Chapter 191: Sunsettia. It's Sweet. Want One?
Igor had always believed everything was under his control.
Like this time, for example—returning to Inazuma City from Narukami Island, he'd thought he'd built a tight circle of trustworthy brothers-in-arms by simply tossing enough Mora around.
What he didn't know was that those "brothers" and even the seemingly ordinary folks riding along to "bulk up the numbers" were actually underlings sent by none other than his superior—Pantalone, the Regrator.
And their mission?
To eliminate him at just the right moment.
"Ausbilder, sir."
The moment they finished plunging their blades into Igor's body, the Fatui agents turned and bowed respectfully to Bai Luo.
After arriving at the resistance camp, Bai Luo had quietly contacted his network of agents in Inazuma through Nathan's intel web.
The moment Igor withdrew three hundred million Mora under Pantalone's name, alarm bells went off.
At first, Pantalone didn't intend to do anything to him—he merely ran a routine background check to see what Igor was planning to do with the funds.
But what the investigation uncovered… was a complete betrayal.
It turned out Igor had been leaking key Fatui operations to Watatsumi Island.
Several sensitive missions had been compromised because of him.
One plan in particular involved securing the very economic lifeblood of Watatsumi—something Pantalone had been maneuvering toward for years.
And now Igor wanted to use Fatui money to secretly fund Watatsumi?
That wasn't just betrayal.
That was sticking a knife in the heart of the Regrator's ambitions.
Bai Luo, upon learning that Pantalone had dispatched operatives to deal with Igor, casually borrowed those men and staged this "highway robbery" for more... theatrical purposes.
"Just toss his corpse somewhere off the road," Bai Luo said, casting a glance at Igor's now lifeless body. "Once it's rotten enough to look dramatic, we'll put it to use."
This wasn't just an act.
This "robbery" was only the first half of his plan.
"And what about all this Mora?" one of the agents asked, eyeing the stacked crates on the wagons.
Since getting close to Igor, they'd already learned the truth behind the money.
Although Igor had claimed to be acting on Pantalone's orders, in reality, everything was moving under Bai Luo's direction.
Still, none of them felt the slightest sympathy for the man.
Even before Bai Luo entered the picture, Igor had been neck-deep in shady dealings.
"Deliver it to Watatsumi Island," Bai Luo ordered. "Anonymously. Got that? No names, no tracks."
"Understood!"
The soldiers had no idea what their Ausbilder was plotting this time, but honestly, they didn't care.
Their job was to follow orders—not question them.
Once the convoy regrouped, it resumed its journey toward Watatsumi.
As for Igor's corpse, it was unceremoniously tossed into the jungle and left under watch.
Just as Bai Luo had ordered—
Let it rot until he was just barely recognizable as Igor, then collect the body.
With the convoy gone, Bai Luo finally turned his gaze toward the little mujina ninja nearby.
Though at this point... she had already transformed into a round little daruma doll, pouting noisily from within.
He didn't spend long looking at her.
Instead, a white mask slipped silently over his face, and in a breath, he became the Black-Clad Swordsman again.
Why had he spoken so freely in front of Sayu earlier? Why spill so many secrets right under her nose?
It wasn't recklessness.
It was because the real little mujina ninja had already swapped herself out with a substitute.
And Bai Luo had checked the decoy thoroughly when he grabbed it.
The decoy Sayu had left behind was little more than a hollow prop—bark wrapped in animal pelt. It had no listening ability, no surveillance. Just a decoy for escape.
And yet... Bai Luo didn't immediately chase her.
Years of assassin training had taught him one truth:
True despair isn't when you face it.
It's when you've escaped it, only to see hope within reach... and have it ripped away.
His senses extended outward, latching onto a rolling, wheel-like streak of wind.
There she was. The little mujina ninja.
Sayu's form was sharp and clear in his mind's eye as she bolted eastward from Kujou Encampment's outer rim, heading straight for the hidden shoreline where her fellow ninjas had stashed a getaway boat.
If she could just make it... just get a little closer—
Gruggrggk—
A shadowy slit opened above Sayu's head.
Within it, an eyeball veined red with blood peered down, its vertical pupil glinting like a predator's, locked on to her spinning form with almost mocking amusement.
With a shimmer of pale blue light, Bai Luo's form coalesced from the air itself.
He landed soundlessly—then slammed his hand down onto the whirlwind of Anemo.
"Mmmff!"
Face mashed into sand, Sayu could only let out muffled cries.
She flailed like a fish on dry land, limbs scrabbling for escape.
Her tiny fingers brushed damp sand—
The sea was right there.
Her boat... was one Lavender Melon away.
Just one Lavender Melon.
"So sorry," a voice murmured above her. "This road's closed."
Once again, Bai Luo grabbed her by the collar and hoisted her up.
In her wide, panicked eyes, he saw it—the exact moment hope crumbled.
She went limp in his grip, dangling like a worn-out doll as he carried her into the nearby forest.
"I-I can pretend I didn't see anything," Sayu offered desperately, limbs swinging helplessly. "Please... let me go?"
Her dusty little face was streaked with drying Lavender Melon juice and clumps of sand.
Maybe it was the shadows of the trees, maybe it was the distraction of fear, but she didn't even notice the man's attire and presence had completely changed.
Gone was the laid-back traveler.
In his place stood the Black-Clad Swordsman.
"Oh?" Bai Luo said, cocking his head. "So you saw something you shouldn't have?"
His masked face lowered to hers, the carved grin on it twisting into something darker.
"Now I really can't let you go."
"Eeeehh!?"
Sayu gasped sharply as she was pulled eye-level.
That mask—
That voice—
That aura—!
She knew him.
She'd met this man before—on Ritou, chasing her all the way to Chinju Forest.
He was on her Do-Not-Mess-With List.
Number one was Shrine Maiden Nee-san.
Number two, that woman.
Three, the Tengu General of the Tenryou Commission.
Four, her clan head.
And five...
This Fatui officer.
But—she'd heard from the intel squad that Bai Luo had gone to Mondstadt!
So what was he doing here on Yashiori Island?!
Wait—
Had her clan master sent the Shuumatsuban here... because of him?
Her face went pale as a horrible realization hit her.
Oh no.
She'd just accidentally completed a high-level mission her superiors were secretly working on.
Worse, she'd unintentionally infiltrated the target's inner circle... or maybe it was the other way around?
Had he infiltrated her?
Mind racing, Sayu recalled a certain page from her well-worn Little Mujina Ninja's Survival Handbook.
"When captured, always show goodwill. Boost your survival odds with a friendly gesture."
Taking a deep breath, she reached into her pouch and pulled out a half-eaten, slightly squashed Lavender Melon.
With a trembling voice and a forced smile, she held it up.
"Lavender Melon… it's really tasty. Want a bite?"
Bai Luo looked at the flattened fruit, then at the sticky mess on her chin and cheeks, a mix of juice and dirt that had dried into uneven smudges.
He sighed quietly.
Then reached into his coat pocket... and pulled out a perfectly round, glowing Sunsettia.
"Sunsettia," he said. "It's sweet. Want one?"
. . . . .
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