Seeing Qin's expectant gaze, Mu Yang hesitated.
Should he tell Qin those things?
His relationship with Qin didn't seem to be that close. While this knowledge was no secret to Mu Yang, it was a significant secret to ordinary people in this world.
You're not giving me any benefit, so why should I tell you?
Even if you don't know what to give me, there should be a consultation fee, right?
Seeing Mu Yang's reaction, Qin naturally understood his meaning. She was not someone who didn't understand the ways of the world.
In the original storyline, Qin bestowed upon the Traveler the title of Honorary Knight, partly to win him over and partly to truly offer him some assistance. A commoner and an Honorary Knight were different.
But now, Qin didn't know what she could give Mu Yang. Could she possibly betray Mondstadt's interests to promote cooperation between them?
Moreover, this was Mu Yang's own information. Providing Liyue with benefits wouldn't be enough.
For a moment, Qin hesitated.
"I know a little about this matter. Consider it a favor owed," Mu Yang said after a moment's hesitation, seeing Qin's expression.
"Okay, as long as it doesn't harm Mondstadt's interests, I can do it," Qin agreed without hesitation.
Mondstadt desperately needed the Anemo Archon, Barbatos. Of course, even if they didn't need Barbatos, Qin would still find ways to help him.
Perhaps Barbatos himself didn't care, otherwise, he wouldn't have left nothing behind.
But as Barbatos' people, Qin felt she had to do something.
Mu Yang looked at Qin with a smirk: "Even if it harms your interests, you're willing?"
Keqing seemed to understand something and pinched Mu Yang's waist without a good temper. It was always Mu Yang touching her waist, but this was the first time Keqing had touched his.
As expected, pinching flesh was a skill mastered by all women, regardless of the world.
"Of course," Qin readily agreed. As someone from the Gunnhildr family, she had a spirit of sacrifice. For Mondstadt, even if it meant sacrificing her own life, Qin would not hesitate.
"Good!" Mu Yang replied: "A part of a god's power comes from the people's faith. There's a saying that gods gain power by performing their duties.
Of course, I don't think that's all.
Barbatos' dedication to Mondstadt is undeniable. He has fulfilled his duties, maintaining Mondstadt's climate. Besides, it's your propaganda about the Anemo Archon in Mondstadt that may be insufficient."
"Our Mondstadt people have unwavering faith in Barbatos-sama." Qin stated without hesitation.
"Maybe, perhaps some do, but for most, it only exists in slogans," Mu Yang shrugged: "I know some knights from the Knights of Favonius who sneak off to sleep when they're guarding the city gates at night. What happens if monsters invade?
Do those people have faith in the Anemo Archon?"
Qin blushed instantly. She knew that some people liked to slack off. She turned a blind eye and even went to the city gates in the middle of the night to watch, but she hadn't expected that even someone like Mu Yang from another country knew about it.
It was just embarrassing!
"Keqing, what happens if a Liyue Qixing officer drinks and sleeps on duty?" Mu Yang suddenly asked.
"First offense, a warning will be given. If they repeat the offense, they will be dismissed and publicly criticized throughout Liyue.
After all, if they can't even do this, they're unworthy of being a Qixing officer. If they're not feeling well, they can take leave. But drinking and sleeping on duty is unacceptable.
Keeping such people in the Qixing would only undermine its discipline. If something goes wrong, it could bring great disaster to Liyue." Keqing stated without hesitation, her gaze filled with pity for Qin.
Keqing knew about Qin, the acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius. Although she wasn't as close to Qin as she was to Ningguang and considered her a friend, she still admired Qin and saw her as a fellow traveler on this path.
She hadn't expected that Mondstadt had so many problems. Qin must have known about these things, but she didn't stop or change them.
Mu Yang and the others didn't know what state of mind Qin had when she left Yuehai Pavilion, but she looked distraught.
"Is this really okay?" Keqing asked anxiously, watching Qin leave in a daze.
In fact, she couldn't believe that the Knights of Favonius had such serious issues.
As the acting Grand Master, if those problems truly existed, Qin bore an inescapable responsibility.
If Keqing had admired Qin before, now she even felt a bit contemptuous towards her.
As a leader, shouldn't you be working overtime to motivate your subordinates to work overtime too?
If even you, the leader, are working, how dare you slack off, sleep and drink on the job? What use are you?
Keqing had thought that Qin was someone like her. But it turned out that you were just working yourself to death, while neglecting everyone else!
"If she doesn't face some setbacks, how will she ever change in the future.
Liyue is destined to be deeply intertwined with Mondstadt in the future. You wouldn't want to see a Mondstadt that only holds you back, would you?" Mu Yang chuckled: "Mondstadt's commoners are really annoying.
But we can't interfere directly. It would affect future cooperation. Qin and the others need to make their own decisions!"
To be honest, if it came to cooperation, Mu Yang would rather work with Inazuma.
After all, Inazuma was basically ruled by Raiden Shogun. As long as she was taken care of, everyone in Inazuma wouldn't be a problem.
Even though Mu Yang was disgusted with Inazuma's three commissions, the entire nation was worth cooperating with. At worst, he could just have Shadow Sister kill a bunch of them later.
Of course, Fontaine was also a good partner, and they were quite powerful too.
As for Mondstadt, the Knights of Favonius weren't the biggest problem. The Mondstadt people were the real issue, ungrateful and spoiled brats, those were the words that best described them.
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