How To Save Yourself From Being Targeted By The Anemo Archon In Genshin Impact? - Chapter 21

Jiang Yubai fell unconscious after experiencing two teleports in a short period.

New wounds were added to old ones, compounded by the exhaustion of fleeing for his life. His physical stamina had long since been depleted. Immediately after being teleported to this new location, the System emerged to scout the area. Seeing Jiang Yubai slumped on the ground and unresponsive to any calls, it began a tense and vigilant patrol of the surroundings.

This was a peaceful grassland that stretched as far as the eye could see. The System looked thoughtfully toward the north, where large windmills were turning slowly in the breeze. The silhouette of a distant city looked remarkably serene.

Fantastic!

It was finally not that apocalyptic place from before. The System wept with joy. Since the errors began, it had not seen a single normal location, nothing but blizzards or wind walls. This city looked exactly like a place where normal people lived. They had finally escaped that world called Teyvat.

Clearly, the System believed this was a different world entirely.

After the initial excitement, the System returned to its blood-stained Host and grew anxious. What should it do? This place was too far from the city. It had no physical form and could not carry the Host to find a doctor. The round orb stared helplessly at Jiang Yubai, trying to wake him, but there was no response.

They stayed like that until the sun was almost below the horizon.

“Ah!”

A scream rang out. The System jumped, flying up from the unconscious Jiang Yubai to look at a startled girl. Her long brown hair was braided over her right shoulder, and she wore a white dress with a basket hooked on her arm. She must have accidentally stumbled upon them. She was sitting on the ground, terrified by the sight of the blood-covered man.

Someone is here! The Host is saved! The System flew excitedly to the girl’s side, bobbing its body to urge her on. Quick, quick! Save him! However, no matter how much the System danced, the girl could not see it.

Leah approached cautiously, her almond-shaped eyes peeking at the motionless figure on the ground. “Are you okay?” There was no response.

The System grew frantic. Not okay! Not okay at all! His wounds are still bleeding. He will die if you do not help! Beautiful lady, please have mercy and save him!

She carefully reached out to check his breathing. Finding that he was still alive, she breathed a sigh of relief. He was not dead yet. Then, looking around with a conflicted expression, she set down her basket and left.

The System screamed, “Don’t go!”

It went quiet when it saw her return pushing a wooden cart. She had just gone to find a tool. The System had nearly thought she was abandoning him. She struggled to drag Jiang Yubai onto the cart and painstakingly pushed him toward the direction of the city.

Seeing that she was a resident of that city, the System felt even more at ease. Letting go of its day-long anxiety, it followed the girl all the way to the main gates of Mondstadt. By the time they arrived, it was growing dark.

The System flew beside her, looking at the great bridge over the moat, following her all the way to her home.

This city looks quite poor, the System grumbled. It had looked fine from the outside, but the interior was not what it had imagined. And that high tower standing so abruptly in the center of the city, what was it for? It was an eyesore and blocked the flow of people.

After circling the bare earthen hut, the System returned to watch Leah bandage its Host’s wounds. Leah was surprised when she finally saw Jiang Yubai’s face. His long black hair had been covering his features until now. He is so handsome.

The girl’s gaze lingered for a moment before she blushed and began to unbutton Jiang Yubai’s clothes. Seeing the severity of his injuries, she gasped and immediately began cleaning the multiple deep gashes before bandaging them to stop the bleeding.

Heavens! What did this man encounter to be so badly hurt?

Once she finished tending to him, Leah picked up the basin of bloody water and left the room. Seeing that Jiang Yubai was stable, the System breathed a sigh of relief and returned to his consciousness.

The next morning, the System was jolted awake by a commotion outside.

The door was kicked open, and Leah was shoved violently to the ground. She let out a hiss of pain, her eyes filled with terror. “I have nothing else! What do you want?”

Barclay, the eldest son of the Lawrence family, was a man no one in Mondstadt failed to recognize. In the current Mondstadt, the nobility led by the Lawrences controlled everything. To them, the commoners were merely slaves to be exploited. They extorted money, abducted women, and had even taken over the Ludi Harpastum festival. They canceled several traditional events and specifically hand-picked girls to throw the Harpastum. What was once a celebration of the Anemo Archon’s blessing had become a disaster.

A subordinate stepped in respectfully to hold the door open. “Young Master, please.”

Barclay stepped in arrogantly, looking around the empty hut with disdain before his eyes settled on the girl on the floor. Seeing her fair features, a flash of satisfaction crossed his face. His attendants had told him last night that a stunning girl had pushed a cart into the city. He had not believed it then, but she truly was a beauty.

He looked lecherously at Leah as she stood up. “Leah, is it? You have been chosen. You will throw the Harpastum tomorrow.”

Even though she wanted to resist, she had no choice. She was a commoner, and the man before her was the young master of the Lawrence family that ruled Mondstadt. Leah spoke with a dry voice, “Yes.”

Barclay’s sharp eyes caught sight of someone else on the bed. He approached as Leah’s expression turned to panic. “Yo, there is a man here too? Your lover?”

The person on the bed was slender, his features exquisite and vivid, and his skin fair. His black and dark-green clothes looked like garments from ancient Mondstadt, torn in several places and stained with blood. His face was exceptionally pale from his injuries, giving him a sense of broken beauty.

Barclay froze upon seeing the sleeping man. He pinched the youth’s chin to examine him closely. Even as a man, he could not help but feel a surge of intense jealousy.

Leah saw his movements and said nervously, “No, I found him outside the city. I do not even know him.”

