206: Mondstadt visit

Seeing that Mobius's interest didn't seem to be on him for the time being, Huo Xi restored the time in the Strange Domain to normal and prepared to head to Mondstadt to report that he was safe.

As the saying goes, everything has its match. Although Maricatta and the others were all powerful Gods with great supernatural abilities, the concept of "Gods loving their partners" was underlying code written into the core of their operating logic by Great King Fa. Egeria and Guizhong were naturally gentle and virtuous, and Maricatta herself was the "King of Loving Partners." Faced with the enthusiastic Snake, they were completely helpless.

"Red King, do you see that? From the moment you were born not as a human, you never had a chance to win. Go be your God of Love in fanfiction."

After giving a few instructions to Lumine and the others, Huo Xi teleported out of the Realm of a Thousand Stars and arrived near the Knights of Favonius headquarters in Mondstadt.

Breathing in the air of freedom, Huo Xi actually felt like he had returned to his happy home; perhaps this was the charm of a starter village.

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew by, and from afar, an aura of yandere-like intensity washed over Huo Xi, as if licking every inch of his skin. Huo Xi immediately teleported to the waypoint on top of the clock tower.

Huo Xi looked around in panic, and only after confirming there was no issue did he breathe a sigh of relief. He was very familiar with that aura—Venti was secretly cross-dressing again.

...

Windrise.

Wendy floated in the air, her gaze drifting quietly toward the direction of Mondstadt.

She seemed to have sensed a familiar aura, but it disappeared in the blink of an eye.

"Was it an illusion?"

She didn't know, but since she hadn't locked onto it, she might as well continue exploring the power of this body.

In the future, the Abyss might approach Mondstadt at any time, and she needed to strengthen her own abilities as much as possible before then.

He didn't actually like cross-dressing; it was just that the boost in power brought by this body was truly exaggerated. No matter how much he enjoyed slacking off, the God of Wind was still the God of Wind. He simply found it necessary to ensure the safety of his people, not because he liked cross-dressing.

Furthermore, it must be mentioned that while he could indeed borrow power from the one who governs time, he would have to pay a considerable price. He couldn't bear the possibility of Mondstadt facing a catastrophe while he was in a deep slumber. He certainly didn't like cross-dressing.

Although Huo Xi would definitely step in to protect Mondstadt, he couldn't take that gamble. What if Huo Xi was tied up by a disaster in the nation he was currently in? Was he supposed to let Mondstadt fend for itself? Therefore, he needed to preserve the necessary strength for Mondstadt. This was the responsibility of a God. Also. He did not like cross-dressing.

...

Knocking on the door, he entered the hall of the Knights of Favonius. Huo Xi first went to the library to check on Lisa, but Lisa wasn't there.

"Strange, did she go to rest?"

Usually, at nightfall, the Knights of Favonius would perform a shift change between the day and night crews. There should be quite a few people at the Knights of Favonius at this time, but after checking, Huo Xi found that Eula and Amber were also not there.

Where did they go? Did the "Ice and Fire" duo go on a date? Unlikely; they preferred to come find him for dates now.

He went to check the solitary confinement room, but surprisingly, Klee wasn't there either.

Finally, Huo Xi arrived in front of the Acting Grand Master's office, knocked, and opened the door directly.

Jean was looking down at the desk, processing documents. The sudden sound of the door opening made her frown. She looked up, wanting to see which knight was so unruly, but what met her eyes was a handsome face she hadn't seen in over a month.

No, that face even looked a bit more youthful than before. But without a doubt, it was the face of her own man, which she had missed for so long.

Huo Xi waved his hand: "Hi? I've thawed out."

Jean's emotional management was excellent; she simply stood up silently, walked in front of Huo Xi, closed the door behind him, and then kissed him.

An hour passed in a flash. The office desk bore a weight it shouldn't have had to bear, and served a function it shouldn't have served.

Huo Xi wiped the sweat from Jean, held her, and moved her from the desk to the chair, but was kicked hard by Jean.

"Don't make me sit down yet! I need to go to the bathroom first!"

Huo Xi pressed her back onto the seat: "You've read too few web novels. Don't you understand that the Pure Yin Physique always has side effects, while the Pure Yang Physique is the gold standard for a top-tier power bank? Just take it; refining it will be beneficial for improving your physique."

Jean frowned: "I haven't read those web novels you speak of, but as far as I know, the human reproductive system and digestive system don't have the capacity for digestion."

