The path ahead twisted and turned.
Paimon guided Gong Qu and Ke Qing to Mondstadt's most famous tavern.
It was called The Angel's Gift, owned by the wealthy merchant, Lord Laegenfend.
[Missing Person Notice]
Looking for a young man from Liyue with black hair and striking features. He possesses exceptional culinary skills, as well as expertise in weapons and artifact enhancement. He has traveled with the Honorary Knight, Ying, to many nations. If you have any information on his whereabouts, please report to the Knights of Favonius for a generous reward.
Outside the tavern, an eye-catching missing person notice hung on the wall.
"Is this looking for me? But what's up with the portrait? The guy looks like Conan in his black outfit with such sharp eyes…"
"Uh… strange thing, you see, everyone knows about you, but no one can recall the details of your appearance. So, they had Albedo draw this," Paimon scratched her head, looking a bit sheepish.
Looks like it's the result of dimensional observation, Gong Qu mused. He decided not to dwell on it and pushed the tavern door open, stepping inside.
"Hello, what can I get you?"
"Boss, I need to ask about someone."
"Haha, you should be asking the Adventurers' Guild for that. This is a place for drinking."
"But aren't taverns supposed to provide confidential information services like that?" Gong Qu raised an eyebrow.
"Ha, you haven't changed a bit. Long time no see, Traveler!"
Uncle Charles greeted him with a wide smile and passed a freshly prepared drink to Gong Qu. "This one's on me. You're here looking for your companion, Ying, right?"
"Yes, Paimon mentioned that she's been here recently."
Not wanting to take advantage, Gong Qu placed a gold nugget on the bar. Though Mora was the main currency of Teyvat, precious metals like gold and silver, known for their excellent elemental conductivity, were often used as hard currency.
Charles, seeing the sizable gold nugget, didn't decline. He decided to count it as a payment for the drinks Ying had had here over the past month. If it weren't for Diluc's previous intervention, he might've had to ask the Knights for payment by now.
"She asked about Paimon's whereabouts after she woke up from drinking last night. One of our guys overheard that Paimon was probably out on a task. As soon as she heard that, Ying left the tavern right away. She must have gone to the Adventurers' Guild."
Gong Qu glanced at Paimon.
"I… I took a detour to avoid the hilichurl camp, and didn't run into Ying," Paimon stammered.
"Alright, thanks for the information, Charles."
They were quick to leave, without even trying the tavern's famous drinks, heading straight for the Adventurers' Guild in the south district.
After crossing half the district, the three arrived at the Adventurers' Guild.
"Towards the stars—"
"Katherine, did Ying come by yesterday?"
The familiar feeling of being interrupted hit Gong Qu, and then—wait, wasn't this the Traveler?
"You're another companion of the Traveler?! It's been a while since I last saw you. If you're asking about Ying, she went to Starfall Lake to find Paimon."
"Figures."
It seemed like Ying wasn't completely lost in despair, but she hadn't really abandoned everything. It was unfortunate, though, that she hadn't anticipated Paimon actually daring to go out alone into the wilds.
"How long ago did she leave?"
"The Traveler left around 10 PM last night. With her pace, if she traveled overnight, she would have reached Starfall Lake's Seven-Day Statue by around 6 AM this morning."
That meant Paimon and Gong Qu had met up just before noon. Ying, though, had left after them, and had arrived several hours earlier.
By the time she reached the Seven-Day Statue, the surroundings should have been a mess. That made the situation quite clear—there were only two possibilities.
First, Paimon hadn't arrived yet, and they were bound to meet there if she simply waited.
Second, Paimon couldn't make it, and something had happened on the way.
Clearly, Ying wasn't the type to sit idly by and wait for things to unfold. She likely believed in the second possibility.
"Ying must have arrived early, found that Paimon wasn't there, and turned back to look for her. Since I didn't take the main path through Whispering Forest on the way here, she's probably still searching there."
The rest of the roads were clear enough, but the Whispering Forest's intricate terrain could have easily caused them to miss each other.
"Ke Qing, let's go to Whispering Forest and split up to search. That should increase our chances of meeting Ying. If we don't find her, we'll meet back in Mondstadt tonight."
"Gatekeeper, you've got the MC body type, meaning no biological stamina limits. Run at full speed to the Seven-Day Statue at Starfall Lake and wait for any sign of a certain blonde girl. If you spot her, inform her of the current situation."
"Paimon, wait for us at the Adventurers' Guild in the city. If Ying comes back, you can tell her directly. Got it?"
With that, Gong Qu quickly devised a plan based on the current information.
His calm and commanding demeanor was different from usual, and it caught Ke Qing's attention. This new side of him made her like him even more.
"Got it, Ah Qu. I'll take care of the eastern forest. I'll find Ying!"
"Don't worry, no pressure. Even the most fragile Paimon is perfectly fine in front of us. Ying should be fine in the wilds as long as she doesn't do anything reckless. We'll meet up sooner or later."
"Hey! 'Fragile' is not how you describe me!"
"Everyone..."
Katherine interrupted them, "If you're in a hurry, you might want to try posting an urgent commission. You can mobilize more people to help search for the Traveler."
"A commission? That's not a bad idea. Let's do that."
"Alright, please fill out the commission details, reward, and time limit here. We'll post it on the notice board shortly."
Gong Qu followed Katherine through the process swiftly.
A few task notifications for three teams were quickly prepared and posted on the board.
No sooner had they been posted than a slender hand reached up to take one.
"Didn't expect to find such a simple, well-paid task. Heh, I'll make sure to remember this debt."
The haughty tone was unmistakable.
Gong Qu turned around and saw a blue-haired girl, her face exuding nobility and elegance.
"Eula!!"
Paimon shouted, delighted.
Eula gave her a nod before turning to Gong Qu. "So this is what you look like, Traveler Qu."
"I see, you're one of the people who 'know' me but haven't met me before."
Gong Qu vaguely recalled Eula's character data before he quit. While her artifacts weren't as advanced as Ke Qing's, she was still a popular character with 2 constellations and a signature weapon.
In short, someone he had good favor with.
"No need for pleasantries. You're looking for the Traveler Ying? How interesting. Just earlier this year, she was looking for you, and now you're looking for her. Are you two putting on a tragic drama for Fontaine?"