Barclay snorted and ordered his subordinates to roughly drag Jiang Yubai from the bed. “Take him!”

Leah’s eyes widened. Barclay glanced at her, his gaze full of malice. “What if you take the chance to run? It has happened before. Throw the Harpastum on time tomorrow, and I will not kill him. Otherwise” He looked at Jiang Yubai’s hanging head and added suggestively, “I have people around me with special tastes.”

Hearing his meaningful tone, Leah felt as if she had fallen into an ice cellar. These nobles would not even spare a man. Watching Jiang Yubai being taken away, Leah gripped the doorframe, her heart filled with despair.

Lord Barbatos, are you listening to our prayers? Please, save us!

Deep in the forests outside Mondstadt, a sudden breeze began to blow. The leaves rustled, and small animals pricked up their ears in alert. Without warning, a complex and mysterious magic circle manifested on the grass. Teal winds gathered above the seal, and a green-clad human figure appeared in its center.

The breeze brushed against the vivid Cecilia flower on his hat brim and the dark blue gradient of his hair. Venti yawned, slowly opening his eyes as he stood up.

“Hmm. How long have I been asleep? Everything has changed so much,” Venti looked around, murmuring to himself. He remembered this place being a plain before he slept, now it was a forest. The awakened Wind God turned his gaze toward Mondstadt, his emerald eyes full of mirth. “Ehe, let’s see what Mondstadt has become.”

As soon as he finished speaking, his figure vanished, leaving only the rustling leaves.

Host! HOST!

Incessant, ghostly shouting rang in his head. Jiang Yubai’s brow furrowed before he finally woke up. “Are you trying to summon my ghost?”

As his consciousness returned, an unmistakable pain flared from his abdomen. He hissed, clutching his stomach as he opened his eyes. He saw a roof made of wood and thatch. He was lying on a dirty floor as if he had been tossed there like a piece of junk. It looked like a woodshed.

I don’t know about ghosts, but you are finally awake! If you did not wake up, something terrible would have happened! Quick, you have to save Leah! It will be too late otherwise!

The System blurted it all out in one breath. Jiang Yubai looked bewildered. “Wait, what are you talking about? I don’t understand.” Also, where was he now? His wounds had been properly bandaged. Had he safely teleported away from that apocalyptic world?

Leah is the one who saved you, but she is in danger now! I will explain on the way, just get out of here!

Jiang Yubai stood up and approached the door. Hearing the movement inside, the person guarding the door immediately shouted, “Stay quiet!”

Oh? He raised an eyebrow, extracting the important information from the System’s exaggerated cursing. Right, an enemy. I can hit this.

“Brother outside, I need to use the latrine. I really have to go.”

The door was shoved open, and a man stared fiercely at the lazily standing Jiang Yubai. “So much trouble. You just”

Smack! Thud!

Jiang Yubai dusted off his hands and stepped over the two unconscious men on the ground. With the System’s explanation, he understood the situation. He found the location of the Ludi Harpastum festival and, looking through the crowd, saw the girl on the high tower holding the Harpastum. She wore a long white dress, her hair braided to the side with small flowers. She looked like a shivering little rabbit.

Jiang Yubai listened to the sighs and whispers of the crowd for a moment. Both he and the System fell silent.

System, didn’t you say we weren’t in Teyvat anymore? They said this is Mondstadt.

Uh. Well. We can talk about that later! Host, save our savior first!

Fine. At least this Mondstadt looks better than the last one, even if the nobles are just as disgusting.

Jiang Yubai moved quickly toward the tower under the surprised gasps of the onlookers. He ran to the top and, under Leah’s startled gaze, took the Harpastum from her hands.

“You” Leah was shocked.

Jiang Yubai played with the Harpastum in his hand and gave a sharp grin. “Jiang Yubai. That is my name. Thanks for saving me, Miss Leah.”

“You there! Who are you?” Barclay stepped into the clearing the crowd had made, pointing at Jiang Yubai. “Daring to oppose the Lawrence family, do you have a death wish?”

Leah said urgently, “You should leave quickly. You cannot provoke them.”

Lawrence? Hearing those three familiar syllables, Jiang Yubai remembered the man named Lawrence he had met within the wind wall. He looked at the fat, ill-tempered Barclay. Surely he was not related? It was probably just the same name.

“Alright, let’s leave together then.” Jiang Yubai casually tossed the ball down, grabbed the startled Leah, and leaped from the tower, carrying her as he slid down. He kicked aside those trying to block them and broke through the encirclement.

Barclay roared, “Useless trash! Catch them immediately!” The soldiers scrambled to give chase.

However, a splash of green at the base of the tower had frozen the moment Jiang Yubai appeared. Venti stared blankly at the person he had missed for so long. His gaze remained glued to the youth’s back as he pulled the girl away. Venti stood there holding a red Harpastum, stunned.

That is

After the initial shock, a smile curled on Venti’s lips, his eyes full of joy. He vanished silently. No one noticed the sudden absence of a person.

The soldiers chasing Jiang Yubai were suddenly knocked down by a violent wind. Dust swirled everywhere. By the time they finished coughing and shielded their eyes, the two figures were gone.

Jiang Yubai turned back in confusion to the empty path behind him. Why did he feel like a pair of eyes had been staring at him just now? It was a bit creepy.

“Ah!”

Suddenly, someone crashed into his chest. A sharp pain flared from his wound, and Jiang Yubai let out a muffled groan. At the same time, the sound of someone hitting the ground was followed by a gasp of surprise.

He had bumped into someone. He stopped immediately and reached out a hand, apologizing, “Are you okay?”