I, the Rock King Emperor with 21 billion in power, have joined the chat group.

"But the good times didn't last long. Someone in the kingdom dreamed of a black dragon so huge it could blot out the sky, which everyone considered an ominous sign. In the same month, a stranger named Imroca broke into the kingdom."

"Then, for some unknown reason, the kingdom began to be covered in snow and wind, and a pillar in the sky broke into three pieces."

"Then it's the old-fashioned story of the hero rescuing the princess, but unfortunately, in this story, the princess is not truly saved. She dies, and the Snow Mountain Kingdom is completely covered by snow and turns into a vast snowfield."

"What a tragic ending."

As he spoke, Paimon's eyes welled up with tears: "How pitiful. Whenever I think about how the people in this kingdom are becoming more and more desperate because of the snow and wind, and can only die in the cold, I feel like crying."

Gui Zhong clapped his hands loudly in front of Xiao Pai Meng.

The young traveler standing nearby was also somewhat surprised; she never expected Paimon to be able to make such a logically sound analysis.

Although she felt that this analysis might be wrong.

“A good deduction.” Zhongli praised, then gave a slight reminder: “But the tombstone alone may not be enough to uncover the truth behind the destruction of the Snow Mountain Kingdom. We need more clues. I’m sorry, Paimon.”

“Yes! Mr. Zhongli is absolutely right.” Little Paimon nodded in deep agreement: “I think so too.”

"So where do you think we should look for this clue?" Zhongli asked softly.

The young traveler's eyes lit up, and she said directly, "The summit! The summit of the snow-capped mountain!"

“Yes, the summit of the snow-capped mountain has the clues we need. But…” Zhongli smiled and stopped him, “We’ve been out for several days now, and our food and water are almost gone. We’re also quite tired. I think it would be better if we went back to resupply and rest before heading to the summit.”

What do you think?

No one objected to the suggestion, and everyone packed their things and headed out of the snow-capped mountains together.

......

On the other side of the snow-capped mountain.

In a newly built Hilichurl camp, a raging storm made the bone tents sizzle.

The blond boy, whom everyone called a prince, sat in the center of the tent, absentmindedly warming himself by the fire.

Beside him was a peculiar woman dressed in a long robe that covered her entire body.

"Your Highness, we are making good progress."

The woman's voice sounded both cute like a young girl and magnetic like a mature woman, full of allure yet innocent.

"Hmm...that's good."

His Highness looked past the woman and onto the many Hilichurls and Abyss Mages outside the tent, and into the distant, almost invisible, swirling snow.

"What are you thinking about, Your Highness?"

As the witch spoke, her face, covered by a black hood, came close to the blond boy's eyes.

Are you still thinking about your sister?

"So what if it is? So what if it isn't?" the blond prince said coldly.

“I think this is only natural.” The witch put her hands behind her back and turned around with interest. If it weren’t for the black robe that covered her whole body, the scene would have been incredibly alluring.

"My only sister is still missing. It's perfectly normal for her brother to be worried."

The witch said calmly, "I recently overheard a newly joined witch at the witch gathering in Mondstadt discussing a traveler from another world."

"kindness???"

The blond prince suddenly raised his head.

"Ah~~! Your Highness, you also find it strange, don't you? Although we have several witches in Mondstadt's Witches' Guild who can travel between worlds, there are very few travelers from other worlds in the world of Teyvat."

"After all, our world is nothing more than a pathetic existence trapped in a vortex of time. Not many people like to live in this world, let alone travel in it."

"Oh, by the way, I also heard that she was a girl with short blonde hair."

“I understand.” The blond prince paused for a few seconds, then said softly, “I will try to find her after this matter is over.”

“No, I think it might not be necessary.” The witch’s voice was filled with a strange feeling, causing the blond prince to twitch his brow.

"Look." The witch turned around and took off her hood. Her fiery red curly hair burned like flames in the wind and snow, and a sly smile appeared on her delicate, girlish face.

"After all, the snow mountain is also part of Mondstadt. Perhaps Your Highness, you might just run into your sister in this snow mountain. Who knows?"

Chapter 18 The Encounter Between the Prince and the Princess (1)

The next day.

After resting for most of the day, the travelers and others returned to their normal state.

Little Paimon was even more eager to head to the snow mountain.

However, just before they were about to leave, a girl named Sugar found the inn where the travelers and the others were staying.

Sugar is the alchemist Abedo's apprentice, and he has come to deliver a message for Abedo.

Still in the snow-capped mountains, Abedo wanted to entrust the young traveler with some matters.

Since it was on their way, neither the traveling girl nor Paimon thought much of it and readily agreed.

As bodyguards, Zhong Li and the others naturally wouldn't disagree.

