Genshin Impact: I am the Great General of Liyue

Looking around, Huiyuan spotted someone so familiar that she almost called out his name.

(Venti?! No... the aura is different, and neither of the two whips emits any wind elemental light. It must be that legendary bard friend of Venti.)

At that moment, Diluc's ancestor, the "Red-Haired Swordsman," handed him a piece of shriveled bread.

"Eat?"

Looking at the bread, Huiyuan had absolutely no appetite.

Because it looks like a rotten, smelly cornbread in an old lady's warehouse.

"No, I'm not hungry."

"Is that so... Ahem, then let me introduce myself. I am a swordsman, and they are all my companions. This black-haired young man is a bard, and let me tell you, he sings beautifully."

"Wait...don't you have names?"

Upon hearing this question, the red-haired swordsman paused for a moment.

"We have names, but there's no need for us to tell each other. The reason is..."

As he spoke, the red-haired swordsman's face showed the expression of a warrior facing death.

A moment later, his expression changed, and he changed the subject.

"Miss, do you know what color the sky is?"

"blue."

"So certain...? Could it be you're really an 'outsider'? Ah, I'm just kidding. Anyway, we're also a group of people who firmly believe the sky is blue."

Upon hearing this, Huiyuan fell into deep thought.

(Isn't it obvious that the sky is blue? Why would he say that?)

By the way... the wind wall covered the entire sky. They probably haven't seen a real sky since they were born, which is why they have to guess and deliberately believe this fact.

But... how did they know the sky was blue?

Seeing Huiyuan's confused expression, the black-haired bard played a tune on his zither and began to speak.

"Sister, you seem a lot confused. How about I show you around?"

At this moment, an old craftsman intervened, saying, "Hey, don't you question her purpose in coming here?"

Upon hearing this, the bard shook his head.

“I have no doubt, because I see the colors of the outside world in her. Grandpa, didn’t you take me in by being direct? Miss, let’s go outside.”

Seeing this, Huiyuan no longer hesitated and nodded.

Following him to the bustling market, Huiyuan noticed that the people there rarely spoke unless absolutely necessary, which filled her with doubt.

How could they talk like that?

When the young poet saw Huiyuan asking a question, he began to explain.

"Because people are so tired, so tired that even talking is tiring."

Just then, a well-equipped squad approached.

Upon seeing them, the young poet quickly pulled Huiyuan aside, lowered his head, and covered his mouth.

Huiyuan was puzzled, but she didn't make a sound and silently waited for the group to leave.

"who are they?"

"Those people are followers of the Lonely King of the Tower. If you ever see someone dressed like that again, never do anything against his will, or the consequences will be severe."

"Could you tell me about the Lone King in the Tower?"

"He is the king here. This storm wall that isolates us from the outside world is his creation. People are enslaved by him, forced to bow down in submission, and he even euphemistically calls it 'voluntary following.' But let's not dwell on that now, let's continue on our way, so that you can learn more..."

Following the young poet, they secretly arrived at a circular mine.

The two hid behind the rocks and looked ahead.

Inside, a group of people were seen wielding hammers, hammering nails one by one, slowly separating the rocks from the rock mass.

There were some people carrying weapons nearby, who seemed to be the overseers of the place.

The atmosphere was thick with corruption; these miners didn't even have the right to eat or drink like slaves.

"That's how they enslave us, giving us no time to rest at all. If we let our guard down even slightly, we're treated as enemies trying to 'sabotage security' and dealt with."

At that moment, a worker with dazed eyes struggled to lift a hammer before collapsing to the ground, utterly exhausted.

The foreman's expression suddenly changed, and he glared at him fiercely.

"Hey—stop slacking off, get up and get to work!... You're ignoring me, aren't you?"

As he spoke, the overseer drew his long sword from his waist and prepared to strike.

The young poet's heart skipped a beat, and he instinctively stepped out from behind the rock, shouting, "Hey, you ugly monster! Look at me!"

"Who are you calling an ugly monster!?"

The sword aimed at the miner stopped, the overseer looked over, and at the same time, the alarm sounded.

"Intruder! Catch him!"

A group of armed guards ran over, their menacing presence instilling fear in the heart.

Upon seeing this, the young poet turned and ran, with Huiyuan following after him.

The overseer also caught up, determined to capture Huiyuan and the boy.

The guards relentlessly pursued them, and Huiyuan followed the boy as they fled in all directions. Every time they were about to escape, a new guard would appear to block their path, making the situation extremely difficult.

Just then, a sprite emanating a gentle breeze appeared and led the young poet and Huiyuan into a small alley, escaping their pursuit.

After catching his breath, the boy said to the wind sprite, "It's you, Wendy, hehe...long time no see, where have you been?"

"Hmph, I should be the one asking that question. We couldn't find you in the settlement, and then you were chased by a bunch of people. If it weren't for me, you would be dead."

Looking at the wind spirit that was making human-like sounds, Huiyuan tentatively uttered a name.

"Bartobas?"

Upon hearing the name, the wind sprite looked over, exuding a fierce aura.

"How rude! My name is Wendy, not Bartobas. And who are you? I don't remember anyone like you before. What are you doing with the little poet?"

Seeing that Wendy was about to argue with Huiyuan, the young poet quickly separated the two.

"Let's not worry about that now, let's go back. I'm so sorry, sister, I acted on my own..."

"It's alright. More than that, I'm curious about you and this wind spirit. How did you two meet? You seem to get along very well."

"It all started back then... One day, my singing attracted it, and we became friends after a few visits. Since it kept calling out 'little sprite,' it wasn't quite right for a friend, so I named it Wendy."

They hid and chatted intermittently along the way, and finally returned to the gathering place.

The Barbatos we know seems to be just an ordinary wind spirit, and the young poet had a good relationship with it.

Mondstadt is currently under the rule of Deckardapien, and is filled with an atmosphere of corruption and oppression.

Seeing the young poet return safely, the old craftsman breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I saw pursuers outside, and people everywhere were asking about the young poet. Are you alright?"