“What do we need to inform that guy for?”
“Just inform him, and you’ll know the rest later.”
“Hmph… Do as you please. This base is no longer needed. Clean up the mess yourself. Also, I will report everything that happened today truthfully.”
The lady looked coldly at the Scaramouche, then her icicles dissipated into a mist and she vanished from the spot.
“Heh heh… Things are starting to get interesting…”
The scene shifts to Lumine…
“Waaah, help! Slimes are chasing me!”
“Paimon, what kind of terrible path are you leading us on? It’s been nothing but small slimes and big slimes! Tell me! Are you a spy sent by the Fatui!” Paimon grumbled angrily as she dodged slimes alongside Paimon.
“Wuwuwu, a guide doesn't know the way inside the pot (t^t)”
“Paimon, Paimon, run this way! I can't get free right now.”
“Wuwuwu… I can't get through! There are too many slimes in here! Also, why are there slimes inside this pot?”
“Paimon, be careful!” Paimon lunged forward, pulling Paimon away from the big slime’s attack.
“Whew… You have time to complain, why not observe your surroundings more?”
“Oh, oh, I almost got crushed… Whew… Thank you.”
“Hmph… These guys are really troublesome. Forcing me to unleash my power, huh? Hya!”
Paimon suddenly emitted a blinding light, making Paimon cover her eyes and turn away.
“Ugh, so bright! ≥﹏≤”
“What… is happening…” Lumine, who had just repelled several large slimes, also noticed the situation with Paimon, but the light was too blinding to open her eyes and see clearly.
“Anemo Blade!” Surrounded by golden light, Paimon was about to summon the Skyward Blade to finish off these small slimes, but found that it wasn't in her inventory linked to her host.
“Huh? Where's my sword? Ah, this… the host is still using it…”
“Waaah?! Who are you? Where did Paimon go?! Σ(|||▽|||)”
The light gradually faded, and Paimon looked at the beautiful girl before her, who looked strikingly like Paimon, and asked.
“Me? I’m Paimon~” Paimon turned around and smiled sweetly, revealing her white and tender teeth.
“Paimon? Ah?! Be careful!” Before Paimon could be surprised, she spotted a large Electro Slime trying to ambush Paimon and quickly warned her.
“Hm? Hmph…” Paimon sneered, turned around, and kicked it flying.
“Just a slime. Even without my sword, I can easily beat you~”
“There are still many more. Be careful, they seem to be charging each other. If you get too close, you’ll be electrocuted,” Paimon said nervously, flying behind Paimon and looking ahead.
“Don't worry, I only need to use Anemo Blades to deal with them.”
“But… didn't you just say you couldn't summon it?”
“Hmph hmph… Who said I can't use Anemo Blades without a weapon~”
Paimon smiled triumphantly. A strong Anemo elemental fluctuation suddenly emanated from her feet. With just a light step, she soared high into the air and hovered in the sky.
“Hurricane Blade!”
With a forceful kick from Paimon, the Anemo element beneath her feet formed a giant Anemo Blade, which shot forward like a released arrow towards the slimes, instantly eliminating all the Electro Slimes.
“Wow?! That's amazing!” Paimon exclaimed excitedly, raising her small fist and waving it vigorously.
“Hee hee~ You flatter me. Let's hurry and help Lumine. There are far more slimes over there than we have.”
“Oh, right, right, right! Lumine, we're coming to help you… Ouch!” Paimon quickly turned to fly towards Lumine, but her head was gently tapped.
“If I had to wait for you guys to help me, the food would probably be cold by now (^_^)”
“Huh? Lumine, why are you here? Weren’t you surrounded by a ton of slimes?”
“You mean them? I already dealt with them while Paimon was glowing~ (^～^)”
“Huh? Then why didn't you come help us earlier?”
“Silly, of course, I wanted to give Paimon a chance to show off. But I really didn't expect Paimon to be so powerful~”
“Hee hee~ You flatter me. Let’s get out of here first. They're probably waiting impatiently.”
“Mhm, you’re right. Then let’s go~” (I didn't expect Ying’s little pet could transform… I wonder if Paimon can do the same…)
With Paimon’s addition and Lumine’s guidance, the three of them soon obtained the necessary Sacred Chimes…
“Whew… We're finally out…” After bidding farewell to Granny Ping, Paimon rubbed her little head in relief. The experience had drained most of her energy.
“It's all because you're too stupid and kept leading us the wrong way,” Paimon said with a shrug.
“Hee hee~ You can't blame it all on me. But I didn't expect you to grow taller… How did you do it?” Paimon flew to Paimon's side, curiously examining her current appearance.
“Hee hee… Guess~” Paimon winked mysteriously at Paimon.
“Uh… I can’t guess…”
“Hmph hmph~ Then you better listen carefully. The cultivation method I used is only for extremely powerful individuals. It can greatly increase one's combat power for a certain period. The form change is merely a side effect~ (*˘︶˘*)” Paimon proudly raised her little head.
“Mmmwah~ So that's how it is!” Paimon nodded in realization.
“So, does that mean you are also exceptionally talented?!” (✪▽✪)
“Hmph hmph… Of course~”
“Alright, alright, Paimon, stop deceiving Paimon. Your acting skills are too poor.”
“Ah, this… My acting is that bad? Didn't she fall for it right away?” Paimon scratched her head in confusion.
“That’s just because Paimon is too stupid.”
“Hey! I heard that!”
“Aiya… I forgot Paimon was here~” Lumine stuck out her tongue sheepishly.
“Hmph… Although I did believe you just now, that’s no reason for you to call me stupid!”
“Ahaha~ I know, I know. Let's hurry and meet up with Zhongli~ (^～^)”
(I wonder how long we were in the pot… Ying should be back soon…)
After some time…
“Zhongli~ We got it~”
Since Paimon had consumed a lot of energy earlier, Paimon directly took over her lines.
“Mhm, you’ve worked hard… Hm? Excuse me, who are you…” Zhongli looked at the transformed Paimon with some confusion.
“She is Paimon, and I only just found out she could grow larger,” Lumine quickly explained.
“Oh, I see. My apologies. This is the first time I've encountered such a peculiar species.”
“Hmph hmph~ That’s right. Let's quickly put away the items and prepare for the next ritual. I need to find my host later~”
(Speaking of which, the host's weapon hasn't returned to her inventory in a long time. It seems that base has something special about it…)
“Mhm, next… we’re going to buy kites…”
“Kites?! Is it time for a break?! (✪▽✪)”
Hearing such good news, Paimon immediately spun around excitedly in the air, much to Paimon’s speechless amusement.
(Emm… Instant recovery… It's more effective than a stimulant…)
“Haha… While kites are children's toys, they also have other symbolic meanings in various rituals in Liyue. I will explain them to you along the way.”
“Mhm, mhm! Gogogo!”
The scene shifts to Ying…
“Ugh… Cough, cough… Where… am I?” Ying slowly opened her eyes and found herself lying in a strange room…