Ludi Harpastum gets its name for a reason. After the festivities begin, a series of contests take place, including vibrant poetry recitals, feasts, and flying competitions. At the end of these events, the overall winner is chosen—a girl who will stand on the palm of the Barbatos statue in Windrise Plaza and throw a Harpastum, symbolizing Barbatos’ blessing, into the crowd.

The first person to catch the Harpastum receives lavish prizes and a year of good fortune. In the final years of the Lawrence family’s rule over Mondstadt, a young master named  Barca Lawrence took over the tradition. He canceled the competition, named a girl of his choice to be the Harpastum thrower, and even took the Harpastum (and the girl herself) back to his home—a fate that was often grim.

This went on for five years until a bard named Venti snatched the Harpastum from  Barca Lawrence, marking the beginning of the Lawrence family’s downfall.

The mysterious individual who had attacked the Fatui ultimately slipped through the grasp of both Collei and Amber. 

After realizing there were still mechanical birds to find in Mondstadt, they gave up the chase and returned to the city to finish finding them. Once they did, they both joined in Ludi Harpastum festivities.

Encouraged by Amber, Collei participated in the festival competition, and although she wasn’t selected as the winner, she had a wonderful time thanks to the kind and cheerful atmosphere. 

To her surprise, she managed to catch the Harpastum during the grand finale by using techniques she had learned from Bai Luo.

As a result of catching the Harpastum, Collei received an unexpected gift.

“See you tomorrow, Collei,” Amber said at a crossroads where they had to part ways.

Amber really wanted to invite Collei over to her house to see her Baron Bunny, but Collei politely declined, worried that her illness might cause problems for Amber. She also had something important to take care of.

Although the festival had ended, the streets were still lively, with people smiling and discussing the festival’s highlights. 

Amid this cheerful atmosphere, Collei, holding the Ludi Harpastum gift in her hands, made her way toward the Goth Grand Hotel. However, before she could reach it, she saw a figure standing in the shadows ahead.

It was Bai Luo.

In Collei’s mind, Bai Luo always seemed to prefer lurking in dark, shadowy places. With his black trench coat, he was easy to overlook unless you noticed the white mask he wore.

Collei hurried to meet him. When she arrived, Bai Luo removed his mask, revealing the familiar warm smile that always had a trace of affection.

“Did you have fun?” Bai Luo asked, casually hanging the mask from his waist.

Nodding, Collei raised her hand and handed over the gift she had been holding all this time.

“This! This is for you!” she said, offering the gift box.

Bai Luo took it from her without much thought, assuming it was something Collei had bought during the festival.

“Aren’t you going to open it?” Collei asked cautiously, noticing Bai Luo didn’t seem eager to do so. She was curious to see his reaction to the gift and wondered if he might show a rare expression of surprise.

“I’ll open it at the right time. Gifts should be opened at the right moment. Now isn’t that time,” Bai Luo replied gently. “Come with me. The little wolf from Sumeru has arrived. Let’s go meet him.”

“Oh… okay,” Collei replied, though she felt a subtle sadness. 

She didn’t seem as excited as Bai Luo expected after hearing that someone who could help cure her had finally arrived. Instead, she seemed a bit disappointed.

Glancing at the gift tucked under his arm, Bai Luo couldn’t help but wonder what was inside. His curiosity was piqued.

The headquarters of the Knights of Favonius wasn’t far from the Goth Grand Hotel, just up a small set of stairs. It was convenient for both the Fatui to monitor the knights and for the knights to keep an eye on the Fatui. 

However, as they approached the building, Collei couldn’t help but ask in concern, “Are we really just going to walk in like this?”

She knew that if Bai Luo, as a Fatui Harbinger, simply walked into the Knights’ headquarters, it would undoubtedly cause a commotion. And for some knights, she was already viewed as a suspicious outsider.

Bai Luo reassured her, “It’s fine.”

For the first time, Bai Luo took hold of Collei’s hand, and a faint, bluish glow enveloped them both.

Using his skill, Shadowstep, Bai Luo activated a stealth ability that cloaked both of them, increasing their speed and allowing them to move unseen. It was a power he had tested on even archons like the Raiden Shogun, making him confident it would work here.

Within seconds, Bai Luo and Collei vanished from the world, completely undetectable.

Collei suddenly realized how potent this ability was and asked, unnerved, “Wait… when I’ve been taking baths, you wouldn’t have…?”

“Relax, I wouldn’t waste this skill on something so boring,” Bai Luo replied.

“That’s good to know, I—”

“And besides, what’s there to see? I’ve treated your injuries enough times to know there’s not much worth looking at. I’d rather stare at my own pecs than your flat chest.”

“…” Collei was speechless.

Just as Collei was reeling from Bai Luo’s bluntness, a door from a nearby room suddenly swung open.

A small figure in red dashed out, heading toward the entrance of the Knights’ headquarters with enthusiasm. But—

Thud—

The small figure ran headfirst into something invisible. 

Confused, the little one looked up, rubbing her head, only to find… nothing.

“Eek! Kaeya was right! There really are ghosts in Mondstadt at night! I’ll never try to run away again!” The little figure, now terrified, tried to grab something from her backpack but realized she had left it behind.

With a frightened yelp, the girl ran back inside—right into the Knights’ headquarters’ detention room, which she had been so eager to avoid moments before.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep