Walnut used me to boost her sales performance.

He laid out bedding for the coffin he had conjured, and the fire warmed even the cold stones.

Once the bedding was warm, he lay down fully clothed and stared at the starry sky.

Looking at the starry sky at the foot of a snow-capped mountain is a completely different experience from being in the mountains of Liyue. The white snow on the mountain is very conspicuous even at night under the moonlight, making the stars far away in the universe seem less bright in comparison.

Jiang Bai shifted into a more comfortable position in the coffin, gazing at the countless stars in the sky, his thoughts drifting.

If he truly comes from beyond this world, then from which star did he originate?

How did he come to this continent?

How long has he been here?

Various questions lingered in my mind, and no one could answer them.

After a long while, he pulled the coffin lid forward, blocking out all the light.

None of that matters. What matters is that he should go to sleep now.

He yawned, wrapped himself in the blanket, and fell into a deep sleep.

In the early morning, Jiang Bai, who had slept comfortably all night, kicked open the coffin lid and sat up inside.

Although I was wearing clothes, I still shivered from the sudden cold air that rushed into the coffin.

"It's so...so cold..."

He quickly jumped out of the coffin to move around and get his blood circulating faster, which made him feel less cold.

He quickly washed up with the hot water that had been kept burning on the fire, ate a dry piece of Mora meat, changed into thicker cotton clothes and shoes, put on crampons and gloves, extinguished the fire, and prepared to go up the mountain.

It's still early, the sun hasn't risen yet, but the surroundings are already exceptionally bright. Some birds, unafraid of the cold, have landed on the branches, chirping and preening their feathers.

Most adventurers travel to and from the snowy mountains via the main road towards Mondstadt. This small path, which was opened up at some unknown time, has long been covered by snow because no one has used it for a long time.

Following the general outline of the road, Jiang Bai used the spirit banner as a walking stick to explore the snow as he slowly made his way forward.

The snow had been covering the area for who knows how long; every step you took left a deep crater.

The cold wind blowing from the mountains made the funeral banner rustle, and the three characters "Wangshengtang" on it appeared and disappeared. The Sanqing bell at his waist jingled with his movements, and his boots crunched on the snow, as if playing a funeral dirge.

Amidst the vast expanse of snow, it seemed as if only this solitary figure remained in the world, searching for the remains of the deceased, resolutely moving forward.

Jiang Bai held a soul-summoning banner in one hand and a compass in the other, adjusting the direction from time to time according to the pointer.

Walking on snow is not easy, especially on roads that are covered in snow and ice and where the specific path is not visible. If you are not careful, you may find yourself stepping into a deep pit covered in snow instead of a road.

"Luckily, I was well-prepared..."

He shook the snow off his boots, readjusted his crampons, and marveled at his foresight.

"No wonder the leader didn't want to come to the snow mountain. It's cold and the road is difficult to travel. I really don't know how those adventurers who are keen on going to the snow mountain can persevere in such an environment... Or is it just that the road I'm on is particularly difficult?"

Jiang Bai thought about it carefully and felt that the latter was more likely.

He's walked for so long and hasn't seen a single person, a campsite, or a campfire, which means this isn't the right path.

He looked back and saw only his own footprints trailing behind him, stretching out alone.

Although the sun was already high in the sky, its rays could not penetrate the thick clouds over the snow-capped mountains, and could not dispel the chill in the air.

Jiang Bai found a large rock, cleared the snow off it, and sat down to rest.

He took out his liquor flask, took a swig of strong liquor, rubbed his face which was red from the cold, and looked up into the depths of the snow-capped mountains.

From the outside, the snow-capped mountain doesn't seem that big, but once you're inside, you can no longer see the distant mountains and lakes. All you can see is the white snow, and when you look up, all you can see is the peak that reaches deep into the clouds.

The pointer of the Four Directions Instrument points upwards steadily, like an upright finger, no matter which direction Jiang Bai changes, it always points to the summit.

"That adventurer should have already fulfilled his wish and climbed to the top of the mountain!"

If one can die after one's wishes have been fulfilled, then life can be considered complete.

After resting for a while, he stepped onto the untouched snow and continued on his way.

