Genshin Impact, the spear remains.

The bright moonlight shone on the eaves of Qingquan Town. On this summer night, the evening breeze carried the chirping of cicadas and caressed people's faces.

Under the cover of night, two furtive figures moved stealthily through the bushes.

"Hey, is this really okay for us?"

The blonde girl followed behind the boy, peeking out from the bushes as if searching for something.

"There's nothing we can do about it; after all, this is the only clue we have right now."

The aquatic plants around him were growing vigorously, covering his knees. Thanks to this, Bai Qiyun was able to bend down and completely blend into the grass so that no one would notice him.

He scratched his face, feeling as if tiny bugs were crawling all over it, making him itchy.

But that's normal. There are always a lot of mosquitoes by the lake in the summer, and the two of them were lying on the grass, so it would be strange if they weren't bitten.

In fact, not only Bai Qiyun, but Ying also felt as if something was biting her. Moreover, in order not to be discovered by others, she could not use wind elemental power to dispel the insects and could only let them do as they pleased.

Ying frowned her delicate brows and helplessly continued to lie on the grass.

After dinner, Bai Qiyun talked to Ying about the information he had obtained from Diona. In addition to the spring water issue that he already knew about, Diona also pointed out a rather special piece of information.

In the dim light, Bai Qiyun and Diona sat facing each other, talking about the recent events in the village.

"I remember seeing people appearing frequently near the spring recently."

"A figure? But wasn't that area sealed off by Mr. Dulaf?"

Hearing Diona's words, Bai Qiyun sensed something was wrong.

"Yeah, I went out to get something that night, and I only caught a glimpse of someone rushing toward the spring. I didn't pay much attention to it at the time, but now that I think about it, that person's behavior was indeed quite suspicious."

Recalling what had happened a few nights ago, Diona's tail wagged involuntarily behind her.

Perhaps it was precisely because of its feline characteristics that it was able to see so clearly at night and discover human traces.

"Have you told Mr. Dulaf about this? I have a feeling he doesn't know anything about it."

Based on the information Ying had given him, Bai Qiyun felt that Mr. Durave was probably unaware of this matter. If he were, he should be focusing his efforts on investigating the people in the town, instead of still being troubled by the unusual activity of the spring.

Diona rolled her eyes, her face drooping, and her ears drooping.

"Please, I don't go home every day. I've been staying in Mondstadt ever since then, and because of the Dragon Plague, there are fewer vehicles coming and going recently, making it even harder for me to come back. Today is the first time I've been home since then."

The catgirl's voice carried a hint of barely perceptible resentment, echoing in the empty room.

"I see."

Bai Qiyun believed Diona's explanation, after all, he had met her before at the Cat's Tail Tavern in Mondstadt.

After a moment of contemplation, the boy spoke.

"In that case, I'll go check it out tonight; maybe I'll find something new."

"Tonight?"

"Hmm? What's wrong?"

Bai Qiyun was somewhat confused by the catgirl's suddenly higher-pitched voice.

Realizing she had made a blunder, Diona felt a little embarrassed and quickly composed herself.

"Alright then, just be careful."

"Oh, I didn't expect you to actually worry about people."

Looking at Diona's meek and submissive demeanor, Bai Qiyun simply couldn't reconcile her with the arrogant bartender he had seen at the tavern earlier.

"I...I'm not worried about you, it's just that if something happens to you here, we'll be in trouble."

Whether provoked by the boy's words or not, Diona, who had been sitting obediently in her seat, suddenly started to grimace.

"Okay, okay."

What a hypocrite!

--------

"So, you're so sure they'll come over tonight?"

After listening to Bai Qiyun's vivid speech, Ying impatiently pressed her thighs down and lay down on the water plants.

The main problem was that she was bare-legged and felt uncomfortable in this environment, while the guy next to her, who had planned this all along, secretly changed into long pants and a coat.

Before leaving, she wondered if this guy wasn't hot, but she never expected that this was why he did it.

The sensation of mosquito bites spread across her smooth thighs, and the water plants beside her brushed against her delicate skin.

The discomfort spread from her lower body all the way up her back, and Ying's originally delicate eyes now looked at Bai Qiyun with increasing hostility.

Bai Qiyun, dressed in full "equipment," lay calmly on the grass, completely unaware of the strangeness of the people around him.

"It's better to do this sooner rather than later. Once the news of your arrival in Qingquan Town gets out tomorrow, he'll be even less likely to take any action."

Before him, a clear spring was surrounded by an iron fence, which Mr. Drouet had set up to prevent any accidents. But according to Diona, that person would still be lurking around here even after the fence was put up, which was quite interesting.

If someone is overly curious, knowing there might be danger here would probably spoil their trip and they'd leave disappointed. So, there's only one possibility left...

Shh, it sounds like someone's coming.

Interrupting Ying, who was about to speak, Bai Qiyun squinted and looked into the distance.

A figure dressed in merchant's attire crept over furtively, as if he were up to something wrong.

At this moment, Bai Qiyun was focused on the strange figure in front of him, completely unaware that Ying was standing behind him with her mouth open and an unhappy expression on her face.

The merchant looked around in the dark night, and after confirming that there was no one around, he took a bottle from his pocket, squatted down by the spring, and put the bottle in through the opening in the iron fence, and began to gulp down water.

Now Bai Qiyun was certain that even if the other party wasn't the culprit, they certainly weren't a good person.

He then stood up and walked straight toward the other person. Ying, who was behind him, did not expect him to be so direct, but she could only stand up and follow him.

"Hey, you over there, what are you doing?"

In the quiet night, Bai Qiyun's loud shout almost startled Hopkins' heart.

However, Bai Qiyun was not afraid of disturbing the people around him, because the spring was located at the back of Qingquan Town and there were no houses around, so he could deal with the suspicious merchant in front of him without any worries.