As soon as Mu Yang said this, Guinaifen immediately got the vibe.
This was more like it!
This was the Mu Yang she'd been longing for!
She wiggled triumphantly. "Family, what did I say? Believe in Mu Yang."
"As soon as he returns, it's always in a stronger form!"
[Seriously, making us worry for two whole versions. I'm unfollowing for a minute.]
[We get to see the big dragon fight the big thunder again, brothers!]
[Cough I just watched last night.]
[Couldn't find it on JM, teacher, send it again.]
Little Gui rubbed her hands eagerly. "I wonder if there's a trial stage this time."
"I'm gonna have some serious fun with Mu Yang."
[Sis, tone it down, will you?]
[Don't get too wild; are the mods really not stepping in?]
— — — — — —
Back in Teyvat.
After showing off, Mu Yang sheathed his sword.
He stood beside Lumine, not interfering with her work.
Following Mu Yang, a group of people disembarked from the ship.
During the journey, they'd only noticed the young man's appearance.
They hadn't expected his skills to be so impressive.
With a light leap, he jumped from the deck to the blonde girl's side.
And the moment that strange sword was partially unsheathed, everyone felt a bone-chilling cold.
Those closer to Mu Yang overheard his intention to challenge the Raiden Shogun's ultimate technique—[The Musou no Hitotachi]—and couldn't help but feel embarrassed for themselves.
Wasn't everyone on this ship just poets and writers?
How did a hardcore fighter sneak in?
Yet, after declaring his challenge, he stood by the blonde girl's side, suppressing all his aura. What was that about?
No one dared approach, so Lumine and Paimon took the initiative to greet them.
"You're all here from Mondstadt for the Kōsai Festival, right? We're the festival guides, here to take you to the island."
Seeing Lumine's warm demeanor, the group let out a collective sigh of relief.
"Yes, we're all bards from Mondstadt."
"I heard Inazuma's changed a lot recently. Hopefully, we can find inspiration for our poetry here."
Paimon wasn't listening at all, instead looking left and right, searching for something.
Lumine asked, "Paimon, what are you doing?"
Paimon threw her hands up. "These guests are all bards, so I'm obviously looking for the bard!"
She held her chin. "That's weird. The bard should be pretty famous in Mondstadt, right? How could he not be invited?"
Lumine shrugged. "Even if he was invited, he might not come. After all, his identity is…"
Mu Yang chimed in at the right moment. "If you're talking about Venti, I did see him on the ship."
[Whoa, Venti's here too?]
[With his personality, he'd never miss a festival he can crash. What if there's free wine?]
["The Anemo Archon's Not in Mondstadt"]
Paimon gave a smug "Told you so" look.
Mu Yang continued, "But halfway through, I don't know where he went."
Lumine frowned. "Where could he go at sea? Did he get impatient and use his powers to get here first?"
Mu Yang knew Venti was living it up in the ship's wine cellar.
Drinking until he passed out, sleeping, then drinking again.
But he didn't plan to spill.
Let the Tenryou Commission's little tengu catch him—that'd be more entertaining.
At that moment, the player's perspective shifted.
[Your little cutie just popped up!]
[Haha, Klee, my wife, is here too!]
[What do you think happens if Klee meets Yoimiya?]
[They'd be too shy to look at each other, 'cause one glance would cause an explosion.]
[Little hater, showing your claws, huh?]
"Honorary Knight Sister! And Little Paimon!"
Klee ran up to the trio. "Brother Mu Yang ran too fast; Klee couldn't catch up."
Paimon exclaimed in surprise, "Klee! Were you invited to the Kōsai Festival too?"
Klee shook her head. "Nope, it was actually Brother Albedo who was invited."
Klee explained that since everyone in the Knights of Favonius was super busy lately, Albedo got a family pass for Klee.
Albedo spoke up, "Lumine, Paimon, good to see you! I figured we might run into you when I heard about the Kōsai Festival."
Lumine and Paimon weren't surprised.
Last night, while reviewing the schedule, they'd seen Master Chalk's name.
Lumine had guessed it was Albedo.
Tomorrow, there was also a Master Xingqiu, another familiar name.
Now that Albedo was here, her guess was spot-on—he was indeed using the name [Chalk].
He said, "By the way, do you know where the Watatsumi Chamber is? I'm meeting an editor from Yae Publishing House there later."
At this point, Paimon finally started acting like a guide.
"The Watatsumi Chamber is where you'll be staying on Ritou. Looks like we're headed to the same place."
[The other bards: Go ahead, chat away.]
[Why don't we all just use this harbor for inspiration?]
[This dock is just so dock, dock.]
Lumine turned to Mu Yang, about to speak.
But Mu Yang beat her to it. "You guys go ahead. I'm heading to the Tenshukaku."
"Alright," Lumine said, adding, "It's just a spar. Don't get yourself hurt again."
"Don't worry, I know my limits."
[Limits? You don't know the meaning of the word!]
[Haha, angry Mu Yang fans, nice roast!]
"See you later, Brother Mu Yang!" Klee waved goodbye.
"See you, Klee."
With that, Mu Yang's figure vanished on the spot.
The stunned bards snapped back to reality.
Mu Yang lingered a bit longer for the camera.
Even a mosquito leg's worth of popularity points was still popularity points.
Those points could do a lot.
Like, say, crafting something to make Yae Miko compromise…
After vanishing, Mu Yang didn't head to the Tenshukaku as he'd claimed.
Instead, he appeared at a vantage point on Ritou, right beside a certain pink-haired shrine maiden.
"Your tastes are getting harder to stomach."
Yae Miko smiled faintly, not refuting him.
Instead, she teased Mu Yang.
"You told Lumine you were off to see Ei, but came straight to me~"
She reached to pat Mu Yang's pecs. "Your tastes, I'm starting to like more and more~"
Mu Yang stepped back, dodging the fox's sneaky hand.
A flicker of regret passed through Yae Miko's eyes.
Mu Yang was speechless. Did she really have to play it up this much?
"Spit it out. What's the deal?" Yae Miko's playful expression didn't fade. "Did you mess up and now you're scared to reveal your pen name?"
Mu Yang replied, "I don't know what you're talking about. I just thought you'd be interested in these."
Mu Yang pulled out various types of fried tofu, exchanged with popularity points.
Each one looked so tempting that Yae Miko nearly broke character.
Mu Yang knew Yae Miko—she'd take a soft approach, not a hard one.
If he threatened her with an embarrassing fox photo, she'd likely escalate the chaos just for fun.
That would put Mu Yang at a loss.
But if he offered her favorite food, prepared in ways she'd never imagined?
How would she handle that?
The answer was clear—she pledged loyalty!
"Alright, alright, if you don't want to join the Kōsai Festival, go play with Ei. This shrine maiden has work to oversee."
Overseeing work was a pretense; enjoying the food was the real goal.
Watching Mu Yang disappear, Yae Miko's smile widened.
She wasn't about to let things end in a draw with Mu Yang for no reason.
"Oh my, it's not just Inazuma's ordinary folk who are unhappy with Lingyuan Xianyu."