"It's mine, I told you that already! It's mine and I want to sell it off! It's an old heirloom!" The man ensnared in Diluc's grip all but screamed for everyone to hear. Venti watched as this stranger kicked his legs in another lame attempt to get Diluc off of him.

The flames erupted from Diluc's sword, red, hot, and angry. A low stuttering guttural noise left Diluc's clenched teeth and from where Venti stood he could see a vein popping out on Diluc's head. "Fine," Diluc growled between his teeth. "I warned you-"

Diluc went to swing, but that was when Venti came in. His body reacted before his mind. All it took was a powerful gust of wind to hit Diluc. This wind kicked up dust, debris, and leaves. Diluc's fire died down and he instead used that arm to cover his face. Kaeya did so just as well. The wind gave a long and loud howl as Venti approached them with one of his hands out. He made it look like it was anemo power and not his own by having his palm being the source of the wind. Once he was a good ten or so feet away from them he lowered his arm and allowed them all to collect their bearings.

"Now, what is going on here?" Venti inquired with a rather cheerful (but fake) smile. At this point a crowd had started to form, Venti could see the Liyuen Millelith approaching; their spears at the ready.

"These men are trying to kill me!" The stranger screamed for help as he tried to wriggle out of Diluc's iron-clad grip. Diluc didn't even skip a beat or question why Venti was out of Mondstadt. Instead, he just tightened his grip on the man's shirt and gave a low and threatening growl.

"It wouldn't have escalated to this if you would just tell us the truth, you know." Kaeya suddenly jumped in before Diluc had the chance to. "We don't want to hurt you, we just want answers-"

"I told you!"

"Fill me in please?" Venti politely asked Diluc. "This isn't like you, Master Diluc, so surely…"

Diluc snorted before only slightly relaxing his face, though he still looked pissed. "I had to come to Liyue for business with the Feiyun commerce guild-"

'Sure you did, Master Diluc. Just like how I came here to entertain the local barflies.' Venti felt amused but made a point not to show it.

Kaeya suddenly spoke next: "As a member of the knights, I had to make sure someone as esteemed and important as Master Diluc got here safely."

'Sure. Let's go with that. We're all here because of a certain 'Cutie' every single one of us, and Jean is going to throw an absolute fit because of it.'

"-Regardless, I'll skip the details. We were just walking by the blacksmith when I caught this man trying to sell off something." Diluc hissed at the man in particular.

"Last I checked, Master Diluc, that's not illegal." Venti interjected.

"No, but it is when the thing he's selling doesn't belong to him!" Diluc suddenly gave the man a rather harsh shake.

"I told you! It's been in my family for generations!"

"You're such a horrible liar and you're wasting our time." Kaeya sighed in annoyance. Kaeya then bent down and grabbed an object that Venti had failed to see. It was wrapped in a cloth, but he could see the black hilt of a sword. Instantly Venti's stomach started to do flips. Kaeya approached, he didn't need to pull back the cloth. Venti saw it, the pink diamond on the hilt. Still, Kaeya pulled the cloth back regardless.

Venti clenched his fists. He felt like he'd been socked in the chest and he was just glad Diluc and Kaeya had come along when they had. Otherwise Lumine would have lost one of her favorite swords: The Festering Desire. A gift from Albedo to her. One she always held close.

"Sir... stop wasting our time. This sword isn't yours." Venti responded as Kaeya covered it back up with the cloth.

"It is-"

"Be quiet!" Diluc suddenly roared at the man and the wind died down leaving them all in silence. Say for the murmur of the crowd. Venti was glad Diluc spoke up because he felt like he was a pot ready to over boil and the last thing he needed was to out himself. "This sword isn't yours!"

"Mind if I step in?" Venti felt a little confused as a young man suddenly walked up to their group. This boy was roughly the same height as Venti. His hair was a lovely shade of midnight blue with his bangs framing his face, though one side was longer than the other. This boy didn't look poor, Venti could tell by the elegant blue, gold, and white design on his clothes. Venti spotted the hydro vision hanging off of the boy's hip. "I could act as a moderator."

"Stay out of it-" Diluc tried to wave the boy off, but then he looked at Venti. Venti gave a weak shake of his head. A part of him knows he met this boy before. Diluc then bit his tongue before lowering the man to the ground. "-Very well, if you want, Xingqiu..."

