Chapter 43 Stealing the Guqin

Hiding in a secluded corner of the grand cathedral, Chen mentally reviewed the architectural layout of the cathedral provided by Venti.

Before taking action, his original plan was to stealthily infiltrate the cathedral's archives to search for any construction blueprints from when the cathedral was built, along with historical borrowing records of the Holy Lyre der Himmel from past Ludi Harpastum festivals, in order to deduce the lyre's exact location.

To his surprise, Venti had provided all of this information directly to him.

However, if Venti truly was the Anemo Archon, it would indeed be effortless for him to ascertain the cathedral's internal structure and locate the Holy Lyre der Himmel by virtue of his mastery over the wind.

Holding his breath and steadying his mind, Chen entered a state of high concentration. Relying on his knowledge of the cathedral's interior, he skillfully bypassed the patrolling knights and night-shift nuns along the way.

Finally, after a period of careful exploration, Chen arrived at a heavily guarded side hall. The atmosphere here was far more solemn and dignified than in other parts of the cathedral, and the air seemed imbued with an ancient and mystical aura.

This side hall was where the Favonius Cathedral housed numerous ancient artifacts of great significance to Mondstadt, with every item on display seemingly bearing the weight of a sealed chapter of history.

Many of these items were connected to the Anemo Archon.

Following the intelligence provided by Venti and carefully dodging the line of sight of the guards patrolling within the hall, Chen eventually made his way smoothly to a storage chamber at the innermost part of the side hall.

As an instrument once played by the Anemo Archon, the Holy Lyre der Himmel held a special value and status even among this collection of precious antiquities, and thus it was kept alone in a dedicated storage room.

Having locked onto his target, Chen was about to approach silently when he suddenly sensed an anomaly. The step he had just taken paused slightly, and his deep gaze flickered.

Yet, it was only for a fleeting second before he returned to his normal composure and continued his movement as if nothing had happened.

Arriving outside the storage room, he pulled out the key he had lifted from a guard along the way.

"Click!"

Accompanied by a soft sound, the lock of the storage room yielded, and Chen finally laid eyes on the target of his mission—the Holy Lyre der Himmel.

In the exact center of the storage chamber stood an exquisitely carved cylindrical stone pedestal. Resting upon it, the Holy Lyre der Himmel radiated a gentle, ethereal glow as it floated quietly in the air.

Though it was something perceived with his eyes, Chen fancied he heard a distant melody, as if echoing from primordial times, drifting directly into his ears.

Chen was about to step forward when suddenly, a flash of abrupt lightning burst from his side, arriving by the stone pedestal in an instant and snatching up the Holy Lyre der Himmel directly.

"Woo~! Woo~! Woo~! Woo~!"

A piercing alarm sounded abruptly, shattering the previous silence of the space and alerting the patrolling knights outside. Evidently, the stone pedestal bearing the Holy Lyre der Himmel was equipped with some kind of trigger-based warning system.

"Hee-hee, shh~!"

Seeming proud of her successful tailing, the suddenly materialized Electro Cicin Mage let out a giggle and playfully made a shushing gesture at the young man, looking both boastful and mocking.

Immediately afterward, the mage transformed back into a bolt of lightning, intending to flee the scene.

Yet, the young man, who had seemingly been unresponsive until just now, curved the corners of his lips into a smile hidden beneath his mask.

"Thud!"

Having just run out of the storage room, the Electro Cicin Mage suddenly tripped as if stepping into empty air, taking a face-first tumble and crashing solidly onto the ground. At the same time, the Anemo energy gathered at the young man's fingertips dissipated.

Modified Gale Blade: Anemo Vortex Trap.

When the Electro Cicin Mage raised her head, she saw that the Holy Lyre der Himmel, which had flown from her grasp as she fell, had already landed in the masked youth's hands.

Chen looked down at the fallen Electro Cicin Mage with a gaze full of amiable smiles, yet alarm bells rang wildly in the mage's heart, and a profound sense of ominous foreboding welled up within her.

The next instant...

"You stay and cover the rear, I'll take the item and go first!"

Lowering his voice, the youth shouted in a feigned tone, and then his figure flashed into a residual shadow, swiftly departing from the spot.

With a blank expression and an injured leg, the little Electro Cicin Mage could only watch helplessly as the alarmed patrolling knights converged toward this direction...

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Outside the cathedral, the moon had passed its zenith. Venti and Paimon, waiting there, turned their heads instantly upon hearing footsteps.

Seeing Chen running toward them, little Paimon's face lit up with joy, and just as she wanted to wave and greet him, she noticed that far behind Chen, several knights were likewise pursuing them in this direction.

The expression on little Paimon's face turned to panic, and Venti was also startled.

They were discovered?!!

They failed!!

One big and one small person flashed these thoughts in their minds, both feeling that things were turning ominous. Fortunately, the first sentence Chen uttered upon reaching them made their hearts relax.

"I've got the item, let's get out of here first!"

A look of joy appeared on Venti's face as he quickly followed the youth, escaping the cathedral swiftly according to the pre-arranged route and vanishing into the darkness of the city.

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"Lumine, you really ought to change your style of doing things. Look at you—you're facing the exact same situation, but the performance of you and Big Brother Feng is worlds apart!"

In the university dormitory, Aether couldn't help but glance at Lumine, who was sitting on the opposite sofa, and offer some advice.

Although in the game players could choose either of the twins as the protagonist, the two of them had learned from Paimon—who had recovered some more of her memories—that in the established destiny, it should have been Lumine who awoke five hundred years later.

Just why Ling Feng had swapped their genders across the five-hundred-year span remained unknown; was it out of some dark humor?

Judging by what they had seen so far, the contrast between Chen and Lumine was already becoming apparent.

Hearing Aether's words, Lumine merely rested her face against a throw pillow, her cheeks puffed out, looking entirely unwilling to take the advice. Of course she knew her personality made her prone to getting the short end of the stick during journeys; in fact, she had indeed suffered quite a few losses because of it in the past.

However...

"What's there to be afraid of? Feng is here anyway, he'll protect me..."

Lumine muttered under her breath, perhaps recalling something as her golden eyes gradually became somewhat hazy, and the expression on her pretty face turned slightly infatuated...

Seeing this, Aether smiled bitterly and shook his head, abandoning any further persuasion.

Before meeting Ling Feng, he would never have believed that his own sister—who had been boisterous and boyish since childhood—would one day be so utterly infatuated with another boy.