Chapter Thirty: Familiar Faces

Dealing with these bandits might not be a piece of cake, but it's not impossible either.

"Huh, why does it feel chilly all of a sudden? What's up with these frosty flakes?"

"With the sun blazing like this, there shouldn't be any snow, right?"

Others might be scratching their heads, but the leader of the group immediately connected the dots to that young lad.

"These snowflakes ain't right! Everyone, don't let 'em land on you!"

He even kept a wary eye on the sky.

Unfortunately, if this snow were natural, it'd be a different story. But if it's manipulated by someone, it's not gonna fall in just one direction.

As the leader was gearing up to throw some threats, it was already too late. By now, he could feel his body turning ice-cold, making it near impossible to move, let alone lay a hand on anyone.

With a few frozen sculptures in the mix, it left the members of the Cavalry Knights astonished. They'd never seen this kind of elemental mastery before, not even from their own captain.

Uh... truth be told, Xianyu was also feeling a bit stuck. This was all just the Cryo Butterfly following his orders, with a little extra oomph.

"Great Chosen One, thank you on behalf of the Knights of Favonius!"

Xianyu: "No need, I didn't actually do anything."

When you think about it, Xianyu didn't really do anything. It was all thanks to the Cryo Butterfly, but he didn't feel like explaining that to everyone.

"Oh, by the way, since you're surrounding them without killing, there must be some reason. That leader over there hasn't kicked the bucket yet. If you hurry, you might be able to save him."

Xianyu's words brought a smile to the faces of the Knights. They'd expressed their gratitude earlier, but if everyone ended up dead, their efforts would've been in vain.

Ignoring the Knights, Xianyu continued on his way. It was just a little detour, nothing that would affect him.

And his departure left the Knights trying to persuade him to join their ranks, with words that hinted at recruitment.

But seriously, who had the time or inclination to join a knightly order? He was just here to take a peek and gather some intel.

Sure, Liyue had its fair share of headaches, but that didn't mean he was setting up shop in Mondstadt.

And who knows? If he plays his cards right, he might even score a little somethin' somethin' from the Rite of Descension.

On his way to Mondstadt, Xianyu encountered two individuals and gave them a quick glance.

After seeing them, he suddenly remembered that the knights had mentioned their captain was following them. It was highly likely that this person was that captain.

Kaeya, also known as "Chilled-Dude" or "the Cavalry Captain of the Knights of Favonius," was quite a familiar face to Xianyu.

And the little girl next to him, Klee, known as the "Mondstadt Bomb," was another recognizable figure.

"Hmm... Now that I think about it, the 'delayed business' they mentioned was probably related to finding Klee."

"In a way, this cute little troublemaker, Klee, poses a greater threat than the members of the Treasure Hoarders."

Setting mountains on fire and tossing bombs around seemed like standard operations for her.

If left unchecked, Mondstadt might not have any good mountain peaks left.

The two parties passed each other without exchanging any words. Although Xianyu was familiar with these two, they were strangers now.

As they gradually distanced themselves, Klee's innocent curiosity got the best of her.

"Kaeya, the big brother we just saw had such a pretty butterfly on his head! Can we catch one for Klee too?"

Kaeya was taken aback by the question. He had observed the young man earlier but hadn't paid much attention to the Cryo butterfly on his head. Now that Klee had pointed it out, he found it quite fascinating.

Kaeya knew that it was a Cryo Crystal Butterfly, and the fact that it appeared here was indeed surprising.

However, when Klee asked if they could catch one, Kaeya was in a dilemma.

Catching a Cryo Crystal Butterfly was technically possible, but they would likely obtain a Cryo Core rather than an intact butterfly.

Kaeya didn't want to disappoint Klee but couldn't break the little girl's dreams directly.

"Klee, I have some urgent matters to attend to right now. Besides, your little adventure outside has been discovered by Jean. Let's talk about catching butterflies some other time."

"When we get back, you can ask Jean, to help you catch one."

Kaeya believed that involving Jean, the Acting Grand Master, in Klee's butterfly-catching endeavor would be more appropriate, and he could avoid getting entangled in it.

"I'm sorry, Jean, but these butterflies are a bit too tricky for me. I'll leave it to you."

With that, Kaeya continued on his way, leaving Klee's butterfly-catching dreams for another day.

Kaiya couldn't help but feel like he owed Jean big time.

Klee's face fell when she heard Kaeya's response. She thought going back home would mean more "house arrest" time, and her butterfly-catching enthusiasm went as flat as a popped balloon.

"Don't worry, Klee. Going back home is like taking a short nap. You'll be out again before you know it. Just remember, the next time you feel the urge to experiment with bombs or fish fireworks, make sure to pick a spot where Jean isn't lurking around."

Klee's eyes lit up at the idea.

"Right! I'll go to the middle of nowhere!"

"But, you know, my Jumpy Dumpty makes a really loud noise when they explode. It's easy to get noticed. I'll study if there's a way to develop 'stealthy kaboom' techniques when I'm back."

Kaeya consoled Klee, and she started brainstorming how to create silent fireworks of destruction without attracting the wrong kind of attention.

"..."

Kaeya couldn't believe it. He had just casually mentioned it, but Klee was actually planning to develop a new bomb?

He didn't bother with it though. It wasn't his concern. He'd leave it to jean to handle.

When Kaeya arrived at the scene of the recent incident, he was somewhat surprised to see those ice sculptures. However, he quickly realized, combined with the encounter with the young man earlier, what had happened here, making it easy to guess.

"Dainsleif, please report the situation you encountered here."

Dainsleif: "Yes, Captain."

The process was not complicated, and Dainsleif quickly recounted the events.

Kaeya: "As expected..."

"Escort the person back for interrogation, and now, let's wrap it up!"

This mission turned out to be relatively easy; he didn't even have to exert himself, and the situation was resolved. If it continues like this in the future, Kaeya thinks it would be great.

"Judging by the clothing of that young man just now, he should be from Liyue. I wonder what brought him to Mondstadt?"

"Hmm, it seems worth observing."

Kaeya's thoughts were inscrutable to Xianyu.

...

As for Xianyu, he only knew that when it came to Kaeya, you could only trust about half of what he said, if not less.

And he's quite sharp, though he can be a bit mischievous at times. Overall, he handles things relatively well, or he wouldn't have become the captain of the Knights of Favonius.

However, no matter what Kaya does, it's none of his business.

This visit to Mondstadt was just a casual stop.

"The Traveler" didn't appear, which was a good thing for him. At least he had some time to "develop," so he wouldn't end up in a tight spot later.

Besides that, he could also take the opportunity to visit Uncle Zhang and the others.

However, if he wanted to find them, it would be a bit troublesome, since he didn't initially know where Zhang Bo would settle.

"Well... let's go with the flow. It would be nice if we meet, but if not, there's nothing we can do."

"Mondstadt, compared to Liyue, might be more suitable for them, who knows."