"Put the blade to your neck…"
La Signora frowned. "Forget it. This is Mondstadt. Even if that lunatic is as terrifying as you claim, his influence wouldn't reach this far."
"Well, well, a convoy from the Fatui? What a stroke of luck."
A slightly flippant voice sounded near the carriage. Hearing it, Tartaglia and the Signora's expressions changed immediately.
That voice... so familiar. Or rather, that person was too familiar.
Tartaglia reluctantly poked his head out. "Hey, hey! Why do you keep haunting us like a ghost? Wherever we go, you're there!"
"How could you call it haunting? Liyue and Mondstadt have been allies for centuries. Am I not allowed to take a little vacation here?"
Gu Sanqiu smiled as he spotted Tartaglia. "You've got guts showing up here. Aren't you afraid I'll blow up everything you've got going in Liyue?"
Tartaglia flung a bottle of wine in his direction. "Ha! Don't try to scare me. With the scale of the operation you've set up, I doubt your target is just a few petty businesses."
"This bottle of firewater is my bribe. Take it. And besides, if you really tear everything down, it'll just prove you're shortsighted."
Gu Sanqiu tilted his head, caught the bottle, and took a swig.
"Plans? I don't know what you're talking about. Such brainy schemes are hardly my style. I'm just a simple brute."
"Heh, let's hope that's the case."
Tartaglia gestured for the convoy to keep moving, while Gu Sanqiu sat on a nearby bench, holding the bottle, lost in thought.
Could that sly fox have noticed something?
If his warrior's instincts extend beyond battle, maybe he should become a counselor. He'd buy a house near Yujing Terrace within a year.
"Whatever. Even if he's guessed something, it doesn't matter."
Gu Sanqiu tucked the bottle away. Though his knowledge was laughably meager compared to the big shots back home, he might still know more than Tartaglia and his crew about some things.
It was just a faint inkling on their part, nothing serious.
The scene shifted back to the Fatui convoy's carriage. Inside, Childe glanced at his colleague with a conflicted expression.
La Signora shot him an impatient look. "What do you want to say?"
I'm wondering if you're a jinx. You said Sanqiu was lying low in Liyue Harbor, and we immediately bumped into him here.
But he wisely kept this thought to himself. Saving her life earlier might have softened their relationship a little, but Childe knew his colleagues well—every single one of them was a powder keg waiting to explode.
Childe sighed. "Nothing. I'm just thinking that this mission might encounter some complications. Who'd have thought he'd show up in Mondstadt? The timing feels too coincidental."
"You think he's here for the same objective?"
"Unlikely. What's more probable is that he's here to interfere. The bond between the two Archons is no fabrication. We must prepare to face him as an enemy."
Rosalyne fell silent for a moment, then turned to Childe with a frosty glare.
"Turn around."
"Huh?"
"I said, turn around!"
Yep, definitely a powder keg.
Childe muttered inwardly but obediently turned his back to her.
The soft rustling of fabric followed, along with the light clinking of fingers tapping against metal. Other than that, silence filled the carriage.
Rosalyne removed her mask, her fingers brushing over its surface for a moment before lowering her hand to touch her face.
Cold metal. Burning flesh.
And hideous scars.
A flicker of moisture glimmered in her eyes but was quickly consumed by the flames buried deep in her soul.
I will not yield. No matter who stands in my way, I will never yield!
The girl no longer sang. The gentle breeze no longer flowed. The body of her beloved lay lifeless, and the faint hope she clung to had long been extinguished.
The girl who burned everything raised a storm of destruction, incinerating blood, humanity, and the very world itself.
The calamity of five hundred years ago had only wails of agony and death to offer her.
Were it not for the ice that locked away her last sliver of hope and will, she might have perished on that land of ash.
Rustan... I will face that Archon with my own strength and see if he was truly worth your sacrifice!
Even if it burns me to ash!
Rosalyne replaced her mask and veil with a resolute expression.
---
The convoy arrived at the Goth Grand Hotel. Gu Sanqiu didn't bother engineering another encounter, instead shifting his focus toward Dragonspine.
It's been so long. Those Cryo and Pyro brothers should've returned by now.
Or could the situation be worse than I expected? Even they might struggle to handle it?
Kaeya was shrouded in secrets, while Diluc had once managed to fight off a team of Fatui Harbingers single-handedly.
With those two in Dragonspine, they should be fine as long as they didn't stumble upon its buried secrets. Even a pack of Frostarm Lawachurls would stand no chance against them.
"They're here."
Gu Sanqiu's expression shifted as he vanished from the hotel rooftop.
---
In the wilderness outside the city, Diluc and Kaeya supported each other as they walked, their bodies covered in fresh wounds, blood still visible.
"Cough... That bastard really called it," Kaeya wheezed, glancing at Diluc, whose face was as impassive as ever.
"You alright?"
"Almost out of elemental energy. Nothing serious."
Diluc's voice remained even. "Let's find him. With Liyue's medicinal pills and alchemical potions, we'll recover quickly and won't miss the next battle."
"Next battle? I'd be relieved if you don't end up with lingering injuries."
Kaeya smiled wryly. "We were just supposed to scout the area. Look at the state we're in now."
Diluc was silent for a moment before turning to Kaeya. "That vase. Ugly as it was, I didn't throw it away."
"Thanks."
"Also, you know what it is, don't you?"
Diluc fixed Kaeya with a stern look. "Don't play dumb. Tell me everything you know."
"Ah, no need."
Kaeya gestured toward the approaching figure. "The man himself is here."
"What happened to you two?"
Gu Sanqiu scanned them. "I'll take you back to Mondstadt. These injuries will heal in two days."
"No, we don't have that kind of time."
Diluc grabbed Gu Sanqiu's arm. "Liyue has unconventional remedies. Give us those. We need to recover as soon as possible."
"Remedies are remedies because of their risks. You know that."
Gu Sanqiu transferred some elemental energy to Diluc. "Don't worry. Whatever you faced, it's nothing. Mondstadt is still protected by its King of the Skies."
Kaeya exhaled a sigh of relief. "Just patch us up enough for now and get us to the Knights of Favonius."
"Want me to have Albedo take a look at you?"
"Knights first."
Diluc's voice carried a hint of gravity. "We need to prepare."