"Heh heh, I've got money today, gotta drink my fill! Little Diona, another special cocktail!"
Venti, slightly tipsy, downed the wine in his cup and said to Diona, the bartender behind the counter.
"You darn bard, I'm almost out of lizard tails!"
Diona glared at Venti with a hint of resentment.
The lizards' tails she had brought, just for Venti alone, were completely consumed.
But if she didn't put in lizard tails, this drunken bard wouldn't be satisfied and would complain about wanting his money back.
Diona had never met anyone with such peculiar tastes.
With the lizard tail ingredients depleted, if she couldn't catch enough, she'd have to try her luck at the alchemy workshop; they often bought strange alchemical materials.
Diona ground the last lizard tail into powder and added it to the drink. Suddenly, she felt something was missing and added a portion of pickles...
After mixing, Diona placed it on Lumine's tray.
Venti took a sip of the special drink Lumine handed him, his eyes lit up instantly, and he exclaimed in delight.
"Little Diona, this cocktail is perfect! I, Venti, declare it the best! Please make it this flavor from now on!"
Venti slapped the table in appreciation, stood up, gave Diona a thumbs-up, and praised her profusely.
Stormterror covered her face and left. She felt embarrassed by her master's behavior...
Diona suddenly felt a pang of regret. Not only had she failed to disgust the drunken bard, but she had also used her own pickles.
It was a complete loss!
Feng Yi chuckled softly, then ignored Venti and walked over to Lumine, quietly asking her what her favorite flower was.
"Me... me? I like... hmm, lilies!"
Lumine immediately realized the implication behind Feng Yi's question.
Could Feng Yi be giving her flowers on the Windblume Festival?
If Feng Yi gave her flowers on the Windblume Festival, it would mean Feng Yi felt...
After all, on the Windblume Festival, people only gave flowers to those they liked or respected.
Feng Yi: "Lumine, are you hungry? Shall I prepare some food for you?"
Lumine: "Huh? Feng Yi, are you asking where to find lilies? I happen to know a place, it's on the Windrise hillside, as you walk down the mountain..."
Lumine suddenly felt a bit shy and expectant. She was worried Feng Yi wouldn't be able to find lilies, so she casually mentioned it while chatting with him, saying there was a place outside Mondstadt where lilies bloomed.
Feng Yi: "I was asking if you were hungry."
Lumine: "Feng Yi, are you asking if there are many lilies there? They're quite plentiful, you'll easily find them if you go over there!"
Feng Yi: "Thank you, I understand!"
Lumine: "Mhm, I'm not hungry!"
Lumine smiled sweetly, anticipating the moment Feng Yi would bring back the lilies.
How should she accept Feng Yi's feelings then?
This was a question worth pondering!
Lumine stood by, lost in thought, and didn't respond no matter how Feng Yi called her.
Helpless, Feng Yi had to give up.
As noon approached, the guests gradually left. Feng Yi took this opportunity to give Diona a two-hour short leave.
"Feng Yi, there's a flight challenge in the afternoon. Will you come cheer me on?"
Lumine asked Feng Yi, who was preparing to close the tavern.
"Uh... I need to go out of town now. If I have time, I'll come back to cheer for you!"
Feng Yi nodded and said.
"Mhm, it's okay, Feng Yi, please be careful!"
Lumine, thinking Feng Yi was going to gather lilies on Windrise, said happily.
Feng Yi summoned Yuanbao and Qiqi from the Serenitea Pot and asked them to accompany Lumine and Paimon to visit the grand Windblume Festival ceremony.
Then, Feng Yi hurried out of Mondstadt and flew towards the distance on his polearm.
Time was limited, and he had several things to find.
First, he had to go to Dragonspine to ask Albedo to refine a very large Sweet Flower as a return gift for Sucrose.
"Feng Yi, long time no see. I remember today is Mondstadt's Windblume Festival. Is there something important that brings you here?"
Albedo, who was organizing alchemy documents, greeted him upon seeing the visitor.
Klee had told him before that Feng Yi was very good to her, giving her delicious food, playing with her, and telling her stories...
Albedo thus felt quite grateful to Feng Yi and had a good impression of him.
"It's like this, Albedo, do you know of any Sweet Flowers that are very large and blue in color?"
Feng Yi greeted him and asked.
"Very large? Blue Sweet Flowers? I have some recollection, I think I saw it in a book somewhere, let me think..."
Albedo pondered for a moment, then remembered that the Sweet Flower Feng Yi was referring to seemed to be an ancient variety.
This species had a long history, and fundamentally, it was no different from the Sweet Flowers of today.
However, Albedo was puzzled why Feng Yi was interested in such an ancient artifact.
"Hmm, I remember now. Based on the characteristics you mentioned, Feng Yi, it should be an ancient Sweet Flower. Are you also interested in researching it?"
In Albedo's opinion, only Sucrose would be interested in researching Sweet Flowers.
"Yes, Sucrose gave me a gift, and I'm preparing a return gift. So, I thought of this. Albedo, could you help me refine such a Sweet Flower?"
"Yes, I can, but I have experiments to attend to right now. Please leave the material collection to me!"
Albedo readily agreed to Feng Yi's request. If it was a return gift for Sucrose, such a present would be most suitable.
Feng Yi took the material list Albedo handed him. The main ingredient, Sweet Flower, was easy to collect.
Feng Yi gathered all the materials in just a few minutes and handed them to Albedo.
With a series of movements on the alchemy table, Albedo refined a blue Sweet Flower the size of a basin.
"Albedo, thank you so much! As a token of my gratitude, I have a gift for you!"
Feng Yi put away the Sweet Flower and was about to give Albedo a gift.
"There's no need. I just did it casually, no thanks are necessary..."
Albedo smiled and quickly refused, saying Feng Yi was too polite.
But when he saw the gift Feng Yi took out, Albedo admitted he had been too hasty.
It was a silver longsword emitting a mysterious aura. Albedo had never seen such a magnificent treasure, and his eyes widened.
Albedo desperately wanted to understand the source of the sword's mysterious aura and its fundamental power...
The words of refusal were stuck in his throat and he couldn't utter them.
Feng Yi had previously given the golden longsword to Jean, and he had no use for this silver longsword, so it had been gathering dust in his River God divinity. He had only recently remembered this matter and decided to give it to Albedo for research as a favor.
Feng Yi was eager to see what Albedo could discover, as it might help him control his River God divinity.