"I don't really think I'm that impressive... But if you want to learn, I'm happy to teach you."
The unwavering look in Eula's eyes left Yu Xie at a loss for how to refuse, and he didn't plan to turn her down.
"Thank you, Yu Xie..." Eula seemed very happy, "Can you tell me your training method?"
"Well..." Yu Xie scratched his chin, thinking for a moment, "A hundred push-ups, a hundred sit-ups, a hundred squats, and a ten-kilometer run. Do this routine every day!"
"Hmm?" Eula blinked, slightly confused.
It sounded like a very basic physical training method, nothing special about it at all, yet Yu Xie seemed so serious when saying it, as if he truly believed this was the way to go.
Could it really be that he got stronger just by doing this? He must have an incredible talent!
"Just kidding. I'll think through the specifics and tell you later; I don't want to give you the wrong idea." Yu Xie laughed awkwardly, and the golden light particles around his sword, Cloud Cutter, disappeared.
This scene left Eula a bit stunned.
"Yu Xie, do you have a Vision?"
"No." Yu Xie was confused as to why Eula would ask him that.
"Then what about the sword you just had in your hand?" Eula asked, looking puzzled.
Yu Xie quickly understood.
Ordinary people didn't have the ability to summon and dismiss objects at will—only Vision bearers or those who learned special magical arts could do such things.
As for Yu Xie, he couldn't exactly tell Eula that it was because of the "Mortal System" that he could do such things—she'd probably think he was crazy.
"It's a long story. I'll explain it another time. But for now..." Yu Xie glanced at the surrounding monster corpses, "Let's clean this up first."
"Right." Eula nodded after glancing around.
At that moment, a crisp voice called out from the direction Eula had come from, a voice filled with warmth and excitement, calling Eula's name.
"Eula—"
For some reason, Yu Xie found the voice faintly familiar, as though he'd heard it before.
In his confusion, a red figure appeared from the side of the road.
A petite girl came running toward them, her chestnut-colored hair flowing behind her, a red rabbit-ear headband on her head, and goggles resting on her forehead. Her face was bright with a radiant smile.
Yu Xie immediately recognized her.
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It was Amber.
"Eula, I knew you'd be here, but what's going on?" Amber said with a smile, walking up to Eula, before noticing the monster corpses scattered around. Her smile quickly turned to concern. "What happened?"
"A few monsters showed up, but Yu Xie took care of them." Eula explained.
"Yu Xie?" Amber turned her attention to the young man standing next to Eula.
"Let me introduce you. This is Yu Xie. He's from Liyue. In the future..." Eula hesitated for a moment, then whispered to Yu Xie, "Are you planning to stay in Mondstadt?"
Yu Xie smiled and nodded.
"Ahem... He'll be staying in Mondstadt from now on," Eula added.
"Eula, are you introducing me to your friend?" Amber asked, her expression a bit incredulous but mostly filled with a sense of 'relief.'
For many reasons, Eula had always kept herself closed off, avoiding communication with others. She even rejected other people's kindness at times, so Eula had very few friends. But today, she seemed a little different from usual.
"I... Amber, do you think I can't make friends?" Eula furrowed her brow. Whether it was because of her pride or something else, she turned her head away. "I'll remember this!"
"Alright, alright..." Amber chuckled helplessly. "Anyway, I'm just glad you're both fine."
"Hello! My name is Amber!" Amber quickly wiped away the awkwardness and beamed at Yu Xie with a bright smile.
"Hello, my name is Yu Xie." Yu Xie returned the smile.
"I don't know exactly what happened, but you took care of five monsters? That's amazing!"
"I guess it was just luck." Yu Xie scratched his head.
"You're too humble! Five monsters? There's no way that was just luck!" Amber replied, her voice filled with admiration.
Compared to Eula's "coldness," Amber was the complete opposite—she was like fire, full of energy and vitality.
"Amber, did you come here to find me for something?" Eula asked.
"Almost forgot!" Amber snapped back to reality, "Grandpa said you've been a bit troubled lately and he's worried about you. He asked me to come check on you, and also wanted me to bring you back. He said there's something he wants to tell you in person."
"Master..." Eula paused for a moment. "Okay, let's go. Wait, no, we need to clean up this mess first."
"You guys go ahead, I'll clean up on my own. After all, I made the mess." Yu Xie said.
"I'll go notify the Knights of Favonius to clean up these monster corpses. They're professionals. If we try to clean it ourselves, we might cause a secondary problem," Amber said. "Yu Xie, if you have time, you should come with us to Grandpa's. He enjoys having company."
"Is that alright?"
"There's nothing wrong with that! Let's go together!" Amber flashed a pure and radiant smile, like an angel.
Her smile was so heartwarming.
Yu Xie followed Amber and Eula to a courtyard inside Mondstadt.
The courtyard wasn't very large. When they opened the big gate and entered, Amber walked ahead, loudly calling into the house:
"Grandpa, I'm back!"
Behind the courtyard were two small houses. There was a stone table in the yard, surrounded by flowers and plants, and a few vegetables. It was clear that the owner of this courtyard enjoyed tending to these things.
As Amber's voice faded, the door to one of the houses opened, and an older man stepped out.
"Grandpa!"
"Master."
"Amber, Eula, you're here, and...?" Amber's grandfather looked at Yu Xie and paused, as if somewhat surprised.
Yu Xie was also a little surprised. Amber's grandfather was the elderly knight from the convoy he had met yesterday. The granddaughter he had mentioned was Amber.
"Young man, I didn't expect to see you so soon again," Amber's grandfather said warmly with a smile.
"Old sir, I didn't expect it either," Yu Xie replied.
"Grandpa, do you know Yu Xie?" Amber asked, puzzled.
"Yes, yes, fate works in mysterious ways." Amber's grandfather patted Amber on the head. "You all sit down, I'll go brew some tea for you."
Amber's grandfather went back inside, and the three of them sat down at the stone table in the yard.
Inside the house, Amber's grandfather passed by a window and glanced outside.
He had planned to talk to Eula. It seemed that she had been carrying a lot of concerns and was keeping things to herself. He didn't want her to keep everything bottled up inside.
But now, seeing Eula, he felt that maybe it wasn't necessary to say much after all.
Over the course of one night, Eula's gaze had changed considerably.
Was it because of that young man?