Genshin Impact, the spear remains.

The following morning.

The high-ranking officers of the Knights of Favonius gathered once again in the Grand Master's office.

The man wearing an eye patch paced back and forth in the room, resting his chin on his hand as if he were thinking about something.

Lisa, leaning against the wall, yawned gracefully, seemingly feeling a little tired from getting up early.

Rosalia, who had appeared before, wasn't here this time. Perhaps because of her personality of never working overtime, she went home to sleep as soon as it was light.

However, before leaving, she still told Qin what had happened last night.

Ke Li, who openly accompanied Bai Qiyun last night, is now fast asleep in her dormitory.

She had no choice but to persevere until the end of her shift to hand over her duties to Barbara.

Qin frowned as she sorted out the events of the past two days.

After the Liyue traveler and Bennett discovered the Abyss Order's whereabouts, she immediately organized the Knights of Favonius to clear the area around Mondstadt. However, less than a day later, the Abyss Order dared to swagger into Whispering Woods, which was truly unbelievable.

If the other side doesn't have something to rely on, then there must be a traitor within their own knightly order.

But in either case, it's not good news for Mondstadt right now.

Rubbing her slightly sore nose, Qin turned her gaze to her two subordinates inside the room.

"The situation at the fire scene yesterday has been mostly dealt with. By the time we arrived, the three Abyss Mages had already escaped. Only the young man from Liyue, Klee, and Razor remained at the scene."

In fact, Kaeya reported the general information to Jean as soon as possible yesterday, but after yesterday's investigation and sorting, some details that had not been noticed before were discovered.

Kaiya paused for a moment to organize his thoughts.

"I heard from Razer that those abyss mages used something like a barrier during the previous pursuit, but according to the Knights' previous intelligence, they don't know how to do that at all. And... that barrier, judging from Razer and Klee's description, doesn't it look a lot like something recorded in the Knights' records, Acting Grand Master?"

The man gazed at the somewhat troubled Qin with his peacock-like eyes.

Reminded by Kaeya, Jean also thought of the manual that all the high-ranking members of the Knights of Favonius would read. It recorded the development of the Knights of Favonius and various methods of applying elemental power. And there was indeed a technique in it that was somewhat similar to what they were talking about.

"You mean... 'The Song of the West Wind'?"

After thinking for a few seconds, Qin hesitated before saying the name.

The Knights of Favonius have stood in Mondstadt for a thousand years, and their illustrious reputation has spread throughout the entire continent of Teyvat. However, as the rulers of Mondstadt, the Knights of Favonius have another special identity besides being the rulers: the 'Guardians of the Four Winds'.

The Knights of Favonius are the "Eagle of the West Wind," one of the Four Winds Guardians. As the Four Winds Guardians, the Knights are not only capable of this role because of their large numbers. At the beginning of the Knights' establishment, Lady Vanessa led her subordinates to learn and create many group techniques for using elemental power, and "Song of the West Wind" is one of them.

The Song of the West Wind, one of the three great secret arts of the Knights of Favonius, is both secretive and widely known. It is secretive because the conditions for activating this secret art are strictly limited, and only the current Knights of Favonius are qualified to know the specific activation process. The other high-ranking members can only know the general outline.

It is widely known because the name once appeared in Vanessa's memoirs, and every Mondstadt citizen of a certain age could borrow the book from the library to learn about this secret technique.

"Song of the West Wind" has two forms. One of them is to trap the enemy, preventing them from breaking through the barrier, and to create an area similar to an arena in a fixed space. This does sound somewhat similar to the technique used by the Abyss Order.

"No, that's not right. Although their temporary moves are somewhat similar to The Song of the West, if you really look into it, the differences are still quite significant."

Following the information provided by Kaiya, Qin continued to organize her thoughts.

Standing to the side, Kaeya listened to the leader's mutterings and exchanged a glance with Lisa beside him.

As a librarian, Lisa naturally knew better than Kaia what the so-called "Song of the West Wind" was. She squinted and leaned against the chair.

"Perhaps it's not 'The Song of the West Wind'?"

"Oh? It seems you've thought of something, Lisa."

Qin was delighted to hear that her best friend had her own insights.

The real problem is that if "The Song of the West Wind" really gets out, she'll be in for a world of trouble.

Putting everything else aside, she, sitting in the position of group leader, was the first person to be suspected.

At that time, she felt exhausted just thinking about the prospect of a suspected acting leader leading a knightly order filled with fear and anxiety.

The purple witch wearing a witch's hat tapped on the table. "Actually, anyone who has studied 'Song of the West Wind' knows that it is a secret technique created by Lady Vanessa after combining the strengths of many schools of thought. Since it is an adaptation, it must have its original prototype."

As she said this, she gave Qin a deep look with a meaningful gaze.

"In that era, you, Qin, must know better than I do about the families that possessed the technology to be adapted into arcane arts."

Upon hearing this, Qin naturally understood who Lisa was referring to.

"You mean...the old aristocracy?"

"bingo"

However, Lisa's playful response did not ease Qin's burden.

Speaking of the old aristocracy, only a few families are still alive today.

Gunnhildr, Lykenfender, Imloka, and...

"Lawrence".

The existing noble families all have names and surnames, and Qin quickly sorted them out in her mind after a brief thought.

Her eyes flickered slightly when that name was mentioned.

As the eldest daughter of the Gunnhildr family, she naturally knew that her family did not possess such secret techniques. As for Lykenfender... the current leader was clearly not someone who would provide information to the Abyss Order. As for Imonloka, the situation was somewhat special, but it shouldn't have been them who did it.

After going around in circles, the prime suspect is still that old nobleman who once fell into darkness—Lawrence.

"Qin, should we wait for Yura to come back...?"

Upon hearing that name, Lisa's attitude became somewhat subtle.

"No need. I will arrange the investigation into the Lawrence family as soon as possible."

The problem has already arisen, and she is not someone who hesitates or shirks her responsibilities out of fear.

As the acting leader, Qin naturally knew what was important and what was not.

After making the decision, her eyes hardened again.

"Speaking of Yura, she should be on a mission in the Dragon Ridge Mountains right now."

"Yes, she went to Dragon Ridge with Gaza before, since that's Gaza's hometown."

As the cavalry captain, Kaeya's understanding of the group's personnel and actions was no less than Jean's, and in fact, he was even better than Jean in terms of information access and attention to detail.

After all, integrating information is part of his job.

Gaza Imroca, also a member of the old nobility and a guerrilla fighter of the Knights of Favonius, was extremely strong, no less so than Sister Rosalia of the Church of Favonius.

"Really? That's good."

Qin was relatively reassured about Gaza taking Yura to the snow mountain. Although Yura was rather stubborn, with Gaza looking after her, there shouldn't be any problems.

"By the way, Acting Commander, the meeting with that executive officer of the Fools has been scheduled for this afternoon."

The envoy from the Kingdom of Winter, are we finally going to meet today?

Qin felt a heavy weight as she recalled the unpleasant experience of her last meeting with that "doctor".

"Yes, I'll be there on time this afternoon."

Looking out the window at the lush green grass and the houses ravaged by the Wind Demon Dragon, Qin felt that recent events seemed to be connected, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what the connection was.

After explaining what he had to say, Kaiya prepared to leave.

But he stopped in his tracks before leaving.

"Speaking of which, that young man from Liyue has been injured twice for Mondstadt this time, right? Acting Guild Master, you'd better take good care of him."

"Don't worry, I've already arranged for someone to take care of that traveler from Liyue."

Thinking of the person who accepted the task, Qin couldn't help but smile.