Chapter 155: The Guerrilla Commander Stationed at Thorn Husband Harbor

The discovery of an Abyssal monster in the cargo hold didn't cause any stir.

Likewise.

Luo De and Yanfei, who should have been strangers, got together not knowing what they were chatting about, yet it also didn't cause any stir.

Including the merchant who hired Yanfei.

Everyone thought she, this jurist, had merely found a traveler she could talk to.

As for the content of their conversation,

No one knew, and no one cared.

"I went around asking indirectly yesterday, and it seems this matter indeed has nothing to do with Sir Mingyuan."

At mealtime, Yanfei carried her own bowl over to Luo De's place and continued talking about the Abyssal mage.

Duo Li's ocean-going ship has pretty good provisions.

Although they were sailing at sea, the supplies were ample—not only meat from land, but fruits and vegetables were never lacking, unlike other ocean-going ships that always made do with whatever seafood they could catch fresh.

However, many foods require extra payment, so the originally conscientious journey inevitably gets called black-hearted by some people.

Luo De has a big appetite and must eat a lot of meat at every meal.

Fortunately, he now counts as Duo Li's partner, so meal costs can be discounted 10%; otherwise expenses would be even greater.

By contrast, Yanfei's plate basically only has free tofu dishes—braised tofu, stewed tofu, fried tofu, tofu soup—and aside from tofu, you basically see nothing else.

Seeing this monotonous ingredient, Luo De shakes his head.

On the other hand, Yanfei eats it with relish, showing no sign of getting tired of it.

During these few days,

Whenever she had free time, she would come to Luo De's place, from inferring the origin of the Abyssal monster to who the contact would be, then to whether her employer had any ties with the Abyssal Order, and she would happily keep repeating this topic over and over.

Looking at her eager-to-try appearance,

Luo De put down his chopsticks and kindly reminded her again: "I suggest you listen to me; don't try to investigate this on your own. Once ashore, directly report it to the local West Wind Knights so they can find that contact. Otherwise, if something goes wrong, no one will be able to save you."

"Uh"

"I know."

Her little scheme exposed, Yanfei looked a bit dejected, puffed her lips, and shoved a big mouthful of tofu into her mouth.

She was born in a peaceful era.

Under the protection of the Geo Archon and many powerful adepts, Liyue, even if not entirely peaceful, at most only has some insignificant monsters; troublesome things like the Abyssal Order are rarely encountered in daily life.

Thus she inevitably gets an itch to follow the clues and keep digging.

The result is that whenever she gets an idea, Luo De promptly pours a bucket of cold water on her.

What's even more infuriating is,

that what this guy says is still the truth.

Although Yanfei bears the blood of an adeptus, possessing a long, innate lifespan and an affinity for elemental energy, she isn't particularly interested in cultivating martial arts; when she has time, she'd rather read a few more books than hone her techniques and martial arts like other adepti.

And Luo De seized on her lack of martial skill.

He would often use this to remind her not to dig deeper into the matter, lest danger arise with no one to save her.

This makes Yanfei quite annoyed each time.

As for who exactly sent these dangerous goods onto the ship,

that's hard to say.

Combining the current clues,

the two have discussed this for many days yet still haven't reached a definite conclusion.

The Abyssal Order could be responsible, the Foolish could be, and there are also people in Mondstadt who want to cause trouble and are not without suspicion.

The only thing that can be certain is,

that these people are not something Yanfei can handle alone.

Another day passed.

The ship that had sailed at sea for four days finally reached its destination, Mondstadt's Thorn Husband Harbor.

Before disembarking,

Yanfei deliberately went to Luo De, who was packing his luggage, and gave him a business card with her contact information in Liyue Harbor written on it.

"If you ever have any trouble in Liyue Harbor in the future, you can come find me for help. For legal disputes, I can give you a 20% discount; for other troubles, I know plenty of friends who might be able to lend a hand."

Leaving those words,

Yanfei then waved goodbye to Luo De and left with that group of Liyue merchants.

After she left,

Luo De then carefully examined this business card.

The front was fine.

It was just a normal self-introduction, but the pattern on it was quite beautiful—you could tell at a glance it was of top-notch jurist quality.

Just the hiring rates on the back,

really made Luo De's mouth twitch involuntarily.

Interpreting the law costs six thousand Mora per clause, on‑the‑go consultation costs 180,000 Mora per hour, and commercial cases start at 710,000 Mora per piece.

This is still just the basic fee.

If the taken‑on case is rather troublesome, there will additionally be extra charges and cuts.

Luo De didn't know whether to say the Liyue folks are truly rich or to say the hiring fees of top‑tier jurists are heaven‑defying.

