Chapter 17
Strangely enough, the flower crown was rich in gentle Pyro elemental power, yet it didn't conflict with Cryo at all.
She removed the crown, washed and sliced it, then placed the pieces into a pot of clean water along with Sunsettia blossoms, mint leaves, and sun-dried Jueyun Chili. A pinch of seasoning was added, and the whole thing was set on the stove to simmer.
Lu Lin watched her toss in the ingredients, his eyelid twitching. Would this actually taste good?
"Lu Lin, come brush the honey glaze onto the meat while I make the chilled Slime Condensate salad," Xiangling said, handing him a small bowl of prepared flower nectar before turning back to her own busy work.
She rinsed the Slime Condensate and placed it in a large bowl, then poured in the Blazing Flower nectar, added a little salt, soy sauce, and chili flakes — done!
Meanwhile, the grilled meat was ready, its enticing aroma drifting through the air and stirring Lu Lin's appetite.
"Time to eat! Time to eat!" Xiangling set up a small folding table and brought out the Blazing Flower soup and the Slime Condensate salad. Lu Lin plated the honey-glazed grilled meat and carried it over as well.
"Come on, let's take a photo!" Lu Lin called Xiangling over, and the two pressed their heads together with the spread of food as the backdrop. Click — a perfect shot.
"I'm so hungry, let's try the meat first!" They sat side by side. Lu Lin cut the grilled meat into small pieces and popped one into Xiangling's mouth.
The gesture was completely natural on his part, and he thought nothing of it — but Xiangling froze for just a moment before opening her mouth to take the bite.
Her heart was pounding. Fortunately, the firelight hid the flush spreading across her cheeks.
The grilled meat was delicious. The Blazing Flower nectar was infused with gentle Pyro energy and carried its own natural sweetness and spice, blending perfectly with the rich, savory fat of the meat. The result was outstanding.
"Mmm, so good!" Xiangling nodded enthusiastically.
Lu Lin picked up a piece for himself and chewed it slowly.
It really was excellent.
"Now try these two!" Xiangling ladled him a bowl of soup and a bowl of the chilled Slime Condensate salad.
Lu Lin hesitated — both dishes looked unmistakably like dark cuisine — but Xiangling was watching him with such hopeful eyes that he steeled himself and raised the bowl to his lips...
The taste was surprisingly, remarkably good!
Watching Lu Lin gulp down the soup and devour the slippery Slime Condensate, Xiangling broke into a smile that came straight from the heart.
Having her creations recognized by him made her genuinely, deeply happy!
Glug glug. The two ate with great gusto, and before long, every last dish was clean.
Wait.
Something wasn't right.
The moment Lu Lin set down his chopsticks, a strange, inexplicable heat rose from his lower abdomen and surged through his entire body in an instant.
This feeling... why did it match the descriptions in novels of someone who had been drugged?
His mind remained clear, however. He turned to look at Xiangling beside him — and found the girl's cheeks flushed crimson, her eyes growing hazy and unfocused.
"Lu Lin, I feel kind of hot~" she murmured. She was normally a lively, energetic girl, but now her voice had gone soft and honeyed, sweet enough to make one's heart flutter.
They were already sitting close together, and her small frame leaned against him involuntarily, her arms wrapping around his waist.
"Lu Lin, the things you did with Hu Tao and Miss Ganyu... I want to do them too~"
She was like someone who had drunk too much wine — saying things that would normally never leave her lips.
"Xiangling, get a hold of yourself..."
"I am perfectly clear-headed! Actually, I was already really curious yesterday about what it felt like, but I was too embarrassed to say anything. This Blazing Flower is amazing — it gave me the courage to say what I couldn't say before!"
It didn't give you courage. You're just drunk!
Lu Lin could tell — Xiangling was in a state of gentle intoxication. Her mind was still lucid, but she was unusually bold, and in this state she would say anything.
And do anything.
As she spoke, she slipped her hand inside his collar...
Hiss.
Xiangling's small hand was warm, like a piece of warm jade. Despite years of spear training and cooking, her skin was still impossibly smooth and soft, without a single callus.
She nestled fully into his arms, and the faint, delicate fragrance of the girl drew him into a daze of his own.
He cradled her head in his hands and asked softly, "Are you sure about this? Think it through carefully~"
"Yes! I've thought it through!"
"Then let me ask you one more question — what cooking method does the dish 'Xiangling' call for?"
"Huh?" The girl's large eyes blinked in confusion.
"Don't know? Then let me tell you." Lu Lin leaned down and breathed two words.
