Lingyuan and Fujin stared in astonishment at the scene before them.
They could hardly believe their eyes.
In just an instant—
All the accumulated snow on the entire mountain had vanished.
And from the looks of it, it had become part of the sword.
Mu Yang turned around.
"Is this enough?"
The Guardian Lion and the Koi exchanged glances.
Then nodded.
Mu Yang surveyed the area.
This was originally a barren mountain—
Nothing but scattered rocks.
Not even small animals could be found.
Perhaps other creatures had sensed the threat and fled beforehand.
That's why he hadn't detected any energy signatures like Fujin or Lingyuan approaching.
Seeing how agreeable Mu Yang was,
Fujin immediately moved closer to inspect him.
This was just her nature.
After circling Mu Yang a few times,
she finally asked, "Do you have a name?"
Mu Yang answered without hesitation.
"Mu Yang. That's all I remember—not sure if it's my name or not."
"Then we'll call you Mu Yang from now on! I'm Fujin, and she's Lingyuan."
Fujin's tone was brimming with excitement.
She loved making new friends.
Lingyuan, however, was different.
She kept her distance from Mu Yang.
And didn't give him a friendly look.
Probably because she'd been sent flying twice earlier.
Mu Yang asked, "That 'disaster' you mentioned earlier—was it caused by me?"
Lingyuan flared up at the question.
"Who else could it be?!"
"The snow you created even spread to my mountain!"
Mu Yang lowered his head.
"Sorry… I couldn't control my power in that state earlier..."
Fujin stepped between them to mediate.
"Alright, alright! Since it was unintentional, let's not dwell on it."
"Besides, it didn't actually affect your mountain—just made it a bit colder."
"This area was already barren anyway—nothing but rocks."
Mu Yang sighed in relief.
Though this setting wasn't his doing,
the idea to accelerate the absorption of surrounding energy had been his.
At least it hadn't caused any serious harm.
Fujin asked Mu Yang what he planned to do next.
Like whether he'd try to uncover why he appeared here in the first place.
Mu Yang said he had no leads.
Fujin, ever enthusiastic,
suggested that instead of staying here alone,
he should come live with them on the opposite mountain.
She even promised to introduce him to another friend.
Mu Yang knew she meant Yaojun.
Of course, he agreed.
Right now, both Fujin and Lingyuan were still in their beast forms.
The ancestors of Chenyu Vale likely hadn't migrated here yet.
If he didn't go with them,
there'd be little point wandering around aimlessly.
Besides, this "companion" setting was something Mu Yang himself had written.
So he accepted Fujin's invitation.
Delighted, Fujin swam circles around him.
While Fujin was overjoyed,
Lingyuan let out a displeased "hmph."
Seemed like befriending this mountain's ruler would take some more time.
On the way back,
Fujin excitedly introduced Mu Yang to their mountain.
Telling him what they usually did for fun.
Mu Yang listened attentively,
occasionally chiming in with comments.
Then Lingyuan abruptly asked a question.
"Why do you take on such a strange form?"
Mu Yang was momentarily confused.
"Human form is strange?"
"Human?"
Lingyuan didn't understand.
But Fujin's eyes sparkled.
"Wow! So this is what a human looks like!"
"I've heard birds talk about them—they live somewhere in that direction."
Fujin pointed toward The Chasm.
According to Teyvat's history,
the ancestors of Chenyu Vale originally came from The Chasm.
After the Skyfrost Nail fell,
they migrated to Chenyu Vale
and settled here.
Upon learning Mu Yang knew about humans,
Fujin immediately flew from Lingyuan's back to Mu Yang's shoulder.
She bombarded him with questions the entire way.
Clearly, she adored this topic.
Lingyuan, however, did not.
She had no interest in humans.
Nor was she thrilled
that this newcomer had stolen her friend's attention...
Mu Yang could feel the daggers in Lingyuan's gaze.
Before long, the trio finally left the barren mountain behind.
After crossing a lake,
they arrived at Lingyuan's mountain.
This place was far livelier than the rock-strewn wasteland.
Lush green grass,
vibrant life,
birds singing amid fragrant blossoms.
Fujin leaped from Mu Yang's shoulder into the water.
After swimming a lap, she surfaced and blew bubbles.
"Now the lake's back to normal too."
Fujin explained to Mu Yang
that the snow had gradually spread to the lake earlier.
The temperature change affected the creatures in the water.
That's why Lingyuan had been so desperate to find the cause.
"Don't judge her by her attitude—she's actually very kind to everyone."
Mu Yang nodded in understanding.
A classic case of "cold on the outside, warm on the inside."
Later, Mu Yang asked Fujin to help him apologize to the creatures in the water.
Since he had caused this disaster,
he was willing to make it up to them.
"How come you left to investigate and came back with a human?"
The speaker was a pure white snake,
currently coiled around a tree branch, flicking its tongue.
Her blood-red eyes
were slightly unsettling.
Fujin jumped out of the water
and said to Mu Yang,
"This is the good friend I mentioned earlier—Yaojun."
"Yaojun, this is our new friend, Mu Yang."
Lingyuan turned her head away.
"Hmph. I haven't acknowledged him as a friend yet."
Yaojun clearly knew Lingyuan's temperament.
Instead of calling out her sharp tongue,
she slithered down from the tree,
first coiling around Mu Yang's arm,
then his neck.
"Your aura… doesn't seem human either."
Mu Yang repeated his explanation.
Same as before—
he didn't remember much.
Luckily, Yaojun didn't mind.
Like Fujin, she warmed up to him quickly.
And so, Mu Yang settled here.
When he closed his eyes to sleep and opened them again,
it wasn't the next morning.
Instead, he had jumped to the next time node.
Now, the four of them had become the closest of friends.
While he slept, countless memories of their time together had filled his mind—
as if he had personally experienced them all.
This simulation was way too damn realistic.
When Mu Yang woke up, he found himself in a small wooden hut.
He had built it himself.
Fujin and the others didn't really understand why,
but Mu Yang's soul was still fundamentally human.
If he had to sleep out in the wilderness under the open sky,
there was no way he'd get any rest.
Food wasn't an issue—
he could just absorb energy from his surroundings.
But occasionally, he craved real flavors.
Once this simulation ended, he'd definitely ask Yanxiao to prepare a full-course feast.
Mu Yang stepped out of the hut
and went to hang out with his friends as usual.
He wondered what antics they'd come up with today.
The moment Yaojun saw Mu Yang,
she sighed helplessly. "Those two are at it again."
Mu Yang chuckled. "What's the bet this time?"
Fujin and Lingyuan loved competing in all sorts of challenges.
Though usually, Fujin was the one playing tricks.
Lingyuan, the silly beast,
always fell for it.
Sometimes, she had no choice but to turn to Mu Yang for help.
At first, she'd been reluctant.
But after realizing how much Mu Yang knew,
their relationship grew closer.
Thanks to Mu Yang's advice,
Lingyuan had won against Fujin a few times.
And now, she was getting overconfident again.
Noticing Mu Yang's arrival,
Lingyuan immediately called out,
"Mu Yang! Come be the referee!"
"Coming, coming."
Mu Yang walked over with Yaojun.
"What's the challenge today?"
Lingyuan declared with absolute confidence:
"Swimming!"
Mu Yang: ???
A Guardian Lion challenging a Koi to a swimming race?
You've really lost all sense of proportion!