21

Facing Crepus's question, Lu Li shook his head, "Nothing."

Clip-clop—

A sound of hooves came from behind, and a red-haired youth rode in on a white horse. The youth was dressed in an exquisite Knights' uniform, with a long sword hanging at his waist.

Eighteen-year-old Diluc had just finished celebrating his coming-of-age ceremony. The group had just finished drinking and celebrating and were preparing to go home before it rained.

"Father, what happened?"

Diluc's clear voice was filled with concern.

Lu Li looked at the young Diluc.

Diluc was still very young then, his eyes clear, not yet the weathered, solitary five-star "Old Master Lu."

Father and son both scrutinized the unfamiliar boy in front of them.

Lu Li's short, jet-black hair stood out among the Mondstadters, and his thin clothes were stained with grass, making him look lost.

Could it be someone's lost child?!

"Diluc, hello."

Hearing Lu Li call his name, Diluc was momentarily stunned.

"Little friend... do you know me?"

In Diluc's memory, there was no trace of a child named Lu Li.

Lu Li nodded.

"A spirited young man on a fine horse, who doesn't know the cavalry captain?"

Diluc, at a young age, had become the Knights of Favonius's cavalry captain and had received the gods' recognition, possessing a Vision.

He was quite famous in Mondstadt.

"Hahaha!"

"As expected of my son, even such a small child knows your reputation."

Crepus's hearty laughter echoed through the forest path.

Then he looked gently at Lu Li, "Child, it's about to rain. Why don't you come with us to Dawn Winery to take shelter?"

"Besides, there are snake demons in this area; it's too dangerous for you alone. When the rain stops, we'll take you to find your mom and dad."

Lu Li chuckled inwardly.

He had already killed a whole path of monsters; he was the most dangerous presence in this area.

But Lu Li looked, at most, five years old at that moment.

As the head of the Ragnvindr Family, Crepus couldn't just leave such a small child like Lu Li unattended.

Even though he was Mondstadt's wealthiest man, he didn't seem to put on airs.

Lu Li thought this uncle was quite nice. Anyway, playing sooner or later was still playing, and going to Dawn Winery to play for a while and then take shelter from the rain sounded pretty good.

Perhaps he might even meet Klee coming to pick grapes.

When the convoy set off again, Lu Li sat in Crepus's carriage.

Through the curtain, Lu Li saw Diluc personally driving the carriage, his tall back looking particularly resolute on the forest path.

Inside the carriage, Lu Li's gaze inadvertently fell upon a black ebony box under the seat. The lid was slightly ajar, revealing a strange half-finger glove inlaid with blood-red jewels. The glove was black with a golden pattern resembling an intricate design.

Seeing Lu Li's gaze fall on the box, Crepus quickly closed it and put it away.

Lu Li knew... that thing was a Delusion, something that could grant ordinary people great power but would harm the user's body.

In Diluc's backstory, Crepus used the power of a Delusion to repel Ursa the Drake, only to die later from the Delusion's backlash.

That day, monsters attacked the convoy where Diluc and his father were.

It happened so suddenly that Diluc didn't have time to contact the Knights of Favonius.

The monsters were unprecedentedly powerful, leaving the young Diluc helpless. The outcome of this encounter was beyond Diluc's expectations.

His father, who was not recognized by the gods, his father, who could not become a Knight, actually manipulated an unseen, ominous power to defeat the monsters!

And then, in the backlash of that evil power, he died right before Diluc's eyes.

Afterward, Crepus's death was ruled an accident.

Immersed in grief and confusion, Diluc returned to the Knights of Favonius, only to receive orders from Inspector Eroch.

The truth had to be covered up.

Eroch also emphasized that to protect the Knights of Favonius's reputation, Crepus's death must be publicized as an unfortunate accident.

Crepus once said, "This world will not let down those who hold faith."

Diluc couldn't understand why Crepus's faith went against the Knights of Favonius.

At his final moment, how did Crepus view faith?

Diluc abandoned everything, including his Vision, and left the Knights of Favonius. A legendary cavalry captain thus ended his career as a Knight of the Knights of Favonius... Lu Li's thoughts were pulled back to reality by the bumpy carriage.

A black crow landed on the roof of the carriage.

Lu Li suddenly realized.

The carriage bumped and bounced~

Diluc's birthday was today!

How could it be such a coincidence?!

He had come to Mondstadt to travel precisely because he didn't want to fight.

It seemed... a small battle was unavoidable today.

For Lu Li, Ursa the Drake and the like were mere chickens and dogs, not worth a second glance.

Just as Lu Li was contemplating which move to use to instantly kill Ursa the Drake, Crepus's voice came through.

"Little friend, are you from Liyue?"

After putting away the Delusion, Crepus began chatting with Lu Li. Diluc also looked at Lu Li with curiosity.

In Teyvat, people from Mondstadt had more Western features, while those from Liyue resembled Easterners.

After his rebirth, Lu Li, as he grew, still looked like his former self, so in Crepus's eyes, Lu Li looked more like a Liyue native.

"Something like that. I've been traveling in Mondstadt for a while recently," Lu Li nodded.

Listening to Lu Li's answer, Crepus guessed that the Merchant convoy Lu Li was with might be nearby.

Liyue was the commercial center of Teyvat, and Crepus knew many Merchants from Liyue.

For a child as young as Lu Li, and from Liyue, he could only have been traveling with a Merchant convoy for business and then gotten lost.

"So, did you get lost from a Merchant convoy?"

Facing Crepus's question, Lu Li shook his head.

"The adults at home agreed; I am not lost."

Hearing Lu Li's words, Diluc immediately felt a sense of alarm.

Such a small child appearing in this vicinity...

His intuition told Diluc that all of this was too abnormal!

Moreover, Diluc had been driving the carriage in front for some time, and every now and then, he would see the corpses of monsters.

These monsters were all killed with a single blow.

The manner of death was peculiar, a method Diluc had never seen before.

A daring thought circulated in Diluc's mind: could these monsters have been killed by this small child, Lu Li?!

However, this thought only lingered in Diluc's mind for a moment.

A five-year-old child, killing monsters with a single blow, and without a weapon... How could that be?!

Even Diluc, who was quite famous in Mondstadt, obtained his Vision at age 10 and became a cavalry captain after joining the Knights of Favonius at 14. Such an experience already made him a genius among geniuses.

But even so, even the current Diluc couldn't instantly kill those monsters lying dead by the roadside!

So how exactly did these monsters die?

Suddenly!

Diluc felt his heart skip a beat.

He quickly stopped the carriage.

The carriage suddenly lurched violently. Lu Li looked through the window and saw dark clouds gathering in the distant sky, with faint flashes of lightning.

An ominous rustling sound came from deep within the forest, as if some enormous creature was approaching.

"Father!"

"There are monster auras nearby, and many of them! Quickly find someone to contact the Knights of Favonius for support!"

"Tell the little friend to leave quickly."