The moment the man's feet hit the ground he stumbled back and fell on his butt in a mad attempt to scramble away from Diluc. Loud raspy gasps left his mouth and he grabbed at his throat. "This is pointless, I already told you all, the sword is mine and I have every right to sell it!"

"May I?" Xingqiu reached over to Kaeya. Kaeya was more than a little hesitant to just hand over Lumine's sword.

"Just be careful with it. We want to return it to our friend." Kaeya growled a bit and handed it over to Xingqiu.

With tenderness, Xingqiu removed the sword from the cloth and held it with both of his hands. He inspected every inch of the sword, twirling it around in his hands to look at both sides. "Incredible… Sir?" He focused on the man.

"Barde."

Venti felt offended. 'Is this guy serious!?'

"My apologies. Barde. This type of coloring is truly unique to a sword. What is it made out of exactly?"

"... I dunno. It's been locked in the attic for years." Barde grumbled and scratched at his neck.

"Or you could be a treasure hoarder…" Venti suddenly growled in anger. "Who found the sword, maybe by an abandoned bag… or in a basement-"

"Now. There's no need to throw around such accusations." Xingqiu silenced Venti. Venti looked at Xingqiu. He then felt impressed by Xingqiu's pose and grace, but doubly impressed by Xingqiu's boldness. He left no room for arguments and showed he wasn't going to be pushed around.

"Now, Mr. Barde, If I may ask. What's the story behind this sword? I mean surely if it's been in your family for as long as you claim then you can answer that much. I mean, just by looking at this sword one could tell It's special. Strong as well. It's been refined to a point." Xingqiu touched the tip of the sword with his finger and a small drop of blood formed on his index finger.

"I-..." Barde took a step back as Xingqiu took a step closer.

"On another note. It's been enchanted. One can tell by the coloring. The enchanting; It looks recent, if you ask me. Did you do that? If so, when?"

A startled noise left Barde's mouth as he looked at a loss for words and he tried to take another step back, but that was when his back hit someone's chest. Another young boy. His outfit stood out greatly as it was mostly white and light blue. His hair a nice powdery blue. He said nothing, but just crossed his arms over his chest as he stared at Barde. He didn't seem threatening, just watching Barde.

"Also, the hilt barely looks worn, and Master Diluc? You seem like an expert on swords; this design and shape looks Mondstadtian-"

"Alright, It's not mine! Just stop!" Barde finally yelled in defeat. Barde dropped to his knees and just stared at the ground. "I just wanted some Mora…"

"I know. I knew the moment I saw Festering Desire." Xingqiu confessed as he twirled the sword in his hands once again. Venti's eyes widened at this. "You see, My Liege, let me try training with it a few times. It really is a rare sword. So, that just leaves the question-"

"-Why do you have it?" The boy in white and blue inquired.

A soft mutter ran through the crowd. Some laughed. Some grew bored and went to leave now that conflict was starting to resolve.

Barde sighed in defeat and fell back dramatically. "I found it. I swear. It looked rare so I figured I could sell it for some quick mora. That's all. I'm not a treasure hoarder, you have my word on that. I would never stoop as low as them." Barde kept his head hung.

"Where exactly did you find it?" Diluc demanded.

"I-..." Barde paused and squeezed his eyes shut. "I don't-"

Venti swooped in at that moment and squatted down to Barde's level. "Listen." Venti spoke in a non threatening way and allowed the breeze to sweep on by, unnoticed of course. "From one Bard to another. It's absolutely dire that we know where you found that sword as it's owner is in… not so good shape-"

Venti could feel the tension suddenly rise as Xingqiu and the boy in white looked at him with equally wide and fearful eyes. He knew what they were thinking at that moment. 'What could have hurt Lumine of all people?'

"I see… I guess that's why Hothead over there attacked me…" Barde shut his eyes tightly as he wracked his brain for answers. "I know I found it by a stream. Just off of Wuwang hill. I don't know what direction, just that it was close to Wuwang hill."

Venti flicked his eyes up to Diluc. They stared at one another and for a moment they were on the same telepathic wavelength. Venti knew what Diluc was thinking. "I see." Venti finally stood, causing his knees to pop loudly in protest. "Thank you, Barde, despite wasting our time, you've helped us out in the end."

