Chapter 18

Keqing glanced in the direction the birds had come from — they were all fleeing from the valley where the Pyro Regisvine grew. Could something have gone wrong with the Pyro Regisvine?

Since she had come to purge the monsters, she had of course already checked on dangerous elemental creatures like the Pyro Regisvine to confirm they hadn't been affected by the Abyss's influence.

However, she had gone in the afternoon, while Lu Lin and the others had arrived around dusk, so the two parties had missed each other.

This situation demanded investigation. Keqing had no time to rest — she rose and headed toward the valley.

The moment she reached the valley entrance, she heard a sound that made her face flush and her heart race. It was clear and high-pitched, yet achingly seductive, and it was unmistakable that whoever was making it was in a state of extreme pleasure.

As one of the Liyue Qixing, Keqing was worldly and experienced — she was no naive little girl. She knew perfectly well what that sound meant.

"How can someone be doing that out here?!" she cursed inwardly. She wanted to leave immediately, but hesitated and stopped herself.

This was Cuijue Slope, a place fraught with danger. Even Vision holders rarely ventured here willingly, and there was a temperamental Pyro Regisvine lurking inside. What if something went wrong?

But then again — should I go in and interrupt them? Tell them to leave immediately?

That would be far too embarrassing!

Though Keqing was knowledgeable, it was all theoretical. She herself was still an untouched maiden, and asking her to barge in on two people in the middle of things was simply too much to ask.

After much deliberation, she decided to wait here.

She would warn them to leave once they were done, and if something dangerous happened in the meantime, she could intervene quickly.

Honestly, are people really this bold these days? If you want a thrill, don't pick somewhere this dangerous!

Keqing was still a little indignant. Once it was over, she was going to see exactly who had the nerve to be so shameless!

Wait —

That voice?!

That sounded like Xiangling?!

Because she frequently dined at Wanmin Restaurant, Keqing had a good relationship with Xiangling — they were old friends who knew each other well.

She had thought the voice sounded familiar from the start, but between her embarrassment and her concern about potential danger, she hadn't paid close attention to that detail. Now that she had decided to stay, she realized — that voice was incredibly familiar!

She found a clean boulder to lean against and listened carefully. Amid the rhythmic, breathless cries came fragments of broken speech.

"Lu… mmh… Brother Lu Lin, so… so fast! I… I'm going to…"

Confirmed. That was Xiangling — absolutely no mistake.

How could it be Xiangling? And who was she with?

Keqing didn't think she was being forced or taken advantage of — just from the sound of it, she could tell how happy Xiangling was right now. She was even calling someone "Brother" and saying such embarrassing things…

Besides, Keqing couldn't imagine anyone being able to bully a Vision holder like Xiangling.

She just hadn't expected Xiangling's voice to be so… captivating…

No, no, what am I even thinking?!

This discovery left Keqing's mind in complete chaos, and she had absolutely no idea what to do.

At that moment, Xiangling's voice suddenly rose to an even higher pitch, releasing a syllable so indecent it was beyond description.

That single sound was so utterly entrancing that even Keqing felt her legs go weak.

Then, a lull.

Keqing waited a few minutes, torn over whether to go remind Xiangling not to do this in such a dangerous place…

But that was her good friend. Saying something like that to a good friend would be unbearably awkward, wouldn't it?

Before she could make up her mind, the question resolved itself — the sounds had barely stopped for less than three minutes before they started up again.

You can't be serious. Again?

Hadn't she read that this sort of thing didn't last very long? From the moment she'd noticed the birds startled from the valley to now, it had to have been over half an hour.

Not only were these two not done, they seemed to be going stronger than ever?

The melodious, stirring sounds kept pouring into her ears, leaving her mouth dry.

She was starting to want to leave — who knew how long these two could keep this up?

But if she just left and Xiangling ran into danger, what then? After all this exertion, Xiangling would surely be in no condition to fight if something happened.

After much hesitation, she stayed, leaning against the boulder to rest — and in doing so, inadvertently keeping watch for the two of them.

But how could she possibly rest properly?

She was an inexperienced young maiden, and her ears were being continuously assaulted by these face-reddening sounds — sounds coming from her own good friend, no less. The stimulation left her heart increasingly restless and unsettled.

Was it really… that good?

Xiangling's voice grew ever more melodious, winding and turning in ways that were impossible to ignore. Keqing felt heat spreading through her entire body, a languid weakness stealing over her limbs, and somewhere beneath her skirt, a warm, slick sensation began to make itself known.