He put away the business card.

He then lifted his luggage and arrived at this port city of Thorn Husband Harbor in Mondstadt.

In the game, Thornhusband Harbor has not been implemented; it only has a name, and one merely knows that such a place exists, so Luo De is completely unfamiliar with it.

Compared to the unusually bustling Liyue Harbor.

The atmosphere of Thornhusband Harbor is obviously much more gloomy.

The West Wind Knights patrolling the streets are several times more numerous than the Geo Army of Liyue Harbor, and at every street corner one can see West Wind Knights wielding weapons.

Unfamiliar with the place, Luo De had no mind to waste time here; he found a local carriage shop and wanted to ask what time there were carriages to the City of Mondstadt.

However, upon hearing that his destination was the City of Mondstadt,

The carriage shop owner immediately shook his head with a wry smile: 'Sir, you still don't know that Mondstadt is suffering from a dragon disaster, do you?'

Luo De pretended not to know and shook his head: 'I don't know.'

Then it's no wonder.

Ah—

The shop owner sighed deeply: 'Recently a giant dragon has attacked our Mondstadt, wreaking havoc everywhere; it has appeared from Mondstadt City to Thornhusband Harbor, so the West Wind Knights have temporarily banned travel between Mondstadt City and Thornhusband Harbor. If you have urgent business, you can only go to the West Wind Knights to have them take you to Mondstadt City, or go to the Adventurers' Guild to hire a few capable hands to accompany you; traveling alone would be very dangerous.'

The carriage shop owner's kind advice was gladly accepted by Luo De.

After expressing his thanks,

Luo De left the carriage shop, stood on the street, and pondered whom to seek for help.

Mondstadt's dragon disaster was far more severe than he had imagined.

He never expected that even Thornhusband Harbor, so far away, would be affected to such a degree.

This is nowhere comparable to the dragon disaster in the game that couldn't even lift a house.

The problem now before him is:

that the West Wind Knights have already blocked the road to the City of Mondstadt.

If one wishes to travel alone,

one must be someone who has received official approval or a senior adventurer of the Adventurers' Guild.

Others must wait for the West Wind Knights to organize the stranded travelers and then, under their escort, go together to Mondstadt City.

But the West Wind Knights will only depart once a certain number of people have gathered; they cannot possibly escort someone traveling alone.

Moreover, according to that carriage shop owner, the West Wind Knights just sent a batch of people out of the city this morning, and they will have to wait at least three days before departing again.

Thinking of this,

Luo De touched the Adventurer's Certificate he had long forgotten in a corner, then helplessly shook his head.

When he was in Sumeru,

After obtaining a formal adventurer's identity, he no longer took on quests.

Thus he remains only a junior adventurer, far from the senior adventurer rank, so attempting to travel alone using his adventurer status seems impossible as well.

"Forget it, let's go apply to the West Wind Knights."

Really having no other option, Luo De could only stop a West Wind Knight patrolling the street and explain his request to him.

Upon hearing that he wanted to travel alone to Mondstadt City,

This West Wind Knight first advised Luo De to go to the treasure, wait a couple days, and then follow a West Wind Knights squad to Mondstadt City.

He said a lot.

In summary,

namely, to avoid traveling alone as much as possible, lest one encounter the Wind Demon Dragon's attack and fall into danger.

Despite repeated advice, it was to no avail.

Only then did he take Luo De to the West Wind Knights' garrison in Thornhusband Harbor.

Soon,

Luo De soon saw the squad leader that the West Wind Knight had mentioned.

At the same time, there was also an acquaintance here.

When Luo De entered,

Yanfei was leading that squad leader out the door, apparently preparing to go to the dock to track down the contact person for that batch of hazardous materials.

The three of them thus happened to bump into each other.

Upon seeing Luo De again, Yanfei immediately pointed at him excitedly and said: 'It's him, he's the first discoverer I mentioned, and he also cleared out all the Abyss Order members on the ship.'

Upon hearing that,

The blue-haired West Wind Knights captain immediately shifted his gaze to Luo De.

This is a handsome and capable female knight, wearing a neat knight's uniform that highlights her elegant bearing, her legs clad in high thigh-high boots, her blue short hair with white tips adorned with a black lace-edged hairband, and a Vision of Ice affixed to the feather decoration on her front shoulder cape.

No introduction needed.

Luo De recognized who she was at a glance from her attire.

Eula Lawrence

Captain of the West Wind Knights' skirmish squad, bearing the title 'Wave Knight'.

Due to her surname.

Eula is not particularly popular in Mondstadt, including within the West Wind Knights.