"Stir-fry."
Xiangling: ???
She was still a pure-hearted girl, and she didn't quite grasp the deeper meaning behind his words.
That was all right. She would understand eventually — and that, too, was part of growing up.
With Xiangling gazing at him in bewildered anticipation, Lu Lin lowered his head and kissed her soft, sweet lips.
This was not her first kiss — that had been taken by Lu Lin back in the Domain during the Guizhong incident — but in a sense, it was her first kiss, because this time she was truly awake.
The Blazing Flower nectar didn't actually have any powerful aphrodisiac effect. Its action was more like alcohol — it put a person into a state of gentle intoxication, making them a little bolder than usual.
Everything she had said was what she truly felt in her heart. Under normal circumstances she would never have said any of it, but with her courage running unusually high, she had said it all.
Lu Lin's kiss this time was gentle. After all, the girl was full of curiosity and longing about the matters between men and women, and he owed her a good first experience.
He did not rush to press his advantage, but softly savored her lips, waiting until she slowly relaxed and grew accustomed to it before letting the tip of his tongue nudge forward and coax open her teeth.
Her delicate little tongue was captured nimbly, and Lu Lin began to taste its tenderness and sweetness at his leisure.
His hands began to move as well — one slipping beneath the hem of her top to explore upward, the other trailing down along the curve of her pert rear...
Lu Lin was seated while Xiangling had gone soft in his arms, her small body curled into a bundle — a position that made it perfectly convenient for him to work both above and below.
One had to wonder whether Liyue's Pyro characters were somehow cosmically disadvantaged in this regard. Hu Tao held the undisputed title of Liyue's top Pyro sub-carry, and Xiangling followed close behind — neither of them particularly competitive in that department.
Then there was Yanfei, who also carried adeptal blood in her veins, and she wasn't much better off either.
When would Liyue's Pyro roster ever get a boost?
Of course, Lu Lin had always believed in a balanced diet — he appreciated all varieties, large and small alike. Small had its own charms, after all!
For ease of outdoor movement and combat, Xiangling had dressed in a fitted athletic outfit. After Lu Lin's dedicated efforts, the upper portion of her equipment had been thoroughly removed.
The soft pink points, bathed in the glow of the campfire, took on a rosy, luminous sheen that was utterly irresistible.
Lu Lin couldn't hold back — nor did he need to. He released Xiangling's soft lips and trailed downward along her neck, then gave a gentle nip with his front teeth.
So springy!
"Lu Lin~" The girl's voice was bright and clear, and that single breathless cry carried remarkable penetrating power, dissolving into the dark night sky and even echoing back from the walls of the valley.
It was fortunate that Cuijue Slope was treacherous and rarely visited — few dared come even in daylight, let alone at night when not even a ghost could be seen — otherwise that one cry might have drawn quite a crowd.
Xiangling wore short shorts on the bottom, leaving her smooth, fair thighs bare. On her left thigh was a red leg ring.
Whatever material the leg ring was made of, it was quite elastic. Feeling playful, Lu Lin hooked a finger under it, stretched it out, and let go.
Snap!
A crisp sound rang out, and Xiangling gave an almost imperceptible shiver.
The snap wasn't actually painful at that level of tension — but she was extraordinarily sensitive right now, and even the slightest stimulus produced a reaction.
Lu Lin caught that reaction with keen attention.
So he pulled the leg ring again and let it snap once more.
"Lu Lin~" Her bright, soft voice carried a thread of pleading and a thread of impatience.
She didn't really understand any of this, nor did she know what came next, but she knew there was an itch in her heart that demanded something be done about it.
Sensing her restless urgency, Lu Lin knew he couldn't tease her too much longer, and prepared to move things along.
But inspiration struck him again. He leaned close to her ear and murmured, "Want to try it here by the campfire? We won't bother with the tent?"
"I... I'll do whatever Lu Lin says~" At this point Xiangling had no opinions of her own — whatever he said, went!
The grass here was soft, but Lu Lin couldn't bring himself to let her complete this milestone simply on bare ground, so he retrieved a woven mat and a plush set of bedding from the Serenitea Pot and spread them out.
He had always used the Serenitea Pot as a personal storage space, keeping all their camping supplies inside.
The item he kept in greatest supply was bedding. Ever since discovering that Hu Tao and Ganyu were made of water, he had stocked up on plenty of it for easy changing and washing.
As for why he wanted to stay by the campfire — first, it was a rare chance to be out in the wild, and having a tent overhead felt somewhat stifling. He wanted to truly experience the feeling of the sky as his blanket and the earth as his bed.
