Lumine looked at Dvalin, bound up like a rice dumpling by dark golden chains, and couldn't help feeling a strong sense of déjà vu.
She felt like she had seen a scene like this somewhere before.
After racking her brain for a while, Lumine's expression suddenly froze.
No wonder this feels so familiar! Isn't this exactly what it looked like when that woman sealed me away?
Back then, just like Dvalin now, she had been sealed without even the slightest ability to resist.
Lumine suddenly didn't dare look directly at the scene. The more she looked at Dvalin, the more he resembled her past self.
Ye Yun examined Dvalin, who had been tied up like a rice dumpling, from head to toe.
This was his first time seeing a dragon. Even if it was a Western dragon, it was still a dragon, wasn't it?
At that moment, a voice sounded beside Ye Yun's ear.
"My friends, please spare Dvalin's life."
The next second.
Venti appeared before the two of them.
Venti was in an absolutely terrible mood.
Just moments ago, he had been celebrating Ye Yun and the others' departure, glad that he could continue with the script.
Who would have thought that the Traveler would go back and bring Ye Yun here? And of all times, they had returned while Dvalin was attacking Mondstadt.
Now, not only had the script been torn to shreds, Dvalin had also been captured by them.
Lumine looked at Venti in front of her.
"Who are you? You think we'll let him go just because you said so?"
Venti knew full well that if he did not reveal his true identity now, he might really be unable to take Dvalin away.
"My name is Barbatos, the ruling god of Mondstadt. You may also call me Venti."
Lumine sized Venti up.
"You say you're the Anemo Archon, and that makes you the Anemo Archon?"
In Lumine's eyes, how could a god possibly look like this? In her mind, gods were all sacred and majestic.
At that moment, Ye Yun spoke.
"Lumine, he really might be the Anemo Archon. I can sense an immense 'wind' within him."
Upon hearing that, Lumine stared at Venti in disbelief.
Wait, you really are the Anemo Archon? Why are you nothing like I imagined?
Venti looked at Ye Yun gratefully.
"My friend, could you spare Dvalin's life? He only became like this because of Abyssal corruption."
Ye Yun was about to agree. Doing Venti a favor was not a problem.
Then Lumine suddenly cut in.
"Just because you're the Anemo Archon, we have to let him go? Not unless you agree to two conditions!"
Ye Yun looked at Lumine.
"What mischief are you up to now?"
Lumine muttered quietly.
"Stay out of it. I'm getting you some benefits."
Seeing this, Venti agreed.
"Fine. As long as it is within my power, I can agree to it."
Lumine smiled as though her scheme had succeeded.
"Ahem, first, the first condition.
Do you know my brother? He looks somewhat like me, with blond hair and clothes similar to mine."
Venti immediately played dumb.
"Your brother? I had been asleep until recently, when I finally awoke. You can ask around Mondstadt City and see how long it has been since anyone last saw the Anemo Archon."
Lumine sighed several times.
Fine, then. Looks like he probably doesn't know.
So Lumine stated her second condition.
"The second condition is simple. Since you want us to let him go—ah, no, pfft, let the dragon go—where's the ransom?
We don't want anything else from you. Just give us around ten thousand Primogems."
Venti spread his hands.
"I only just woke up. I don't have any Primogems either."
Lumine immediately flew into a rage.
No, you're a god! You're the Anemo Archon who rules Mondstadt! How could you not have any Primogems?
"Can't you just have the people of Mondstadt get some for you? Aren't you Mondstadt's god? They would definitely 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 people of Mondstadt's decisions. Everyone is free."
Lumine was rendered speechless. Venti had successfully shattered her previous impression of gods.
Ye Yun smiled.
"No need, Venti. Take him away."
With that, Ye Yun undid the chains restraining Dvalin.
Venti hurriedly used his power to restrain Dvalin, preventing him from causing further trouble.
"Thank you, Ye Yun. If you ever need help in the future, you can call on me."
Ye Yun thought for a moment.
"I don't need any help. How about you give me all the wine you buried at Windrise?"
Venti's eyes widened.
"How did you know I hid wine at Windrise?"
Ye Yun smiled.
"Don't worry about that. Just tell me, are you giving it to me or not?"
After hesitating for a while, Venti agreed and fetched the wine from Windrise for Ye Yun.
When Venti handed the wine over to Ye Yun, he was extremely reluctant. Ye Yun had to put in a great deal of effort before he could pry the wine from Venti's hands.
Afterward, Venti flew away with Dvalin.
Venti was absolutely miserable inside. Not only had his script gone terribly wrong, he had also lost all the wine he had stored away.
My wine! You're just leaving me like this! My heart hurts!
On Ye Yun's side, after dealing with Dvalin, he bid Lumine farewell and returned to the train to rest.
He had rushed over before finishing his meal, so now he was going back to continue eating.
When Ye Yun returned to the train, Pom-Pom greeted him.
"Passenger Ye Yun, you're back, Pom? I'll heat the dishes up for you. Please wait a moment, Pom."
Within Mondstadt City.
Lumine successfully landed in the plaza with her Wind Glider, and Paimon and Amber immediately came over to greet her.
"Lumine! Are you okay?"
Lumine smiled.
"I'm fine. Paimon, what about you two? Were you hurt?"
Paimon shook her head.
"No. Oh, right, I think I saw Ye Yun arrive just now. Where is he?"
Lumine said,
"He went back to eat. Speaking of which, I'm hungry too. Shall we find something to eat?"
Amber said troubledly,
"That might be a little difficult. Stormterror just attacked Mondstadt, and many shops have already stopped operating."
Just as the three were worrying about this, a voice came from nearby.
"My friends, if you don't mind, how about having a staff meal at the Knights of Favonius?"
Amber looked at the newcomer.
"Kaeya!"
Kaeya nodded to Amber, then looked at Lumine.
"Hello, my name is Kaeya, Cavalry Captain of the Knights of Favonius."
Paimon waved her hand.
"Hello, hello! I'm Paimon, and she's Lumine. We're travelers. Can we really go eat at your place? To be honest, I've been hungry for ages."
Kaeya laughed twice.
"Of course. You two are Mondstadt's great benefactors. You helped us drive away Stormterror. Come, let's eat first."
Paimon cheered excitedly.
"Yay! We can finally eat! I'm starving to death!"
More than ten minutes later.
The four arrived at the Knights of Favonius and had their meal.
The four chatted while eating. Before long, a series of footsteps sounded from the entrance.
Jean, the Acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius, and Lisa, the library administrator, entered the dining hall.
The two approached, and Jean introduced herself seriously.
"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 can't really say I repelled him. It was all Ye Yun's doing."
Lisa brushed back her hair.
"Oh? So that handsome man's name is Ye Yun. It sounds a little like a name from Liyue."
Before you continue