[Genshin Impact] Chapter 587-588

### Chapter 587: Riding the Wind

Outside Mondstadt, on the road to Springvale.

Nolan and Rosaria had come through the city gates, following the newly paved road.

Along the way, many bicycles and cars sped past.

Some of them were driven by Knights of Favonius, the vehicles marked with the Order’s crest as they patrolled. Adventurers traveling back and forth, as well as hunters bringing their game to the city for sale, also made use of cargo trucks.

Clearly, Mondstadt’s road system was becoming well-developed, greatly improving the efficiency of the city’s operations.

“The Church’s pilgrimage will probably follow this road as well. With the Knights of Favonius patrolling in cars, there shouldn’t be much danger to worry about.”

High in the air, Nolan said this to Rosaria beside him.

“It’s indeed much better than before.”

Rosaria glanced at the car bearing the Knights’ emblem and gave a small nod of agreement.

In the past, patrols by the Knights of Favonius were all done on foot.

From Mondstadt to Springvale and back took nearly a full day. In other words, a single squad could only patrol the route once per day.

The efficiency was far too low. With so many monsters outside the city, even half a day without patrols meant long gaps.

If the Knights had just passed through and then townsfolk were attacked by monsters right after, there was little hope for timely rescue.

To compensate, they had been forced to assign more manpower.

But now, with vehicles, everything was different. One squad could maintain the same patrol frequency as before, and the freed-up manpower could be allocated to other tasks serving Mondstadt’s citizens.

This meant situations where Captain Jean herself had to step in for small matters due to manpower shortages would no longer arise—though, of course, part of that had been Jean’s own desire to lead by example.

Nolan thought about this to himself.

“Even so, for the pilgrimage’s safety, scouting is still necessary. And at spots where danger might appear, we’ll need to place things to drive monsters away.”

Rosaria pulled several small sachets from her Vision.

“What are those?”

Nolan sniffed, finding no scent, and asked curiously.

“They’re special pouches the sisters devised after observing hilichurls, slimes, and other common monsters. Eventually, they identified certain odors those creatures despise.

“By combining plants that release those odors, we made these sachets. Humans can’t smell it, but monsters can. It nauseates them, so they usually won’t come near.”

Rosaria explained calmly.

“Oh, so during the pilgrimage, if the sisters carry a few, they should be safe from monster attacks, right?”

Nolan felt the pouches sounded quite useful.

If adventurers carried them, wouldn’t they also avoid monsters while traveling?

“Don’t overestimate them. The scent only lingers for about ten meters. Carrying them on your person doesn’t guarantee safety.

“By the time monsters get close enough to smell it, they may just endure the nausea rather than let go of their prey. At most, it weakens them a little, but nothing more.”

Rosaria shook her head.

That was why the sachets needed to be hung along the pilgrimage route ahead of time. Monsters would catch the scent early, retreating long before the procession arrived.

“I see. Then let’s go down and find places to hang them.”

Nolan nodded in understanding.

“Mm.” Rosaria had already intended the same.

And so, along the road to Springvale, the two of them placed one monster-repelling sachet every few hundred meters.

Once monsters wandered close to the road, the scent would reach them and they would usually flee, so there was no need to worry about them gathering nearby.

Flying along, the two quickly arrived at Springvale. On the way, they found no potential dangers, and the special monster-repelling sachets had already been placed.

That completed the route from Mondstadt to Springvale.

Next was the path from Springvale to Windrise. A portion of this overlapped with the previous road, so fewer sachets were needed.

When they reached the great tree at Windrise, they also found no hidden threats.

After all, this area was close to Mondstadt itself, with many people about. Monsters didn’t dare to be too rampant here. The road ahead to Starsnatch Cliff, however, might prove far more dangerous.

On the way, Nolan and Rosaria spotted two hilichurl camps. They tried tossing the special sachets from above into the encampments.

Before long, they saw the hilichurls gagging and retching, fleeing without even bothering to take the food cooking over their fires.

It was clear the sachets worked extremely well within their scent range.

To make hilichurls abandon their food and run—that was impressive!

Nolan was pleasantly surprised. If they weren’t too difficult to produce, perhaps the “Sweet Flower Merchant Association” could partner with the Church of Favonius to sell them. There would surely be a market.

At the very least, adventurers would probably like to carry a few.

After setting up the repellant sachets along the route, only Starsnatch Cliff remained. Once placed there, the task would be complete and they could return.

But when Nolan and Rosaria reached the cliff, they spotted a familiar figure clad in green.

“Well, if it isn’t Nolan. Oh? And the aloof Sister Rosaria too. What a coincidence—are you two here on a date?”

Venti grinned as he spoke.

“Hmph. If you want your lips frozen shut, just say so.” Arms crossed, Rosaria lifted a hand, ice condensing in her palm.

Clearly, she had little patience for the bard’s shameless teasing.

“Ehe~” Venti winked.

Nolan gave him a speechless look and asked, “Not drinking at the tavern? What brings you here?”

“As expected, you know me best. But aside from drinking, it’s good to step out sometimes—catch the wind, meet a friend or two.”

Venti laughed with his hands on his hips.

Nolan guessed that “friend” meant Dvalin. Extending his spiritual senses, he indeed detected a dense aura of Anemo in the vicinity—likely left behind by the dragon.

As if recalling something, Nolan smiled and said, “Speaking of which, I have a little ‘product’ you might be interested in. Want to hear about it?”

“Oh? Could it be some fine vintage?” Seeing Nolan’s expression, Venti looked a little expectant.

“No, but I think both you and your friend will find it appealing.”

Nolan shook his head.

(End of Chapter)

***

### Chapter 588: Treasure of the Wind

Seeing that the two seemed ready to keep chatting at length, Rosaria had no interest in listening to their small talk. She went off to hang more monster-repelling sachets nearby.