"Tsk, just stay put. Would I ever harm you?"

Jean felt the power that was feeding back into her and decided to listen to Huo Xi. She adjusted her posture and did not leave her seat.

Huo Xi leaned closer to the documents she had been processing earlier, feeling a bit curious: "What documents are you dealing with? Why are you so busy? And where did Eula and the others go?"

Jean sighed heavily: "Eula went to survey the site for me."

A question mark appeared over Huo Xi's head: "Survey what? Has your territory expanded too?"

"What expansion? It's Klee!"

Under Jean's explanation, Huo Xi roughly understood what had happened. When he first met Stormterror, Huo Xi had detected that the level of landmine warfare in Mondstadt had been raised to World War II standards by Klee single-handedly.

After that, the entire city of Mondstadt was in chaos. The locations where Klee buried mines were originally areas where the "Abyss Order is thriving and multiplying～ ( ∠ ・ ω ＜ ) ⌒ ★". The Jumpdumpty bombs were already quite powerful, and later, after being enhanced by Huo Xi, they blew the Abyss Order into a total mess.

It was said that the Abyss Order was furious after that. They had reasons for their operations in Mondstadt; they were searching for something very important, but Klee ruined it all! Then the Abyss Order gathered a considerable force, intending to have a direct showdown with Mondstadt! This happened around the time before the Doctor tricked children into doing experiments.

"I originally thought this would be a tough battle, but I didn't expect..." Jean sighed with a frown: "I don't know how Klee went out to play with Sucrose and suddenly brought back a book called 'Dodoco's Storybook.' This magic book's control over Elemental Power is simply exquisite!"

"It can even autonomously identify Mondstadt residents. As long as a Mondstadter steps on it, the bomb won't detonate, but if anyone else steps on it, it explodes instantly! Do you know? I've never fought such an easy battle in my life. We were practically suppressing the Abyss Order. The warehouse is almost full of those white branches dropped by Abyss Mages. Do you want them? You can take them all."

Huo Xi: ... That book seems to be something he made.

Just as he was about to speak up and say that he was the one who gave the book to Klee, Jean suddenly continued: "Why didn't anyone tell me such a dangerous book was given to Klee? If I find out who is behind this, I'll see if I don't lock them in solitary confinement! But I'm also clear, since it's called 'Dodoco's Storybook,' it must be Alice's doing again!"

Huo Xi took a deep breath, exhaled heavily, and then slapped the table indignantly: "My mom is really unreliable! I'll talk to her when I go back!"

However, it was clear that the situation Jean described currently didn't constitute anything that gave her a headache. Sure enough, after resting for a moment, Jean continued: "But that's not all. In the end, it only identifies Mondstadters. We just need to issue a notice to other nations, stipulating that normal visitors to Mondstadt must follow designated routes, and all nations have responded quickly to our notice.

But! For some reason, those Treasure Hoarders who had already run away seemed to have been wiped out in Liyue, and the remaining stragglers didn't know where to go, so they ran back to Mondstadt! They didn't dare to take the main roads, fearing they would run into the Knights of Favonius. Isn't it a coincidence? It just so happens that several forests are now abandoned because the Abyss Order retreated!"

The more Huo Xi listened, the tighter his eyebrows furrowed. He asked in a low voice: "Then wouldn't they get blown to pieces here and there?"

Jean sighed and shook her head: "It's not nearly that intact."

She took a photo out of the documents: "Take a look. Originally, the power of the bombs was enough to blast the land and trees there into charcoal. Now, after the Treasure Hoarders were blown up... people call that place the Crimson Forest. Oh, the Fatui were also blown up. They seemed to have wandered into there while looking for their missing Harbinger, the Sixth, the Balladeer."

Huo Xi: ... I dare not speak anymore, family.

...

"Achoo!" At the border of Teyvat, a red witch sneezed, her sharp gaze cast into the distance.

"What's wrong, Alice?" A voice rang out in Alice's mind, and the other witches looked over.

Alice looked at the direction of Mondstadt and Liyue with sharp eyes: "Nothing... but I don't know why I keep feeling like I need to find an opportunity to go back recently."

———————— (Recently, there have been a lot of book reviews. Thank you all for your care, but let me tell you, stop saying that I'm writing smut. Shenhe is checking up on me with calamity's bane with increasing intensity. I've said it many times, what I'm writing is a genuine light novel!)