After Bai Luo stopped, the old man finally couldn't resist coming over to ask for his instrument back.
"You really can't give it to me?"
Looking at the erhu in his hands, Bai Luo couldn't help but sigh.
This erhu was clearly the work of a master craftsman; he had no idea where the old man had obtained it.
If he could keep it, Bai Luo would be willing to pay for it.
"I cannot. Your skill is simply too powerful. In your hands, this instrument is an insult to your musical genius. You should seek a higher calling."
"What a coincidence... my erhu teacher said the same thing."
In Bai Luo's view, the old man's words were a compliment.
He looked at the erhu in his hands, unable to part with it. After a long moment, he sighed softly.
"Fine, let me play just one more piece. I'll return it to you after I'm finished."
The moment Bai Luo said this, the refugees who were about to return to their places all stopped simultaneously.
They looked at Bai Luo in terror, ready to flee at a moment's notice.
"Never mind, never mind! Don't play! I'll give it to you, just take it! Find somewhere with no people around to play it later."
Hearing this, the old man wore an expression of pure dread, as if he'd just seen Arataki Itto. He didn't even dare to ask for the erhu back, hastily pushing his wheelbarrow and escaping into the distance.
If it weren't for the Shogunate soldiers standing guard, he probably would have fled the camp entirely.
Shaking his head helplessly, Bai Luo put away the erhu and returned to his tent with Tatyana.
It was a pity the erhu was too big to carry around easily, otherwise...
[New weapon detected: Erhu]
[Integrate into Lord Grim's Thousand Machine Umbrella?]
"???"
Weapon? It's one thing for those boorish villagers not to understand, but you're a system, can't you tell?
This is a musical instrument! An instrument!
How did it become a weapon?
What an uncultured system!
No wonder it always gives me magical equipment like the Earthfire Pixie. So it has a cognitive impairment?
However...
"Integrate it."
No matter what the system was like, if it could be integrated into the Thousand Machine Umbrella, he might as well.
After all, carrying an erhu around on his back wasn't exactly aesthetically pleasing.
The red oil-paper umbrella hanging at Bai Luo's waist transformed into a ray of light, gradually enveloping the erhu in his hands.
In a short while, the erhu had merged with the oil-paper umbrella.
With a thought from Bai Luo, the oil-paper umbrella in his hand gradually transformed into the shape of the erhu.
Quite convenient, very nice.
After switching back and forth a few times, Bai Luo changed it back into the oil-paper umbrella and hung it at his waist.
It would be great if anything could be integrated into the oil-paper umbrella. It would be like carrying a storage space with him, incredibly convenient.
Sweet.
After Bai Luo's erhu performance, the nearby refugees were no longer in the mood for a bonfire party.
They all went back to doing what they were doing before. Even the old man with the instruments had curled up in a corner and fallen into a deep sleep.
Only Bai Luo, resting his head on Tatyana's lap, remained awake for a long time.
In the middle of the night, Bai Luo noticed some movement outside.
He glanced at Tatyana beside him. The latter understood immediately and clasped her hands together in a prayer-like gesture.
"Splash—"
The cool water in the nearby kettle rose up in response, gradually forming something resembling a water mirror.
On the water mirror, the situation in the camp outside was clearly displayed.
The commotion from outside was, in fact, a ferry.
The scale of this ferry could be compared to Beidou's Crux, the Alcor. With its multiple decks, it was large enough to carry all the refugees present away from this place.
In Inazuma City, only prominent clans and noble families would have the opportunity to ride such a ferry. For the Shogunate Army to use such a vessel to transport refugees could only be described as extravagant.
After the ship docked, the Shogunate officer did not send anyone to wake the refugees. Instead, he directed the soldiers on site to start using wheelbarrows to transport things onto the ship.
The things in the burlap sacks...
"Can you zoom in?"
Bai Luo looked at Tatyana and asked.
Tatyana nodded slightly and gently brought her hands closer together.
The image on the water mirror gradually magnified. Although the quality didn't reach the legendary 1080p, on the continent of Teyvat, it was definitely considered high definition.
"It's not grain."
When he was on Watatsumi Island, Bai Luo had also seen the locals transporting grain.
The same sacks, the same wheelbarrows, the same beach.
But the wheel ruts left in the sand were completely different. These were clearly much deeper than the ruts from transporting grain.
Rather than grain, it was more like... sand? Rocks?
Indeed, the feeling was very similar to those things. But why were the Shogunate men transporting such items?
Could it be...
Bai Luo already had an answer in his heart, and this was merely confirmation of his suspicions.
After the Shogunate soldiers had loaded the sand and rocks onto the ship, they began to wake the still-sleeping refugees.
"Get up, get up!"
"Time to go!"
"The ship is here! Get on board, quickly!"
First were those affected by the Tatarigami, followed by those who were still relatively normal. Under the escort of the Shogunate soldiers, the refugees boarded the ship wave after wave.
The "madmen" were placed on the first deck. According to the Shogunate soldiers, the soldiers also stationed on the lower deck could prevent these madmen from doing anything out of line.
Further up were the ordinary people.
When it was Bai Luo and his companion's turn, they were assigned a room on the top deck.
The best room.
Well, at least the money hadn't been spent for nothing.
"The lower deck is..."
Bai Luo looked at the completely sealed-off lower deck and asked a nearby Shogunate soldier.
It wasn't just him; even the other refugees had assumed they would be placed on the lower decks of the ship. They never expected to be housed even better than the soldiers.
"The lower deck is for storage, not for people to live in. Hurry up and get on."
The Shogunate soldier didn't say much more. The fact that he even explained was likely because the officer had given special instructions.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have even bothered to acknowledge them.
Bai Luo looked at the soldiers thoughtfully, then led Tatyana to the top deck of the ship and settled into the large room, which was comparable to a noble's residence.
The refugees were already eager to leave this place, and with the urging of the Shogunate soldiers, the ship actually set sail from the pier earlier than scheduled.
The Shogunate officer looked at the brightly lit ferry, sighed silently, turned his back to the ship, and raised his head.
He was looking towards a high, man-made platform. The soldiers stationed on the platform were clearly different from those elsewhere; several of them even possessed Visions.
To hold a Vision in the Shogunate Army was no ordinary feat.
It meant that the Raiden Shogun acknowledged their status, allowing them to keep their Visions instead of surrendering them.
And the thing they were tasked with protecting was covered by an oilcloth imprinted with the Electro Mitsudomoe emblem.
To be covered by such a cloth, the object beneath was undoubtedly extraordinary.
"If there was a choice, who would want to aim such a thing at the very people they are sworn to protect?"
Looking at the envelope in his hand bearing the Kujou Clan crest, the officer sighed softly.
The night was quiet. Other than the sound of the waves crashing against the beach, there was no other noise.
And this silent night would probably not last for much longer.
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