She leaned against the boulder, her rosy lips parting slightly, her breathing growing rapid and shallow. Gradually, her expression grew hazy and unfocused. One hand instinctively slipped beneath the hem of her purple skirt, while the other reached into her collar and downward…

At the valley entrance, the faint sound of water and a girl's soft, breathless murmurs gradually arose — quiet and shallow at first, but slowly falling into rhythm with the high, resonant sounds echoing from within the valley, weaving together into a breathtaking symphony.

What a pity that this breathtaking symphony was swallowed by the deep darkness of the night, with no one to appreciate it.

* * *

As the first light of dawn crept in, Lu Lin woke inside the tent. Curled against him was Xiangling, bundled into a small, adorable ball, her sleeping face utterly endearing.

Though they had sought the thrill of using the open sky as their canopy and the earth as their bed, once the storm had passed, the two had retreated to the tent to rest.

In truth, they hadn't slept for very long. The two of them had indulged themselves thoroughly the night before — from roughly eight in the evening all the way until past one in the morning, until Xiangling was truly spent and could take no more, at which point Lu Lin had carried her back to the tent.

By all rights, Xiangling, as a first-timer, shouldn't have been able to last that long — after all, it came with bleeding and pain.

But things were different now. The [Miraculous Healing] entry had greatly enhanced Lu Lin's vitality. Injuries like the bite on his tongue from Ningguang the day before, or Xiangling's bleeding, could all be infused with life force for rapid recovery.

Beyond that, [Miraculous Healing] had also sharpened his precise control over life force. He could use it to heal others — or draw it away, such as extracting the life force from certain essences.

This meant that even if he was generous in his ministrations, he didn't need to worry about any accidental little surprises. After all, he was still young, in the prime of his adventuring years — he had no desire to become a father this soon.

Xiangling had received quite a lot last night, and in the end had drifted off in a daze without even fully waking.

"Mmh~ Brother Lu Lin, good morning!" Xiangling opened her drowsy eyes, propped herself up, and planted a kiss on Lu Lin's lips.

"It's still early — go back to sleep. I'll go get some hot water ready," Lu Lin said, pinching her adorable cheek at the sight of her bleary expression.

"Mmh~ Okay~!"

Lu Lin got up and stepped out of the tent. He rekindled the campfire that had burned out, drew a bucket of water, poured it into the large iron kettle, and set it over the flames to heat.

He could, of course, return to the Serenitea Pot at any time and use the bathroom there with Xiangling.

But the whole point of camping outdoors was the experience itself. If everything was done inside the Serenitea Pot, Lu Lin felt it would lose all its charm.

So he was using the Serenitea Pot purely as storage for now, and hadn't even planned to bring Xiangling inside yet — he'd save that conversation for when they returned to Liyue Harbor.

It was a done deal. There was no rush.

Once the water was ready, Lu Lin retrieved a large wooden bathtub, poured the water in, and adjusted it to a comfortable temperature.

Since it was already daylight and there was a chance someone might pass by, he conjured several walls of ice to serve as screens around the tub.

"Time for a bath!" Lu Lin returned to the tent, scooped up the completely unclothed Xiangling, and the two of them climbed into the tub together.

They were both covered in all manner of dried traces from the night before — not washing up would definitely be uncomfortable.

Though sharing a bath was certainly enough to make the blood run hot, and Lu Lin was indeed quite stirred up, this time he behaved himself and they simply washed up and changed clothes.

It was daytime in the open wilderness — best not to get too carried away.

Breakfast was the rations they had packed in advance. The Pyro Regisvine nectar was off the table for now — while it didn't have any powerful aphrodisiac effect, the full-body heat it caused was very real, and there was no point setting a trap for themselves first thing in the morning.

After eating, the two began breaking down camp and preparing to return to Liyue Harbor. Tomorrow was the Rite of the Descension that Lu Lin had been looking forward to for so long — he absolutely could not miss it.

Just then, Xiangling suddenly grabbed his arm and pointed toward the valley entrance. "Brother Lu Lin, is there someone over there?"

Lu Lin focused his gaze. He could just make out a corner of purple fabric.

There really was someone there. They weren't moving at all — had something happened?

The two hurried over to check.

The valley entrance was over two hundred meters from their campsite, but they reached it quickly. The sight that greeted them made both Lu Lin and Xiangling's eyes go wide.

A purple-haired girl in a purple dress was leaning against a large boulder, eyes closed, fast asleep.

