A moment later, Jiang Chen made up his mind.
“Lumine, Amber, you two head back to the city first.
I need to go somewhere,” he said.
“Can’t we come along?” Lumine tugged at his sleeve.
“It’s something I’d rather not have you know about,” Jiang Chen said bluntly.
Both he and Diluc had ties to an underground intelligence network operating across Teyvat.
Having others present would only make things awkward.
“Alright then.” Lumine sounded a bit disappointed.
“Is Jiang Chen going after that annoying guy?” Little Paimon crossed her arms, still fuming.
“That’s the richest man in Mondstadt,” Jiang Chen suddenly said.
“What!?
That redhead is even richer than you?” Paimon’s attention was immediately hooked.
“That’s right.
I only have the assets from Good Hunter.
That guy owns a manor outside the city, a tavern inside the city, and controls the largest share of Mondstadt’s wine trade,” Jiang Chen added.
“Wine is Mondstadt’s primary commodity.”
“Huh?
So you’re saying that redhead actually controls most of Mondstadt’s wealth?” Paimon exclaimed in surprise.
Then she shrank back, her bravado fading.
“Then we can’t afford to mess with him.”
Paimon had always adhered to the fine principles of bullying the weak, fearing the strong, and valuing her own skin above all else.
“Sorry, Amber.” She flew over to offer an apology.
“It’s fine.
Master Diluc has never been well-disposed toward the Knights.
It’s a lingering issue from the Knights’ history.” Amber waved her hand dismissively.
“But I believe Master Diluc is a man of great justice.”
“Then…
Jiang Chen pulled a set of keys from his system inventory.
“If you don’t have anywhere to go, you can wait for me at Good Hunter.” He handed the keys to Lumine.
“I closed up early today, so Sara should have some cold food left.
You can heat it up if you’re hungry.”
“Mm.” Lumine nodded obediently.
They parted ways for now.
Jiang Chen walked into a small grove of trees.
Amber, Lumine, and Paimon watched until his figure disappeared before turning back toward Mondstadt.
“Boss Jiang Chen, done playing with the little Knight girl already?”
Diluc sensed the movement behind him, crossed his arms, and asked with evident interest.
Jiang Chen spread his hands.
“Amber was handling official business.
Could you maybe not be so sharp-tongued?”
“I simply think it would be a great loss to Mondstadt if Boss Jiang Chen kept associating with the Knights and caught their habit of inefficiency,” Diluc said with a feigned look of regret.
“Yes, yes, of course, our Darknight Hero,” Jiang Chen shot back.
“Tch.” Diluc clicked his tongue in mild irritation.
Even so, it didn’t diminish his poise in the slightest.
“What’s the situation this time?” Jiang Chen walked alongside him.
“There are traces of an Abyss Mage behind Stormterror’s attack on Mondstadt,” Diluc said.
“You just came from the Temple of the Falcon.
You must have noticed something.”
Jiang Chen nodded.
“Indeed.
That crystal formed from the dragon’s elemental energy couldn’t have been placed there by Stormterror itself.”
The door to the main hall on the top floor was far too small for Stormterror to even fit a claw through, let alone place anything inside.
More importantly, a dragon that had lost its reason wouldn’t possess the intelligence to devise such a plan.
The most crucial factor was that he already knew this was an Abyss Mage’s scheme. New chapters come out on g.com first.
“If the intel is correct, the Abyss Mage should still be inside one of the temples, unable to escape in time,” Diluc said.
He was preparing to go find it now.
“I see.” Jiang Chen had almost forgotten about that.
It should be in the Temple of the Wolf, if he remembered correctly.
Wait.
That was probably a Cryo or Hydro Abyss Mage.
If it was Cryo, and neither he nor Diluc went…
Kaeya was doomed!
How was he supposed to break an elemental shield when they shared the same element?
“Anyway, let’s hurry.” Jiang Chen suddenly quickened his pace.
“What’s wrong?” Diluc jogged to keep up.
“Kaeya went there alone,” Jiang Chen said.
“Kaeya’s strength shouldn’t be an issue, should it?” Diluc wasn’t fond of the Knights, but that didn’t mean he would deny the abilities of certain individuals.
That would be irrational.
“What if it’s a Cryo mage?”
“That…” Diluc fell silent.
Cryo versus Cryo.
An Abyss Mage could draw elemental energy directly from the ley lines, recovering much faster than a human absorbing elemental particles from the air.
In a battle of attrition, Kaeya would be completely outmatched.
“And you’re no better.
What if you ran into a Pyro mage all by yourself?” Jiang Chen added.
“I would strike it down before it could raise its shield, giving it no chance to chant,” Diluc said confidently.
Jiang Chen shook his head, unable to argue with him.
That was Diluc—confident, decisive, and unyielding in character.
But then again, without such qualities, he would never have become the “uncrowned king” that so many maidens and noblewomen of Mondstadt dreamed of.
The sky outside had already darkened.
Beneath the Thousand Winds Ruins, the two of them saw from a distance that the door to the Temple of the Wolf was already wide open.
They exchanged a glance and charged inside.
Happy reading!