If that really were the case, Lumine would absolutely mock Venti without mercy.
Meanwhile, Jiang Chen couldn't help wondering:
How was La Signora's "Gnosis hunt" going now?
Had she even figured out who the Anemo Archon was?
Thanks to Jiang Chen, the original plot was in ruins.
Lumine still earned her Honorary Knight title—
but Venti?
Jiang Chen had kept him knocked out in a hotel for days, buried under a mountain of lethal cocktails.
How was La Signora supposed to find the Anemo Archon like that?
She probably couldn't even find his shadow.
And indeed—back in Mondstadt—that was exactly what was happening.
Unable to locate the Anemo Archon, Signora's expression was getting darker by the day.
Her subordinates caused small disturbances across the city,
forcing the Knights of Favonius into constant clean-up duty.
Civilians became increasingly dissatisfied with the Fatui.
As for Venti…
He finally sobered up.
And discovered that all the wine he'd buried beneath Windrise—was gone.
He was the one who set that barrier there.
He knew exactly when it had been disturbed.
Once the alcohol fog lifted from his brain and his consciousness sharpened,
his first instinct was to rush to Windrise.
Still dizzy and reeking of booze, he staggered across the plains.
The moment his divine sense touched the ground—
His mind went blank.
"Gone?"
"All of it is gone??"
"My precious wine stash—completely empty?!"
"Damn… damn it… this was a TRAP!"
At that moment, Venti finally understood.
It had all been Jiang Chen's scheme.
First, he was force-fed absurdly potent alcohol.
Then, while he was blissfully unconscious—
Jiang Chen dug up every bottle he had hidden.
Not only his own secret stash,
even the bottles the Knights had buried were stolen too.
Worse, Venti sensed a familiar bottle resting somewhere around Dawn Winery.
Jiang Chen sold it.
"Good gods… unbelievable…"
"A whole autumn wind sweeping right across my head, huh?"
Once it all clicked, Venti's heart shattered.
His soul cried.
The world turned cold and meaningless.
This world is doomed.
Just destroy it. Let it burn.
Please, let this be a nightmare. Let me wake up…
But it wasn't.
Reality was cruel.
The damage was done.
There was no wine left to salvage, and no way to restore it.
All Venti could do now was accept the truth.
Or go hunt down Jiang Chen.
Everything happening in Mondstadt?
He couldn't care less at the moment.
He was too busy grieving the tragic extinction of his wine hoard.
How could anyone handle governance in such a state?
Meanwhile, because the Archon remained missing,
Signora continued spiraling into madness.
Not a single clue.
Not a single footprint.
Her subordinates were terrified of approaching her—
one wrong step and she might slap them into next week.
A peaceful night passed at Wangshu Inn.
The next morning, Jiang Chen and Lumine ate breakfast, checked out,
and set off toward Yaoguang Shoal.
The early sunlight washed over the mountains.
The air was crisp.
The three followed the official road forward.
Crossing the long wooden walkway beside Wangshu Inn,
they soon reached a damaged secondary path.
This was once the route to Mingyun Village—
and also one of the mountain paths leading toward Dragonspine and eventually back to Mondstadt.
But now the road was broken.
The bridge was dilapidated.
Hilichurls and other monsters had taken up residence.
Few used this route anymore, so no one bothered repairing it.
The residents of Mingyun relied on boats—or simply stopped visiting this side altogether.
Even now, the bridge could be crossed if you killed everything infesting it.
"From here onward is Yaoguang Shoal," Jiang Chen said.
"So we should clean out the monsters first.
If we end up living here, this all needs to be cleared anyway.
Might as well start early."
As soon as he spoke, a long spear appeared in his hand—
the Undying Blade, gripped firmly.
He stepped forward.
Lumine and Paimon followed immediately.
Lumine drew her sword—
a simple, worn blade she'd picked up during their travels.
But for the Traveler, even a stick could be a divine weapon.
She'd fought gods with worse.
And with Jiang Chen present, she hardly needed to fight at all.
Stormterror, hilichurls, slimes—
Jiang Chen was the one doing the heavy work.
Lumine just cheered and looted.
The hilichurls saw them and instantly charged.
"Yaaaaaa!!"
They rushed up the broken bridge, attempting an ambush.
To Jiang Chen and Lumine, hilichurls were no different from goblins—
utterly disposable.
Jiang Chen swung his spear.
A wave of flame burst forward—
and the advancing hilichurls were incinerated on the spot,
leaving behind only rows of sturdy hilichurl masks.
The masks, reinforced by ley-line energy, never burned easily.
"Paimon, clean up."
"Roger that!"
Paimon zipped forward happily, sweeping up all the materials
and handing them to Lumine's "portable inventory."
This had already become their standard formation:
Jiang Chen fights,
Lumine holds the loot,
Paimon collects everything.
Crossing the decaying bridge, Jiang Chen observed the terrain and muttered:
"If we really settle here, we'll need to repair this."
"Otherwise, one heavy rain and the whole thing floods."
"Geoshadows from Guyun Stone Forest would wash straight through here."
Lumine nodded.
"Agreed."
Wooden bridges were too primitive.
One strong rush of water and everything would collapse.
"We'll handle it later," Jiang Chen said.
No need to dwell on it now.
The group continued onward.
Past the broken span, they soon saw remnants of abandoned structures
and ruined paths leading deeper toward Mingyun Village.
It had clearly been a long time since anyone had maintained this area.
Advance Chapters available on Patreon
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