Chapter 45: A Letter from the Tsaritsa
Bai Luo wasn't surprised that the Tsaritsa had written to him.
He had been here for quite a while already, yet the progress of obtaining the Gnosis had hardly advanced at all. It was only natural for the Tsaritsa to urge him a bit.
But what surprised him was that the letter did not criticize him for slacking off. Instead, it concerned another Fatui Harbinger—Il Dottore.
The Tsaritsa's instructions were simple: temporarily hand over his work in Inazuma to Scaramouche, then head to Mondstadt to help Dottore handle some matters.
"Isn't Mondstadt under La Signora's responsibility?"
Back then, Bai Luo had actually wanted to go to Mondstadt the most, because the god of that free city-state was notoriously laid-back. As long as one didn't cross his bottom line, Bai Luo's life would be safe.
Unfortunately, since Signora was originally from Mondstadt, she didn't want others interfering with her work and had taken full responsibility for matters there.
If he went to Mondstadt now, wouldn't Signora make trouble for him?
Perhaps anticipating this concern, the Tsaritsa had already explained it in the letter.
Apparently, the god of the free city-state was still missing. In order not to alert him prematurely, Signora had not yet gone to Mondstadt and was instead staying in Sumeru to handle certain affairs.
The Tsaritsa also specifically instructed Bai Luo that even if he encountered Barbatos, he should avoid taking action against him.
Some matters still needed to be handled personally by Signora.
"When do I leave?"
After putting away the letter, Bai Luo looked at the Fatui soldier standing before him.
If this letter had come from Dottore, Bai Luo could have simply refused.
After all, he now held the same rank as the other Harbingers and didn't need to obey their orders.
But if it was a letter from the Tsaritsa, he had to take it seriously, because he was still technically her subordinate.
Betrayal… was not something the Tsaritsa appreciated.
At least until he had the power to withstand the wrath of the Seven Archons, he couldn't easily break away from the Fatui.
"You can leave tomorrow. Lord Dottore's subordinates are already waiting outside Inazuma. You can board their ship directly and head to Mondstadt."
Truthfully, this Fatui soldier was somewhat reluctant to see Bai Luo leave.
Although Bai Luo often neglected his duties—almost like Barbatos, the famously hands-off god—he treated his subordinates quite well.
At the very least, he didn't randomly kill one of them from time to time.
Compared to Scaramouche…
That guy had only been in Inazuma for a few days, yet several comrades at the Delusion Factory had already died.
And the way they died was horrible. It was obvious they had been treated like disposable tools and forced to use those low-quality Delusions.
The soldier was already considering transferring to the advance expeditionary forces to avoid the danger.
"Alright. Find a way to inform Dottore's people. Tell them I'll arrive before noon tomorrow—twelve o'clock. They should prepare to receive me."
"Yes!"
The Fatui soldier responded and was about to return to notify the comrades waiting at sea through special means, but Bai Luo suddenly stopped him.
"My lord, is there something else?"
Maybe it was just his imagination, but the way Bai Luo looked at him felt a little strange.
"Do you have any fire-water on you?"
"…No."
Although the man was wearing a Fatui mask, his guilty expression was obvious.
Whether he had any or not, he certainly didn't dare admit it in front of Bai Luo.
According to Fatui regulations, although carrying fire-water was technically allowed, there were appropriate times for it.
If someone was caught drinking during work hours and their superior was in a bad mood, they could even be executed.
Bai Luo casually glanced over him a few times and quickly found a bottle of unopened fire-water hidden on his body.
As a former instructor for Pyro Agents, Bai Luo had done this sort of thing many times before.
So he knew exactly where these grunts liked to hide their alcohol.
"My lord, that's my last bottle. I haven't even had the heart to drink it yet."
The Fatui soldier put on a miserable face and tried to make one last attempt to keep it.
If he had known it would be confiscated, he would've just drunk it earlier.
"When we return to Snezhnaya, I'll treat you to the finest fire-water."
After pocketing the bottle he had confiscated, Bai Luo patted the soldier on the shoulder and left the courtyard with the box of fireworks on his back.
"…Let's talk about that after we actually make it back to Snezhnaya."
Sighing helplessly, the Fatui soldier muttered to himself.
. . .
The place where Ksenia lived was actually quite easy to find.
She disliked water and also hated insects biting through her expensive little blanket, so she set up her temporary camp on rocks far away from any streams.
Waking up every day under the sunlight and then going out nearby to complete a few tasks—that was the life she enjoyed most.
From far away, Bai Luo could already see the temporary camp made from dark red canvas, along with the tall column of cooking smoke rising into the air.
"Perfect. I haven't really eaten much today anyway, so I'll just mooch a meal from you."
Since he was about to leave Inazuma and didn't know when he would return, Bai Luo naturally hadn't forgotten to visit Ksenia before leaving.
This hospitable Cicin Mage had left a pretty good impression on him.
Especially remembering how she constantly talked about wanting authentic fire-water, Bai Luo had even specially confiscated a bottle from one of his subordinates.
However…
As he got closer, he began to notice something was wrong.
Because the people sitting near the temporary camp weren't the Ksenia in Bai Luo's memory, but a group of strangely dressed individuals.
They were gathered around the battered pot that Ksenia once used to brew tea for him, apparently resting for a while.
And judging by their clothing, Bai Luo immediately recognized who they were.
Treasure Hoarders.
They were a fairly well-known organization across Teyvat, mostly composed of people obsessed with wealth.
Although their traces could be found all across the continent—even in certain ruins and domains that many adventurers didn't dare enter—it didn't change the fact that they were essentially a loosely organized band of thieves.
But…
Why were they near Ksenia's campsite?
And where had Ksenia gone?
Bai Luo didn't believe these Treasure Hoarders were capable of defeating her.
After all, Ksenia was a Cicin Mage, considered a special unit even within Snezhnaya's forces.
There was no way these Treasure Hoarders—who didn't even possess Visions—could be her match.
Watching the group of thieves laughing and bragging loudly, Bai Luo silently set down the box of fireworks in his hands, drew his dagger, and disappeared into the night.
The most terrifying aspect of the 'Hei' Class wasn't his frontal combat ability.
If it came to direct fighting, Bai Luo would probably rank at the bottom among the Fatui Harbingers.
But when it came to assassination…
Bai Luo was unquestionably the strongest.
Up until now, he had never failed a single assassination mission assigned by the Fatui.
As long as a target was given to him, the person would die silently within a day.
Even if the target had hired Vision holders as personal bodyguards, they still couldn't escape Bai Luo's shadow of death.
It was said that even people who slept in the same bed as the Ausbilder's targets only realized the next morning that the person beside them had already become a cold corpse.
According to incomplete statistics, among the Fatui Harbingers, the three individuals most feared and least wanted to be provoked across Snezhnaya were Il Dottore, The Ausbilder, and The Jester.
In short…
These Treasure Hoarders were about to have a very bad day.