I'm in the Teyvat running group

Upon hearing this information, Qin began to write and draw on the map. After a full twenty minutes, she drew a circle on the map:

"Then, the location where the lady was hunted must be here!"

Chapter 34 The Poet's Work

"Then, the location where the lady was hunted must be here!"

The others walked up to the map. Jean drew a circle on the right protruding corner of Brightcrown Canyon and said to everyone, "The three Executors will meet in five days, so the lady should arrive at Brightcrown Canyon in two days, that is, the day after tomorrow afternoon. She should camp there for the night. Nearby is where the Fools and the Abyss Order are cooperating to deal with Dvalin, and there is also a large army of our Knights. The lady will not give up gathering intelligence here."

“As a member of the Fatui, it would be strange if the lady didn’t do some intelligence gathering work.” Diluc nodded and continued, “In fact, this is the job of most Enforcers. Relatively speaking, the lady is one of the more violent ones among them.”

Jean nodded, then drew a line behind Mondstadt, connecting the island behind Mondstadt, in the middle, and Brightcrown Canyon, and said, "If we follow the distance of the flight spell, then we can glide from behind Mondstadt to this island using Windwing, and then Mage Yunxiu can use the flight spell to send us to the other side."

"So we've reached the back of Mingguan Gorge." Yunxiu suddenly realized, "Does the acting commander mean we should rest here and wait for the lady to launch a surprise attack?"

“Yes.” Jean nodded and said, “Swimming makes a lot of noise, and the Windwing can be seen very clearly during the day. The Cloud Mage’s flying spell has also solved the problem that the Windwing cannot jump from the spot and fly very far. Moreover, there must be many spies in Mondstadt now. So we will set off at dawn the day after tomorrow, and hide behind Brightcrown Canyon before the sun rises to set up camp. The Cloud Mage can also rest there. At night, we will hunt down the lady in one fell swoop, and then return from here by the same route.”

"There's nothing wrong with the plan," Yunxiu said with a wry smile. "The only problem is that I don't know how to use Wind Wings yet..."

"Me too." Ying also innocently raised her little hand.

"Um..." Jean sighed helplessly: "Operating the Windwing is not difficult for you two. Tomorrow I will have Amber guide you in learning. This special operation is urgent and requires expediency. Please go to the Knights of Favonius to retake your flight certification exams after the operation."

If you never got a driver's license in your past life, are you destined to never escape the "driver's license" requirement in this one...?

Moreover, Qin is truly a conscientious and rule-abiding person. Even under these circumstances, she didn't receive a driver's license directly, but only a temporary authorization, and she still has to take the test again later...

After mentally grumbling a few times, and watching Yingmei playfully bickering with Paimon, Yunxiu thought that this driving test experience wasn't so bad after all. At least there was a beautiful girl taking the test with him, and then they could buy a car together, drive around together, and even crash into his brother's car together...

All we can do now is pray for good fortune.

“But I don’t think we need to guide them like this.” Yunxiu said with a bitter face as she looked at Amber, who had led her and Ying all the way to the top of the West Wind Cathedral.

I had a fear of heights in my past life, and even though my fear of heights has lessened considerably in this life, it's mainly because I learned to fly and can now fly, so falling isn't a big deal...

Suddenly being led up to this tower several hundred meters high by Amber, Yunxiu felt a surge of fear, even though Ying next to her seemed eager to try.

"Don't worry! Although the Windwing doesn't allow two-person flight, I can still save you in an emergency!" Amber proudly pulled up her flight goggles around her neck, put them on, and jumped down.

Its agile figure was even more flexible and powerful than a bird in the air, and it flew back and forth around the tower with the help of the airflow, drawing one strange shape after another in the air, showing unparalleled flying ability.

"Amber truly lives up to her title as Mondstadt's flying champion!" Luminous clapped her hands happily and jumped down as well. As a powerful warrior, her control over her body and airflow was also extremely strong, and she quickly adapted.

The two of them frolicked in the air as they flew away into the distance.

"If that's the case, I'm leaving too! You said you'd treat me to Fisherman's Toast, so I stayed to wait for you." Paimon crossed his arms, looking like he was thinking of Yunxiu.

