Genshin Impact's Incense Burner Of Liyue [610]

“My family told me to take a break and clear my head. After all, smacking around a god might’ve taken a toll on my mental state.”

Gu Sanqiu kept a perfectly straight face as he bragged outright. They hadn’t seen what actually happened in the fight—so whatever he made up, they’d have no way of disproving it.

As if Osial could really bust out of the seal at Guyun Stone Forest. What a joke.

“Haha, yeah, I’d say that’s a pretty solid reason to unwind,” Kaeya chuckled. “I’ll take my leave here—I’m not as free as you two. Gotta go check in with the Knights.”

“Sigh. Albedo, when can I transfer to your research squad? Life would be so much easier.”

Albedo replied calmly, “With Captain Kaeya’s capabilities, I doubt Acting Grand Master Jean would ever agree to let you go.”

“A compliment, sure, but that’s the kind I really don’t want to accept. Hahaha.”

Kaeya waved and turned to leave. “See you around. If there’s nothing urgent, take some time to enjoy Mondstadt’s sights—it’s a good place for that.”

He headed in the direction of the Knights of Favonius HQ, so apparently that “check-in” wasn’t just an excuse to sneak off to Angel’s Share for a drink.

Still, something about what he said stuck with Gu Sanqiu.

Take some time to explore the lands around Mondstadt—that felt like a subtle push to leave the city for a bit, didn’t it?

Was his earlier assumption wrong? Could the threat not be coming from outside Mondstadt, but instead from within?

Albedo spoke up. “You heard what Kaeya said, didn’t you? Come with me. Once we drop Klee off, I’ll explain.”

“Kaeya may have access to his own intelligence network, but it’s likely he hasn’t been able to confirm anything yet—so he’s holding off on reporting it.”

“Coincidentally, I also have my own sources.”

They handed Klee off to Sucrose—after all, two grown men weren’t exactly equipped to look after a little girl. Having such a capable assistant really made things easier.

In the study, Albedo laid out a stack of intel. “Now then... where to begin? There’s quite a lot here. I had to piece it together bit by bit.”

Gu Sanqiu sipped his juice. “Cut to the chase. Give me the gist.”

“Very well. If I had to summarize—there may be a political coup brewing in Mondstadt.”

Gu Sanqiu nearly choked.

“Okay, hold it—maybe don’t summarize after all. That conclusion’s insane. How the hell did you get there from a pile of intel?”

It was like someone analyzing consumer trends in a shopping district and somehow concluding that vegetable prices had spiked in a farmers’ market three towns over. Completely disconnected.

“That’s exactly why I was debating where to begin,” Albedo said, looking at him. “You mentioned earlier that your ‘family’ sent you out for some rest, but if I remember right... you are your family. Both clan head and sole member.”

“Hold up, hold up. I do have an older sister, okay? She just... steals my tea and doesn’t care about her little brother’s health, that’s all.”

Albedo gave a rare smile. “With your constitution, I doubt anyone really needs to worry about your health.”

Gu Sanqiu shook his head solemnly. “No no no. Whether I need it or not and whether people care—those are two fundamentally different things.”

“Fair enough. Let me share what I’ve deduced about why you’re here.”

Albedo’s tone was flat. “It’s said the Geo Archon and the Anemo Archon are close friends. And your own connection with the Anemo Archon seems... not insignificant.”

“Lord Barbatos could very well fall under your definition of ‘family,’ no?”

“You were summoned here by the Anemo Archon, weren’t you?”

No, Gu Sanqiu thought. When I said ‘family,’ I meant the old man who shaped spears out of geo energy and occasionally buries me in the ground for training.

Still, he nodded vaguely. “Something like that.”

“Good. That confirms my intel wasn’t off.”

Albedo asked, “Do you know Ilok? The former Chief Inspector, declared a traitor?”

“Heard of him.”

Heard of him? Gu Sanqiu remembered that guy all too well. During the whole Dvalin incident, Ilok was the one who pushed Diluc to leave.

Honestly, if the Ragnvindrs hadn’t raised their heir to be so well-mannered—and if Diluc hadn’t been so grounded in his father’s teachings of ‘acting by principle’—Ilok would’ve been a corpse in a ditch long before he was outed as a spy.

The fact that guy lived long enough to be officially identified as a traitor and then purged? A miracle.

Had it been anyone with a shorter fuse, Ilok would’ve died in a sewer without anyone bothering to investigate.

Whether his purge had been a real one or a staged disappearance didn’t matter. In Gu Sanqiu’s eyes, the Knights had been way too slow to act.

That overseas expedition had given him just enough of a window.

“Yes, that one,” Albedo said, placing the intel to the side. “The spy planted in the Knights of Favonius—later confirmed to be an agent of the Fatui.”

“And the other name you’ll recognize: the Lawrence Clan. Tyrants from the era of Old Mondstadt.”

Gu Sanqiu relaxed a little. “So the Fatui and the Lawrences have teamed up? Though honestly, I don’t see the point of roping the Lawrences into this.”

“Neither do I,” Albedo said after a pause. “Or more precisely—the Lawrence Clan by itself isn’t useful. They’re just an excuse. A pretense the Fatui can use to justify interfering in another nation’s affairs.”

“Ah. The kind of excuse they can toss aside—or even turn against—once they’re done with it, right?”

Gu Sanqiu spread his hands. “The Lawrence fools actually think they can walk a tightrope and come out clean?”

“Those tainted by original sin and misfortune are always that stupid—and that arrogant.”

“Sorry, what was that?”

“Nothing,” Albedo said, shaking his head. “The more I dig, the deeper it goes. The Fatui, the Lawrences, maybe even other foreign powers. It seems Mondstadt’s caught their eye.”

“The information’s messy, but rumors have already started spreading. Claims that the Knights have ‘usurped’ control of the city—ridiculous stuff.”

Gu Sanqiu narrowed his eyes. “That won’t work. The people of Mondstadt know who protects them. No one’s going to buy that narrative. Are they planning a military coup?”

“It’s possible. That’s really the only route they have left. But for now, they’re lying low.”

Albedo set down the documents. “If the Fatui and other foreign actors are involved, and if the Lawrences are providing old records and intel on Mondstadt’s geography and infrastructure... there are likely hidden strongholds.”

“They won’t show their hand until the moment of action.”

“How interesting.”

Gu Sanqiu grinned. So this was why Venti brought him in—to be the sledgehammer.

If it were just a case of mundane political unrest, having an adeptus drop from the sky would certainly put an end to it.

Even more so when that adeptus happened to hold the title of West Wind Saint. Unlike the Fatui, he didn’t even need a fake pretense!

Think the Anemo Archon’s hands-off?

Wrong!

The Wind God watches over Mondstadt’s people. The thousand winds never stop keeping watch over this land.

The difference between wind and geo... maybe it came down to this: one’s a drunken, poetic mess with no sense of formality. The other’s a rigid old relic who even walks in straight lines.

Then again, weren’t they both technically old relics?

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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!