In the darkness, Mu Yang could not make out the changes in La Signora's expression.
He had no intention of fighting.
As long as he invested all his Popularity Points into improving his strength,
defeating La Signora would be easy.
But he did not want to do that.
Popularity Points had many uses.
He would still need to flesh out his backstory after leaving Mondstadt.
They should not be wasted on La Signora.
La Signora spoke in a low voice.
"Who exactly are you?"
Mu Yang stood up.
He slowly approached La Signora.
"Who I am isn't important. My proposal is this."
"Each of us takes a step back. You cancel your plan to sabotage the city's defenses."
"I won't stop you from obtaining the Gnosis."
Mu Yang came before La Signora.
"You don't want Her Majesty the Tsaritsa to find out that your mission failed either, do you?"
Rosalyne was proud.
Under normal circumstances, if anyone dared threaten her like this,
she would definitely burn their mouth off with flames.
Or freeze them into an ice sculpture.
But the person before her—Mu Yang—
was far too mysterious.
His strength was like a riddle.
Sometimes it was there, sometimes it was not.
Sometimes it was high, sometimes low.
There was simply no way to gauge it.
Either Mu Yang possessed some strange ability,
or his strength far surpassed hers.
Only then could such a situation arise.
Still, Rosalyne would not easily admit defeat verbally.
"Just you alone, and you think you can stop our plan?"
Mu Yang said, "The Knights of Favonius simply don't have enough manpower to deal with you."
"The other Fatui are nothing in their eyes."
"My commission was only to keep you occupied."
Mu Yang paced around the room.
"I heard that Barbatos loves his people dearly."
"If he finds out you tampered with the city's defenses and caused Mondstadt's citizens to die,"
"then forget the Gnosis—whether you can continue walking freely in Mondstadt will be a question."
Rosalyne was clearly enraged by Mu Yang's words.
She immediately fired an Ice Spike at the back of Mu Yang's head.
Just as it was about to strike Mu Yang, the Ice Spike shattered.
It turned into specks of debris.
This was one of Mu Yang's sword techniques—
Traceless.
Several fragments were deflected.
They flew toward Rosalyne.
Rosalyne burned them away with flames.
She sneered.
"What a fine example of loving his people..."
Mu Yang did not even turn his head.
It was clear he did not take La Signora's attack seriously.
"I don't know why Barbatos has indulged you so much."
"But I'm not like him."
"Don't force me to do things beyond the scope of my commission, all right?"
Rosalyne flicked her hand.
"Hmph."
Having calmed down, she carefully considered Mu Yang's words.
Her foremost objective was the Gnosis.
And Mondstadt was still Snezhnaya's ally in name.
Making too much of a scene would indeed be difficult to clean up afterward.
If she fought Mu Yang to mutual ruin here,
and lost the best opportunity to obtain the Gnosis,
it would not be worth the cost.
Her Majesty the Tsaritsa's mission took top priority.
Meanwhile,
in the lobby of the Goethe Hotel,
Anastasia and several Fatui sat together, recovering from their injuries.
They were much better now.
They desperately wanted to know what exactly was happening between that lone man and woman upstairs.
Why had there not been a single sound?
But no one dared go upstairs to eavesdrop.
La Signora was their superior.
Mu Yang was a ruthless man who would rather act than talk.
Neither of them was someone they could afford to provoke.
"Do you think Lady La Signora has returned yet? Why isn't there any movement at all?"
"She should be back, right? Isn't this usually when she returns?"
"Why hasn't that white-haired kid been sent flying out yet?"
A skinny man wore a lewd grin.
"Do you think Lady La Signora and that white-haired kid might be... hehehe."
Anastasia swung a lantern at him.
"If you want to die, don't drag us down with you."
She continued,
"Lady La Signora must have returned late today."
"I bet that white-haired kid can't withstand three moves from Lady La Signora."
The fat man egged them on.
"Place your bets, place your bets! Bet directly on how that kid will die."
They eagerly began placing wagers.
Some said Mu Yang would be burned to death.
Others said he would be thrown out the window and fall to his death.
Others said he would be frozen into an icicle.
"What are you betting on that's so interesting?"
"We're betting on how that white-haired kid upstairs will die. Want in?"
"Sure. I bet he'll be completely fine."
The fat man had just been about to mock him.
"Isn't that just giving away money, brother?"
when he realized the voice sounded rather familiar.
Everyone turned around.
They were all stunned.
Several people rubbed their eyes,
wondering whether they were seeing things.
Because Mu Yang stood there completely unharmed.
He looked exactly the same as when he went upstairs.
Not even his clothes had a single wrinkle.
Meanwhile, Lady La Signora behind him wore a dark expression.
She looked extremely displeased.
A Fatui Executive was synonymous with strength.
Everyone in Teyvat knew that.
The Fatui could not believe it.
Someone had actually entered the Eighth Fatui Executive's room
and then walked out unharmed.
Mu Yang used his sword to rake the Mora on the table toward himself.
Then he stuffed all the Mora into a bag.
"I didn't expect an unexpected windfall."
"Who came up with this idea? Not bad. Remember to call me next time you do this."
With that, he left in a dashing manner.
Leaving the Fatui with nothing but his back.
The Fatui present flushed red, then pale.
Today had been a humiliating defeat for them.
It was all because of this Mu Yang.
Anastasia stood up.
"Lady La Signora, shall we carry out the plan to sabotage the city's defenses now?"
"Let the people of Mondstadt know the consequences of opposing us."
Rosalyne said, "No need. The plan is canceled."
No one present understood.
Why had it suddenly been canceled?
But no one dared ask.
Everyone stood and saluted.
"Yes!"
The Fatui present scarcely dared breathe.
They feared Lady La Signora would blame them.
Only after Rosalyne turned and went upstairs
did they finally breathe a sigh of relief.
"Whew..."
At that moment, a Fire Butterfly slowly flew over.
It exploded beside the mouth of the skinny man who had mocked La Signora and Mu Yang for doing that.
It blasted half his face apart.
Mu Yang left the Goethe Hotel in high spirits.
He headed toward the Knights of Favonius Headquarters.
He intended to report his results
and put them at ease so they could focus on defending.
They no longer needed to worry about La Signora and the others causing trouble behind their backs.
When he reached the entrance of the Knights of Favonius Headquarters,
Mu Yang did not see anyone standing guard.
He found that rather strange.
He pushed the door open and entered.
There were no members of the Knights of Favonius inside either.
"Could the Hilichurls have already broken in?"
Mu Yang thought.
"No, no. I'd better hurry to the city gate and show off."
"Otherwise, when Lumine gets back, who's going to publicize my 'good deed'?"
Just as Mu Yang was about to leave the Knights of Favonius Headquarters,
a voice called out to him.
"Mr. Mu Yang?"
Mu Yang turned around.
He saw a purple-haired woman dressed like a witch.
"That's me. And you are?" Mu Yang pretended to look her over.
"The librarian, Lisa," she said.
"It seems you've completed your commission. As expected of a professional."
"You flatter me. I work for the money."
Lisa's expression turned serious.
"Could I ask you to take on another commission?"
Before you continue