"Brother Xiao, are you sure you don't want to turn me into a fox pancake?"
Standing at the edge of a solitary peak in Jueyun Karst, Su Bai looked at the clouds floating beside him and swallowed hard. This height was probably even greater than jumping from Mt. Hulao. If something went wrong, wouldn't he be able to use the free coffin provided in Wangsheng's employee benefits?
"The fastest way to master Anemo is to use your own Anemo energy to stir the natural wind around you, making it serve you. And this place is the most suitable for that."
"Don't worry, there's no danger. Even if there were, I would save you immediately."
Xiao was extremely confident in his speed. This distance was only three breaths away for him. There was no way anything could go wrong.
"Even though you're the fastest person I know, Brother Xiao, what if something does happen? Wouldn't I be dead?"
"Brother Xiao, you said Liyue people don't lie to Liyue people. Aaaaaah!!!"
Before Su Bai could finish rambling, Xiao aimed a kick right at his rear. Su Bai instantly lost his balance and tumbled off the peak. His screams echoed across Jueyun Karst.
"Aaaaaah! Brother Xiao, you ambushed me! That's cheating!"
"Stop screaming. Feel the wind around you. If you can make your body hover in the air, you've grasped the basics of Anemo."
"Aaaaaaaaaaah! Brother Xiao, you tricked me!"
Well, it seemed Su Bai hadn't heard a word he said. He was too busy screaming his head off. Xiao rubbed his forehead and flashed to the foot of the mountain, ready to catch him when he came down.
Breaking through layers of clouds, Su Bai's body fell faster and faster. Feeling the roaring wind around him, he no longer had the luxury to dwell on Xiao's betrayal. The most important thing now was staying alive.
Since Xiao had kicked him off, his body couldn't maintain balance in the air, so his tails couldn't function as gliders either. The only thing he could rely on now was the abundant Anemo energy within him.
After failing to grab his tails to use as gliders, Su Bai frantically tried to use his Anemo energy to slow his fall. But in his panic, the energy he summoned couldn't form proper wind. Even when it did, it wasn't strong enough to hold up his rapidly descending body.
Worse still, because he wasn't skilled at controlling Anemo, some of the wind he created actually pushed him downward. Su Bai was dumbfounded. Was the wind trying to make him fall faster?
Seeing the ground rapidly approaching, Su Bai gritted his teeth and gathered Electro energy in his palm. He planned to use the shockwave from blasting the ground to slow his descent.
Just as he finished gathering Electro energy and prepared to strike the ground, he suddenly realized he was being held aloft by a strand of wind. But this clearly wasn't his own Anemo energy.
"Cloud Retainer, thank you! Aaaaaaaaaaah!"
Before he could finish expressing his gratitude, the wind began to gather rapidly. A bad feeling rose in Su Bai's heart. Then a powerful wind column violently launched him back into the sky.
Having just experienced the terror of plummeting uncontrollably toward the ground, Su Bai was now experiencing the thrill of his body flying forward while his soul chased behind. Two completely different sensations made him feel utterly miserable.
"Aaaaaah! Cloud Retainer, why are you torturing me too?"
At the foot of the mountain, Xiao looked toward Cloud Retainer's abode. It seemed his role here was done. Perhaps he could go discuss with her how best to teach Su Bai.
Inside Cloud Retainer's abode, a projection was playing footage of Su Bai's ordeal. Just as Xiao stepped inside, a wave of hostility washed over him. Following the source of this malice, he saw a woman glaring at him fiercely.
If he remembered correctly, this woman should be Cloud Retainer's disciple, Shenhe. Why was she looking at him like that? Xiao couldn't recall ever offending her.
"Shenhe, do not be rude to the Conqueror of Demons."
Cloud Retainer scolded Shenhe, who finally withdrew her glare. But from her clenched fists, it was clear she wasn't convinced.
"Conqueror of Demons, pay her no mind. Shenhe cannot stand to see Xiao Bai being bullied, so she was a bit rude to you."
Cloud Retainer pointed to the projection before her. Xiao finally understood—Shenhe had seen him kick Su Bai. It seemed she was someone like him. Xiao's gaze toward Shenhe softened, replaced by a hint of appreciation.
Shenhe's thinking was simple: she was the only one allowed to bully Su Bai. Anyone else doing it was unacceptable. So even knowing Xiao's identity, Shenhe remained discourteous toward him.
Cloud Retainer played peacemaker, but she was quite pleased with Shenhe's behavior. Perhaps in a few more years, she might even hold little fox cubs. After Rex Lapis's plan succeeded, she would definitely create some suitable dating environments for Shenhe and Su Bai.
Back in midair above Jueyun Karst, Su Bai had been launched even higher than the peak. At this moment, he regretted everything. He regretted not asking Xiao for a more detailed explanation of the quick method for mastering Anemo. He regretted not choosing the slower method.
"Aaaaaah! Brother Xiao, how could you trick your own comrade? This is too much!"
Sobbing in midair, Su Bai wanted Xiao to rescue him. But when he looked toward the peak, Xiao was nowhere to be seen. Was this how you treat an honest person?
"In the end, I couldn't escape Cloud Retainer's clutches. I should have just gone to her directly."
In the blink of an eye, a day slipped away like sand through tightly clenched fingers. After flying through the sky for an entire day, Su Bai had screamed himself hoarse but only learned the bare basics.
Xiao had watched the entire day through the projection Cloud Retainer created. The more he watched, the more puzzled he became. By all rights, Su Bai's talent was no worse than his own.
Back when Rex Lapis had thrown him off a mountain, it had taken him only two days to master Anemo control, even integrating it into his combat techniques.
So why wasn't the same method working for Su Bai? Xiao couldn't figure it out. Su Bai's domain was illusions, which demanded extremely precise control over adeptal energy.
If Su Bai could handle such delicate manipulation of adeptal energy, why was he progressing so slowly with Anemo? Xiao took the dinner Shenhe had prepared for Su Bai and left Cloud Retainer's abode. He needed to fetch Su Bai and bring him back to Wangshu Inn. Tomorrow, they would continue.