That alone wouldn't have been cause for alarm — but the girl's collar was wide open, exposing a large expanse of fair, delicate skin to the open air. Her purple skirt was also half-lifted, with one hand still resting inside it, not yet withdrawn.

Though the angle didn't reveal what lay beneath the skirt, sharp-eyed Lu Lin noticed the dried traces on her black stockings.

Most critically, both of them recognized the girl's identity: Keqing, the Tianquan Star of the Liyue Qixing.

What now?

Her breathing was steady, her chest rising and falling in a calm rhythm — she was simply asleep, not injured or unconscious.

Lu Lin had already pieced together a rough picture of what had happened from the scene before him.

In all likelihood, Xiangling was the cause.

Truthfully, Lu Lin hadn't anticipated it either — Xiangling had a remarkable gift. Her voice was exceptionally clear and high-pitched, genuinely beautiful and alluring.

And whether it was the influence of the Pyro Regisvine nectar or not, she had been remarkably uninhibited last night.

The echoes from within the valley had reached Lu Lin's ears loud and clear, and he had thoroughly enjoyed them.

Ganyu and Hu Tao fell considerably short in this regard. Ganyu, with her more reserved and understated nature, couldn't fully let herself go and would instinctively suppress her voice. Hu Tao was slightly better, but last time she may have been overwhelmed by the dual impact and had somewhat lost her voice, so she hadn't shown any particular advantage in that area either.

But that was beside the point. Lu Lin's best guess was that Keqing had been drawn over by Xiangling's commotion last night, only to discover it was her good friend making those sounds…

Too awkward to interrupt, yet too worried about her friend being in danger out in the wilderness to leave, she had stayed to keep watch outside the valley.

But staying meant she had to keep listening to her good friend's voice. An untouched maiden like her had never been exposed to anything like this — listening and listening, she had gradually been drawn in herself, until she couldn't help but…

And in the end, she had apparently passed out from it.

Lu Lin found himself genuinely impressed. To go that far for a friend's sake was truly rare.

The reality was more or less what Lu Lin had guessed. She had indeed followed Xiangling's rhythm, ultimately sending herself to the heavens, and had drifted off in a daze.

Of course, it also had something to do with the fact that she had been tirelessly purging monsters for days and hadn't rested properly in a long time. She was simply exhausted — otherwise, she would surely have at least straightened her clothes before falling asleep.

Just as Lu Lin and Xiangling stood there stunned, unsure how to handle the situation, Keqing woke up.

"Mmh~ Hm? Huh?! Xiangling!!!" She opened her eyes in a daze, and the moment she saw a man and a woman standing in front of her, she let out a startled cry, her whole composure shattering in an instant!

"Turn around, don't look, don't look!" True to her status as one of the Liyue Qixing, she recovered in an instant, frantically withdrawing her hand and pulling her clothes back into order.

This is terrible, terrible — how did I fall asleep? Now they've seen everything, I've completely disgraced myself!!!

The usually composed and steady Tianquan Star was, for the first time, utterly flustered and at a complete loss.

And the sticky, uncomfortable feeling between her thighs wasn't helping matters…

"Um… Keqing, we still have some hot water left at camp. Would you like to go freshen up?" Though Xiangling couldn't quite piece together the full story, she was no longer a girl — she could read Keqing's state clearly enough.

The girl with the cat-ear braids was too mortified to meet either of their eyes, and simply nodded frantically.

Lu Lin was relieved — the leftover hot water from earlier hadn't been discarded yet. Otherwise they'd have had to heat another batch.

Keqing didn't take long. Unlike Xiangling, she hadn't made nearly as much of a mess of herself, so only the essential areas needed cleaning.

She had been traveling in the wilderness and had a change of clothes on hand. She put on a fresh pair of stockings, straightened her dress, and once again looked every bit the sharp, capable young woman she was.

Only when she turned to face Lu Lin again did the unbearable awkwardness return in full force.

"Keqing, let me introduce you — this is Lu Lin. The source of the monster outbreak at the Guili Plains was resolved by him, and he's also the one who rescued me from the ruins."

Xiangling took the initiative to make introductions, which eased the tension somewhat.

"So you're Mr. Lu Lin. A pleasure to meet you," Keqing said, composing herself with practiced restraint.

Looking at her perfectly proper demeanor now, and then recalling the scene at the valley entrance just moments ago — collar open, stockings stained — Lu Lin suddenly felt a pang of regret. He should have used [Critical Moment] to freeze time and taken a few photos to keep as a memento.

The contrast was just too striking!