"Then we'll move out first."
Amber, Kaeya, and Lisa departed the Knights' headquarters with crisp efficiency.
The one remaining in Mondstadt was, naturally, the Acting Grand Master—Jean.
Suppressing the Fatui delegation required more than just strength; it required the proper authority.
Jean asked,
"Jiang Yan, you're not unfamiliar with the Temples of the Four Winds, are you?"
"I know where they are."
Jiang Yan nodded.
Though he hadn't paid close attention to their exact locations before, during the aerial battle with Stormterror he had noticed three glowing points on the ground and committed them to memory.
"Amber and the others' safety… I'll be counting on you."
"Leave it to me."
Jiang Yan waved casually.
Lumine glanced back once more at the Acting Grand Master, who was leaning against her desk in deep thought, then followed Jiang Yan out, walking beside him.
"Jiang Yan," she asked softly, tilting her head up slightly,
"what exactly are the Temples of the Four Winds?"
Her voice was gentle and sweet—pleasant to the ear.
"Yeah, yeah! What kind of secret code were they talking about?"
Paimon clambered onto his head.
"Literal meaning," Jiang Yan said, grabbing her and pulling her down.
"They're temples dedicated to the Four Winds' guardians—the Wolf of the North, the Eagle of the West, the Lion of the South, and the Dragon of the East. They were once the four great forces that protected Mondstadt."
"The four great forces protecting Mondstadt?"
Paimon floated aside, puzzled.
"Then why can Stormterror use their power to wreck the city?"
"Do you remember the prefix Jean and Lisa used when talking about those temples?" Jiang Yan asked instead.
"Prefix? Uh…"
Paimon frowned, clearly not great at thinking things through.
"Abandoned?" Lumine offered.
"Exactly."
Jiang Yan nodded.
"If they're abandoned, that means no one is watching over them. In that case, isn't it normal for someone else to make use of them?"
"I see."
Lumine nodded, then asked,
"Are we heading there right now?"
"Are you tired?" Jiang Yan asked.
"I'm fine."
"Do you want to change clothes first?"
Jiang Yan glanced at the torn edges of her skirt—the result of tearing fabric to bandage his hands.
The tips of Lumine's ears, peeking out from her hair, turned red.
She tugged the remaining fabric to cover the exposed areas and said,
"We're about to go adventuring anyway. I'll change after we're done."
Out in the wild, bumps and scrapes were common. When it was just her and Paimon, this wouldn't have mattered much.
But with Jiang Yan around, she felt inexplicably shy.
"Alright, let's go."
Jiang Yan returned briefly to the Good Hunter, grabbed a spare Wind Glider, jumped out the window, and the two of them headed toward the city gate together.
Mondstadt was still shrouded in dark clouds and fierce winds. Leaves and trash flew everywhere, and even Timmie—who normally fed pigeons on the bridge—was nowhere to be seen.
But not far outside the city, the weather brightened once more.
Looking back, Mondstadt remained wrapped in turbulent Anemo energy.
The contrast between the city and the open wilderness was like two different worlds.
In the distance, Amber could be seen waiting in front of a ruin's entrance.
The stone gate of the ruin was engraved with a blazing crimson elemental sigil.
Amber jumped up and waved when she saw them.
"Boss Jiang Yan! Lumine! Over here!"
"I've already done a preliminary survey of the temple!"
"How is it?" Jiang Yan asked.
"This is the Temple of the Eagle of the West," Amber replied.
"There should only be some hilichurls and slimes inside."
"Those things live inside temples?" Lumine asked, puzzled.
"Well, it is abandoned," Paimon said smugly, parroting what she'd just learned.
"Then it shouldn't be too difficult."
Lumine nodded. She had fought slimes in the wild before—and had helped Amber clear a hilichurl camp prior to entering the city.
"Can you feel it?" Amber said seriously.
"The wind here isn't right. The dragon's power is still affecting this place."
"Let's move quickly!"
"Mm."
Jiang Yan nodded and placed his hand against the temple gate.
Anemo surged.
In the blink of an eye, the fire-red sigil was overwhelmed by wind element energy. The heavy door swung inward on its own, revealing a corridor lined with mechanisms—ending at another sealed door.
At the corner beside the mechanism door stood a control console angled toward them.
Jiang Yan stepped forward, channeling elemental power with practiced ease.
With a deep, rumbling boom, the mechanism door opened.
The group filed inside.
"There—at the deepest part of the temple!"
From a platform, Amber pointed toward a high point nearly a hundred meters away.
"That's so high… how do we get over there?" Paimon worried.
"Let's get closer first," Amber said.
"If this used to be a temple, there must be a way up."
She drew her bow. Pyro gathered on the arrowhead as she fired at the dry thorny vines blocking the path.
The flames caught instantly, reducing the brambles to ash.
"Let's go."
Amber led the way.
Along the path, more withered vines blocked their progress. Each time, Amber burned them away, and the lingering Pyro energy thickened in the air—ready for her to use again.
"Get down."
After turning a corner, she whispered and gestured for them to crouch.
Below the platform, three hilichurls wandered aimlessly—each holding a club and a shield, apparently unaware of their presence.
Jiang Yan glanced over them.
Their information surfaced instinctively in his mind.
Lv.9. Lv.9. Lv.10.
On their side—Lumine Lv.2. Amber Lv.3. Himself Lv.9.
Levels alone didn't decide a battle—but tactics did.
For example—
Amber had already quietly taken out Baron Bunny.
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