"Fine... I can always use flight magic!" Gritting her teeth, Yunxiu jumped off the tower. A strange thing happened: a gust of wind elemental force suddenly blew over and condensed on the two wings of the Wind Wings. Following Yunxiu's thoughts, the Wind Wings actually began to move left and right, and quite steadily at that!

Wings that big could theoretically not lift a person's weight, yet they can actually fly in the sky!

It seems that the Wind Wings really have nothing to do with aerodynamics...

In the story of Genshin Impact, the Wings of Wind have always been a magical existence. From the great adventurer Leonard to the scholars of the Faculty of Arts who attempted to replicate the Wings of Wind, all the creators and users of the Wings of Wind knew that it was impossible to fly with just these two wings; only with the blessing of the gods could one fly.

But what exactly is the blessing from the gods?

"What the Wings of the Wind need is courage. With courage, the free wind god will bless everyone~"

Hearing a crisp sound suddenly coming from behind, Yunxiu turned around and saw that it was indeed Venti. He didn't have wind wings, but he was still soaring freely in the sky, his body glowing with a peculiar wind elemental aura. He was also carrying a bottle of Liyue-packaged Old Cellar in his hand, looking like he had just met an old friend and was broke but managed to get a good meal and even brought back a bottle of wine...

"Oh dear..." Venti said apologetically, looking at Yunxiu staring at the Liyue Cellar in his hand. "It's the leftovers from drinking with an old friend. Do you have time to chat?"

It seems he has already met the Emperor… Yunxiu thought for a moment. The relationship between the two gods, Fengyan and Fengyan, has always been quite good. Besides their usual reminiscing, he probably learned a lot about himself from the Emperor.

After all, everything she said to the Emperor was under his strict protection. Not to mention Venti, who was like a wisp of wind, even if the real Ishtar were here, it would be difficult for him to see through her. This Emperor, who was shrouded in mystery from the start of the game until she transmigrated, could be said to be one of the most mysterious beings on the entire Teyvat continent. He might not be much younger than the Four Kage...

Back when the moon hung high in the sky in March, the Emperor was already alive. Old Deng, who had fully experienced the War of Burial Fire, must have known a lot of secret information, but he had always kept it very secret...

Thinking of this, Yunxiu realized that she also wanted to talk to Wendy, so she pointed to the palm of the giant wind god statue and the two of them flew over there.

With Yunxiu's increasingly skillful maneuvering, the two of them soon flew above the Wind God statue.

Yunxiu glanced at Wendy and nodded, then landed directly on the palm of the Wind God statue. Wendy chuckled and landed as well.

Then, as if by magic, two wine glasses appeared in his hand, and he poured a glass of Liyue Old Cellar for himself and Yunxiu each: "Would you like a glass?"

Yunxiu took the wine glass and sat down with Wendy on the palm of the Anemo statue. Wendy then produced several skewers of Mondstadt grilled fish, a plate of Northern smoked chicken, and a bowl of satisfying salad from who-knows-where.

Seeing that Wendy had prepared everything so thoroughly, Yunxiu took out a pair of travel chopsticks from her backpack and handed them to Wendy. The two of them then began to eat. This had been their usual routine lately, but today Yunxiu felt that Wendy seemed to have something she wanted to tell her.

“Liyue’s sake has a heavy, rich aroma. Sometimes it doesn’t feel like drinking, but more like reading a dusty history book,” Venti chuckled. “Like my old friend, who likes to have a couple of drinks while deep in thought. So I still prefer Mondstadt’s sake a little more…”

“But drinking this kind of wine is really good for reminiscing, isn’t it?” Yunxiu picked up her glass and clinked it with Wendy’s.

"Oh dear," Wendy gave a wry smile, "I knew you'd found out."

“I think Barbatos is trying to tell me something, isn’t he?” Yunxiu quickly finished a skewer of Mondstadt grilled fish, then casually asked, “For example… what exactly happened five hundred years ago?”