By this point most, if not all, of the crowd had left. Even the Millelith walked on by. No blood was spilled and Barde, despite being a liar, just picked up a forgotten sword and figured he could sell it. So, the law enforcement couldn't really do much in this situation. Barde wasted no more time scrambling to get away. "Going… going… and he's gone." Venti whistled as Barde ran. "That's gotta be a record."

"Wuwang hill… I'll head there tomorrow then." Diluc turned away from Venti.

"I'll be going with you as well." Kaeya didn't seem to leave any room for argument when he said it. "After all. The knights can't have anything happening to Master Diluc."

"Whatever."

Xingqiu walked over and respectfully handed the sword back to Kaeya. "I know you." Kaeya suddenly said as he took the sword back and wrapped it up in cloth. "Aside from being the son of one of the richest men in Liyue that is. You've helped Albedo."

'That's why he looks familiar.' Venti realized.

Xingqiu smiled at that comment and tucked his hair behind his ear. "That's correct!" His smile was radiant, surprisingly so. Still, as soon as it came, the smile slipped. "Did I hear you correctly, My Liege?" Xingqiu turned to Venti.

"There's no need to be so formal-" Venti nervously laughed at the nickname given to him. He would have preferred 'Tone-deaf bard.' over that. But, Xingqiu wasn't listening to him.

"Is Lumine hurt? Did something happen to her?"

Venti went to reply but was suddenly cut off by Diluc. "No offense, Master Xingqiu, but it's probably best if you stay out of it for the time being. We don't know much, and I don't want to accidentally lead you into danger, your father would probably kill me."

"Well, that was a waste of time." A loud sighed escaped Venti's mouth as he stared up at the ceiling of the mansion inside the teapot. Venti didn't move from his spot in the bed, instead he just laid there and held his hands together as he continued to stare at the ceiling. He was tired and really just wanted to sleep.

"You know-" A gasp left Venti's mouth and he sat up completely blindsided and startled. Zhongli stood there, his back to Venti as he stared out of the window. Zhongli had one arm crossed over his chest while the other hand was scratching at his face. "-that was rather impressive back there. The way you stopped that man from attacking Barde, I mean. If he would have attacked I might have had to step in."

Venti watched Zhongli for a few seconds and he clenched at the sheets below him.

"Now...that being said." Zhongli turned around to face Venti. There was no maliciousness or hate in his eyes, in fact, the only emotion Venti could see was curiosity. "Is what I heard true? Is Lumine hurt?"

"...Yes." Venti hooked one foot behind his ankle and stared at the ground. "She…" Venti suddenly covered his mouth before he went too far. Should he go into details? Tell Zhongli everything? A part of him said no.

"She...what?" Zhongli looked worried.

Venti shook his head and kept his hands over his mouth. "I don't know if I can tell you. It's not my place…" He whispered behind his hands. "If the news got out…" Venti tried to fight the tears.

"If it has to do with Lumine then I want to know. She's important to me just as well as you." Zhongli argued. Still, Venti shook his head. This time Zhongli let out a sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. A move Venti had seen about a million times before. "Okay… would a contract ease your mind about this?" Zhongli suggested. "After all, I am the god of contracts, and you know I'll keep my end."

He shut his eyes before nodding. "Okay…" Venti finally removed his hand from his mouth and continued to nod. "Okay…" A contract sounded like the best idea.

Maybe Zhongli had expected as much, maybe he just always had a contract handy, but he walked out of Venti's room, and to his study. Venti followed as far as the doorway and almost instantly Zhongli came out with paper and a quill in his hand. Together they sat in the main dining hall. Zhongli dipped his pen in ink and started to quickly write. It was impressive how fast he was writing this contract out. "Best to get it in writing so we don't forget anything." Zhongli explained as he wrote. "So, what are the guidelines you wish for?"

"...What I tell you is strictly for you to hear. Nobody else. Unless Lumine, and Lumine only, deems it so."

"Fair." Zhongli wrote it down. "Anything else?"

"I'm only telling you this because...I feel like you should know, but it'll be a shock to you, just as it was to me. So, I ask you… don't turn into a dragon and destroy Liyue or rain pillars down in rage either."

