“Who’s there?!”
Lumine sprang to her feet, weapon drawn, and leveled a suspicious glare at the figure emerging from behind the tree. “Is it the Millelith?!”
Her sharp eyes scanned the man, as if calculating the best way to dispose of the evidence once she took him down.
“What an aggressive look,” Childe said with a chuckle. “Relax, I’m not here to fight you.”
He smiled and added, “In fact, I just helped you escape the Millelith.”
“Really?” Lumine’s gaze remained skeptical, her sword and the chicken drumstick in her other hand both still poised for action. “Then who are you?”
Childe gave a slight bow. “You can call me… Childe.”
“You’re so rude!” Paimon huffed. “You meet us for the first time and immediately expect us to be your servants?”
“No, no, that’s not what I meant.” Childe waved off the misunderstanding with an amused smile. “It’s more like a title, similar to how you encountered ‘The Lady’ back in Mondstadt.”
He introduced himself formally. “Allow me to clarify: I am Childe, eleventh of the Fatui Harbingers, and the lowest-ranking among them.”
“Harbinger?”
Before Childe could elaborate further, the sound of a blade cutting through the air reached his ears.
Lumine didn’t hesitate for a second. Upon hearing Childe’s connection to the Fatui, she lunged at him with her sword.
Childe leaned back gracefully, narrowly avoiding her attack. “I already said—I’m not here to fight. I came to help you.”
“Shoo! Shoo!” Lumine waved her sword at him like she was chasing off a fly. “Fatui scum, get lost!”
“I truly mean it. I’m here to help.” Childe’s easy smile didn’t falter. “I don’t like her either. Let’s just forget what The Lady did, shall we?”
His tone softened, though a sly glint remained in his eye. “I’m not the bad guy here. Well, maybe I am? But for now, we share a common goal.”
“What do you mean?” Lumine asked, her sword still raised. “Since when are we on the same side?”
“I’ve been keeping an eye on you since the ceremony,” Childe explained, shrugging. “It’s clear you’re not involved in the assassination. Whoever orchestrated it must be someone else entirely.”
He spread his hands disarmingly. “But with the Geo Archon’s death, the Fatui can’t expect to avoid suspicion. The Qixing have always been overly distrustful of us.”
“Well, that’s the Fatui’s fault!” Paimon interjected, crossing her arms with a scowl.
“The Qixing suspecting the Fatui, huh?” Lumine’s eyes lit up as an idea formed. She turned to Jia Changjiang and called out, “Jax! Let’s tie this guy up and hand him over to the Qixing. That should clear our names!”
“Lumine, isn’t that a bit… extreme?” Paimon whispered hesitantly.
“Think about it, Paimon. If we take him down, we can get back to enjoying Liyue’s delicious street food!” Lumine’s tone dripped with temptation, and Paimon visibly wavered.
Before the plan could go further, a firm fist gently landed on Lumine’s head.
“Knock it off,” Jia Changjiang said, retracting his hand. “Even if we dragged him to the Qixing, that wouldn’t clear us of suspicion as assassins.”
“Ugh, fine!” Lumine pouted. “Why does everything have to be so complicated?”
“If only there were an easy solution!” Jia Changjiang said with a sigh, pressing a hand against her head to steady her grumbling. Then he turned to Childe. “So, you’re here to help us. What’s the plan?”
Childe chuckled. “I simply think that the two of you are uniquely positioned to uncover the truth.”
He paused, his tone growing more serious. “Morax, the Geo Archon, isn’t like Mondstadt’s carefree Anemo Archon. Morax never relinquished his divine power. Yet the Qixing’s response to his death is… clumsy at best. It makes one wonder what they’re hiding.”
“So,” Jia Changjiang said, cutting to the chase, “you think the culprit is in Liyue, and the Qixing are covering for them?”
“If that’s true, it’d make things simpler.” Jia Changjiang shrugged. “Taking on Liyue head-on would be a lot easier than chasing down an unknown assassin.”
Childe raised an eyebrow, his lips curling into an amused smile. “The Lady wasn’t wrong—you’re even more reckless than I am.”
Although the thought of fighting Jia Changjiang tempted Childe, he forced himself to stay focused on his mission.
“The only ones who might be able to help you now are the Adepti of Jueyun Karst,” Childe explained. “Liyue was founded on the strength of Morax and the Adepti, after all.”
From his pocket, he produced a talisman and handed it to them. “This is a token that will prevent the Adepti from attacking you. If anyone can uncover the truth, it’s them.”
Childe’s expression grew calculating. “Revealing the unvarnished truth to the Adepti should clear your names, don’t you think?”
With that, he handed the talisman to Jia Changjiang and prepared to leave. However, just before he disappeared into the forest, Childe turned back with a playful grin.
“If the opportunity arises, I’d still love to spar with you two. Until then.”
Lumine watched him leave, her face a mix of frustration and suspicion. “Jax, I don’t trust that guy at all!”
“Exactly!” Paimon chimed in. “When has a Fatui Harbinger ever been a good guy?!”
Jia Changjiang examined the talisman, reading the words Sigils of Permission inscribed on it. He smirked. “I don’t trust him either. But this talisman? It’s the real deal.”
He tossed the talisman to Lumine and watched as Childe’s figure disappeared. “His story has holes, but it doesn’t matter to us.”
“Why not?” Lumine asked, holding the talisman.
“Think about it,” Jia Changjiang said bluntly. “Who killed the Geo Archon, whether Morax is really dead or just faking it, who the real culprit is, what the Qixing are plotting, and what telling the Adepti will lead to… None of that actually matters to us.”
“What does matter is proving we’re not the assassins.” Jia Changjiang grinned. “And honestly? I’d rather fight that guy than spend time chasing leads.”
“So… are we still going to the Adepti?” Lumine asked hesitantly.
“Of course we are! Why wouldn’t we?”
Jia Changjiang dusted off his hands and stood up. “The talisman is genuine, so it’s worth a shot.”
Then, his eyes gleamed with anticipation. “Didn’t you hear what Childe said? Liyue was built on the strength of Morax and the Adepti.”
“I really want to see just how strong these Three-Eyed Five-Manifestations Adepti are!”
A grin spread across his face as he licked his lips, excitement flashing in his eyes. “Just thinking about it… makes my blood boil!”
—
This is a fan translation of 武器大师在原神绝不死于徒手 by 徐人双 All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!
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