Teyvat, Inazuma City.
Ying looked at the letter from Liyue that Beidou had brought her, her face filled with disbelief.
Due to the Sakoku Decree policy, communication between Inazuma and the mainland was disrupted, Ningguang's letter to the Honorary Knight of Mondstadt was also blocked on its way.
Once the Vision Hunt Decree ended and trade between the two sides eased slightly, Beidou immediately delivered Ningguang's letter to Ying.
The letter's content was also very simple.
Mondstadt has changed hands.
This was sent by Jean before she was completely brainwashed by Jiang Xiaofeng. She hoped Ningguang could help her send this letter to Ying, the Honorary Knight of Mondstadt.
However, by the time Ningguang received this letter, the Traveler had already sailed to Inazuma aboard the Beidou Ship.
Therefore, it wasn't until the Vision Hunt Decree ended and Beidou was no longer being relentlessly pursued that Beidou had the time to return to Liyue and deliver this letter to the Traveler who was far away in Inazuma.
While Ying was happily shopping with Kamisato Ayaka, the two ran into Beidou while having a meal at Uyuu Restaurant and received a letter from Koto.
At this moment, Jiang Xiaofeng had just killed Ye Fan, who possessed Bai Ze's body.
When Ying learned that Mondstadt had changed hands, she was extremely anxious, worried about everyone in the Knights of Favonius, as well as Venti.
At that moment, Ying finally remembered that she still had Teleport Waypoint to use.
Firefly rushed to the Teleport Waypoint and teleported back to Mondstadt City.
Upon arriving in Mondstadt City, Ying was so shocked that her mouth dropped open.
Throughout Mondstadt City, slender Dancer patrolled everywhere.
Beside the stall were giant stag beetles, ready to haul away the goods.
Flora's flower shop is no longer a small open-air flower stall on the street, but has been set up in a small shed, where Flora slowly grows flowers.
Wagner's Schulz blacksmith shop also changed its blacksmiths. Wagner was taught how to enchant weapons by a group of young Guillain, while the older Guillain simply stopped using large hammers to forge and instead used huge presses to hammer the iron!
On the weapon rack to the side were various weapons made of Dead Cells.
The Acceptance, Nutcracker Impaler, the Bow of the Big Dipper, the Greatsword—all sorts of weapons have been replicated by the Guillain and displayed on the weapon rack, where adventurers can come and find them at any time.
Ying looked at the familiar yet unfamiliar Mondstadt City, her eyes filled with confusion.
" Paimon, wake up, come out!"
Ying shook the Serenitea Pot, trying to wake Paimon.
"Hmm... what's wrong, Ying?"
As starlight twinkled, Paimon appeared sleepily beside Ying.
"You weren't shopping with Kamisato Ayaka... Waaah! Where am I?!"
Paimon had just opened his eyes when he was startled by what he saw.
The once quiet and peaceful Mondstadt City has been transformed into this bustling scene.
Although everyone seemed happy, Ying had a bad feeling.
But seeing Bennett and Fischl settling daily quests at the Adventurers' Guild, seeing Noelle helping unload cargo from stag beetles, and seeing little Diona mixing drinks in the new shop with its exposed counter...
With a heavy heart, Ying walked towards the Knights of Favonius.
Everyone they encountered along the way, except for the strange guards on patrol, greeted Ying.
" The Honorary Knight is back!"
"How is the Honorary Knight doing out there?"
Looking at the Passione crowd, Ying forced a smile and nodded, then quickened her pace and ran towards the direction of the Knights of Favonius.
Guards protecting the Knights of Favonius were armed soldiers.
Jiang Xiaofeng's soldiers didn't recognize the Honorary Knight of Mondstadt and stopped Ying directly.
Ying silently watched the two guards, about to draw her Dull Blade on guard, when she suddenly heard a shout.
"Ying! You're back!"
The visitor was Amber.
Amber Passione took Ying's hand.
"I heard you went to Inazuma. How was it? Was Inazuma fun?"
"I've heard that thunderstorms in Inazuma are especially terrifying. Hotaru, have you ever experienced one?"
While catching up with Ying, Amber also greeted the guards in a friendly manner.
Seeing that Amber and Ying knew each other, the guards did not stop them further.
Amber and Luminous entered the Knights of Favonius's territory, and only then did Amber breathe a sigh of relief and let go of Luminous's hand.
"Ying, why are you back?"
"Didn't you say you might be gone for more than a year?"
Ying smiled.
"I missed everyone in Mondstadt City. Inazuma's Vision Hunt Decree over, so I'm coming back."
Amber suddenly realized.
"Oh right, I heard that Inazuma's Vision Hunt Decree has been revoked. It was definitely Hikari's doing. No wonder she's Honorary Knight of the Knights of Favonius."
Amber said happily.
"Cough cough."
A black-armored knight guarding the library entrance coughed twice.
"Scout Knight, the Void Knights have been renamed. This is just a warning; if they offend again, the Grand Master will send them to Whispering Woods to kill Hilichurl."
"Oh, Goodwin, we're already so close, just pretend nothing happened."
"I already said it was just a warning, don't take it to heart."
Amber chuckled and joked with Goodwin.
"?"
A question mark seemed to appear above Ying's head.
" Goodwin?"
"Weren't you just lingering on the Mondstadt City, too embarrassed to come back?"
Paimon pointed at Goodwin in surprise.
Goodwin smiled sheepishly.
"Ah, I was saved by His Majesty the King, and Glory's eyes have recovered. Now I dare not go out to kill monsters anymore; I'll just stay here and be a gatekeeper. Glory doesn't need to worry about me."
"Your Majesty the King?"
Ying was puzzled.
The Void Knights, the King Majesty—this was the second unfamiliar phrase she had heard today.
"Oh, Ying, you just got back to Mondstadt and don't know anything. Let me explain."
Amber quickly explained the current situation in Mondstadt to Ying.
For example, the three major families were suppressed, the Knights of Favonius underwent a major reshuffle and were renamed the Void Knights, and the powerful the King could casually distribute power comparable to the Vision...
Ying felt dizzy and quickly signaled Amber to stop for a moment.
"We... should go find the Acting Grand Master Jean."
Ying said, feeling dizzy and disoriented.
"Oh, right, I need to introduce you to the new commander."
Amber pulled Ying into the office next door.
As soon as Ying entered the office, her eyes almost popped out of their sockets.
A Spider-Man was sitting behind a table processing documents, while Lisa was searching for information on a bookshelf. As for Jean... she was sitting to the side drinking tea.
Although Jiang Xiaofeng told Spider Woman that he didn't need to pamper these two and could order them around as he pleased, Jiang Xiaofeng still slept with them. Spider Woman didn't dare to go too far, simply pretending they didn't exist.
In any case, both women are reasonable and won't make mistakes.
It's good that I can occasionally go out and deal with that little girl who throws bombs everywhere.
The Spider Woman sat behind her desk, having approved the work documents for the Liyue's inspection, and then looked up at Amber and Ying who walked in.
" Amber, is something the matter?"
"Who is this person next to you...?"