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

"I understand, Mr. Zhongli." The traveler smiled brightly, turned his head away, his mood a mixture of three parts trepidation and seven parts joy.

Little Paimon, however, had a strange expression on her face. Instead of following the traveler's pace, she took two steps back and came to stand in front of Zhongli.

She furrowed her pretty brows, watching the traveler walk a little further away before softly saying, "Mr. Zhongli, just tell me directly, was it you who found our Ying's brother? Otherwise, why would we suddenly run into each other here by such a coincidence? It shouldn't be at this time..."

She paused, startled, as she finished speaking.

He chuckled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head.

Zhongli glanced at her but did not point out the strange mistake in her words. Instead, he spoke directly.

"According to universal truth, I do not like to peek into the future, and even if the future is within reach, I will not try to interfere with it. So, little Paimon, rest assured, what happened to the traveler girl this time was definitely not arranged by me."

"Although it involves me, it wasn't something I did intentionally. As for whether you believe it, Paimon, that's up to you to decide."

Paimon scratched his head and nodded slightly: "Of course I believe you, Mr. Zhongli. If I didn't trust you, I wouldn't have come to ask you so directly."

"But this coincidence is just too much of a coincidence."

"Okay...I..."

Before Paimon could finish speaking, the pleasant voice of the traveler girl came from not far away.

She immediately shut up and rushed toward the direction of the girl's voice.

......

On the other side of the snow mountain

"[Golden] Lord." The witch walked listlessly on the snow, softly calling to the young girl in front of her.

The girl's appearance seemed shrouded in a mysterious mist, making it difficult to see clearly or understand her.

The witch knew, of course, that this state was proof that the alchemist before her, known as "Gold," was hated by the world.

This is a curse placed upon her by the guardians of justice.

This curse makes it impossible for her to move around in the world of Teyvat. The whole world is against her. Drinking water will clog her trachea, singing will cause an avalanche, and any experiment she conducts will inevitably explode.

If it were an ordinary alchemist, or even a weaker Teyvat earth ruler, treated like this by the world, they would probably not be able to bear the constant threat of death and would die in depression.

But she was different.

She used alchemy to create a real "self," and then used this "self" to deceive the world.

After she killed the "self" she created, the whole world forgot her original existence.

Even as a thousand-year-old witch, she had never heard of such a technique.

"what happened?"

The alchemist of the [Gold] clan turned to look at the rare witch behind him, a strange glint in his cold eyes.

"To be honest, I only heard from that gentleman that time reversed in the snow mountain some time ago, but I don't know the specifics. Now that it's come to this, can you tell me what exactly happened?" The red-haired witch smiled.

"Well... that gentleman only told me a few brief things."

The alchemist of the Gold didn't hide it from the witch, because she knew that hiding it wouldn't make much difference.

As a seeker of knowledge, the witch naturally has a fondness for secrets. Even if she doesn't speak now, the great witch behind her, who has lived for thousands of years, will surely find many ways to make her talk.

"Time reversal is not a simple matter. That gentleman once said, 'The past is the present, and the future is the present. Changing the present with things that have already happened in the past is almost impossible.' Therefore, the discovery of traces of time reversal on the snow mountain surprised that gentleman, but also delighted him."

“That gentleman saw hope. Whether this ability to rewind time is some kind of life form, a simple phenomenon, an object, or a technique, he wanted to see its possibilities.”

The alchemist of [Gold] said so.

"This is perhaps my hope."

She said to the witch, "Aren't you excited? Your long-awaited dream has finally become a possibility. Don't you want to see this possibility soon?"

The witch then realized what was happening.

She knew, of course, that as a witch who had not given up the pursuit of knowledge, she was already the maintainer of the natural order and the enemy of the entire world.

But compared to [Gold] and that gentleman, she didn't have much ill will towards this world; in fact, she even felt some sympathy for the one who upheld justice.

She loves this world, and she doesn't want it to fall into eternal darkness and chaos.

At the same time, she was unwilling to sacrifice herself to save the world.

If this world were to be destroyed, she would definitely take her daughter and flee far away as soon as possible, leaving this place behind.

That's why she couldn't understand the [Gold] and that man's desire for the ability to rewind time.

