Thinking about this, Lin Mo couldn't help but feel a twinge of caution.
In his view, the ordinary residents of Qingce Village were long accustomed to self-sufficiency. Even if someone hired a housekeeper, it would only be for a day or two at most—why would they need one for a full month?
This kind of commission made Lin Mo suspect there was something shady going on. It reminded him of the encounters he and Mona had faced over the past six months.
While carrying out commissions, they kept running into ambushes from the Fatui. Without a doubt, these were acts of revenge from that Snezhnayan official from half a year ago.
Lin Mo couldn't help but wonder if, after failing to catch him every time over the past six months, the Snezhnayan official had come up with this scheme: luring Mona into accepting a long-term task that lasted a month, separating her from him so they could strike when the opportunity arose.
So, Lin Mo asked seriously, "Katherine, do you know the client's identity?"
"The client's identity... just a moment."
Katherine flipped through the documents in her hand and smiled as she said, "It's someone named Ross. He bought that mansion in the western part of Qingce Village about a month ago."
"Ross..."
Lin Mo looked puzzled. The name sounded incredibly familiar, but he couldn't place the man right away. Still, he was sure of one thing: it wasn't a Snezhnayan name.
From what he recalled, he'd heard it more in connection with Mondstadt.
"Lin Mo... is something wrong with this client?" Mona asked from beside him, her voice full of concern.
"Hm... nothing." Lin Mo shook his head.
Then, turning back to Katherine, he continued, "Miss Katherine, are there any commissions near Qingce Village?"
"Let me check..."
Katherine rummaged through the requests and said, "Yes, there's one here: chopping down 100 bamboo stalks in the bamboo forest at Qingce Village, paying 60 Mora per stalk."
"Alright, I'll take it."
Lin Mo accepted without a second thought.
"Lin Mo..."
Mona watched his decisive action, her heart aching a little. Chopping down a hundred bamboo stalks was grueling manual labor, but Lin Mo had taken it without hesitation just to stay closer to her.
Seeing the shimmer in Mona's eyes, Lin Mo simply smiled, wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and said gently, "It's fine. At least physical work won't involve any danger. Qingce Village is pretty far, so let's head out soon."
"Mm..."
Mona nodded softly, but her beautiful eyes still brimmed with heartache.
The two hitched a ride on a merchant caravan heading to Mondstadt and got off at Stone Gate. After a short journey, they finally arrived at the site of the commission.
What puzzled Lin Mo was that the mansion was completely empty. The only things there were the housekeeping tools left by the door and a note from the client.
"I had to step out for a long trip. Please take care of the house cleaning. I'll be back in a few days."
Mona read the note, her gaze filled with worry as she said, "I don't know why... but this job feels off somehow."
"Yeah, it's definitely suspicious," Lin Mo nodded slowly.
But since they hadn't spotted any immediate danger, he could only offer a wry smile. "There's a bamboo forest not far away. I'll work over there—if anything happens, I can rush back right away."
"Mm... okay."
Mona nodded gently.
...
Over the next full day of work, neither of them noticed anything unusual.
The only odd thing was the house Mona was assigned to: a single-story dwelling that covered barely a hundred square meters. Such a small, unoccupied place hiring housekeeping for thirty days? It just didn't add up.
As the sun set, the two walked back in silence, each lost in thought about what might be wrong.
For the following ten days, they came to the western part of Qingce Village as usual.
The client named "Ross" still hadn't returned home, so Mona didn't even need to do any work. The house had been spotless since the first day—she was basically just keeping watch.
Lin Mo, meanwhile, took on simple tasks nearby: chopping wood, mining ore, or clearing out hilichurls.
On the eleventh day, as Lin Mo finished gathering ore on a cliff and prepared to meet up with Mona, he finally spotted the issue.
"Ah~ So beautiful!" A sigh of admiration from atop the cliff caught Lin Mo's attention.
The moment he saw the man, Lin Mo recognized him instantly.
An elite member of the Treasure Hoarders! Quick-Legged Ross!
That's when Lin Mo remembered him—from the Genshin Impact game, where he'd always sit by Cider Lake in Wolvendom, pretending to admire the scenery.
But Lin Mo recalled it clearly: every time he passed by with a female character, Ross would let out that same lingering sigh, "Ah~ So beautiful!"
Just like now.
Lin Mo followed Ross's line of sight from behind him and realized he was staring right at the mansion where Mona was working.
Lin Mo decided it was time to confront this guy about his shady intentions.
"Hey, Ross!" he shouted sternly.
"Ah... oh no!"
Ross glanced at Lin Mo and bolted without looking back.
His reaction confirmed it for Lin Mo. The guy was guilty—he had something to hide!
Without hesitation, Lin Mo gave chase.
Quick-Legged Ross might be fast for most people, but to Lin Mo, he was nothing special. In under thirty seconds, Lin Mo had grabbed him by the collar.
"Why are you running!?"
Lin Mo demanded sharply.
But Ross just stammered, his face pale with terror as he stared at Lin Mo, not daring to say a word.
"From that cowardly look, you must know who I am, right?"
Lin Mo asked with a laugh. "If I'm not mistaken, you heard about how I broke that fat official's arms?"
Those words made Ross drop to his knees in an instant, begging, "Mr. Lin Mo, spare me! It was all at someone else's orders!"
"I'll talk! I'll tell you everything!"
"You'd better hurry and save Miss Mona~"
"The Fatui from Snezhnaya can't touch you, so they're targeting Miss Mona instead!"
"This whole commission was set up just for her!"
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T/N:
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