It's already this late?
Should I head back… or wander a little longer?
Walking alone through the wilderness outside Liyue Harbor, Su Mo finally noticed the sun dipping below the mountains.
In another short while, night would fall.
Ever since he'd spoken to Keqing earlier, he'd been aimlessly wandering the wilds.
He had no proper leads for his system mission, so he figured maybe he'd stumble upon something outside the city.
After all, with Rex Lapis dead, Liyue's internal security had tightened considerably.
If anyone truly wanted to scheme against Liyue, the harbor's surroundings—quiet, hidden, unpatrolled—would make for a perfect stage.
…But he also knew the truth:
Liyue's wilderness was enormous—far too large for even a Moonlight Knight like him to casually search.
"Faster… we need to…"
Hmm?
People? At this hour?
Just as Su Mo drifted past a patch of woodland, voices reached his ears.
Judging from the overlapping footsteps, there were at least three or four individuals.
Definitely not ordinary civilians—few would dare wander the outskirts at dusk.
"Where'd this woman come from…?"
…Oh? They noticed him already?
"IT'S BARBECUE TIME!"
Bang!
A brief crack rang out—a gunshot? A crossbow? Something similar.
Su Mo dodged easily without even looking.
"Time for a proper clean-up!"
He hadn't even approached them yet, and they were already attacking?
That annoyed him.
Truly annoyed him.
Fine.
Then don't blame me for teaching you some manners.
"Awaken—Lord of Frost."
Instantly, the temperature around him plunged.
Heat vanished.
The air itself froze.
Everything within a wide radius turned to ice—
all except Su Mo.
He didn't advance.
He didn't even swing his weapon.
He simply froze them in place.
"Clean-up complete."
Dusting his palms, Su Mo stared expressionlessly at the ring of human-shaped ice sculptures around him.
Bandits?
No… their outfits are wrong.
Close up, their uniforms looked familiar.
He sighed, cracked one of the ice blocks—
Crack!
Thud!
A fat man spilled out onto the ground, shivering violently.
"Fat gentleman," Su Mo said pleasantly, "would you mind telling me what you all were doing out here?"
Faced with the elegant but terrifying woman before him, the man's voice trembled.
"We… we're—F-Fatui! From Snezhnaya!"
Fatui?
So Mondstadt wasn't the only place they sent agents…
But what are they doing here?
Su Mo tilted his head slightly.
"And what exactly are you doing out here?
Answer properly—otherwise, I can't guarantee what happens next."
"I-I—don't know!" the man stuttered desperately.
"We just follow orders! They said bring these strange papers here! No one told us what they're for! I'm being honest—I'm not lying!"
Seeing Su Mo's smile fade, he panicked further.
Frozen breath puffed from his lips.
His teeth chattered.
"Truly? Not lying?"
The cold gleam of Su Mo's scythe pressed lightly to his throat.
If they hadn't fired upon him, he would've left them alone.
But being attacked for no reason?
He was under no obligation to be polite.
"I-I swear—!"
Crack!
He didn't finish the sentence before Su Mo froze him solid again.
Time to interrogate the others.
After a while, Su Mo exhaled.
Every answer was the same.
Either they had memorized the same excuse—
or they genuinely had no idea what they were doing.
Still, he did gain something:
a handful of strange pale-yellow papers.
These look… like talisman papers?
But what kind of talismans?
He flipped one between his fingers.
Its texture reminded him of the talisman paper he'd seen in his old world.
Maybe I should let Mr. Zhongli take a look…
With that thought, he started back.
The Fatui would thaw on their own eventually—no need to babysit them.
I wonder if Keqing actually passed on my warning.
The more the Qixing and Adepti investigate, the easier my mission becomes…
As he approached Liyue Harbor again, a familiar silhouette caught his eye.
Standing before the Geo Archon's statue—
a lone figure in dignified robes.
Zhongli…?
The man slowly turned, as if sensing Su Mo's arrival.
With calm amber eyes, he asked:
"Ah… a traveler from afar, is it?"
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