The person across from them shouted while charging forward.
"Lady Signora! Is that Lady Signora—?!"
"Lady Signora! You've finally arrived—!"
"That guy is right over—"
Before he could finish, his voice abruptly cut off.
Because he realized the person approaching wasn't Signora.
The figure didn't match.
Signora should have been taller.
The guard thought it must be Mu Yang's accomplice and tried to flee in another direction.
But Lumine blasted him into the air with a gust of Anemo, sending him crashing heavily to the ground.
Dizzy and disoriented, the guard groaned.
"Oww, why am I so unlucky?"
Paimon took one look at his receding hairline and burst out laughing.
Diluc interrogated him.
"Talk. What happened here?"
True to form, the guard immediately caved.
"I'll talk, I'll talk! I'll confess everything!"
"Some badass white-haired swordsman barged in, saying he was looking for the Holy Lyre!"
"He's already gone deep into the ruins!"
Diluc frowned. "White-haired swordsman?"
Lumine and Paimon exchanged glances.
In unison, they said, "Mu Yang?"
"You know him?"
Lumine: "We just met today. But why would he come here?"
Paimon: "Yeah, didn't he say he wouldn't get involved in the Stormterror incident unless he got paid?"
Diluc's expression turned serious.
He didn't know whether Mu Yang was friend or foe.
Paimon, too, grew a little worried.
"If he's going against the Fatui, he should be on our side, right?"
Diluc pressed the guard again.
"Talk! How do we get to the depths of the ruins?"
The guard pointed in a direction.
Then he asked, "I... I've told you everything. Can I go now?"
Diluc knocked him out with the hilt of his sword.
"Go? So you can run to Signora?"
[Diluc's so decisive!]
[Duh, do you even know what the Fatui did to him? He used the hilt 'cause it's 12+.]
[Mu Yang: Hello, what's 12+?]
The trio pressed forward.
As they entered, they found a stone gate already open.
The guy earlier must've been guarding this entrance.
Walking down the narrow path, they could faintly hear voices.
Meanwhile, Mu Yang surveyed the massive Fatui stronghold.
It was split into two levels, with multiple rooms on each floor.
From one of the rooms, he could even hear the sounds of people gathered, playing cards.
He headed toward the noise.
The moment he stepped inside, the Fatui didn't even look up.
"Shift change isn't for a while yet, what're you doing in here?"
"Newbie, do you even know the rules?"
"If Lady Signora catches you slacking off, you're done for."
Mu Yang didn't respond.
Instead, he activated his Cryo Vision.
The temperature in the room plummeted instantly.
Such terrifying pressure…
It had to be Lady Signora.
That's what the Fatui thought.
They immediately threw down their cards, stood up straight, and braced for punishment.
One of them dared a glance—
And realized it wasn't Signora.
"F*ck! Bros, it's not Lady Signora! It's an intruder!"
The others snapped out of it and attacked.
Mu Yang dodged effortlessly, taking them down one by one.
The room was too cramped for him to draw his sword, so he settled for beating them into submission.
By the time Lumine's group arrived, they saw a comical scene:
Several Fatui curled up on the ground, covering their heads and begging for mercy.
"Ow ow ow, boss, stop hitting us!"
"Yeah, at least interrogate us first! What's the point of just beating us up?!"
"Ask already! We'll talk as soon as you ask! Augh—!"
Mu Yang finally stopped kicking them.
Calmly, he said, "Forgot."
Guinaifen's Livestream
Little Gui cackled like a goose.
"PFFT— 'Forgot'?! I'm gonna die from this plot, I swear."
[ASK ALREADY, DAMMIT! HOW CAN I CONFESS IF YOU DON'T ASK?!]
[This is next-level. What kind of gap moe is Mu Yang going for? So cute, must protecc.]
[Is this the famed Fatui discipline? Even the French would salute their surrender speed.]
[Saluting with both hands raised?]
[Daily French roast: 1/1]
Mu Yang finally asked, "Where's the key to the vault holding the Holy Lyre?"
The Fatui internally screamed: You could've led with that!
In unison, they answered:
"The guy in the innermost room on the second floor has it!"
From upstairs came a furious Snezhnayan curse:
"Cyka blyat! You traitorous dogs! Lady Signora will skin you alive!"
The beaten Fatui ignored him.
Bastard, you're not the one getting your ass kicked.
Try taking a few kicks yourself and see who hurts more—Lady Signora or this white-haired demon.
Mu Yang stepped out of the room.
Paimon immediately called out to him.
"Mu Yang!"
He turned.
"You're here? Guess I've gotten slow from lack of practice."
That's what he said, but Mu Yang wasn't slow at all.
He'd come prepared.
Without Lumine here, who would witness his grand performance?
Lumine asked, "You knew we'd come?"
Instead of answering, Mu Yang used his lightfoot technique to leap to the second floor.
He grabbed the Fatui trying to escape with the key and hurled him straight down to the main hall.
Then, he tossed the key to Lumine.
"We'll talk outside."
Lumine caught it and unlocked the door.
Inside the vault stood a single stone pillar—
And atop it, the Holy Lyre.
Paimon cheered.
"Yay! It's the Holy Lyre!"
The moment Lumine took a step forward—
Both Mu Yang and Diluc moved at the same time, reaching out to stop her.
But Mu Yang was faster.
He pulled Lumine behind him.
"Careful. The enemies can turn invisible. There are three here."
[HOLY SH*T, LOVE TRIANGLE ALERT!]
[Ah, it's that season again—White Album vibes.]
[Team Mu Yang x Lumine, no contest.]
[Nah, Diluc x Lumine all the way!]
[No Mu Yang x Diluc shippers?]
[I'll just climb Mount Kunlun and stay out of this.]
Lumine tensed. She'd let her guard down.
Three invisible Pyro Agents attacked simultaneously.
Mu Yang, relying on elemental perception, handled one effortlessly—
Killing it in a single slash.
Lumine and Diluc couldn't finish theirs as quickly.
Then, out of nowhere, an Electro Cicin Mage ambushed them, darting straight to the Holy Lyre.
"Don't move, or this lyre turns to dust."
Lumine and Diluc weren't foolish enough to drop their weapons.
Instead, they retreated to the doorway, assuming defensive stances.
The Cicin Mage ignored them, turning to Mu Yang instead.
"Put the sword down, handsome. You wouldn't point something so dangerous at a lady, would you?"
"You wouldn't want the Holy Lyre reduced to splinters, now would you?"
Mu Yang sheathed his sword.
The Cicin Mage thought she'd won.
She was wrong.
"Azure Dragon's Lunge."
In the span of a single breath, Mu Yang drew his blade and closed the distance—
Piercing straight through her heart.
The Cicin Mage died without even seeing his strike.