Genshin Impact: Watch me turn the tables and kill my servants at the start!

When Fanes and Jakoda emerged from the alleyway selling potato pancakes, they had just strolled to the central square of Mondstadt. The afternoon sun, pierced by the enormous wings of the wind god statue, cast dappled patterns on the stone pavement.

In the square, citizens sat in twos and threes basking in the sun, while several children chased pigeons around. The pigeons were startled and flew up and down repeatedly, as if playing a never-ending game with the children.

Fanes noticed that there was an extra person next to the base of the wind god statue.

It was a boy who looked quite young—or rather, Fanes couldn't tell at first glance whether he was male or female. His short, dark green hair fluttered slightly in the wind, with two strands of hair dyed in a gradient of blue hanging down beside his face.

She wore a beret decorated with Cecilia flowers, the brim pulled low, and her face wore a lazy and nonchalant expression, as if she had just woken up.

He held a wooden lyre in his arms, his fingers casually plucking the strings. The tinkling notes scattered in the wind, without a complete melody, more like the fun his fingers found when they were bored.

Yakoda's pace suddenly slowed down.

He tugged at Fanes' sleeve, leaned close to his ear, and whispered, his starry eyes narrowing slightly with a serious look that Fanes had only seen before in that alley in Nordkale—a look that screamed, "I'm seeing right through you." "Boss, something's off about that street performer over there?"

Fanes' heart skipped a beat. He followed Jakoda's gaze and looked over—the boy sitting on the base of the wind god statue playing the lyre looked like an ordinary street performer, wearing a faded green cloak, his boots covered in dust, exuding an air of "poor but living quite comfortably".

But Fanes knew all too well who this person was. Wendy. Barbatos. The Anemo Archon of Mondstadt. That Anemo Archon who had been slacking off for over two thousand years, always talking about "freedom," but was actually full of cunning.

A thousand thoughts raced through Fanes' mind: "Holy crap, a second time! I was just recognized by Akoda in Liyue, and now she recognizes Barbatos at a glance? Just who is this girl? Even a Celestial God isn't this overpowered, is she?"

But he maintained a nonchalant expression, even kicking a small pebble at his feet: "Is there something wrong with him?"

Yakoda tilted her head and stared at that spot for a long while, then began to analyze it seriously, her voice low and fast.

"Boss, think about it. How could a normal beggar be dressed so cleanly? His cloak, though old, is washed until it's faded, and his boots are only dusty, not muddy, which means he didn't come all this way wandering around. Besides... boss, look how pretty he is. A girl who looks like that and is a beggar, according to what we in Nordkare say, would have been targeted and taken back by some shady characters to be some kind of 'slave girl' long ago. How could she be sitting here quietly playing the piano?"

After finishing her explanation, Jakoda nodded, quite satisfied with her reasoning.

The boy playing the piano suddenly stopped. He looked up, his dark green eyes piercing through the crowd in the square towards Yakoda, a slight smile playing on his lips, his voice carrying a light, cheerful tone, as if he were about to burst into song.

"Little sister, is it possible... I'm a boy?"

Yakoda blinked her starry eyes. She stared at Wendy's face for two seconds, then very naturally, with an air of certainty that said, "That's even more outrageous," she added, "A man who looks like that is even more dangerous."

Fanes, standing nearby, couldn't help but chuckle. He quickly covered his mouth with his hand, his shoulders still trembling slightly. He cleared his throat, barely managing to steady himself, and silently gave Yakoda a thumbs-up in his mind: "What an absurd logical loop... it really... makes so much sense."

Wendy's expression was as if he had choked on a mouthful of wine; the relaxed smile on his lips momentarily vanished. He put down his lyre, clutched his chest with one hand, and feigned heartbreak, his voice filled with exaggerated grievance.

"Waaaaah... I'm so heartbroken! How could you say that to me! I'm an honest, free-spirited bard who makes a living with my skills. How could you compare me to those shady characters..."

Yakoda's starry eyes narrowed even more. She took a step forward and pointed a finger at Wendy's nose: "Are you trying to scam me?"

Wendy's aggrieved expression froze for a moment, then softened back into his lazy demeanor. He moved the lyre aside, his tone light and matter-of-fact.

"How could that be! This is Mondstadt, the free city-state! How could something like this, 'faking an accident,' happen in the free city-state? But then again..."

Wendy opened her hands, palms up, a sly glint in her green eyes. "What you just said really hurt me. Just buy me a glass of dandelion liqueur to soothe my wounded heart."

Yakoda's starry eyes suddenly lit up when she heard the words "dandelion wine"—but that light was completely different from the light she had when she saw the food before; it was a light that said, "I've got you."

Without saying a word, Yakoda jumped up and slapped him on the forehead. The force was not heavy, but the position was precise. The crisp sound of the slap echoed clearly in the square.

"Damn it! Isn't this just a staged accident?!"

Yakoda stood with one hand on her hip and the other pointing at him, her voice clear and loud, "You want a drink and you still say you're not faking it! Do you know who we are?!"

Wendy was jolted to the side by the slap, his dark green eyes beneath the brim filled with bewilderment, as if to say, "You actually hit me." He covered his forehead, which had been slapped red—it wasn't actually that red, but he covered it tightly with his hand—and his voice carried a wronged tone.

"I was wrong! I was wrong! Please stop hitting me! I don't want the alcohol anymore! I was just joking..."

Fanes stood by, watching the spectacle unfold, with only one thought echoing in his mind.

"As expected of the Star God. What kind of human-shaped vision machine is this girl, Yakoda? She went from Liyue to Mondstadt in one go, recognizing everyone she met. The key is that she actually slapped the Anemo Archon. Barbatos was slapped on the forehead by an eight-year-old girl under the statue of the Anemo Archon. If this gets out, the whole of Teyvat will laugh for three hundred years."

Fanes took two steps forward and pulled back Akoda, who was still standing there with her hands on her hips, and then gave Wendy a standard, bright smile like a six-year-old.

"I'm sorry, my son has a rather short temper. So, we won't offer him any drinks, but if you'd like, we can buy you a glass of juice. Apple juice or Sunset Juice? You can choose."

Wendy lowered her hand from her forehead, glanced at Fanes's innocently smiling face, then at the little girl beside her who was still staring at her with starry eyes. After a moment of silence, she picked up her lyre again and strummed a light chord: "Apple juice will do. Thank you, young man."

Fanes took out his purse, counted out a few Mora, and handed them to a vendor who had run over. In return, he gave him a glass of chilled apple juice.

Wendy took the cup and took a sip, his dark green eyes curving into crescents. He put down the cup and plucked a string again, the melody light and carefree, as if the slap on the forehead had never happened.

As Fanes pulled Jakoda toward the other end of the square, she didn't forget to turn back and glare at him, muttering under her breath.

"Boss, this guy is definitely suspicious. Just you wait, if we run into him again before we get back to the hotel later, I'm definitely going to slap him again."

Fanes took her hand and walked towards the Deer Hunter's Restaurant, a smirk playing on his lips: "Okay, next time we run into each other, I'll help you with your arm."