"Is... is that how the monster was dealt with?"
"How could that be? The Rockfond Rifthound is a high-level monster. It couldn't have been dealt with so quickly..."
Amidst the shocked expressions of the crowd, two more Rockfond Rifthound heads whistled through the air, landing nearby.
Yu Xie and Eula slowly emerged from the forest. Their clothes were spotless, not even a speck of dust on them.
Hughes followed behind them, his face filled not only with shock but also admiration.
The others were momentarily speechless.
A young boy, barely in his teens, had decapitated three Rockfond Rifthound in such a short amount of time. To these adventurers, this was nothing short of an overwhelming impact.
"The commission said there were three monsters in total. I suppose that takes care of them all," Yu Xie said casually. "I didn't expect it to go so smoothly."
No sooner had he finished speaking when the sound of heavy footsteps came from the forest.
A group of knights in armor appeared, led by a red-haired young man. Judging by his age, he was older than Yu Xie.
"Diluc ..." Yu Xie recognized him instantly.
At the age of ten, Diluc had obtained a Vision, and by fourteen, he had become the captain of a cavalry squad in the Knights of Favonius. He was considered a genius and had a reputation that was well known.
Everyone present had heard of the name Diluc Ragnvindr.
"Everyone, Knights of Favonius have been sent to exterminate the monsters," one of the knights called out.
"Uh... actually, the monsters have already been dealt with," an adventurer replied.
"I see. Thank you for your hard work. Were there any casualties?"
"No, it was that young man over there who dealt with the monsters..."
Following the direction the adventurer pointed, the Knights of Favonius turned their gaze to Yu Xie.
Diluc also looked at Yu Xie. After a slight hesitation, he walked over slowly.
"You dealt with the monsters by yourself?" Diluc asked.
"Yes," Yu Xie replied.
"Good work." Diluc didn't seem as shocked as the other adventurers, but his next question seemed to suggest he recognized Yu Xie's abilities. "Would you be interested in joining the Knights?"
"Well..." Yu Xie hesitated for a moment.
"Don't feel rushed to answer. Take your time to think it over." Diluc paused, then turned to the other knights. "Take care of the monster carcasses, then break camp."
At Diluc's command, the knights immediately sprang into action.
"He's Diluc..." Hughes watched Diluc's figure with a hint of emotion. "A genius like him... seems to be in a whole different league from someone like me."
Yu Xie also watched Diluc's receding figure, deep in thought.
There was no doubt that Diluc was a genius, but often, the lives of geniuses were not as glamorous as people thought.
...
The next day.
The sound of birds chirping outside the window woke Yu Xie from his sleep. He got out of bed and walked over to the window. Looking outside, he saw the streets of Mondstadt, with birds singing from the rooftops across the way.
This was the room Yu Xie had rented, located on the outskirts of Mond.
"Yu Xie—" A familiar voice called out. Yu Xie left his bedroom, crossed the living room, and opened the door.
Outside stood Venti, his eyes a little dazed, holding a wine bottle, with the unmistakable smell of alcohol on him.
"Venti, you've already been drinking this early in the morning?" Yu Xie couldn't help but comment.
He was the Anemo Archon of Mondstadt, but most of the time, he didn't act like one. No wonder people often said, "Do something useful, Barbatos."
Still, despite all that, Yu Xie believed that if a real crisis were to arise, Venti would show a reliable side. This was Yu Xie's opinion of him.
"I got my hands on a good bottle of wine last night, so I couldn't help but drink until dawn, heh heh." Venti grinned as he walked into the room. "How about having a drink with me?"
"Underage people can't drink alcohol," Yu Xie replied.
"Oh, I forgot, you're still underage." Venti looked regretful. "Such a shame... I really miss the times when we used to drink together!"
"Drink some water instead and put the wine down," Yu Xie said, pouring a glass of water for Venti.
"No way!" Venti immediately clutched the wine bottle to his chest, as if it were something extremely valuable, and said firmly, "No one can make me put this down!"
"..." Yu Xie felt helpless.
"..." Venti lay down on the table, silent.
"Venti?" Seeing that Venti hadn't said anything, Yu Xie called out.
There was no response.
Yu Xie scratched his head, walked over, and sure enough, Venti had already fallen asleep.
Helpless, Yu Xie had no choice but to move Venti to the couch, cover him with a blanket, and couldn't resist making a comment.
"Looks small, but why is he so heavy?"
Just then, there was a knock at the door.
Yu Xie went to open it, and Eula was standing outside.
The morning sunlight fell on Eula, and for a moment, Yu Xie felt as though Eula was like a figure in a painting. Added to that, though still developing, her body had already begun to take shape...
Yu Xie couldn't help but picture what Eula would look like when she was fully grown.
Hmm... as expected of Eula.
"Good morning," Eula said.
"You've never come to find me this early before. What's the occasion today?" Yu Xie asked.
"It's nothing really important, it's just..." Eula hesitated slightly, her gaze drifting to Venti, who was lying on the couch. "Ah! The person on the couch— is that a girl with such a delicate face?"
Yu Xie, does he...?
"Oh, that's Venti, a friend of mine. He got drunk."
"Yu Xie, we're still underage, we can't drink!"
"Don't worry, I didn't drink."
"Well... that's still strange! You, you've already entered that kind of... realm?" As she said this, Eula's face turned red, though it wasn't clear whether it was because the words made her feel shy, or for some other reason.
Yu Xie was momentarily stunned, then realized what she meant.
"No, listen, he's a guy."
"Huh?" Eula stopped in her tracks.
For some reason, she felt a sense of relief in her heart.
"Oh, I see... I misunderstood," Eula's face grew even redder.
"...Well, if you have something to say, just come in and tell me," Yu Xie said with a somewhat helpless smile.
"No, no, it's fine. I actually just wanted to ask if you're free today, maybe we could go around and take a look at the city." Eula lowered her head slightly, the blush on her face still lingering, and she seemed too shy to look Yu Xie in the eye.
"Sure."
"Then, I'll go ahead. I'll be waiting for you at the square near the Good Hunter restaurant!"
With that, Eula quickly left, disappearing from sight in no time.
Watching Eula's back as she disappeared into the street, Yu Xie couldn't help but smile slightly.
That day, the two of them wandered around Mondstadt, like any ordinary people would. Although Eula's status as a member of the Lawrence family still brought some inconvenience, her expression and gaze had changed from before.
Everything seemed to be getting better, everything was heading in a good direction.
The wind blew through the streets of Mondstadt, and the street was filled with laughter and cheerful voices, like a relaxing background melody.
End of chapter
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