Zhongli hesitated. "Is it… that bad that you'd think I'd destroy my own city?"

"It's bad, Morax." The use of his old name was purposeful. Venti wanted to show him that he absolutely was not playing around with this.

"... Very well." Zhongli wrote it down. "And now for my conditions. I want to see Lumine when this is done. And if my intuition is correct-"

"She's in Mondstadt, and yes, I give you permission."

"Good." More writing. Zhongli only stopped his writing to think of something, before shrugging it off and finishing up the contract. "Sign." He ordered and handed the quill to Venti. Venti took the quill and signed under the name of Venti. This was a simple contract, not a contract amongst the Archons. He handed the quill back to Zhongli, who saw Venti's signature and then signed with his own chosen name.

"Okay. It's done… now-" Zhongli locked his fingers together. "Talk."

So, that's what Venti did. He explained everything to Zhongli. Lumine limping into Mondstadt covered in blood, how she was clearly tortured and beaten, the fact that she was missing her shoes… Then came the harder things to explain. He didn't spill the big one. Not yet. First he started small. Finding Qiqi in the teapot and then allowing her to leave, but somehow Qiqi got turned around and winded up in Mondstadt. Then to Lumine being the reason Qiqi had been missing for so long as she told Qiqi to get into the teapot. The more Venti told, the more Zhongli's face morphed into just absolute fury. It was terrifying. Eventually he realized he couldn't stall any longer.

"After looking her over for any more injuries our healer discovered that…" Venti swallowed down a lump. His stomach churned and he suddenly felt ill. He clawed at his legs and shut his eyes. "Zhongli… Lumine was raped."

Zhongli looked emotionless at first. His face was stunned, and then it happened. Golden veins started to crawl up Zhongli's neck. Zhongli's whole body started to vibrate with rage that he was trying to keep at bay. His breathing became heavy and it happened in less than a second. Zhongli jumped from his chair, his horns now up top his head as well as his fangs were very much visible. "WHAT!?" He roared so loudly that the two dogs inside the house fled for a nearby room, and Venti felt the walls shake.

Zhongli grabbed the nearest thing, a chair, and in his rage tossed it. Venti, rightfully so, ducked and covered his ears. "Maybe I should have added no throwing furniture to the contract." He mulled it over, but it was too late for that now. Venti looked at the shattered chair and scowled as something Lumine had told him came back to his mind.

"Hey!" Venti popped up and marched right up to Zhongli, who was panting heavily in his rage, and grabbed him by the collar just to yank the man down to his level. Then, knowing he might regret this, Venti slapped Zhongli across the face. "Lumine worked hard on this mansion! Don't break her things!" Venti hissed as he pointed to the busted chair. "I know you're mad. I'm furious about this situation! That's why I came to Liyue, because trust me. I'm saving my rage for the people responsible for this. Do you understand me? Save that rage Zhongli and put your dragon form away." Zhongli growled, his fangs dripping, with what? Venom? Or just saliva? Venti didn't want to know. Still, Zhongli's golden veins started to move away from his face and horns slowly receded back as well as his fangs.

"... they will pay." Zhongli finally hissed as he clenched his fists to his sides. "To go so low as rape and… to Lumine of all people-"

There was a sound behind them. Multiple thumps of things being dropped. Venti and Zhongli both spun around quickly. That was when Venti finally saw who owned the library. It was Xingqiu's room. The sound they had heard was the sound of multiple books and scrolls falling from his arms and to the floor in shock.

Xingqiu's face turned pale, and he had started to shake. "Xingqiu-" Venti reached out for the teen, but then Xingqiu started to… well… cry. The tears just welled up and spilled down his cheeks before he blinked. It seemed like Xingqiu was trying to keep himself composed by wrapping his arms around himself. Soft noises escaped Xingqiu's mouth and he bit his lip in an attempt to stay quiet. When he started to bleed, Zhongli stepped in.

"Xingqiu." Zhongli approached the teen. His horns and fangs were completely put away now. "I know it's horrible news to hear, and even though you weren't supposed to hear it, rest assure, we're doing all we can-"

The teen started to vigorously shake his head. Xingqiu gasped and sucked in some air and Venti feared the teen was going to start hyperventilating. "It's…" Xingqiu paused to suck in another shaky breath. "It's my fault, Mr. Zhongli!" He attached himself to Zhongli, suddenly clinging to the older man's arms in desperation.