Second, if this was going to be a stir-fry, naturally the heat needed to be turned up — and what was a stir-fry without a proper fire?
Xiangling had no idea he was entertaining such idle thoughts at a time like this. She was carried by Lu Lin onto the spread bedding, the campfire burning just over a meter away.
The warmth of the firelight eased the tension she had been feeling, and she relaxed considerably. She was now without a stitch, save for the red leg ring Lu Lin had left in place.
In the dancing firelight, Xiangling's skin took on an intoxicating rosy flush. Lu Lin quickly shed his own gear and knelt beside her.
Xiangling was a spear practitioner who adored her weapon above all else. Her spear technique, guided by an adeptus, was extraordinarily refined.
Those who love spears cannot resist touching and gripping a fine one when they see it, testing its feel and balance.
Faced with this particular spear — one she had never encountered before — Xiangling showed tremendous enthusiasm, handling it with a grip she couldn't bring herself to release, stroking it again and again, demonstrating a spear-handling talent that was truly out of the ordinary.
While Xiangling tested the spear, Lu Lin was not idle either — he was exploring a new property.
It was clear he had an unusual fixation on real estate. Every time he discovered a new valley, he had to personally assess the floor plan and whether it was suitable for habitation.
This particular floor plan was quite perfect — compact and exquisite, rounded and lustrous. Though there was some wild grass around the property, it was not overgrown, and a gentle stream ran nearby, lending a slight, pleasant moisture.
In short, Lu Lin was very satisfied.
He reached out once more to embrace Xiangling's smooth back, drawing her into his arms for a deep kiss.
When the timing seemed right, Lu Lin leaned forward and pressed gently — Xiangling's legs parted cooperatively...
"Lu Lin~" Xiangling, stung by a sudden sharp sensation, instinctively bit down on his shoulder. Her voice held a thread of tension — and the deeper satisfaction of a wish finally granted.
Stir-frying is a common culinary technique, one that preserves the crisp tenderness and juiciness of the ingredients to the greatest degree, sealing in the aroma and elevating the texture. It was one of Lu Lin's favorite cooking methods.
Watching the juices fly, Lu Lin thought to himself: this dish had turned out remarkably well.
The swaying campfire cast two rhythmically moving shadows on the ground. The warm firelight bathed them both in a rosy glow — a truly breathtaking tableau.
The mountain valley was not quiet at night. The chorus of insects was almost intrusive — but gradually, the insect song was overtaken by a series of bright, soaring cries, and the entire valley rang with that sound for a long, long time.
* * *
Some toiled through the night without rest; others pressed on through the stars and moonlight, traveling without pause.
The one traveling without pause was a girl with violet hair and a violet skirt, her bearing sharp and spirited.
She had a delicate, fair face with an expression of slight seriousness. Her hair was styled into cat-ear shapes with two trailing ponytails, and her violet skirt was made of fine, elegant fabric — practical yet refined. Her legs were wrapped in patterned black stockings, cute and subtly alluring.
She was Keqing — the Yuheng Star of the Liyue Qixing.
Keqing had been busy. The moment the monster rampage incident broke out, she had immediately led a team to the Qingce Village area to clear the monsters and investigate the cause.
After the source at the Guili Plains was resolved by Ganyu, Lu Lin, and the others, she did not return right away — instead, she continued to sweep up the scattered remnant monsters in the surrounding area.
To ensure a thorough extermination, she had pushed from Qingce Village to Dihua Marsh, then crossed the river and cut northeast of Jueyun Karst, sweeping all the way toward Cuijue Slope.
She had spared no effort along the way, slaying monsters by the hundreds — a true model worker of Liyue.
In order to maximize her efficiency, she had been roughing it alone in the wilderness for days, eating and sleeping in the field under harsh conditions.
"The monsters in this area are mostly cleaned up. Wangshu Inn has a mysterious adeptus watching over it, and the Guili Plains monsters have been cleared. I'll rest here tonight and head back to Liyue Harbor tomorrow."
Keqing muttered to herself as she built a fire and grilled some meat, planning out the rest of her schedule.
After a simple dinner, just as she was preparing to get some proper rest, a sudden burst of frantic wingbeats caught her attention.
The sky had long since gone dark, with only a full moon hanging high above, casting a faint silver light that outlined the silhouettes of the mountain forest.
Night was the time for tired birds to return to their nests. Aside from the few species that preferred nocturnal activity, most should have been asleep in their roosts by now.
For so many birds to take flight all at once at this hour — something had to be wrong!