time?!" the young knight was stunned.
Kairo's group, meanwhile, had already reached the Adventurers' Guild.
It was rush hour — dusk. A lot of adventurers were around, some coming back, some picking commissions, some just gossiping.
So when Kairo walked in with Lumine, Fischl, Klee, and Barbara, and slammed a bag on Katheryne's counter and a wave of cold swept the lobby…
The whole place stared.
"Welcome back, Mr. Kairo, everyone," Katheryne came out with a professional smile. "Were today's commissions completed?"
"All done." Kairo tapped the biggest bag. "Besides the usual materials, there's also a batch of Cryo stuff."
When he opened it, a pile of blue-white herbs, crystals, ore, and frozen-fruit-like materials spilled out — as if he'd gone to Dragonspine for an afternoon.
"Hiiisss…"
A bunch of adventurers sucked in cold air.
"Cryo… materials… in this much…?"
"Where did they even go today?!"
"Look at the color — these aren't the random Mist Flowers near the walls. These look like deep-freeze plants. Did they find a hidden Cryo spot?!"
"They even brought Barbara out and came back in one piece… again… I hate this."
But no one stepped forward to bother them.
Kairo's party had already become "that group" in the Guild — the one you don't join, they maybe invite.
Katheryne quickly registered and priced everything. Because it was a rare batch, she even added the Guild's special purchase subsidy.
A fat stack of Mora landed in Kairo's hand.
Paimon stared at it like it was her own child. Even Klee giggled.
"Let's go celebrate at Good Hunter," Kairo said, splitting off everyone's share. "You all worked today."
"Yaaay!" Klee raised her hand.
Lumine laughed. "Then I'll order something I haven't tried yet!"
Fischl hooked a hand at her waist, chin high. "Hmph. A royal banquet to honor victorious return — very well. Let us take the road of glory."
So, under the warm Mondstadt evening, they went to eat, sent Barbara back to the Cathedral afterward, and each went home.
Then — days started repeating.
Next morning? Fischl waking Kairo up.
Morning training. Meet Lumine and Paimon at the Guild. Pick missions. Go out. Farm. Come back. Cash in.
Barbara couldn't always go, but every evening she came to the gate to wait for them to return — like a gentle little healer-wife waiting for her adventurer-husband. It made the other adventurers itch with envy.
This went on.
One day.
Two days.
Five days.
Ten days.
Half a month.
By then, even the Adventurers' Guild had gotten used to it. They literally reassigned two staffers just to "process Mr. Kairo's large-scale resource returns."
The Westwind Knights on gate duty? They no longer gasped. They just nodded like: Ah yes, the daily caravan of money is back.
On the fifteenth evening…
Whispering Woods glowed gold.
The sky was a soft sunset orange. The trees were gently rustling. The bags were, as usual, full.
"Whooo… finally…" Lumine exhaled.
Her steps were a little heavy from fatigue — but her eyes were dazzling.
Her clothes had dirt, grass stains, and a bit of tree sap. Her cheeks were pink from the wind and smeared with dust. But she was smiling like a kid who'd just robbed the whole market.
Her arms were full — a big bag in her hands, and even a few rare ore pieces hugged to her chest.
She really looked like an actual adventurer now, not just a traveler chasing gods.
"These fourteen days… were really fulfilling," she said softly, looking at the loot.
For once, she felt it.
That going out to make money with friends was… really fun.
"Hey hey, Lumine, you're not getting addicted to making Mora, are you?" Paimon hovered nearby, hands on hips. "If I didn't remind you, you would've forgotten today was day fifteen!"
"Eheh…"
Lumine scratched her cheek, a little sheepish. "Yeah… it went by faster than I thought."
She looked ahead, at Kairo walking in front of them.
Her gaze turned bright.
"But—"
She stopped.
Took a breath.
Then looked straight at him, serious and a little excited.
"Kairo," she said, voice clear in the evening forest, "my time as your assistant is over."
"Next…" the corners of her lips curled up, eyes shining like she could already see distant mountains over the sea of clouds, "I'm going to Liyue."
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