“Five hundred years ago…” A barely perceptible sadness appeared in Wendy’s eyes. He then took a small sip of his wine, and as if after making a great decision, he said seriously, “The calamity of five hundred years ago did indeed sweep across the entire continent of Teyvat, and at that time, the Seven Gods were summoned by the laws of nature to go to Kanria and completely destroy that kingdom that had been thoroughly corrupted by the Abyss…”

He paused for a moment before continuing, "Of course, I was one of them, but none of us seven gods could have imagined that the calamity would spread to such an extent..."

"If it were just due to the invasion of the void realm represented by the abyss, theoretically it shouldn't have caused such enormous damage, right?" Yunxiu asked doubtfully.

This was also one of the biggest questions he had in his previous life when studying the fundamentals: since the power of the Light Realm and the power of the Void Realm corresponded, and there were also humans in this world who were adapted to the power of the Void Realm, then theoretically the calamity shouldn't have spread to such a terrifying extent...

"You even know about Void Force?" Wendy looked at Yunxiu in surprise, then replied, "Plain Void Force itself wouldn't naturally have such strong malice, but the problem is, Kanria's Void Force was controlled or even modified before it dissipated..."

Wendy took another sip before continuing, "Besides, there are two other crucial reasons."

"what?"

"First, the elemental system of this world is built on the basis of the power of the light realm, and it naturally has a rejection of the power of the void realm."

"Secondly, the calamity five hundred years ago actually broke out suddenly across the entire continent almost without warning, something even we seven gods did not anticipate..."

Chapter 35 Thousand Winds' Feathers

"Multiple points erupting simultaneously?" Yunxiu wasn't particularly surprised.

Judging from the text and related quest storylines, Venti was not wrong. In fact, besides Kanria, Liyue, Inazuma, and Sumeru were all hit by severe pollution and suffered significant losses in their forces.

Rustan, Fox Palace, and Yaksha all perished in that battle...

“Five hundred years ago, that was a true catastrophe that could destroy the world.” Wendy gave a wry smile and continued, “It’s just that some places experienced more of it than others, and Kanria was the key to the outbreak. That’s why the Seven Gods were summoned to Kanria to address the problems there first.”

"Is it an earth vein?"

“The integrity of the ley lines determines the intensity of the Abyss invasion.” Venti nodded. “Liyue’s ley lines are the most intact, so it suffered the least invasion. As for Mondstadt at the time… I was still in Kanria. After the largest breach in Kanria was sealed, the calamity on Mondstadt subsided. While Rustanoram was fighting the calamity, I was at the breach in Kanria…”

Is that so...?

The woman's anger was not without reason. After all, for the gods, failing to protect their people is a sin, even in unavoidable circumstances.

Wendy, who was on the front lines, was certainly trying to save more people, but there were sacrifices involved. The fact that the people did not complain was a sign of their support for God, but if they did complain, it was understandable.

“You’ve figured it out, haven’t you?” Wendy blinked. “So I won’t help you deal with the lady, and I don’t even know how to face her myself…”

“But when she sets foot on Mondstadt’s soil again, covered in blood, my most important task is, of course, to protect my current people.” Wendy changed the subject: “So I won’t say anything strange. Since hunting her down is in Mondstadt’s best interest, I can only support her silently.”

Is that so... Although Venti has always had a rather street-smart image, it's clear that this god who fought his way out of the Demon Wars is not a saint. Even if he does feel guilty towards his people back then, he doesn't regret it.

Because, in fact, blocking the gap in the Abyss is the most important thing on the front line of Kanria. If the gap is allowed to collapse, the Black Tide will start to fully charge into all of Teyvat, and the consequences will be unimaginable.

But was the story from five hundred years ago really that simple? At least from the current perspective, the plot has changed drastically. The plot I experienced in my previous life seemed very simple, but in reality, it hid huge undercurrents. My participation certainly stirred up these undercurrents, but will there be more problems later?

In his previous life, Dvalin was merely cursed by the Abyss Order. In this life, however, they seem intent on completely "corrupting" Dvalin, turning him into an abyss dragon like Gustot...

Seeing Yunxiu deep in thought, Wendy patted him on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry about it."

“But…” Yunxiu thought for a moment and decided to tell Wendy at least part of what was on her mind: “If doing something will bring you a lot if you succeed, but if you fail, there may be worse consequences, then should you do it?”