After walking uphill for a while, the road widened and became flat, and he could even hear the babbling of the stream.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a stream flowing down from the snow-capped mountains, with melting snow flowing down from here and into the great rivers of Liyue.

Jiang Bai squatted by the water's edge and dipped his hand into the water. The water, mixed with ice, was icy cold, and he shivered from the cold, quickly shaking off the water from his hands.

"There must be quite a few streams and snow-capped mountains like this, right?"

This huge snow-capped mountain must have formed countless rivers.

Following the stream upstream, he saw many dilapidated buildings. The original purpose of these buildings was no longer discernible; only broken stone walls and toppled stone pillars remained.

Only the bases of these stone pillars remain, but even the bases are carved with patterns, a testament to the wisdom and spirit of the times.

Jiang Bai curiously approached, cleared away the ice and snow covering the stone pillar, and carefully observed the patterns on it.

These patterns are very similar to those on the broken ruins of Guyun Pavilion, and even identical in certain symbol compositions.

The more Jiang Bai looked, the more puzzled he became.

He had already concluded that the ruins of Lonely Cloud Pavilion came from the demon gods' subjects who were suppressed below. How could there be similar architectural ruins so far away in the snowy mountains?

Could it be that those people originated from the snow-capped mountains? They simply moved to Guyun Pavilion later, which is why Guyun Pavilion has similar architectural patterns?

Or perhaps these patterns do not represent the demonic people suppressed by the Lonely Cloud Pavilion, but rather a specific civilization and ethnic group?

With too little information, Jiang Bai couldn't figure it out either, so he put the problem aside for the time being and continued moving forward.

The higher you go, the more ancient building ruins you see, and you can even see small settlements of Hilichurls.

Because of the snow mountain environment, these Hilichurls living in the snow mountains have also developed corresponding snow mountain characteristics. Their body hair has evolved to be white, which helps them to better hide in the snow.

Chapter 107 The Shadow Behind the Mask

These Chuchs, who have lived in the snow-capped mountains for who knows how long, are not afraid of the cold. Apart from some cloth covering their vital parts, they do not have the habit of using clothing to keep warm.

Jiang Bai hid behind a rock, watching the Hilichurls dancing, sleeping, or building snowmen, and suddenly became curious.

Since these white Hilichurls aren't afraid of the cold, would they be afraid of the heat if they were placed in a hot environment?

Or are you not afraid of hot or cold?

Jiang Bai quickly suppressed his somewhat excessive curiosity; now was not the time to investigate whether Hilichurls were afraid of the cold.

These Hilichurls didn't have strong perception. He flexed his wrists, used the "Persuasion" technique, and charged towards the group of Hilichurls blocking his way.

He didn't want to bully these Hilichurls, but they were blocking his way, so he had no choice but to send them to their deaths!

The Hilichurl priest was still dancing around the fire, completely unaware of the enemy lurking nearby. The other Hilichurls were also preoccupied with their own affairs, oblivious to Jiang Bai's presence.

By the time they realized Jiang Bai was attacking and hurriedly grabbed their weapons, their priest had already breathed his last.

Jiang Bai treated all these Qiuqiu people equally, sending each of them to meet their maker with a hammer.

May there be no Jiang Bai in heaven, Amen!

After easily dealing with the group of Hilichurls, Jiang Bai felt refreshed and invigorated.

However, seeing the fallen Hilichurl, Jiang Bai's curiosity was rekindled.

What do these Hilichurls actually look like under their masks?

He walked up to a dead Hilichurl, squatted down, and curiously lifted its mask.

Because these masks hadn't been removed for so long, they had become somewhat integrated with the body, making it difficult for Jiang Bai to remove them.

Beneath the mask was a face that didn't resemble a human's, with bluish-purple skin, strange patterns, and fine, dense hair that gave anyone goosebumps at first glance.

The eyes were still within the normal range, both eyes were in their proper positions, but there was no white in the eyes, they were dark and empty, which looked strangely eerie.

Its nose is short and small, somewhat like a pig's snout, and its mouth is located below the mask, so it can eat even while wearing a mask.

Overall, it's a face that would scare children to tears.

I don't know why these Hilichurls wear masks. Do they find it scary to see their own faces?

It seems that all the Hilichurls he has ever seen, whether in Liyue or the Snow Mountain region, whether big or small, whether priests or ordinary Hilichurls, are wearing masks.