Nolan didn’t bother keeping Venti in suspense. He explained that he possessed the ability to purify “erosion.”

As one of the oldest gods alongside Zhongli, the Anemo Archon had lived for countless years. Despite his carefree, frivolous exterior, the erosion he had accumulated over time was surely no small matter.

“Oh? That’s truly surprising.” Venti blinked, somewhat skeptical. “Is that really possible? From what I know, ‘erosion’ is irreversible.”

It wasn’t that Venti didn’t believe Nolan—only that the notion of cleansing erosion was simply unbelievable.

Every long-lived being knew how terrifying erosion was.

“Of course. If you don’t believe me, you can try it yourself. Or go ask Zhongli—he’s already used it and said it worked wonders. He even bought extra sessions for his friends.

“So, what do you think? Want to give it a try? Since you’re a friend, I’ll even give you a buy-one-get-one deal.”

Nolan said generously.

“In that case, I’ll give it a shot!” Venti thought it over. Dvalin’s injuries were healing, but the inner damage of erosion could never truly recover—it only accumulated further.

If Nolan really could purify it, Dvalin would surely feel immense relief. With that in mind, Venti added:

“Then let me try first. Let’s see if it really works.”

“No problem.” Nolan nodded and extended his hand, unleashing “Divine Maiden’s Purity.”

Energy within him rapidly drained away.

“What is this…?”

Venti felt the erosion inside him dissolving under the purification, vanishing at incredible speed. His entire being became clear, light, and unburdened.

The torment of erosion was utterly gone.

“Well? Feels good, doesn’t it?” Nolan asked with a smile.

“It’s real… your ability is truly remarkable,” Venti said with genuine awe.

“Good. Consider that one a gift. Now then—interested in letting Dvalin have a go as well?”

Nolan offered.

“Haha, of course. But what do you want in return?”

Venti knew well enough that such a miraculous service wouldn’t come cheap.

“Nothing special. Just a treasure of golden quality will do.”

Knowing how destitute Venti was, Nolan didn’t press for immediate payment. He was fine with letting the bard owe him for now.

“No need for that. As it happens, I have just the thing.”

Venti reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of teal jade. Hollow at its center, within swirled a ceaseless miniature tornado.

“What is this?”

As he asked, Nolan invoked Yae Miko’s Affection skill, receiving its appraisal:

[Wind Dragon Jewel: A creation of an elemental dragon that commands high-purity Anemo energy. Far stronger than naturally formed wind essence.]

In essence, it was condensed elemental material—high-grade Anemo crystallized into a treasure. Its quality was excellent.

And if not consumed all at once, simply placing it in the wind would allow it to gradually regenerate, making it a near-endless source of Anemo material.

A fine treasure indeed.

Nolan didn’t exactly lack elemental resources, but this piece was perfect for storing in his Wonderland Space, letting it grow larger over time as a collection piece.

As long as the quality was high enough, what the item was didn’t really matter.

“A little trinket Dvalin made when he was bored—what do you think, can it buy one purification service?”

Venti asked with a grin.

“Of course. I’ll go with you to see Dvalin later.” Nolan nodded.

“No need—he’s already on his way!”

Venti turned to the sky.

Nolan felt the wind atop Starsnatch Cliff grow stronger, but it wasn’t violent—rather, it carried a warm and gentle touch.

From below the cliff rose a vast cyan figure, dazzling and majestic. Truly, a beautiful dragon!

Come to think of it, with Dvalin here, his lingering dragon’s might alone would be enough to drive away monsters in the area—perhaps they wouldn’t even need the sachets.

Rosaria, still setting sachets nearby, froze at the sight of the Stormterror dragon. Outwardly calm, inwardly she couldn’t help but tense.

This was, after all, the same dragon that had once wrought massive destruction upon Mondstadt. She’d heard it had turned over a new leaf, but she had no idea of the details.

Better to stay cautious.

Rosaria quickly walked over to Nolan’s side, and only then did she feel somewhat safer.

【Rosaria Has Developed good Feelings towards You, Obtained 360 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.6 (410/600)】

Seeing the prompt appear on his status screen, Nolan smiled at her and reassured her:

“Don’t worry. He’s just here to do business with me.”

He gave her a brief explanation about purifying “erosion.”

Rosaria, not knowing much about the concept, only looked mildly surprised.

“Long time no see, Nolan,” Dvalin greeted, his immense jaws parting to speak.

“Hehe, long time no see, Dvalin. Venti must’ve told you why you’re here. Come on, let me purify you.”

Nolan smiled as he spoke.

“My thanks,” the cyan dragon rumbled with a nod.

Having once been tainted by Durin’s poisonous blood, his erosion was particularly severe. Though outwardly he seemed fine, erosion worked silently.

By the time its effects became noticeable, it would already be too late to counter them.

He might even fall into slumber, convinced that everything he did was right, never realizing it was erosion clouding his mind.

Thus, knowing his condition was serious, Dvalin couldn’t help feeling some unease. True, at his current level, he probably wouldn’t have problems for a few hundred years—but still.

“No need for thanks. You paid, after all!”

Nolan extended his hand toward the dragon. Countless white motes of light streamed from his palm, drifting over and into Dvalin’s body.

As they touched him, Dvalin felt a tremendous sense of ease, as if his thoughts, long sluggish, had been suddenly swept clear.

He hadn’t even realized anything was wrong before. Perhaps that was the true terror of erosion.

“All done,” Nolan said with a smile, pulling his hand back.

“My gratitude is beyond words.” Dvalin’s tone carried rare joy.

“Alright, Dvalin, hide yourself for now—adventurers are already coming to check what’s going on!”

Venti, sensing through the wind, warned that people were approaching.

(End of Chapter)