Genshin Impact: I'm The Envoy of Snezhnaya
Chapter 347: Venti
"This person..."
As the Anemo Archon who symbolizes freedom, Venti sensed something unusual.
When this young man stood among the crowd, he seemed strangely out of place with everything around him.
Like a streak of darkness within light, a ripple upon still water.
It was as if everything about him ran opposite to everyone else.
The wind could know many things, yet it could not blow through the other party's heart, nor could it see through him as a whole.
But compared to that… that strange Vision—was that her power on it? Could it be that Anastasya was protecting this young man?
No… that's not right. The one protecting him wasn't the Cryo Archon. It was a completely inscrutable force.
A power even the gods couldn't see through? Interesting…
"Poet, keep going! We're all waiting."
When the crowd learned that Venti was about to tell the story of Barbatos and the Cryo Archon—one of those "things that must be spoken of"—the surrounding onlookers were already impatient.
This was far more explosive than gossip about the village bachelor secretly flirting with someone's young wife.
But after starting the story, Venti suddenly fell silent.
Naturally, many people began urging him to continue.
"My apologies, everyone. Perhaps I cannot continue performing today."
Removing his hat, Venti bowed politely to the crowd and explained.
Even though doing so would ruin all the buildup he had just made, he had no choice.
"Hey, can you even do it or not? If you can't then stop brag—hey, why'd you kick me?"
A young man who loved stirring trouble tried to start heckling, only to be kicked by the friend beside him.
He had been a little dissatisfied at first, but after noticing the people gradually surrounding them, he quickly lowered his head and left together with his friend.
And the people closing in… were the Fatui.
Regardless of whether the Fatui had shown weakness politically, their surveillance of this city had never stopped for even a moment.
Although the monitoring network in Mondstadt had been breached thanks to the interference of the Darknight Hero, keeping an eye on the city's general situation was still more than manageable.
So when Venti began talking about Barbatos and the Tsaritsa, Fatui agents hidden among the crowd had already quietly gone back to the Goth Grand Hotel to report the news.
Under the pressure of the Fatui, the crowd scattered and fled.
The once-crowded plaza was soon left with only the Fatui, Venti, and… Bai Luo.
"You're not running?" Venti asked Bai Luo.
Facing a large number of Fatui, Venti showed no panic at all. Instead, he looked at him.
"I don't need to run."
Bai Luo had already put away his Delusion. What he held in his hand now was a round and plump Sunsettia.
Even when facing a god, he still dared not relax his guard.
"Quite bold."
With a gentle brush of his fingers across the strings of his lyre, Venti was already considering how to protect Bai Luo.
Unexpectedly, after the Fatui surrounded them, they first walked up to Bai Luo—and bowed respectfully.
"Ausbilder, sir!"
"…."
Venti froze for a moment, but quickly understood what was going on.
Right. Considering that he's possessing something that allowed Anastasya to come into contact with him… him being one of her higher executive wasn't strange at all.
"Take your men and withdraw. I'll handle this bard myself," Bai Luo said with a casual wave of his hand.
"Th–this… understood, sir!"
The Fatui leader who had hoped to gain some merit wanted to say something more. But when he remembered Bai Luo's status as a Harbinger, cold sweat instantly broke out across his back.
No matter how high his own rank might be, before the Harbingers he was no different from an ordinary soldier.
If a Harbinger wanted him dead, it would take nothing more than a single sentence.
Compared with merit, his life was clearly more important.
"All units, withdraw!"
With a sweep of his hand, the Fatui retreated in confusion under the leader's command.
Soon, the vast plaza was left with only two people.
"Would you like to go have a drink together, bard?"
After the square fell silent, Bai Luo extended an invitation to Venti.
However, the Sunsettia he continued to hold tightly in his hand made Venti particularly wary.
However, compared to the Sunsettia, Venti was more concerned about the words Bai Luo had just spoken.
"Can I choose the place?" Venti asked.
"Of course. Pick anywhere you like."
"Great!"
…
"Welcome to Angel's Share."
The bartender, Charles, instinctively started greeting the customers when he noticed someone entering.
But when he saw Bai Luo, his expression changed slightly.
As Mondstadt's most important business for the Ragnvindr family, Diluc had informed everyone about Bai Luo immediately after returning to the city.
In other words… all of Diluc's employees already knew that Bai Luo was a Fatui Harbinger.
"Hey, are there any seats left?" Bai Luo asked casually after greeting Charles.
Meanwhile, Venti behind him looked a little evasive.
He was worried that the bearded bartender might grab him with one hand and throw him out again.
"There are still seats upstairs. Please, this way," Charles said.
He glanced at Venti behind Bai Luo. Actually, he wanted to stop him.
But considering Bai Luo's special status, he ultimately chose to ignore it.
More importantly, he needed to report this matter to Master Diluc as soon as possible.
"Wow, the second floor! This is the perfect place for drinking," Venti said excitedly.
After reaching the second floor and finding a good seat, he immediately sat down.
He truly hadn't expected that one day he would enter a tavern like this in this form.
"What would you two like to drink? Apple cider?" the bartender upstairs asked as he approached. He gave Bai Luo a long look before speaking.
Apple cider here was basically similar to apple juice, something suitable for people who weren't good at drinking alcohol.
Clearly, he had mistaken Venti for a minor.
"The finest Dandelion Wine!" Venti declared.
If it were before, Venti might have ordered apple cider.
But now that he had someone else paying, how could he not take the chance to fleece them properly? Otherwise, how could he still call himself Barbatos—ahem, Venti?
The bartender froze for a moment, then turned to Bai Luo, seemingly asking for his opinion.
After all, no matter how you looked at it, Bai Luo seemed like the guardian.
"Yes, the finest Dandelion Wine. And by the way, this guy's age might be older than you imagine," Bai Luo replied.
He didn't mind Venti trying to fleece him.
So what if it was Barbatos?
There were plenty of people in this world who wanted to fleece him. A mere Barbatos was nothing to fear.
The bartender still doubted the truth of Bai Luo's words, because the young bard looked extremely youthful no matter how you looked at him.
But considering Bai Luo's special identity, he felt there was no reason for him to lie. So he complied and brought several bottles of the finest Dandelion Wine.
"I've had wine from the Ragnvindr family before, but this bottle… I wouldn't call it top-tier," Venti said somewhat regretfully after tasting the wine.
He had no intention of hiding his identity.
After sensing Anastasya's power around Bai Luo, he had already realized something.
This young man probably already knew who he truly was.
"Indeed. Wine that hasn't been tempered by time always lacks a certain sense of age. Even if you describe it as 'top-grade,' it still can't change its rather mediocre taste," Bai Luo said with clear disdain as he swirled the wine in his glass.
After drinking the fine wine Kaeya had secretly brought from Diluc's winery the night before, this kind of wine felt almost hard to swallow.
Even though it was expensive.
"So, young Harbinger," Venti said, "what business do you have with me?"
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Latest Chapter: Chapter 391: Never Make a Deal with Bai Luo[1]
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