“Ganyu, you don’t need to worry about me. If you want to go chop down some trees, go ahead. Before we head back to Liyue, you can gather some more resources too.”
“No way!” Ganyu said with a serious expression.
“I must protect Jiang Xuan! Jiang Xuan is the most important!”
“As for resources, this trip is just for exploration, so it’s fine if Keqing carries some. Besides, Jiang Xuan, you’ll need these to clear the land, right?”
“We can mine them ourselves next time we come back.”
Although Ganyu spoke without any selfish intent, Jiang Xuan found her words highly comforting.
Smiling, he said softly, “Then… next time, I’ll take Ganyu to mine gold, and use the gold ingots to make some golden apples for Ganyu.”
“A gol… golden apple?” Ganyu was surprised.
“Does such a thing actually exist? But Jiang Xuan, are you sure it’s really edible?”
Jiang Xuan shrugged.
“Of course. Not only is it edible, but it tastes delicious. Plus, it has many magical effects!”
“And the most important thing is…” Jiang Xuan lowered his voice, speaking in a mysterious whisper.
“No matter how much you eat, you won’t gain any weight!”
Won’t gain weight!
Ganyu’s eyes lit up instantly.
She subconsciously pursed her lips.
“Then… then I…” Ganyu found it a little hard to say.
Jiang Xuan waved his hand with a laugh.
“It’s fine. It’s not that hard to make, so consider it my gift to Ganyu. If you really want to thank me… how about letting me touch your horns?”
A blush instantly crept onto Ganyu’s face.
She lowered her head shyly and mumbled, “Touching my horns… Since Jiang Xuan is my friend, I guess I could…”
Before Ganyu could reluctantly agree, Keqing suddenly turned around and shouted from up ahead, “Jiang Xuan! We’ve reached the end! There’s a huge mountain ahead! There’s a very deep cave underneath, come quick and see if it’s the mine shaft you were talking about!”
Hearing this, Jiang Xuan immediately looked up and replied, “Hold on, I’m coming! Don’t go inside, it’s very dangerous!”
With that, Jiang Xuan excitedly turned back to look at Ganyu.
“Let’s go, Ganyu! Time to get to work!”
Without waiting for Ganyu’s answer, he grabbed her hand and dashed toward Keqing.
Jiang Xuan didn’t have any impure motives; it was simply a hardcore miner’s passion for caving taking over. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
But to Ganyu, this was incredibly embarrassing.
She had never held hands with a man in her entire life.
On top of that, Jiang Xuan had just expressed his eager anticipation to touch her horns.
Ganyu couldn’t help but let her imagination run wild.
The most direct thought was…
*Does Jiang Xuan really like me…?
Even though he’s a good person, very gentle, and always consoles me, making him my best human friend in thousands of years… but… but… isn’t this a bit fast?*
Jiang Xuan didn’t notice Ganyu’s wild thoughts.
He ran excitedly to Keqing’s side, took a glance, and declared confidently, “That’s right! This is the place! Get your pickaxes ready, we’re going mining!”
Jiang Xuan let go of Ganyu’s hand and pulled out a wooden pickaxe.
He stared at the dark cave before him with burning eyes.
“Finally… after a whole year, I’m finally going home!”
11.
The First Step to Becoming a Veteran Miner: Coal!
“Check your inventory. Do you both have two pickaxes and a wooden sword?”
Jiang Xuan stood at the entrance of the cave.
Behind him was a pitch-black, seemingly endless cavern.
Holding a shield in his left hand and a wooden sword in his right, he checked the time with a serious expression.
The sun was currently directly overhead; time in the Minecraft world was very easy to tell.
Since there was no latitude or longitude to worry about, as long as the sun was right above, it was noon.
This was a good time to start, at least the outside was safe.
After surveying the area for a moment, Jiang Xuan confirmed that there was no coal near the entrance.
At least, not within the first several dozen meters.
This was a bit of a rough start, but with time ticking away, Jiang Xuan decided to gamble today.
Going to the mountaintop or searching for another cave would waste too much time.
Before heading out, Jiang Xuan had even raided his buddy’s house for a few torches, which would barely suffice for lighting.
“No problem!” Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
Keqing was geared up exactly like Jiang Xuan, shield in her left hand and wooden sword in her right.
As for Ganyu, she held a torch in one hand and a wooden pickaxe in the other.
After all, Jiang Xuan couldn’t afford to gamble with his life, nor did he know if Ganyu and Keqing could respawn.
Safety was the absolute priority.
Don’t be fooled by Keqing and Ganyu’s high combat strength—Ganyu was even an Adeptus.
In the Minecraft world, they still wouldn’t survive a few slaps from a zombie.
There was no helping it; this illogical world was just that ridiculous.
“Once we go down, I’ll lead the way. Ganyu, you’ll stay in the middle to provide light. Keqing, you watch our rear.”
“If any danger arises, retreat immediately. Don’t worry about me, understand?”
Jiang Xuan gave Keqing and Ganyu one final reminder.
The two nodded seriously in response.
They didn’t make a fuss about not leaving Jiang Xuan behind.
As powerful warriors who had fought countless battles, they knew exactly when to look out for their teammates and when unnecessary worry would only hold them back.
Jiang Xuan clearly had more experience than them.
Rather than worrying about whether Jiang Xuan could escape, they focused on making sure they didn’t become a burden.
“Do you remember the techniques I taught you earlier?” Jiang Xuan asked once more.
Ganyu’s small head nodded rapidly.
She pulled out her wooden pickaxe and gestured against the wall.
“If we get cornered by zombies, instantly dig a recess into the wall, back into it, and place blocks in front of us to seal ourselves off from their attacks.”
“If we encounter a skeleton archer, we should dig horizontally, keeping a breathing and observation gap while ensuring we stay out of its line of fire.”
“If we meet a green, four-legged monster, we must raise our shields immediately. If there is water nearby, we should jump into it!”
Ganyu repeated the instructions meticulously, putting Jiang Xuan at ease.
Although there were many other terrifying entities in the caves—like annoying silverfish, slimes, spiders… and occasionally even Endermen—they didn’t spawn very often.
Relatively speaking, zombies, skeletons, and creepers were the most troublesome.
Especially a group of skeletons; they could turn you into a pincushion in seconds.