Who would have thought that the West Wind Knights garrisoned in Thornhusband Harbor would actually be under her command.

On the other hand,

Eula also gave a self-introduction: 'West Wind Knights, skirmish squad captain, Wave Knight Eula Lawrence, I greet you and thank you for your earlier deed of slaying the Abyss Order.'

After simply expressing his thanks,

Luo De also gave his name.

Then came the routine questioning.

Just then, Youla said: "I heard Yanfei say that you also took away a batch of dangerous items brought by the Abyss Order; I don't know if they can be handed over to our West Wind Knights for handling."

It's quite obvious.

Youla didn't believe Yanfei's claim that Luo De was a professional.

If the description is correct.

That kind of bomb that can detonate Abyssal power is listed as hazardous material in the West Wind Knights' regulations; leaving it recklessly with an outsider like Luo De may not be safer than leaving it in the hands of the Abyss Order.

Luo De naturally knew what Youla was worried about; he didn't say anything else, just saying: "I am the junior disciple of the Rose Witch Lisa Minzi."

"Are you Lisa's junior disciple?"

Upon hearing this identity, Youla was slightly surprised, then immediately looked at Luo De with suspicion: "How come I never heard Lisa mention this?"

As mentioned before.

Youla's status is special; within Mondstadt she faces considerable opposition, to the point that most people greet her with hostility. Although her reputation has improved somewhat over the years of diligent service in the West Wind Knights, many still react to her with dismay.

Thus, Youla has hardly any close friends in Mondstadt.

Lisa happens to be one of them.

Although the learned Lisa always precisely points out those dark histories of Youla's family, this does not prevent the two from becoming close afternoon-tea friends.

Youla remembers this very clearly.

Lisa indeed said she had a junior disciple.

However, her junior disciple is definitely not someone named Luo De, but another name.

Furthermore, Lisa's junior disciple holds a high position in Sumeru, officially as Grand Wind Discipline Officer; even if coming to Mondstadt, they would use official channels—how could they arrive by boat like an ordinary traveler?

Youla, who constantly deals with monsters and bandits, immediately became suspicious and demanded Luo De show his identification.

And Luo De, who never expected things to be so troublesome, had no choice but to produce the handwritten letter from Juleshi to Lisa, and also show Youla the Dendro Archon envoy's certificate from the Void Terminal.

It took quite a hassle.

Only then did the captain of this skirmish squad believe that I am truly Lisa's junior disciple and indeed capable of disposing of those dangerous Abyssal bombs.

"Huh—"

After confirming Luo De's identity, Youla let out a breath and said to him: "Sorry about just now; it concerns Mondstadt's safety, so I must be extra careful."

Having said that.

She then took out paper and pen, and issued Luo De a travel permit.

"No problem, I understand."

Taking the certificate, Luo De smiled and nodded.

With the Wind Demon Dragon before and the Abyss Order causing trouble behind, it's hard not to understand.

"By the way, when you exterminated those Abyss Order members, did they say anything?"

Compared to Luo De's identity, Youla is now more concerned about that batch of Abyss Order issues.

As the captain of the West Wind Knights' skirmish squad.

She usually doesn't return to Mondstadt; most of her time is spent in the wilderness hunting monsters and the Abyss Order. Her posting at Thorn Husband Harbor is only because the Wind Demon Dragon caused chaos and the West Wind Knights were short-staffed; in truth, hunting down any Abyss Order that might appear in the city is her proper duty.

After finishing her questions to Luo De, she let out a cold snort: "This damned Abyss Order surely sees the Wind Demon Dragon's chaos and the absence of the grand commander as a chance to harm Mondstadt—hmph, truly oblivious to their own doom."

"Mm—"

Watching Youla utter harsh words there, Luo De gave a slight sideways glance.

It's not quite as I imagined.

Shouldn't what she said be that the revenge against Mondstadt can only be carried out by me, Youla Lawrence, personally?

However, Luo De didn't add to Youla's troubles on this matter; he simply replied to the earlier question: "They died too fast; they didn't get to say a word."

"They died too fast."

This reason left both Youla and Yanfei speechless for a moment.

This also gave Youla a certain understanding of Luo De's skill.

Killing a few Abyssal monsters is nothing difficult.

To instant-kill them so they can't even speak—this is not something an ordinary person can do.

"Good."

"I understand the situation."

"Just leave the rest to me; thanks for your effort, you two."

After gathering enough information, Youla performed an ancient knight's salute to Yanfei and Luo De, then hurriedly took Yanfei with her to the storage site of those goods.

Luo De also carried that travel permit and headed straight for the gate of Thorn Husband Harbor.

(End of chapter)