The Wine Festival was over, and most of the people around had dispersed.
Only a few people from the Knights of Favonius were still here.
Si Xuan asked his daughter to go play with Albedo.
He then raised his eyebrows at Lumine and Paimon, pointing in the direction where Venti was standing.
Lumine looked in the direction Si Xuan was pointing.
She found that Venti, who had been standing near her just moments ago, had disappeared.
The Mondstadt people's wine, brewed for the Wine Festival celebration, had also vanished.
Paimon was so angry that she crossed her arms.
“That bard must be hiding somewhere, secretly drinking it all!”
Seeing Paimon so angry, Lumine tried to comfort her.
“It's the Mondstadt people's wine, let him have it.”
Si Xuan silently muttered a tucao under his breath.
“One sip and he's out of it.”
“Although that's true, but... why don't we go find him?
Even if we can't drink, we can at least smell the aroma.”
Seeing Paimon bring it up, Si Xuan quickly chimed in.
“Exactly! We can't let this guy enjoy all the good wine by himself!”
Lumine looked up at Si Xuan and could clearly see a hint of playfulness in his eyes.
This mischievous fellow seemed to be waiting for a good show.
Thinking about it, Lumine immediately agreed.
“That's all well and good, but where do we even start looking for this...?”
Paimon scratched her head.
Venti was always running around, never staying in one place.
It would be like finding a needle in a haystack.
Si Xuan stroked his chin, thinking about where Venti had gone after the event.
He had been in Fontaine for five hundred years, and aside from the main storyline and Legend Quests, he had basically forgotten all the event plots.
“He was drinking the wine offered to the Anemo Archon by the Mondstadt people.
It's impossible for him to be in Mondstadt City, he'd be considered a thief.
Now it's almost night, and he's enjoying his wine in the wilderness. He must have a good view.
The Windrise is too low, it's fine during the day, but not at night.
That leaves... .”
Lumine had a sudden realization, almost unconsciously muttering:
“Starsnatch Cliff.”
Si Xuan snapped his fingers.
“That's right, that guy is definitely at Starsnatch Cliff.”
With their destination confirmed, Si Xuan and Lumine set off.
They both had access to Waypoints.
Emmm, so why can Paimon also use Waypoints?
Upon arriving at Starsnatch Cliff, they walked for a while before they saw Venti sitting on the edge of the cliff, drinking.
Two piles of wine bottles were placed on either side of him.
One side was unopened, the other was empty.
Si Xuan casually glanced over and saw that his wine was still unopened.
In other words, the good show hadn't started yet.
The soft sound of footsteps caught Venti's attention.
He turned back, holding a wine bottle.
“Oh, isn't it the Traveler and the diplomat? Are you here to enjoy some fine wine with me? Burp~”
As they approached, Lumine and Paimon could already smell the alcohol on Venti.
Paimon pinched her nose and complained.
“Bard, how much wine have you drunk?”
Venti chuckled and took a swig from his bottle.
“This is a token of appreciation from the Mondstadt people. As their god, I wouldn't want their intentions to go to waste.”
Paimon helplessly spread her hands.
Only at this moment would Venti remember he was the god of Mondstadt.
Seeing that Venti was already drunk, Si Xuan subtly moved his own bottle to the position closest to Venti.
The bottle in his hand was already empty, and if Venti wanted to drink more, he would definitely reach for the closest one in his current state.
“Are you going to finish all this wine today?”
“Of course not, I've also saved some that look particularly good.”
The bottle was empty, Venti placed it on the other side of himself.
Then, as Si Xuan had anticipated, he picked up the closest bottle.
“Speaking of which, it's going to be the Sea Lantern Festival in a few months.
How about you come to Liyue?”
Si Xuan suddenly changed the subject.
“That's a big jump! We weren't talking about drinking, how did we get to the Sea Lantern Festival?”
Si Xuan intentionally brought up the Sea Lantern Festival to attract Venti's attention.
The guy was truly drunk today, holding Si Xuan's bottle in his hand.
He was torn between drinking it or not.
Si Xuan just had to keep chatting with him to distract him.
As they talked, Venti would subconsciously want to drink.
Lumine suddenly looked at Si Xuan, her eyes filled with confusion.
Why invite a god from Mondstadt to a Liyue festival?
“The Sea Lantern Festival, brings back memories... but is there any reason for me to go?”
Going to Liyue or not didn't matter to Venti. He wasn't fulfilling any divine duties anyway.
He could go wherever he pleased.
But he was quite curious.
Why would Si Xuan specifically ask him to go to Liyue for the Sea Lantern Festival?
“A certain mischievous little girl is troubled about how to invite a big shot to the Sea Lantern Festival.
However, this big shot can't be around normal people for too long, it's bad for his health.
So I'm asking you to help out with a little favor.”
Paimon propped her chin on her fist, tilting her head in thought.
“The only mischievous little girl in Liyue would be Hu Tao, right?
As for the big shot she's talking about, it must be an Adeptus... who can't be around normal people for too long.
I got it, it's Xiao!”
Lumine looked at Paimon with an astonished expression, as if she was surprised Paimon could guess it.
Paimon crossed her arms, half-closing her eyes, and looked at Lumine uncomfortably.
“What are you staring at? The hints were so obvious, how could I not figure it out?”
“So it is... in order to fulfill the little girl's wish, I should indeed pay a visit...”
As Venti spoke, he opened the bottle cork under Si Xuan's expectant gaze.
Lumine ignored her banter with Paimon and stared intently at Venti.
The moment the cork popped, an indescribable aroma wafted out.
Paimon was about to say something, but Lumine quickly covered her mouth.
While covering Paimon's mouth, Lumine also took out her Kamera and pointed it at Venti.
“This smell... it's quite peculiar. Allow me to taste it properly.”
Venti, already drunk, had a dulled sense of taste.
Even though he knew the smell was off, he didn't question it.
Instead, he brought the bottle to his mouth and took a large “glug, glug” sip.
Seeing this, Si Xuan couldn't help but give Venti a thumbs-up and praise him with a:
“Brave soul.”
As that peculiar odor, akin to a year-old, unwashed sock soaked in water for a year, spread in Venti's mouth,
Already drunk, the smell only intensified his discomfort.
Venti's face contorted, his stomach churned.
Finally, he flung the bottle away, clutched his stomach, and immediately vomited.