Bai Luo had no qualms about killing. As a sharp blade of the Fatui, the number of people who had died by his hand—directly or indirectly—was far from small in his earlier years.
Now, taking a life didn't weigh heavily on him either.
Especially when it came to the Treasure Hoarders.
Unlike the somewhat romanticized depictions in games, the Treasure Hoarders of Teyvat were far more than just grave robbers. Wherever there was treasure, there was nothing they wouldn't dare to do.
Killing and looting were as casual to them as eating and drinking. They wouldn't even spare their own comrades, as they were nothing more than a disorganized mob driven by greed. There was no genuine camaraderie among them.
So, after Bai Luo killed their leader with a single strike, the rest scattered like frightened birds, disappearing into the forest without a trace.
"Remember! My name is Tartaglia! Don't come after the wrong person when you seek revenge!"
As he watched the group flee, Bai Luo didn't forget to leave his name behind.
Tartaglia was a Harbinger, and Bai Luo was also a Harbinger.
Roughly speaking, Bai Luo was more or less equal to Tartaglia.
Besides, it wasn't like these people would actually go looking for someone named Tartaglia. Let him take the blame... no, wait, this wasn't exactly a bad reputation. It was more like the reputation of a righteous hero.
I'm such a good person.
Only Qiqi looked at Bai Luo with slight confusion.
Wasn't his name Luo Bai?
The herbs that Baizhu had asked Qiqi to gather were actually arranged by Ningguang. If Qiqi had gone alone, it would have taken her at least ten days to half a month to return.
After all, her commands often went awry, which would have wasted a lot of time.
But with Bai Luo's help, they managed to gather almost all the herbs in less than three days, leaving only one last ingredient.
"A lizard? Is it this kind?"
Casually picking up a lizard from a crack in the rocks, Bai Luo asked.
These lizards loved damp places and could be found in abundance. They weren't rare at all.
"It's a bit bigger than this."
Qiqi wasn't new to catching lizards, but her memory wasn't the best. She only remembered that the lizard liked to burrow underground, making it quite troublesome to deal with. It took a long time to chase it down and extract the medicinal parts.
"Oh, that little dragon-lizard thing?"
The little creature that rolled around everywhere reminded Bai Luo of Sayu. Not catching her that day in Inazuma had always been a regret for him.
When he went to Inazuma, he'd have to look for her. He couldn't leave that regret unresolved, right? He'd bring some carrots and sunsettias, maybe even some sunset fruits.
She'd probably love that.
"I think that's its name."
After thinking carefully, Qiqi confirmed that it was indeed a dragon-lizard. No mistake there.
But when they arrived at the location, Bai Luo fell silent.
"You call this thing... a lizard?"
Looking at the massive creature sleeping in the cave, Bai Luo, even though he had mentally prepared himself, hadn't expected something like this.
The giant beast was covered in crimson crystals, its rocky body adorned with red veins. As it lay in the cave, it occasionally snorted, but what came out of its nostrils wasn't foul gas—it was scorching flames. Even from dozens of meters away, Bai Luo could feel the heat.
"A bigger lizard."
"..."
Well, she wasn't wrong. It was indeed bigger, but whether it was actually a lizard was still up for debate.
Maybe Collei, who had studied in Sumeru, could identify what exactly this thing was.
Setting down the medicine basket, Qiqi rolled up her sleeves and prepared to take it on. Judging by her demeanor... it seemed like she was used to doing this.
"Do you do this often?"
"Yes. It's well-behaved, just not cute."
"..."
It was definitely not cute, but whether it was well-behaved... that was hard to say.
"Leave this to me. I'll give it a try."
Bai Luo couldn't quite imagine how this little girl, who wasn't even the size of one of the creature's claws, could fight such a massive dragon-lizard.
On the bright side, at least it was just a Primo Geovishap and not Azhdaha.
After turning invisible, Bai Luo descended from above. The outfit of the One-Winged Angel had cost him his ability to glide, but it granted him immunity to fall damage.
Hmm... not a bad trade-off.
Maybe he'd get a flying character later.
Bai Luo's arrival didn't alert the Primo Geovishap. It continued to lie there, snoring away. After all, Bai Luo's invisibility was enough to fool even the Seven Archons.
He even boldly climbed onto its back, and it still didn't notice.
"This should be it, right?"
Drawing his dagger from his waist, Bai Luo looked at the crimson crystal on the Primo Geovishap's back.
This thing was called the Juvenile Jade.
It was a crystalline substance found only on Primo Geovishaps, containing the potential to become a dragon.
This crystalline material usually lay dormant within the bodies of dragon-lizards in the mountains. However, once removed from the dragon-lizard, it would turn into a dull crystal.
There was a folk legend in Liyue that the power of the dragon-lizard accumulated over time, and this crystal would eventually replace the dragon-lizard's original heart, transforming it into a true dragon capable of shaking mountains and splitting the earth.
This crystal not only helped some cultivators break through their limitations but could also be ground into a medicinal ingredient, improving eyesight and clearing meridians.
Because of these miraculous effects, its price was naturally high. It was said to be even more valuable than top-grade incense used in funeral rites.
Top-grade funeral incense cost 3 million Mora, after all.
But considering how difficult it was to obtain, its high price was somewhat justified.
However, removing it wasn't an easy task. According to Qiqi's notebook, it took more than ten strikes with a sword to knock off a single piece.
With Bai Luo's dagger, it would probably take even longer.
After finding the right spot, Bai Luo raised his dagger and struck at the point where the Juvenile Jade connected to the Primo Geovishap.
Crackle—
A faint blue electric current flashed across the Primo Geovishap's body. The creature, which had been snoring, was suddenly paralyzed by the unexpected attack.
You're paralyzed!
"Did I land a critical hit?"
Looking at the Juvenile Jade he had knocked off with a single strike, and then at the Primo Geovishap, which had just woken up and was now looking utterly confused, Bai Luo realized what had happened.
The paralysis effect from his passive ability was different from the elemental reactions in Teyvat.
In a certain game, skeletons could bleed, rock creatures could be petrified, fire dragons could be ignited, and electric beings could be paralyzed.
After his reverse-blade sword was imbued with a non-lethal effect, even stabbing someone in the heart wouldn't kill them—it was pure torture.
So he was considering whether he should try slashing an Electro Slime. Maybe he could achieve the special feat of paralyzing an Electro Slime.
Bai Luo's act of cutting off the Juvenile Jade counted as an attack, so he naturally exited his invisible state, and the Primo Geovishap noticed him.
"RUA—"
Being regularly bullied by a little herb-gathering girl was one thing, but now another one had shown up and even taken the Juvenile Jade from its body.
How could it tolerate this?
Its claws slammed into the ground, and its glowing crimson eyes locked onto Bai Luo.