"Achoo!" Venti, who had just returned to Mondstadt, sneezed and looked around in confusion. "Who's thinking about me?"
"Never mind, let's head to the Angel's Share for a drink." Unable to figure it out, Venti shook his head and decided to go to the Angel's Share for a drink. Although he had lost a bottle of Dandelion Wine, he had gained a year's worth of drinks in return. Not a bad trade—one good meal can't compare to a lifetime of feasts!
Venti happily made his way to the Angel's Share, unaware that a little girl in red was sneaking up behind him.
"Target spotted. Spark Knight Klee is ready to move. Dodoco, are you ready?" Klee whispered to Dodoco, then pulled out her latest invention from her backpack.
The new bomb no longer resembled the old Jumpy Dumpty but was shaped more like Diona's cocktail shaker. This was because the materials for this bomb had been provided by Diona.
"Thanks to Sister Diona, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to collect so much cat hair."
That's right—this time, Klee's bomb wasn't filled with gunpowder but with cat hair collected from the Cat's Tail Tavern. As for why she did this, it was because of a certain someone's task.
The method Yun Fan proposed to dispel the curse of the Dodoking was cat hair. As everyone knew, a certain bard was allergic to cat hair and would sneeze uncontrollably upon contact.
Come to think of it, why would a wind spirit be allergic?
Just as Venti was about to reach his destination, Klee seized the moment when no one was around and hurled several cat hair bombs at him.
"Who's there?!" Venti instinctively caught the bombs. Due to their new design, he didn't recognize them as Jumpy Dumpties and curiously examined them. When he turned the "cup" in his hand, he noticed the fuse burning down.
"Oh no—!" Venti quickly erected a barrier with Anemo energy.
Boom!
Instead of the expected explosion and smoke, the air was filled with a flurry of cat hair.
"What's this…?" Venti lowered the barrier and instinctively reached out to catch some of the floating cat hair, sniffing it.
"Achoo! Achoo! Achoo!…" Venti sneezed uncontrollably. Looking up at the dark cloud of hair above, his face turned pale. He immediately used his divine power to gather all the hair and fling it out of Mondstadt.
"Lord Barbatos, have you been freed from the curse?" Before Venti could catch his breath, a voice startled him. Who was calling him by his divine name?
"Klee? How did you know I'm Barbatos?" Upon realizing it was Klee, Venti suppressed his urge to sneeze and crouched down to pat her head.
"Lord Barbatos, you've been freed from the curse of the Dodoking! It looks like this method really works. That's great!" Klee said happily.
Dodoking? What's that? Though confused, Venti continued to smile. "No, achoo!… Klee, you're amazing. Who taught you this method?"
"It was Brother Yun Fan! He gave me this task to help Lord Barbatos. Brother Yun Fan is a good person!"
Yun! Fan! It's you again!!! Venti felt his teeth grinding, veins popping on his forehead, and flames seeming to burst from his eyes.
"Klee, you're wonderful. But from now on, don't call me Lord Barbatos. Just call me Brother Venti. I have some things to take care of now, so you can go back."
Klee nodded obediently and skipped away.
"Calm down, calm down. As the old man said, 'Revenge is a dish best served cold.' I'll let him off this time—achoo!…"
Venti stomped into the Angel's Share, planning to drink his fill. After all, Yun Fan had promised him three and a half years' worth of drinks without specifying how much Mora that entailed. Hehe…
"To the stars…"
"Thank you…"
At the Mondstadt Adventurers' Guild, Lumine handed in her completed commissions, carrying a heavy bag of Mora. Her steps were light and cheerful.
"Traveler, why are you so obsessed with adventuring commissions?" Paimon asked, puzzled. "We already have stable food and lodging. Why do you take on so many commissions every day?"
"We can't keep freeloading like this. Can you really accept eating and drinking Yun Fan's offerings without a care?" Lumine facepalmed.
"Well, um…" Paimon fidgeted with her fingers, avoiding eye contact.
"Sigh…" Lumine sighed. She really couldn't deal with this little glutton.
"By the way, Traveler, did Venti tell you anything about your brother?" Paimon, feeling awkward, tried to change the subject.
Hearing this, Lumine froze.
About that… she might have… forgotten to ask!!!
"T-Traveler, you didn't forget to ask, did you?" Seeing Lumine's expression, Paimon guessed what had happened. Surely not, right? The Traveler was searching for her brother. How could she forget to ask?
"Ahem, there are still some things I'm unclear about. Let's go ask Venti again," Lumine said, unwilling to admit her mistake and instead telling a little white lie.
"Alright, but where should we look for him?"
"Hmm… That drunkard is usually either performing at the Anemo Archon Statue Plaza or drinking at the Angel's Share. Let's check those two places first," Lumine said, recalling Venti's usual haunts.
After some searching, Lumine and Paimon finally arrived at the Angel's Share. Sure enough, they found a drunken Venti there.
"Hehehe, Traveler! Come have a drink with me!" Venti, holding a glass of Dandelion Wine, waved to Lumine.
Lumine looked at the empty bottles scattered on the floor and the empty cups on the table—dozens in total. How can he drink so much?
"Traveler, have a drink. It's on Yun Fan's tab, hehe."
"Alright, Venti, we have something to ask you," Lumine pushed the glass back. She had serious business to attend to.
"You want to ask about your brother, right? I'm sorry, but I haven't seen your brother, nor do I know which god took him," Venti shook his head apologetically.
"The one who took my brother is the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles. As the Anemo Archon, you should know how to meet her, right?" Lumine leaned on the table, staring directly at Venti.
"The Sustainer of Heavenly Principles?"