8 Criminal Travelers

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(Remember to read the previous chapters! This chapter was posted by mistake—it was meant to be saved as a draft but was accidentally published. So it’s not that there’s no update, it’s just a skipped chapter.)

———

Paimon opened her eyes and saw the huge ancient tree with lush branches and leaves, as well as the angel statue glowing with a blue light, standing three to four meters tall.

Kong placed her in front of the angel statue and said, “This is the statue of Barbatos, the Wind God. Touch it and see what reaction you get.”

Paimon hesitated for a moment, then slowly reached out her hand and pressed it on the statue, but…

Nothing happened.

Paimon, panting from running, suddenly stopped and turned back hurriedly. “Huff, huff! You all ran too fast! I’m exhausted! Hmm—strange, when the Traveler touched the statue, they immediately awakened the wind element, so why can’t Paimon?”

Paimon glanced at Kong, who asked, “What about the teleport waypoint?”

Paimon replied, “No response either. Maybe it’s because I can’t use the Wind God’s power?”

Paimon said, “That’s not right. Teleport waypoints aren’t only at the statues!”

Kong thought for a moment and said, “Let’s try again!”

He turned his back to Paimon and crouched down.

Paimon looked puzzled.

Kong said, “Come up, let’s go to another waypoint. Also, remember what this place looks like. When using a teleport waypoint, you need to have a clear concept of the destination, or you might get lost in the teleportation channel.”

Hearing that it could be dangerous, Paimon was about to back out. But she trusted Kong and needed his help; she didn’t want him to think she was a burden. So she obediently agreed and climbed onto his back.

——A person’s sense of shame truly diminishes step by step. Just a moment ago, she refused to be carried by this little brother, but after the first time, she went along without hesitation.

Kong took her to another teleport waypoint, placed her beneath it, and said, “Touch the waypoint with your hand and imagine that big tree from before.”

Paimon complied obediently, yet… still nothing happened.

She looked at him with innocent eyes.

Paimon said, “Maybe she really can’t use it…”

Kong folded one arm and stroked his chin with the other, looking puzzled. “That shouldn’t be… We’re all from outside this world, after all.”

Paimon said, “I don’t think it has much to do with being from outside the world.”

She pointed at Kong. “Protagonist.”

Then pointed at herself. “Side character.”

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Kong was speechless.

She pointed at Kong again. “Free to roam, sailing through the stars.”

Then pointed again at herself. “Lazy and useless.”

Paimon said, “It’s like in this world—there are strong people like gods, and there are weaklings who pick their noses. The gap is pretty big.”

Kong was silent.

Paimon continued, “So, actually, you shouldn’t think about us as both being outsiders; rather, you should consider if we have anything else in common besides coming from outside the world.”

Paimon said, “We don’t.”

She said sincerely, “So I think it’s quite normal that you can use these things but I can’t.”

Kong was speechless. “You’re quite good at making excuses for yourself.”

He didn’t want to say more, probably would just be pointless talk, so he went straight to action.

He grabbed Paimon’s wrist with one hand, pressed the teleport waypoint with the other, and pictured the scene of the teleport waypoint atop the Mondstadt tower.

A familiar dizzying sensation swept through him, and to his surprise, the “thing” he was holding didn’t vanish!

Two seconds later, he felt an incredibly fresh breeze.

He opened his eyes with a whoosh, and saw Paimon’s eyes tightly shut as she softly collapsed toward him.

He caught her instinctively and looked up to see the lush tree of Windrise.

He smiled, “As expected, it worked!”

“Ah! She fainted! Is she alright?” Paimon said anxiously. “…As expected?”

“It’s just initial teleportation discomfort,” Kong explained casually, then adjusted how he was holding her to be more comfortable and said, “It seems only I, an outsider, can use teleport waypoints in Teyvat. This is quite strange because when these waypoints were built long ago, they wouldn’t have been made for outsiders. But if the original world is a game world, it makes sense—after all, who wants players to keep running around the map? So theoretically, waypoints serve all ‘players.’ Paimon isn’t a player, but a potential player. If she travels with me, a controllable ‘protagonist,’ that might fulfill the ‘player’ definition. So I can bring her along using waypoints—just like I can bring you, my guide, along.”

Paimon said, “? I don’t quite get it…”

Kong chuckled and said, “It’s okay. Just know that although Paimon can’t use the waypoints herself, I can take her through them.”

He couldn’t help but smile wider.

—The likelihood of the original world being a game just increased.

—The safety of his sister increased too!

As for the Abyss Princess—such a notorious figure—the planners surely wouldn’t just kill her off casually, right? With the siblings on opposing sides, wouldn’t they want to create some heart-wrenching sibling drama to tug at the fans’ hearts?

No worries. No matter what the story holds, the important thing is to let him see his sister first. Everything else can wait.

As for Paimon fainting… oh, trivial. He felt dizzy and nauseous at first too, let alone Paimon with her weak constitution.

Fainting was no surprise.

Kong was very happy now, holding Paimon in one arm, pressing the wind god statue with the other, picturing the teleport waypoint atop Mondstadt’s tower.

Mondstadt has two teleport waypoints: one on the main street near the fountain behind the Good Hunter Tavern, and another near the Knights of Favonius headquarters in a tall tower.

Kong preferred the tower waypoint. Though close to the Knights’ headquarters, which might attract the knights’ attention, the fountain plaza was worse—too many people. Too many eyes. He might suddenly appear out of nowhere and get noticed.

Though many knew he was an outsider and could use mysterious devices, some would still be shocked, making explanations troublesome.

The tower was different.

Secluded, fewer people, easy to flee. It’s so tall that even the knights avoid it and don’t go there without reason. The height makes it a blind spot, easy to go unnoticed.

Also, flying off from the tower with the wind glider lets him fly across the entire city.

No detours, straight air route—how wonderful.

This time, Kong teleported with Paimon and guided them to the tower. He looked around and locked onto their position.

—Angel’s Share.

The famous tavern in Mondstadt.

He leapt from the tower holding Paimon, the azure wind glider unfolding behind him, gliding toward Angel’s Share.

Mid-flight, someone shouted below, “Hey! Up there! Mondstadt’s flight regulations forbid carrying passengers! Watch out, your flight license will be revoked!!”

Paimon panicked, “Ah! It’s the Knights!”

Kong twitched his ear, pretending not to hear, and continued flying toward Angel’s Share.

It was midday, so the tavern wasn’t crowded. His old friend and owner Diluc wasn’t around, only Charles, the manager and bartender, was behind the bar polishing glasses.

When Kong pushed open the door, Charles habitually said, “Welcome,” but froze when he looked up. “Traveler… what’s going on here?”

His gaze shifted repeatedly between Kong and the girl in his arms.

Look at that poor girl—her clothes disheveled, glaring red marks, looking exhausted and battered as if dragged into the bushes and mistreated many times. Then look at their esteemed honorable knight, radiant and proud as if basking in the spring breeze.

Charles’s expression slowly turned serious, and he said solemnly, “Honorable knight, please be aware—abusing women is a crime. So is human trafficking.”

Kong was speechless.

Truly at a loss for words, friends.