"Alright, now I understand. Let's not waste any more time." The witch casually tossed her fiery red hair, then turned to the blond prince who had been rushing along without saying a word: "Your Highness, order your men to hurry on their way."

"We still have a long way to go, and we can't afford to waste any more time on the journey. We need to try to get back to camp before nightfall. The icy and snowy conditions on the mountaintop will be even harsher at night. It doesn't matter to me and [Gold], but most of your subjects probably won't be able to withstand the cold of the wind and snow."

"Hmm." The blond prince nodded slightly in silence.

Then she reached out and looked around, shouting at the Hilichurls surrounding him: "#%!@#... (speed up)"

Hearing his unique language, which belonged only to the Hilichurls, all the Hilichurls around him suddenly perked up and quickened their pace toward the mountaintop.

About an hour later, they finally reached the top of the mountain.

Gazing up close at the towering, sky-piercing nail, the alchemist of [Gold] shook his head in annoyance.

She reached into her pocket, took out a small glass test tube, and then slammed it to the ground.

Then, the test tube burst open with a bang, and the black soil on the top of the snow mountain began to shake continuously. A huge rock dragon lizard appeared out of thin air.

"Jump up and destroy that nail completely."

The alchemist of "Gold" coldly gave the order to the dragon lizard.

Chapter Twenty-Two: An Encounter (1)

Midway up Mount Mondstadt.

Accompanied by the sound of the traveler girl's footsteps on the snow, Zhongli and his group soon arrived at the cave halfway up the mountain where they had just left.

The spiral-shaped gate, like an ancient, unchanging frost-covered glacier, stands tall between heaven and earth, exuding a chilling aura.

The young traveler stood in front of the gate, took out three small boxes from her backpack, and slowly took them out.

A hint of bewilderment crossed her face as she murmured softly, "I hope you can rest in peace."

After a few simple words, the traveling girl placed the three boxes in their proper places.

Click!

A machine clicked.

As the entire snow-capped mountain trembled slightly, the gate in front of the traveler opened.

The old palace, the city of snow burials, has opened its doors to travelers.

The traveler didn't go in directly, but turned around and asked Zhongli behind him, "If we go in now, we won't miss my brother, will we?"

"will not."

Zhongli naturally shook his head slightly.

"Their target is also here. Judging from my feeling about the timing, they should be here soon. Don't worry, let's go into this old palace and take a look."

"OK."

Without hesitation, the traveler rose and stepped into the palace.

As soon as she entered, she saw the murals on the walls.

That was a rare sight of emerald green and fiery red on this land of white snow and black soil.

A deep blue light shimmered within the palace. After opening the three magnificent treasure chests within, the young traveler was momentarily lost in thought.

She couldn't help but turn back to Zhongli and the others and ask, "Mr. Zhongli, what do you think the princess and that stranger named Imrona were thinking in the end?"

"Will the princess resent the strangers? And will Imrona feel helpless and desperate? Why is there always so much tragedy and pain in this world?"

"Why must those who entrust themselves to each other always part ways?"

The traveler asked a series of questions that were completely unlike what she would say, and her expression visibly darkened.

“You don’t need to ask me about this,” Zhongli said, not answering her question. “You need to find the answer yourself.”

"My answer is definitely not the answer you want. You already know the answer in your heart."

"..."

The young traveler remained silent for a few seconds, then nodded slightly—she agreed with Zhongli's statement.

Just as she was about to say something...

Boom!

A huge explosion suddenly rang out, and the terrifying sound could be heard clearly even in the palace halfway up the mountain.

"kindness??"

The traveling girl suddenly turned around and looked at Zhongli.

Zhongli nodded slightly, answering her question as a matter of course: "Yes, just as you thought, it was your brother and the others who made that sound."

"They should be on the mountaintop now, and they should be here soon."

"We can make thorough preparations here."

Zhongli remained calm, his expression unchanged.

"Preparation? Besides mental preparation, what else is needed?" Paimon, who had been silent since the beginning, suddenly interjected.

"Prepare for battle." Zhongli glanced at Paimon and said calmly, "Traveler, what would you do if your brother were coerced or deceived by someone and decided to become an enemy of this world?"

This question was unexpected for the young traveler.

However, she didn't hesitate much about this matter.

"Of course... wake him up!"

The girl's voice was strong and clear!

“…”

Zhongli neither agreed nor disagreed with her answer.