Wendy fell silent upon hearing this. After pouring himself another glass of wine, he slowly said, "Two thousand six hundred years ago, someone asked a friend of mine the same question..."

"What then?"

"Isn't the real sky, the poetry and songs outside the cage, a desire worth fighting for?"

Wendy answered the question in a humming tone, then turned to Yunxiu: "If a person's wishes are good and their actions are right, then even if the final result is bad, it has nothing to do with them. I will follow their path again, until I truly see the sky of freedom."

"So you..."

"So I borrowed the image of a friend, to represent him as 'a breeze that can bring small changes and hope.'"

"Fine wine, a gentle breeze, and moments with friends always remind me of that folk song..."

"Fly, fly..."

Fly...

See this world for me...

Fly to the highest heavens in my stead.

After finishing his drink, Wendy sprawled out in the palm of the Anemo statue, looking at Yunxiu earnestly and saying, "If you believe you can, then go and change this world seriously, because this world has truly been changed before!"

After saying that, he took out his "God's Eye transformed from a glass bead," rubbed it gently, and it turned into a feather. Upon closer inspection, the feather looked like a thousand feathers stacked together, presenting a peculiar visual effect of a time-space rupture!

Wendy looked at the feather, then gently blew on it, giving it a beautiful glow. She then held it in her hands and handed it to Yunxiu, saying, "This is for you. Go do what you need to do."

Is it that Venti conjures a harp called "Feline" when he's not using the Skyward Harp...?

The friend Venti mentioned should be the boy who, along with him, instigated the Mondstadt uprising, overthrew the Gale Demon God Deckardarian, and established Old Mondstadt, but perished in an accident, and whose image Venti inherited.

After receiving the peculiar feather, Yunxiu examined it for a moment but didn't say much. Instead, she carefully put it into her bag, then took out the tea and wine that she had bought in Liyue before leaving, which was only produced in Shenyu Valley. She then smiled and said to Venti, "It should be Venti's time now. Shouldn't we have a couple more drinks?"

"Oh my, I haven't tried this before! Yunxiu, you really have a lot of treasures!" Wendy excitedly rushed over, grabbed the wine jar, opened it with great enthusiasm, and took a deep sniff: "Oh my, it tastes like tea from Chenyu Valley, combined with wine made from spring water from Qingce Manor, it's truly top-notch! It's just as good as the premium dandelion wine from Grandpa Diluc's house."

"Yes, I have other good stuff here." Yunxiu took out the spicy dried snail meat that Xiangling had prepared for her. It was made by stir-frying finely chopped Jueyun pepper with star snail meat and then dehydrating and drying it. It has a long shelf life and is a great snack to have with alcohol. Actually, it was a side dish that Xiangling prepared for her father to have with alcohol.

Unexpectedly, it became a best-selling cold dish at Wanmin Hall, almost causing Jueyun Chili to sell out at the Liyue Market. So, before Yunxiu left, Xiangling gave him two packs. Yunxiu had been hiding them and hadn't told anyone, but after what Venti had said to him today and given him the gift, Yunxiu finally took out a pack to share: "Don't eat too fast, I don't have many packs left myself..."

"Delicious! This tea and wine go even better together!" Wendy ate quickly, finishing a third of the tea and wine in less than five minutes. After taking a sip of tea and wine, she said happily, "Being able to have a cup every day is truly one of life's greatest pleasures!"

The two of them ate and drank there for most of the day, until evening.

Seeing that Ying and Amber were bickering and flying back with Wind Wings, Yunxiu said goodbye to Venti.

Using the Wind Wings, they jumped off the Anemo Statue and, along with Luminosity and Amber, glided all the way to the Knights of Favonius headquarters. After resting in the room Jean had arranged for them, washing up, and lying in bed, they took out the treasure Venti had given them. It turned out to be an artifact that was in no way inferior to the [Tagif]:

[The Poem of the Feather of a Thousand Winds]: This feather seems to hold within it a never-ending breeze; touch it, and you can feel the freedom and gentle breeze of Mondstadt for a thousand years...

Rarity (Legendary): All attributes +2.