Is this similar behavior a racial trait?

Originating from bloodline? Originating from group consciousness?

Jiang Bai picked up the crossbows used by the Hilichurls. The crossbows looked simple, but the parts were actually quite intricate. Even a child who knew nothing could use them directly.

"Did these crossbows make these Hilichurls?"

There are very obvious forging marks on it, the kind of steel that is uniformly pressed and assembled by a lathe, like it was produced in a human factory.

Why would a crossbow, made by humans, end up in the hands of a Hilichurl?

Not only the Hilichurls here use this, but the Hilichurls in Liyue also use crossbows. They can also fire arrows of different elements. Although their accuracy is a bit poor, they can still cause a lot of trouble for people.

Surely this couldn't also stem from a shared trait within the group, could it?

Jiang Bai put down the crossbow and sneaked into the Hilichurl camp.

This was just a small campsite, simply made up of a few pieces of cloth tied to tree branches and rocks to protect against wind and snow. Some crude wooden crates were casually placed nearby. Jiang Bai broke one of the crates and found it contained dried meat slices, vegetables, and sunset fruit.

Clearly, this is how they store food.

In addition, there was a small fire in the center of the camp, supported by two tree branches, with a pot hanging there, which had been stolen from some adventurer.

Jiang Bai lifted the lid of the pot and saw two slices of meat and two carrots inside. They should have been washed, as the carrots looked fairly clean and there was no dirt on them. However, the person cooking the food clearly didn't care about cutting the vegetables and just focused on cooking them, completely disregarding the taste.

Judging from all these signs, these Hilichurls are clearly not very intelligent and only have the simplest way of thinking.

But where did these low-IQ Hilichurls get their crossbows? And how were they trained to use them?

Or is there some unknown force secretly funding and training these monsters?

Thinking this, Jiang Bai wrapped his coat tighter around himself.

According to Hu Tao, Hilichurls are monsters found all over the continent of Teyvat, meaning they are everywhere.

But there is an unknown force secretly training them, with no known purpose.

Once this organization gathers all the Hilichurls and decides to do something...

Jiang Bai shuddered at the thought of such a scene.

He dug a deep pit and buried all the Hilichurls' corpses, giving these monsters a final resting place.

Cremation would have been the most suitable method, but Jiang Bai didn't have the means to cremate them, so they had to be buried on the spot to prevent the corpses of these demons from being used as sacrificial offerings by people with ulterior motives, thus creating some dangerous and evil things.

No one can guarantee that there are no evil gods in this world. As people of the Hall of Rebirth, we should dispose of any corpses we see, whether they are demons or humans.

After disposing of the body, Jiang Bai found a ley line anchor point on a large rock.

Another ley line node has been lit up.

I kept walking along the main road, and suddenly the road in front of me turned into a dead end.

The huge building that once stood in the mountains collapsed, leaving only a huge stone pillar and half a stone wall. In the gap between the stone wall and the stone pillar, a narrow path that was only wide enough for one person to pass through was dug out.

The path ended in complete darkness, with a howling wind emanating from it, instilling a strange sense of fear and making one afraid to enter.

All around were smooth stone walls covered with a layer of ice and snow. Jiang Bai climbed up and down, but there was no foothold at all.

There was no other way around, so he had no choice but to light a torch, crouch down, and squeeze into the narrow crevice, trying to find a way up the mountain.

The path was extremely narrow at first, surrounded by various collapsed buildings, but as you walked, the surroundings gradually widened.

He saw a huge circular ice pool, the water of which was completely frozen. He looked up and saw another circular building above him.

Perhaps in the distant past, this place was a fishpond used for fishing, or perhaps a site for sacrificial rites.

Jiang Bai threw a stone and smashed the ice layer, the thick ice layer making a cracking sound.

Jiang Bai pried the ice apart and threw in a stone.

After a long while, the sound of a stone sinking to the bottom could be heard.

Chapter 108: Strange Hill People

"Wow, this pool seems quite deep. It might even be connected to an underground river in this snow-capped mountain..."

He reached out and tested the water temperature; it was ice cold.

"It's a pity I have something to do right now, otherwise I could try to find out where this pool of water is connected to..."