The reason why the Windblume Festival is called the Windblume Festival has its own story.
Once the festival begins, various competitions take place. Amid the lively poetry, banquets, and gliding competitions, a young girl is chosen as the winner of the three main events.
At the end of the festival, this girl stands on the palm of the statue of Barbatos, the Anemo Archon, at the high plaza and tosses the Windblume, symbolizing Barbatos' blessing, into the crowd.
The first person to catch the Windblume receives generous prizes and a year of good luck.
In the final years of the Lawrence family's rule over Mondstadt, the selection of this girl was usually handled by Buck Lawrence, the young master of the Lawrence family.
The old aristocracy abolished the competitions outright, handpicking a girl for the role and monopolizing the Windblume.
Not only the Windblume, but the girl herself would also be taken home by him, with her fate left unsaid.
This practice continued for five years until a wandering bard named Venti snatched the Windblume, symbolizing the blessing, right from under his nose.
Only then did the Lawrence family's rule come to an end.
The mysterious figure who had attacked the Fatui was ultimately lost by Collei and Amber.
Considering that there were still mechanical birds in the city, they eventually decided to give up the chase and return to Mondstadt. After finding all the mechanical birds, they joined in the Windblume Festival celebrations.
Encouraged by Amber, Collei also participated in the festival's competitions.
Although she wasn't selected as the final winner, the kindness of the people around her made the experience enjoyable.
When the Windblume was finally tossed into the crowd, Collei, using the agility she had learned from Bai Luo, managed to snatch it.
Catching the Windblume also earned her an unexpected gift.
"Collei, see you tomorrow!"
At the crossroads, Amber had to bid farewell to Collei.
Although she wanted to invite Collei to her home to show off her handmade Baron Bunny, Collei politely declined, worried that her disease might cause trouble for Amber.
Besides... she still had something she needed to do.
Although the festival had ended, the streets were still bustling with people.
Everyone wore smiles of joy, and from time to time, people continued to discuss the events of the festival.
In this lively atmosphere, Collei, holding the gift she had received at the festival, hurried through the night toward the Goth Grand Hotel.
But before she reached the hotel, she noticed someone standing in the shadows ahead.
Bai Luo.
In Collei's memory, Bai Luo always liked to stand in places without light. Coupled with his black coat, if it weren't for his white mask, he would easily blend into the darkness.
Collei jogged over to him, and he removed the mask covering his face.
Beneath the mask was the familiar smile, gentle and with a hint of affection.
"Did you have fun?"
Bai Luo casually hung the mask on his belt.
In different situations, he wore the mask differently.
During assassinations or negotiations, he wore it on his face to intimidate his opponents.
In formal settings where he had to show his face, he wore it tilted to one side, symbolizing his authority as a Harbinger.
Only in private would he hang the mask, representing death, on his waist.
Nodding, Collei raised her hand and handed the gift she had been holding to Bai Luo.
"This! This is for you!"
"This?"
Bai Luo casually took the gift box but didn't pay much attention to it, assuming it was something Collei had bought at the festival.
"You... aren't you going to open it?"
Seeing that Bai Luo didn't seem interested in opening it, Collei asked cautiously.
His face always wore that same smile, whether he was angry or threatening someone.
Collei really wanted to see a different expression on his face.
When he saw this gift, would he look surprised?
Collei was really looking forward to it.
"Gifts should be opened at the right time, but now isn't the moment... Come with me. The little wolf from Sumeru is here. Let's go meet him."
"Oh..."
Was it just her imagination, or did Collei seem a little disappointed when she heard that the person who could cure her had arrived, instead of being happy?
Was it because of the gift box?
Glancing at the box tucked under his arm, Bai Luo's face showed a thoughtful expression.
He was starting to get curious about what was inside.
The Knights of Favonius headquarters wasn't far from the Goth Grand Hotel, just diagonally across, though it required climbing a set of stairs.
Whether it was the Fatui keeping an eye on the Knights or the Knights monitoring the Fatui, it was quite convenient.
However, when Collei saw Bai Luo leading her straight toward the Knights' headquarters, she couldn't help but ask.
"Are we really going like this?"
Collei knew very well that if Bai Luo, as a Harbinger, walked into the Knights' headquarters like this, it would definitely cause a commotion.
To some of the Knights, she herself was a suspicious outsider.
In fact, she was the arsonist the Knights had been investigating for the past few days.
"It's fine."
For the first time, Bai Luo took Collei's hand, and a faint blue glow enveloped them both.
[Shadow Step]: After 1 second, enter stealth and increase movement speed by 8%. Attacking or using a skill will break stealth, and the next attack is guaranteed to be a critical hit.
This skill had always been his greatest reliance. After testing it with the Raiden Shogun, he was almost certain that even an Archon couldn't see through this stealth ability.
After using it many times, he had also begun to understand the principle behind it.
Essentially, it hid him and anything or anyone he was in contact with in another world.
This way, even footsteps, heartbeats, and breathing would cease to exist.
It was a true disappearance from this world.
Perhaps... it had something to do with the so-called quantum.
This also reminded Bai Luo of another term from his past life, related to Genshin Impact and miHoYo.
The Sea of Quanta.
He wondered if there was any connection between the two.
Using this peculiar stealth ability, Bai Luo successfully led Collei into the Knights' headquarters.
"You... when I'm taking a bath, you wouldn't...?"
Realizing how terrifying this ability was, Collei immediately got goosebumps. She looked at Bai Luo with a strange expression.
When she was washing herself in the bathroom, she often felt something unusual. Could it have been...?
"Don't worry, I wouldn't use my skills for something so trivial."
"That's good, I thought..."
"Besides, what's there to see on your flat figure? I've seen it so many times while applying medicine. I'd rather look at my own pecs—they're more exciting."
"..."
So much for his gentle demeanor. This guy was as blunt as the Skyfrost Nail on Dragonspine!
Just as Collei was left speechless by Bai Luo's comment, a small room nearby suddenly opened.
"Tap tap tap!"
A small, red-hot figure rushed out eagerly, heading straight for the open doors of the Knights' headquarters.
But then...
"Thud—"
The young figure seemed to have bumped into something extraordinary.
She looked up, confused, only to find nothing in front of her.
Absolutely nothing.
"Waaah! Big Brother Kaeya was right! There really are monsters in Mondstadt at night! I'll never run away again!"
The fragile-looking little girl instinctively reached behind her back to grab something, only to realize her backpack was still in the detention room.
"Waaah!!"
And so... a certain little troublemaker, whose detention time had just ended, voluntarily returned to the nightmare that was the detention room.