Well... whatever.
It was probably just some unspoken understanding between the two of them. Kaito thought about how Childe had been freeloading off Zhongli for ages now — made sense he'd have picked up a few habits.
After that, the group made their way toward the same place as before.
And while they were off having tea, Ningguang had already arrived at the spot where Childe and Mobius had appeared not long ago.
Of course, beyond the scene of utter devastation, she hadn't found a single useful clue.
This battle...
Who left all this behind?
And what were they even fighting over?
Standing before a assembled unit of Millelith soldiers, Ningguang surveyed the traces of violence around her, her expression grave. It was obvious a fierce battle had taken place here — she just had no idea who the two sides had been.
And more importantly — could this battle be connected to the strange drop in Hilichurl numbers in the surrounding area?
These questions turned over in her mind, and her brow remained tightly furrowed.
There was nothing to be done about it. She didn't know the answers to any of these questions right now, and the traces left behind at the scene weren't telling her much either.
After a long silence, she spoke. "Did all of you sweep through this area today?"
"Yes, Lady Ningguang. We had people patrol the entire area, but nothing unusual was found." The soldier the others had been calling Captain hurried forward to answer the moment he heard her speak. When no further response came, he continued, "But on our way back, we suddenly heard something coming from over here — so we rushed straight over."
"So you saw nothing." Ningguang said it without inflection.
"That's correct, Lady Ningguang. When we arrived, there was no one here." The Captain answered quickly — though by now cold sweat was running down his back.
After all, Lady Ningguang had personally assigned him to investigate this area today, and something like this had happened right under his nose without him knowing a thing about it.
Just then, someone stepped past him and walked to Ningguang's side. "Looks like the fighting was intense."
She...
Who is that?
The Captain stared at the short-haired girl — dark blue locks framing her face — as she walked right past him to stand beside Lady Ningguang. He was thoroughly puzzled.
Though the moment it occurred to him that she might be a friend of Lady Ningguang's, things clicked somewhat into place.
Either way, as long as this girl could draw even a little of Lady Ningguang's attention away from him, that was all he could ask for. The rest was out of his hands.
"What have you found?" Ningguang didn't turn around. She showed no surprise at the girl's arrival, only asked the question in a measured, unhurried tone.
"Nothing yet." The girl shook her head slowly, then continued, "But..."
"But what? Yelan, just say it."
Ningguang turned to look at her directly.
"That person — the one called Kaito." Yelan met Ningguang's gaze and stated her suspicion plainly. "Do you think he could be involved?"
"Him? Probably not."
Ningguang thought back over what she knew of the young man called Kaito, then shook her head.
"Why not?" Yelan didn't quite follow Ningguang's reasoning and asked the question almost instinctively.
After all, that young man had recently returned to Liyue — and it was against that exact backdrop that something like this had suddenly happened. It was difficult not to draw a connection.
"You're aware of what kind of relationship he has with the Anemo Archon of Mondstadt, aren't you? Don't tell me you didn't know." Ningguang didn't answer directly — she turned the question back on Yelan.
"That's the reason?" Yelan was of course aware of what Ningguang was referring to, but she found it insufficient. "Just that alone isn't enough."
"You can think it's not enough," Ningguang replied. "But I can't afford to act carelessly on this. It touches on the relationship between Mondstadt and Liyue — I can't be rash."
That young man called Kaito wasn't Mondstadtian himself, but his girlfriend was an entirely different matter. Which was precisely why she couldn't simply go and investigate him on a whim.
Just as Ningguang was about to say something more, she noticed the ring of Millelith soldiers still standing nearby. She gave them a calm wave of dismissal.
"Yes, Lady Ningguang."
The Captain who had been questioned felt the tension leave his shoulders all at once. He immediately gathered his men and led them away.
Not straight back to base, of course — they went to check the surrounding area for any additional clues.
He could read Lady Ningguang well enough to understand what she intended. If he'd just marched everyone home after that, he'd have been finished.
"Then I'll be careful about it."
Seeing Ningguang weigh so many considerations, Yelan could only concede that she'd tread carefully.
"Don't move yet." Ningguang shook her head. She had her own plan. "Tomorrow I'll go and find him myself — see if I can get him to lend us a hand."
"Get him to help?"
That wasn't what Yelan had expected at all. She was visibly surprised.
After all, she suspected this young man might be the one pulling the strings behind everything — and yet here was Ningguang planning to walk straight up and invite him into the investigation. It seemed, to put it mildly, rather strange.
"Perhaps he came to Liyue precisely because of this matter. And if we bring him into the investigation, he might end up letting something slip — if he really is behind it." Sensing Yelan's confusion about her approach, Ningguang offered the explanation.
"Fair enough. But the Fatui are still someone we need to keep a close eye on."
With Ningguang's plan laid out, Yelan had nothing to object to — and went on to name her other prime suspect.
Where Kaito was merely someone she suspected, the Fatui she was already fairly certain were involved — she just didn't have the evidence yet.
But that was all right. The evidence would come.
"Obviously. But..."
"But what?" Yelan caught the hesitation in Ningguang's voice and found herself genuinely curious about what was giving her pause.
It was a rare thing, after all, to see Ningguang hesitate over anything.
"I was thinking of having you go and bring that young man — Kaito — to me. What do you say?" Since she intended to have Yelan work alongside him on the investigation, it only made sense to let them meet first.
"If that's all it is, then of course — no problem."
It wasn't anything difficult, so Yelan saw no reason to refuse.
Besides, she was genuinely curious to see for herself what kind of person this young man was — the one who apparently had that sort of relationship with the Anemo Archon.
"Since you've agreed, go and speak with him about it tomorrow then."
"Should I bring him to your place?" Yelan asked.
"Naturally. If I'm proposing we work together, we'll need to meet in person."
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