"Hello, Jean. I would like to understand the recent situation, could you explain it?"
Although he had promised Ningguang not to interfere in Mondstadt's affairs, now that he had been forced into the situation, getting out was impossible. At the very least, Venti would not let him go.
Rather than sitting back and doing nothing, he might as well understand what was going on in Mondstadt. He also wanted to see if the Knights had any resolve. If they were still the same as before, he would give up completely, as long as they did not interfere with his manga sales.
Jean rode along the tree-lined path, gazing at the scenery ahead as she slowly explained everything that had happened recently.
"Ever since Kaeya returned, after several rounds of discussion during our meetings, we unanimously agreed that your approach is very suitable for Mondstadt as it is now. So everyone resolved to correct the Knights' bad habits. Although it was difficult in the beginning, as time passed, we gradually realized you were right."
"Freedom has never equaled laziness. The Knights of Favonius are the last barrier protecting Mondstadt. If we continued to indulge ourselves, it would not be long before Mondstadt changed hands. That is something no one wished to see."
"As for the offering to the East Wind Dragon, it was carried out smoothly after we punished a few parasites within the Knights. Although everyone was very afraid at first, the results were significant. At the very least, all voices in the city concerning the 'Demon Dragon' have completely disappeared."
Jean was still grateful she adopted Su Han's suggestion back then. Otherwise, she would be suffering a great deal right now.
Although today's operation failed, this did not mean the Knights' efforts were in vain, because recently they had consistently followed through on their words, so the citizens still trusted them.
If this had been before, Jean would have been afraid of a riot breaking out.
Su Han listened for a while, then said in surprise, "Your progress is quite fast. I thought the Knights would hesitate for a long time, it seems I underestimated you."
"In troubled times, one must use firm measures. I remember you Liyue people have such an old saying. And given the situation at the time, if the Knights had not made a decisive move, the outcome would have been even worse than now. Also, Su Han, there was one sentence in your letter that left a deep impression on me."
"What sentence?"
"If the upper beam is not straight, the lower ones will be crooked. With those stubborn noble knights around, the young knights had no room to demonstrate their abilities and were even suppressed. But once we dealt with those people, the entire Knights carried a refreshing spirit up and down."
As Jean spoke, her eyes were full of gratitude. It was truly thanks to Su Han's help, otherwise she would have been overwhelmed.
Hu Tao, who had been listening like it was a storybook, never expected Su Han to have such a huge influence on Mondstadt. She originally thought he had just given a small suggestion, but it turned out he helped them reform governance.
When Jean finished speaking, Hu Tao gave Su Han a thumbs up and clicked her tongue in amazement. "Goodness, I didn't expect you to be this capable. No wonder Ningguang wants to meet you every day."
"Hall Master, you flatter me. I merely offered a bit of advice. The real execution depended on the Knights. So you're praising the wrong person."
Hearing Hu Tao's praise, Su Han hurriedly acted modest. With the Hall Master's lively personality, if she truly believed he was incredibly amazing, it would definitely cause him trouble later. So it was better to stay low-key.
But Klee was unhappy. The little one immediately countered, "That's not true, big brother is the most amazing. Acting Grand Master Jean says every day that if it weren't for you, she would be exhausted, and she said she has long wanted to meet you."
There was something like that?
Su Han looked at Jean in confusion, only to see her fair face turn crimson, nearly on the verge of collapse.
"Klee! You don't want to stay in solitary confinement for three days, do you?"
"Wuwu, Acting Grand Master Jean, don't scare Klee. Klee really is telling the truth. Lisa ah no, Sister Lisa also said we cannot lie, right?"
Seeing Klee pleading for help, Lisa covered her mouth and smiled. "Yes, children must not lie."
"Lisa, even you are doing this."
Jean never expected her usually supportive friend to tease her as well, and she nearly could not endure it. She just wanted to visit Liyue because her manga had not updated, nothing like what they were implying.
Realizing further explanation was useless, Jean gritted her teeth and forcibly started the next topic.
"Cough, enough of that, let's talk about serious matters. About Dvalin, I want to add something."
"After the internal reforms in Mondstadt began showing results, we started making preparations for the offering. Not only the East Wind Dragon's temple, we also cleaned the other three temples, and inside them we found many Abyss Order monsters."
Jean looked ashamed as she said this. For Mondstadt's heroic temples to be occupied by monsters was ridiculous.
Lisa added, "Later, we also heard the Abyss creatures wailing inside the temples, so we held today's offering. Unfortunately, it failed."
At this point, Jean, Amber, and the others looked disheartened. They thought they could calm Dvalin, but things turned out like this.
Su Han shook his head. "No, this isn't your fault. It's the Abyss Order causing trouble. They very likely modified Dvalin."
"Hm? Why do you think so?"
"It's like this."
Su Han explained what had just happened. He did not hide Venti's involvement, but mentioned that he was a servant of the Anemo Archon.
Upon hearing that Dvalin had been modified by the Abyss, Jean and Lisa were shocked, followed by grief.
"How could they! Our guardian dragon, being implanted with abyssal poison so cruelly!"
"We absolutely cannot let them continue. We must find a chance to save Dvalin."
"Wait, you said implanted?"
Hearing Lisa's words, inspiration struck Su Han. Something had felt off to him from the start. Now he finally understood. The abyssal corruption strong enough to affect Dvalin could not have been caused by a few Abyss mages.
Furthermore, that enormous abyssal tumor should not have been so similar to the others.
Although he only saw it briefly, Su Han was certain that the four abyssal tumor pillars all shared the same structure. If so, there was only one answer.
"Jean, I want to ask you for a favor."
"Please speak."
"I want you to send someone to investigate the place where the corpse of the dragon Durin fell. I suspect the Abyss Order used Durin's remains to corrupt Dvalin."
"You mean there is something going on in Dragonspine?"
"Exactly. Since Durin once corrupted Dvalin, using similar poison should worsen Dvalin's condition."
Su Han was almost certain that Dragonspine had a huge problem. But he had just finished fighting and was exhausted, so this matter could only be entrusted to the Knights.
Jean immediately dispatched a team. Considering it involved the Abyss Order, she specially sent Eula and Amber to lead a squad.
After they finished arranging everything, Su Han and the others finally emerged from the forest. The scenery before them widened instantly, with countless windmills and marked European-style buildings filling their view.
Of course, the most eye-catching building was the grand Cathedral of the West Wind.
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