Genshin Impact's Incense Burner Of Liyue [612]

“Oh? Looks like you got a bit of intel before coming to me.”

Venti raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Let me guess—you went to that little fellow Albedo?”

“Correct. Dad told me to keep an eye out for any potential Abyss operatives. Didn’t give me much beyond that.”

Gu Sanqiu tapped the table with his fingers. “You should know where those people are hiding, right? Why not tell me now?”

Venti’s lips twitched. “You’re not planning to storm in and massacre them one by one, are you?”

Gu Sanqiu paused. “You caught on to that, too? Don’t tell me Diluc watered down the drinks at his tavern today?”

“Watered your head!”

Venti tossed back a drink. “And what’s this? You’re calling him ‘Dad’ now? I thought you always went with ‘the old man’?”

“Well, he told me to start calling him that when he revealed his identity to me. Felt like my generation ranking suddenly shot up or something.”

“Have some confidence. Drop the ‘felt like.’”

Venti chuckled. “Still, can’t say I have any objections to the new title.”

Gu Sanqiu gave the tipsy bard a sideways glance. “So, should we maybe get to the actual business now?”

“Oh, right! Almost forgot.”

Venti sat up a bit straighter. “First off, a bloodbath isn’t the way to go. If you don’t address the root of the problem, you’ll just drive those scheming fools underground, waiting for the next chance to strike.”

Gu Sanqiu frowned. “From the intel I have, there are only two ways to get at the root.”

“One is to completely uproot the Lawrence Clan—burn them from top to bottom. But Eula still serves in the Knights of Favonius, so that’s absolutely off the table.”

Venti nodded vigorously, eyes shining with anticipation. “Right, right—and then?”

Excuse me?

Am I not here on assignment from the old man as muscle? When did this turn into a strategist audition?

Gu Sanqiu shook his head. “The second option is for you to show yourself. Appear in your capacity as Mondstadt’s Archon and denounce the Lawrence Clan and their backers—the Fatui, and whoever else—label them as conspirators colluding with foreign powers to harm Mondstadt.”

“In short: strip them of their noble titles and ‘grant’ them the status of commoners—or slaves.”

Venti waved his hands. “No, no, no! A modern Mondstadt can’t bring back slavery. That’s absolutely a hard no.”

“Relax, I wasn’t done.”

Gu Sanqiu tapped his glass calmly, prompting Venti to grumble but refill it with a better vintage.

“You’re not the only one who’d feel that way—my old friend Jean, and the rest of the Knights would likely agree. Even the people of Mondstadt—sure, they hate the Lawrences, some won’t even sit at the same table as Eula—but the contributions of her special ops squad are real and respected.”

“Even if the common folk say nothing, the Church of Favonius and Acting Grand Master Jean will definitely plead on their behalf.”

“So you go with the flow: restore the Lawrences’ status as civilians, but under the Church and Knights’ supervision, make them atone in full view of everyone.”

Gu Sanqiu smiled faintly. “And hey, isn’t the Windward Patrol team getting a little bored lately? Let them out for a walk. A show of force would sober up those idiots trying to stir the pot—solve the issue from both ends.”

Venti’s eyes lit up. “So what you’re saying is: ask for the moon, settle for the stars?”

“Close enough.”

“But I never said I was going to make a public appearance.”

What?

Gu Sanqiu shot him a death glare. “Sorry, what was that? Say it again?”

Venti leaned back in his chair, holding his drink with a carefree air.

“I said, I never planned on showing up in person. If the mere Lawrence Clan could force this god to descend and play referee, wouldn’t that be giving them way too much credit?”

Another one of those ‘mere Lawrence’ takes.

Gu Sanqiu barely suppressed the urge to flip the table. “So you’re not showing up, but you still got all excited hearing my plan?!”

Barbatos, you’re just screwing with me!

“Heh.”

Venti grinned. “Don’t be mad, dear nephew. I just thought, since you’re Morax’s kin, maybe you’d have some brilliant scheme up your sleeve. Turns out, all you’ve got are plans that boil down to either killing everyone or calling in the elders.”

“Tut tut tut. Clearly, you didn’t inherit that old friend of mine’s strategic wit.”

Gu Sanqiu rubbed his forehead. “One more word and I’m leaving.”

“Hehe, just kidding~”

Venti quickly switched to appeasement mode. “Honestly, it’s not your fault. The plan’s actually pretty solid—clean, direct, and effective. But see, my situation’s different. I haven’t publicly appeared in ages.”

Gu Sanqiu narrowed his eyes. “Didn’t you do a lap around Mondstadt on Dvalin’s back when we rescued him?”

“They saw the East Wind Guardian—not Barbatos.”

Venti’s tone was matter-of-fact. “Doesn’t count.”

“Fine. Then we wait and watch. Just a bunch of clowns trying to kick up a storm—no big deal.”

Venti’s smile grew even more mysterious. “No, no. Why just sit and wait? We’ve got better options.”

“My dear nephew, even if I can’t show up, you can. You’re the Holy Son of the West Wind. That plan of yours? It’d be perfectly reasonable for you to carry it out.”

“How did I—”

Gu Sanqiu froze mid-sentence, then turned to Venti with a narrowed glare.

“Wow. I was just explaining the whole ‘ask for the moon’ tactic, and I walked right into your trap. That’s rich.”

“How can you say that’s the same?” Venti protested, mock-offended. “Mine was psychological warfare! Dig a pit, let you fall in, then pull you out and earn your gratitude—a classic maneuver!”

Gu Sanqiu drained his glass. “It’s a good thing you’re not interested in romantic partners. Otherwise, half the girls in Mondstadt would’ve fallen victim to your tricks.”

“Hey, hey—don’t say that! I’m not the kind to lead people on and leave them hanging!”

“No, you’d just skip straight to the final boss tier—abandoning wife and child.”

Venti immediately started squabbling with him again, but no one in the tavern could hear their conversation. From the outside, the “uncle and nephew” duo looked more like bickering peers.

“Oh right—did you bring the Thousand Winds Divine Stone I asked for?”

“Oh, I almost forgot. Want me to have it couriered? I can send it straight to your doorstep.”

Venti smiled slyly. “No need. But don’t you want to know why I suddenly asked for it after all these years?”

“Uh… Isn’t it just an excuse to get me over here and beat someone up for you?”

Venti shook his head. “Nah, it’s nothing dramatic like that. No riddles this time. I really do have a use for it.”

“Let me guess—you and Albedo are trying to figure out how those troublemakers might act next. You probably suspect an armed uprising, right?”

Gu Sanqiu glanced toward the tavern bar and briefly considered running this by Diluc. Was Angel’s Share actually watering down its drinks?

How is my dear uncle still this clear-headed? It doesn’t make any damn sense!

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This is a fan translation of 原神之璃月奉香人 by 淡白蛋清. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!