Venti wasn't even sure he heard Xingqiu's right at first.

"What- no, don't be ridiculous, there's no way-" Zhongli tried to calm Xingqiu down but putting his hands on the younger boy's shoulders.

Xingqiu shook his head again. "No-"

"-Calm down, please." Venti came on over. "It's not your fault there's no way."

"..." Xingqiu sniffled loudly before backing away from both men. He then wiped his eyes with his sleeve like a child. His frame wracked as he sucked in several quick deep breaths. "Several weeks ago… Baizhu came to me. He asked me if I had seen Qiqi. I had not… but I noticed something disturbing. You see…a couple of children, mostly little girls, have gone missing in the past weeks." Xingqiu whispered as he held himself up.

"What?" Zhongli whispered in shocked. "And you didn't tell anybody. Not even the Millieth?"

"I wasn't sure at the time so...I did… I told one person…"

"Lumine." Venti whispered.

Xingqiu nodded. "She was someone I knew I could trust and she's… the strongest person I know. Plus, I know she's really close to Qiqi. She didn't even hesitate despite Paimon's protests to take things slow and cautious. If I hadn't sent her Baizhu's way...she wouldn't have been… oh Archons, I think I'm going to be sick…" Xingqiu covered his mouth with one of his hands while cradling his stomach.

"Xingqiu. Look at me." Zhongli was gentle and he pulled Xingqiu's chin up so the two were eye to eye. Xingqiu's eyes were very much watery, now growing red and puffy from crying. "You did not do this. You had no way of knowing what would happen to Lumine, do you hear me. You are absolutely not at fault here. You did only what you thought best at the time-"

"-Yeah, and besides, Lumine did what you asked her to do. She brought Qiqi back home. Qiqi is safe because of you, Xingqiu!" Venti's words of encouragement didn't help as Xingqiu just looked at him and let out another weak sniffle. It seemed that he had nothing to add or say at that moment and it made Venti frown. The boy with the radiant smile looked broken as he continued to shake and cry over the choice he made weeks ago.

"I should have gone with her- maybe requested a bodyguard go with her-"

"Xingqiu." Zhongli now cupped the sides of Xingqiu's face in his hands and made the teen look at him once more. "If you focus on what you should have done, or 'what if' then you're just going to tear yourself up on the inside."

"-But!-"

"No. No buts. I know it's hard, and I can tell you're absolutely wracked with guilt. But you didn't do anything wrong, Xingqiu. What happened to Lumine was horrific, yes, and trust me, I am beyond furious. We all are. Don't focus on the past, you can't rewind the clock, what's done is done. Focus on the now, Xingqiu. Focus on what you can do now."

Xingqiu listened to Zhongli's words and soaked them in. He then gave a firm nod and Zhongli let go of Xingqiu's face. Xingqiu wiped his tears away, sucked in a deep breath, and finally straightened himself up. "Okay. You're right. I have to focus on the now. I can start by telling you everything I know-"

"That's great, but I don't think we should start with that." Venti finally got a chance to speak out as he grabbed Zhongli's quill.

Xingqiu looked taken aback. "But… then where should we start?"

"It's simple, Young Xingqiu." Zhongli sighed. "We need you to sign a contract. "

And with that Venti handed Xingqiu the quill and led him to the contract in question. "A contract?" He looked confused.

"Yes, please don't fight it. It's just so we know you won't be telling anybody else what you heard." Venti reassured Xingqiu.

"Not unreasonable." Xingqiu didn't fight it and he signed his name (at least Venti thinks that is Xingqiu's name; hard to tell with that handwriting) and when he was done he put the quill down on the table. "Alright. It's done."

A thought suddenly came to Venti and he quickly spoke before Zhongli could. "Xingqiu, I need to ask. Does the name Dahlia mean anything to you?"

Xingqiu shut his eyes and thought about it. He stayed silent for several long seconds before he spoke: "No. I've never heard of anybody with that name."

Venti wasn't surprised, just disappointed. "Damn…Alright, next best thing then… What do you know? And where can we find this Baizhu?"