> Huh.
> Paimon, this is where you wanted us to go to?
"Yeah! What, is there something wrong with Paimon's taste, huh?!"
> Well...
> Not exactly, but...
A cold, female voice pierces through the air like ice.
"Put your back into it!"
And in return, a smaller, more exhausted voice replies.
"I-I am, Auntie Shenhe!"
Upon hearing those two familiar voices, the traveling duo stopped dead in their tracks. They were currently at Jueyun Karst--on a side quest actually, to obtain some Jueyun Chilies for Xiangling--when they had heard the two exorcists' voices. Instead of going all the way into the adepti's abode for the spicy specialties, the traveler had pitched to Paimon about going to Qingce Village instead, as it would've been a less intrusive act according to Liyue customs.
But alas, Paimon did not fancy the idea for fear of it being too 'mundane', so here they were.
She really did like to inadvertently cause trouble, huh?
At least they'd gotten their chilies... even though it had taken a lot more climbing since everything was basically either a cliff or in between one...
A question from the distance scattered their thoughts, and they hid behind a nearby rock to see what was going on.
"Are you truly?"
"Yes... huff... are you sure this is all necessary?"
"You can never be too prepared. You may never have seen a evil spirit yet, but what if you just happen to encounter one that's many times greater in strength than you?"
After observing a bit more dialogue between the two, even from the distance and the inherent quietness from the adepti-respected area, it was clear that Shenhe--who was actually Chongyun's aunt--was training Chongyun just like how she said she would.
In the mountains, just like she'd told them a while ago.
Oh, wait, what day was it?
> Hey.
> Paimon?
"Hm? What is it, traveler?"
> When was Chongyun's birthday again?
> Do you remember those twos' birthdays?
"Of course I do!" Paimon said as-a-matter-of-factly. She proudly stood at her floating position, chuckling slightly. "Shenhe's birthday was on March 10th, and Chongyun's is September-"
As soon as she realized the date, she stopped.
"Hey! Wait a minute, you don't mean to say that you're going to-"
> Yup. You've got that right, Paimon.
> Let's just call it a favor to Xingqiu and Xiangling.
Elsewhere, Chongyun sighed, knowing that his aunt was right. If, one fateful day, he happened to come across a spirit that could even resist his own out-of-control yang energy... it'd surely be powerful. How powerful, he didn't know... but she had been raised by the adepti herself, and her power outclassed his tenfold. Perhaps even more.
"You're right--I should keep at it."
"Mmm."
Shenhe nodded, swinging her polearm in tandem with Chongyun's claymore. They started reciting various mantras, with the most common one of them all being the one that Chongyun could never seem to get the hang of.
"Let's see.. 'Heart be pure, evil be erased. Mind be purged, world be...' Um... Ugh, I always forget that last part." He dejectedly tilted his head down, his posture faltering along with it.
Shenhe finished off the mantra for him, taking up the next stance with her polearm. "Mind be purged, world be saved."
"Yeah, that's the one!" After hearing it once again, Chongyun took up the next position with his claymore, and they continued for a time.
"Traveler? Are you sure that Chongyun's going to enjoy this...?" Paimon asked their companion, as if unsure about their cooking skills. Of course, the traveler's cooking skills were seen as quite divine all across Teyvat--in the regions they've been to, at least--but...
> It'll be okay, Paimon.
> I didn't add in too much of it in there.
Paimon shrugged, not too concerned about the result. The meal smelled delish, and Paimon could never resist the traveler's amazing cooking skills. They started nearing the area where they had last seen the exorcist duo, and--funnily enough--they were still there. The only thing different this time was that they were both standing on the tips of their weapons quite precariously, eyes closed.
"Hey! Shenhe! Chongyun!" Paimon yelled out their names to them as the two neared their area, with the traveler holding a covered dish in their hands.
As soon as Paimon had shouted, both of them started to falter. Surprisingly, it was Shenhe who fell off of her weapon first. However, she also recovered first. When Chongyun fell of off his weapon, it fell backward of where he landed, so it took him another second more to get it back as Shenhe approached the outsiders.
"What are you doing here?" She asked bluntly, expressionless. "And why would you do so right when we're training? I'm pretty sure that you could see us contemplating."
"Heheh!" Paimon winked at Shenhe--it seemed like she just did it for fun. "Well, actually, the traveler and I had a gift!"
"For... me?" Shenhe pointed at herself, confused. There was no occasion for her to receive a gift, if any at all. Materialistic items didn't exactly tempt her as much as her more civilized, mortal counterparts...
> Ah, sorry Shenhe...
> This is actually for Chongyun.
"Me?" Chongyun replied, surprised. Just like Shenhe, he contemplated what kind of holiday would deserve a gift. Oh, wait. "Is this for my birthday?"
"Your birthday? Chongyun, you were born today?" Shenhe's face was a mix of confusion and neutrality, all in one. As a disciple of Cloud Retainer, she did not care too much of birthdays, so she had never asked her living relatives about theirs. It was a given that she didn't know Chongyun's as well.
"September 7th, yes. Auntie Shenhe, you didn't know?" Chongyun was also as equally surprised as she was. When she came to pick him up from the city earlier today, he'd thought that his family or someone at least would've told her... guess not.
"No. I didn't."
"Ah... well, anyway, Chongyun, open it, open it!" Paimon interjected, getting in between them with the traveler's gift.
And as soon as she dropped it into Chongyun's hands, he could smell it.
It was just a tiny bit, but he recognized that scent.
"D-did you guys... put J-Jueyun Chili in here?" Chongyun asked, hesitant. Even with the white cloth over its pot handle, he could distinctly smell its aura.
> Well...
> I didn't think you'd be able to guess it that quickly.
"So you guys did!" Chongyun remarked, baffled. However, he decided to take the lid off--just to reaffirm his suspicions. Yup--that was definitely the smell of Jueyun Chili. However, disregarding that... it actually smelled pretty nice. "What is it, anyway?"
"This is Wanmin Restaurant's Boiled Fi*** Xiangling helped us out in making it, just for you!" Paimon exclaimed, her eyes practically showing off her delight.
"I... I see... so it was Xiangling, huh?" Chongyun laughed nervously, having been reminded of her previous... pranks in the past. He shook his head off of it though. That was a while ago. If this was going to be his birthday present from her, as well as the traveler and Paimon, then it couldn't be that bad.
> Don't worry.
> It's really not as spicy as you might think it is.
"Smells... wonderful." Shenhe replied, covering half her face, abstaining. "Indulging in too many mortal dishes for me would be much too divergent, however. I'll have to pass."
"We got something for you too, Shenhe!" Paimon smiled, gesturing at the traveler. They rolled their eyes, but then took out another dish from behind their back. As soon as Shenhe saw it, her expression wavered, and she started to crave the dish.
"No way..."
> Heartstring Noodles.
> They're not perfect, but...
"No. It's more than I could ever ask for." She deflected the traveler's remarks, and stepped toward them gracefully, accepting the dish from their hands.
Now, both of the white-haired exorcists had dishes in their hands.
> Time to chow down, both of you.
> And Chongyun... happy birthday.
Despite chilis in one dish and a pseudo-childhood dish in the other, the two were able to enjoy their respective dishes without too much incident.
However, after the meal, Chongyun was no longer in shape to continue his training for the rest of the day.