Before heading into the heart of the snow-capped mountains, the group took a slightly detour via a side road and first visited Abedo's laboratory.

Inside the familiar cave, the young man named Abedo greeted the approaching female traveler and her companions.

"Hello, travelers, and Mr. Zhongli, Ms. Fu Hua, and Ms. Gui Zhong."

"By the way, Paimon, how are you too?"

"Hmph! Of course, that's great. Tell me what you need." Little Paimon crossed his arms, looking quite smug. "We have a lot of other things to do. We've taken up a lot of time helping you this time, so we'll have to pay extra."

"Haha." Abedo shook his head slightly, and with a wave of his hand, a one-handed sword that looked very ominous floated from the laboratory table to his front.

The longsword looked very old, with a pure black blade and purple fluorescence that seemed to run in a series of patterns around it. At the same time, there was a gem on the hilt that emitted a dark purple glow.

Abedo showed the sword to Luminous and Paimon.

"This commission is about this sword."

"Some time ago, the Knights of Mondstadt wiped out a treasure-hunting group's camp outside the city and obtained a lot of stolen goods, including this sword."

"However, the stolen goods shown remained unclaimed for a long time, and no one knew where they came from, so they were just left in the warehouse. I saw this when I went to the warehouse to get something, so I took it out."

"Originally, I only intended to use it as a raw material for alchemy, but during the investigation, I discovered that this sword has a special ability."

"Traveler, you should know about the dragon [Durin], right?"

"Hmm..." The traveler nodded slightly.

Paimon chimed in, "Of course I know that. That was the enemy that Barbatos fought alongside the Stormterror back then. After it was defeated, it seems to have fallen into this snowy mountain."

“Yes.” Abedo confirmed Paimon’s statement: “This sword was forged using the blood or scales of the demonic dragon [Durin], and contains its corrosive poison, so it is called the Demon Sword.”

"This sword can gain power through killing, but this power is an extremely terrifying corrosive poison. For ordinary people, the only result of possessing it is death."

“But you, Traveler, are quite different. You possess the power to purify the corrosive poison that Dulin possesses, which means that only you can wield this sword.”

Abedo paused slightly at this point: "My request this time is to have you use this sword as much as possible, so that it can grow stronger."

"It feels a bit dangerous." Paimon squinted, staring at the longsword floating in front of him. "Can my Ying really use something this dangerous?"

"Of course, I'll offer a reward of no less than 300 Primogems for this mission. How about it? Traveler?" Abedo tempted him directly.

"Um....."

The traveler girl hesitated for a moment, then glanced back at Zhongli and the others.

Then he turned back and slowly nodded, reaching out to take the dark purple longsword that was floating in front of Abedo.

The moment she held it in her hand, the entire longsword began to emit a faint, dark purple glow.

Anyone who sees this would feel that something is amiss.

"Are you feeling unwell, Ying?" Paimon asked quickly.

“No.” The traveling girl shook her head, weighing the longsword in her hand, her face slightly blank: “I don’t feel anything… it’s just like an ordinary one-handed sword.”

"These are all glowing! Would an ordinary one-handed sword glow like this?" Little Paimon exclaimed in surprise.

“But at least the traveler didn’t feel anything else,” Abedo interjected.

“Yes, I think so too,” the traveling girl agreed.

"Am I the only one worried about the danger of this sword? This is a demonic sword that can become stronger through killing!!" Little Paimon roared.

“That’s not bad either.” Zhongli replied calmly: “From a purely rational point of view, a sword is just a sword. Only the person who uses the sword can turn it into a demonic sword.”

“That’s the only logical thing to do,” Fu Hua replied.

"Haha, little Paimon, don't worry about it." Gui Zhong smiled and hugged little Paimon. "Ying is a mature person. She knows what she should do."

“Okay, okay.” Paimon hung his head, looking dejected. “Everyone trusts Ying, making me feel like a nagging old woman.”

"Um..."

She was answered by the embrace of the traveler girl.

"Paimon, you're not an old lady...you are...one of a kind..."

"Hmm?" Paimon's eyes lit up immediately.

“A unique…emergency food.” Ying’s eyes shone with joy.

"Huh? Why are you bringing up this joke again? Can't you get over it?"

.....

They left Aberdo's laboratory amidst laughter and chatter.

The traveler girl led the group and began their ascent towards the highest point of Mount Mondstadt.

This time, they encountered problems before they even reached the halfway point.

Looking at the massive wind field blocking their path—a wondrous formation that covered the entire summit of the snow-capped mountain—the traveler frowned.

"Looks like we can't make it to the top." Little Paimon had shaken off his earlier discouragement and was shading his eyes with his hand as he looked up at the mountaintop.

"I'll fly up and take a look."

After saying this, she flew straight into the sky and disappeared in no time.