Mondstadt City, Cat's Tail Tavern.
"Paimon, we're out of wine again, bring more..."
"Hey, bard, stop mooching off us, be careful Feng Yi doesn't make you pay when she gets back."
"Hehe..."
"Hehe my foot, bard, are you even listening to me?"
Paimon stomped her feet in the air, exasperated by this freeloading guy. If Lumine hadn't held her back, she would have kicked him long ago.
"Lumine, Paimon, Diona, long time no see, I'm back!"
Feng Yi walked into her own tavern, looking at the patrons coming and going, feeling immensely relieved.
Entrusting the tavern to Lumine and the others back then had truly not disappointed her.
"Wow, Feng Yi, you're back!"
Paimon's eyes lit up when she saw Feng Yi return. She hadn't had Feng Yi's ice cream in a long time since Feng Yi left.
"Hehe, bard, Feng Yi is back, you're in trouble!"
Paimon grinned, looking forward to seeing how the bard would freeload now.
"Feng Yi, where did you go? Was it fun?"
Diona asked curiously while mixing drinks. Her bartending skills had become increasingly proficient, allowing her to multitask.
Having been praised by the customers here so much, Diona suddenly felt a bit reluctant to destroy Mondstadt's wine industry. She decided to put that great plan aside for now and revisit it later.
"Inazuma, it's an island nation, very interesting. I brought you some local specialty dried fish as a gift!"
Saying that, Feng Yi took out a dried fish longer than Diona from the Serenitea Pot and placed it on the tavern counter.
"Wow, what a huge dried fish, it smells so good! I wonder what it would taste like if used in a drink?"
Diona hugged the large dried fish delightedly, unwilling to let go.
The moment she saw the dried fish, Diona knew she wouldn't need dinner tonight.
"Feng Yi, Feng Yi, what about my gift?"
Seeing that Diona had a gift, Paimon immediately flew to Feng Yi's side, looking at her expectantly.
"Don't rush, of course I didn't forget you. This is an Inazuman specialty pastry – Sakura Mochi. You can try it..."
Feng Yi took out a box of packaged pastries and placed it on the counter.
"Hehe, you know me best!"
Paimon was very satisfied with this gift and happily unwrapped it.
After arranging things for the two of them, Feng Yi then walked towards Lumine, who was not far away, with her gift.
From the moment Feng Yi entered the tavern, Lumine had been watching him with a smile, standing there quietly waiting for Feng Yi to come to her.
"You're back."
"Mhm, I'm back. I wasn't sure what you liked, so I brought you some goodies..."
Feng Yi stepped forward and gave Lumine a warm hug.
"Feng Yi, I met Dainsleif. I think I want to go on a journey for a while..."
Lumine hugged Feng Yi back, feeling his solid chest, and proposed the idea of traveling.
"Do you have a destination in mind? Do you want me to accompany you?"
Feng Yi asked softly in Lumine's ear. He knew Lumine was a Traveler, destined to journey through all seven nations and gather all elemental powers, just like her brother Aether.
He couldn't always keep Lumine in Mondstadt helping him manage the tavern. Feng Yi respected Lumine's choices.
"Mhm, I want to see Liyue. I heard from Captain Beidou that Liyue's Geo Archon – Rex Lapis, a powerful deity who survived the Archon War. I think he might know something about my brother..."
Lumine nodded and said.
"I want to travel alone first. I'll find you to go together next time."
Lumine smiled slightly. While it was comforting to have Feng Yi by her side, she still wanted to challenge herself.
"Alright, when do you plan to depart?"
"In a few more days..."
Since Feng Yi had just returned, Lumine was reluctant to leave immediately. She wanted to spend a few more days with him...
"Okay, I'll see you off when you're ready."
Feng Yi smiled slightly. Liyue wasn't far from Mondstadt, and he himself would be returning to Liyue soon. It was fine for Lumine to go ahead.
Paimon, while eating Sakura Mochi, watched Lumine and Feng Yi intimately whispering to each other.
She eavesdropped on their conversation, and before she knew it, the Sakura Mochi in her hand was all gone.
When she reached out to get more, she found the box completely empty.
"BARD— You're too cruel! You ate Feng Yi's Sakura Mochi that he gave me, and didn't leave a single piece for me! All that Sakura Mochi, how could you eat it all?"
Paimon looked at the empty box, on the verge of tears.
It was one thing for this bard to freeload at the tavern, but today he had even resorted to stealing from her.
This was simply unbearable!
Paimon clenched her fists and chased Venti, unleashing a storm of punches, as if she would fight to the death.
But Paimon's combat power was what it was; she couldn't even defeat a wild boar. Her punches felt like a massage on Venti.
"Uwaaa, so comfortable, over here, a bit to the left..."
Venti simply stood still, letting Paimon pat his back.
This was truly a soul-crushing experience.
Feng Yi heard the commotion and quickly came over to break them up.
"Paimon, forget it, don't be angry..."
"But... but he ate the gift you gave me..."
Thinking of this, Paimon's anger flared up again.
"Don't be mad, I'll get you another box of Sakura Mochi. Also, as compensation, I'll give you Venti's gift as well..."
Feng Yi held Paimon back and took out two more packages.
"Alright then, for your sake, I'll grudgingly forgive this bard."
Paimon knew when to stop and quickly protected the box of Sakura Mochi, determined not to let anyone else steal it.
"Feng Yi, I have a gift too? What is it?"
Venti's eyes lit up when he heard he had a gift.
"It's an Inazuman specialty – Sakura Bloom Sake. However, it's Paimon's now."
Feng Yi spread his hands. He was just about to give the gift to Venti when this incident happened.
"Ah, this..."
Venti immediately felt like he had suffered a great loss.
If he hadn't been greedy, he would have been able to drink Inazuman liquor.
Although Inazuman Sakura Mochi was quite delicious, compared to liquor, he knew without a doubt which he would choose.
As the person involved, he regretted it immensely.
"Little Paimon, I was wrong. You already have a new box of Sakura Mochi, could you please return my gift to me?"
"Hmph!"
Faced with Venti's apology, Paimon snorted coldly and turned her head away.
"How about this, I'll compensate you with ten Sweet Madame, okay?"
"Just ten Sweet Madame to move me? You underestimate me too much, Paimon. It should be at least twenty... no, fifty!"