Chapter 26, Venti: Oh my! Successfully bankrupt.

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Lumine could not help feeling a powerful sense of déjà vu as she looked at Dvalin, bound so tightly in dark-gold chains that he resembled a giant dumpling.

It felt as though she had seen a scene like this somewhere before.

After racking her brain for a while, Lumine suddenly froze.

No wonder it looked so familiar! Wasn’t this exactly what that woman had looked like when she sealed me away?

Back then, she had been just like Dvalin—completely helpless, unable to fight back in the slightest as she was sealed.

Lumine suddenly found herself unable to look directly at the scene. The more she looked at Dvalin, the more he reminded her of her former self.

Ye Yun examined the dragon bound before him from head to toe.

This was the first time he had ever seen a dragon. It was a Western dragon, but a dragon was a dragon, wasn’t it?

Just then, a voice sounded beside Ye Yun’s ear.

“My friend, please spare Dvalin’s life.”

The next second, Venti appeared before the two of them.

Venti was in an absolutely terrible mood.

Only moments ago, he had been celebrating Ye Yun and the others’ departure, relieved that he could continue with his script.

Who could have imagined that the Traveler would actually go and bring Ye Yun back? And of all times, he had returned just as Dvalin was attacking Mondstadt.

Now the script had been torn to pieces, and Dvalin had even been captured by the other party.

Lumine looked at Venti standing before her.

“Who are you? You expect us to let him go just because you say so?”

Venti knew very well that if he did not reveal his true identity, he might not be able to take Dvalin away at all.

“My name is Barbatos, the Anemo Archon of Mondstadt. You may also call me Venti.”

Lumine looked Venti up and down.

“You say you’re the Anemo Archon, so that makes you the Anemo Archon?”

In Lumine’s eyes, how could a god possibly look like this? The gods in her imagination were all sacred and imposing.

At that moment, Ye Yun spoke.

“Lumine, he really might be the Anemo Archon. I can sense an immense power of wind within him.”

Lumine stared at Venti in disbelief.

Wait, you really are the Anemo Archon? Why are you nothing like I imagined?

Venti turned toward Ye Yun with gratitude.

“My friend, could you spare Dvalin’s life? He became like this because of the Abyss’s corruption.”

Ye Yun was just about to agree. It would not hurt to do Venti a favor.

But Lumine suddenly cut in.

“Just because you’re the Anemo Archon, we have to let him go? Only if you agree to two conditions!”

Ye Yun looked at her.

“What kind of mischief are you plotting now?”

Lumine muttered under her breath,

“Don’t worry about it. I’m getting you some benefits.”

Seeing this, Venti agreed.

“That’s fine. Within the limits of what I can do, I’ll agree to your conditions.”

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At his words, Lumine smiled triumphantly.

“Ahem. First, the first condition: Do you know my brother? He looks a lot like me, with golden hair and clothes similar to mine.”

Venti immediately began playing dumb.

“Your brother? I was asleep for a long time and only woke up recently. You can ask around in Mondstadt. They’ll tell you how long it has been since anyone last saw the Anemo Archon.”

Lumine sighed several times.

“All right, then. It looks like you really don’t know.”

She then stated her second condition.

“The second condition is simple. Since you want us to let him go—no, wait, let the dragon go—where’s the ransom? We don’t want anything else from you. Just ten thousand Primogems will do.”

Venti spread his hands.

“I just woke up. I don’t have any Primogems either.”

Lumine instantly became furious.

“Wait, you’re a god! You’re the Anemo Archon who rules Mondstadt! How can you not have any Primogems?”

“Can’t you have the people of Mondstadt get some for you? Aren’t you their god? They’d surely be willing to give them to you.”

Venti looked down at Mondstadt below.

“Mondstadt is a nation of freedom. I will not interfere with the decisions of its people. Everyone is free.”

Lumine was rendered speechless. Venti had successfully shattered her previous impression of gods.

Ye Yun smiled.

“There’s no need. Venti, take him with you.”

With that, Ye Yun released the chains restraining Dvalin.

Venti hurriedly channeled his power to keep Dvalin under control, preventing him from causing any further trouble.

“Thank you, Ye Yun. If you ever need help, just call on me.”

Ye Yun thought for a moment.

“I don’t need your help, but how about giving me all the wine you buried in Windrise?”

Venti’s eyes widened.

“How did you know I hid wine in Windrise?”

Ye Yun gave him a faint smile.

“Don’t worry about that. Just tell me whether you’ll give it to me.”

Venti hesitated for a while before agreeing. He retrieved the wine from Windrise and gave it to Ye Yun.

When Venti handed over the wine, he was so reluctant that Ye Yun had to struggle quite a bit before finally prying it from his hands.

Afterward, Venti flew away with Dvalin.

Venti’s heart was aching. Not only had his script fallen apart, but he had also lost his entire stock of wine.

My wine! You’re really leaving me just like that! My heart hurts!

As for Ye Yun, after dealing with Dvalin, he bid Lumine farewell and returned to the train to rest.

He had left before finishing his meal, so now he could go back and continue eating.

When Ye Yun returned to the train, Pom-Pom greeted him.

“Passenger Ye Yun, you’re back, pom? I’ll warm up your food for you. Just wait a moment, pom.”

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……

Within Mondstadt.

Lumine successfully landed in the plaza using her Wind Glider, and Paimon and Amber immediately hurried over.

“Lumine! Are you all right?”

Lumine smiled.

“I’m fine. What about you, Paimon? Were either of you hurt?”

Paimon shook her head.

“No. Oh, right— I thought I saw Ye Yun arrive just now. Where is he?”

“He went back to eat,” Lumine replied. “Speaking of which, I’m hungry too. Shall we go find something to eat?”

Amber said worriedly,

“That might be a little difficult. Stormterror just attacked Mondstadt, and many shops have already closed.”

Just as the three of them were worrying over what to do, a voice rang out.

“If you don’t mind, you could come to the Knights of Favonius and have a meal with the staff. How does that sound?”

Amber looked toward the newcomer.

“Kaeya!”

Kaeya nodded at Amber before turning to Lumine.

“Hello. My name is Kaeya, Cavalry Captain of the Knights of Favonius.”

Paimon waved.

“Hello, hello! I’m Paimon, and this is Lumine. We’re Travelers. Can we really go eat at your place? To be honest, I’ve been hungry for ages.”

Kaeya laughed heartily.

“Of course. The two of you are great heroes of Mondstadt—you helped drive Stormterror away. Come on, let’s get something to eat first.”

Paimon cheered.

“Yay! We can finally eat! I’m practically starving!”

………

More than ten minutes later.

The four of them were dining inside the Knights of Favonius.

They ate and chatted together. Before long, a series of footsteps sounded at the entrance.

Jean, the Acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius, and Lisa, the librarian, entered the dining hall.

When they reached the table, Jean introduced herself with a solemn air.

“Hello, Lumine. My name is Jean, Acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius. Thank you very much for helping us repel Stormterror.”

Lumine shook her head.

“I wouldn’t say I drove him away. It was all Ye Yun’s doing.”

Lisa brushed back a strand of her beautiful hair.

“Oh? So that handsome man’s name is Ye Yun. It sounds a little like a name from Liyue.”