The morning after Shao Yun and Lumine's date, sunlight spilled into the quiet courtyard.
According to the story's direction, Lumine, Paimon, Kaedehara Kazuha, Kamisato Ayaka, Albedo, and Xingqiu went to investigate the downfall of the Kaedehara Clan.
Because many of the Tenryou Commission's affairs had been handed over to the Watatsumi Army of Sangonomiya on Watatsumi Island, the newly appointed head of the Kujou Clan, and current representative of the Tenryou Commission, Kujou Kamaji, along with the remaining members of the Tenryou Commission, had been reduced to mere warehouse keepers.
Yet these changes had nothing to do with Shao Yun. He was still in a faraway land's magistrate office, passing the time reading light novels.
Shao Yun sat comfortably on a reclining chair in the courtyard, absorbed in the story's plot.
Suddenly, a faint, elegant fragrance of cherry blossoms drifted into his nose, making him sneeze several times.
"Last time it was maple leaves, and now it's cherry blossoms… don't tell me…"
He slowly set down the light novel in his hand and looked toward the front gate.
There, Yae Miko approached gracefully, her figure enchanting as she strolled leisurely toward Shao Yun.
When she noticed that Shao Yun had already spotted her, Yae Miko gave up on her plan to scare him. Instead, she shook the delicate and ornate gift box in her hand as she walked up to him.
"Here, the deluxe edition light novel I promised you."
Shao Yun placed his light novel onto the wooden table beside him, then reached out to take the exquisite gift box from Yae Miko's hands.
He lifted the lid. Inside lay three beautifully bound deluxe light novels, neatly arranged, each exuding a faint fragrance of ink.
On every cover, written in golden ink, stood a striking title: The Gunslinger Butcher from Fontaine.
The covers were also unlike the standard edition. At the center was the image of a mysterious man—he wore a wide-brimmed hat, his face concealed by a black veil, leaving only a pair of sharp, penetrating eyes visible.
In his right hand, he gripped a uniquely designed Fontaine-style firearm-lance, and he was clad in lavish Fontaine-style attire, the flowing ends of his garments making him appear even more dashing.
This lifelike illustration had been carefully commissioned by Yae Miko, painted by a skilled illustrator of the Yae Publishing House (in truth, it was the freelance illustrator "Asagiri") based on the novel's description of the protagonist.
Shao Yun nodded, tucked the entire gift box into his Legend of the East backpack at his waist, and looked at Yae Miko with a smile.
"Wow, as expected of the deluxe edition. The cover looks great! I really like it."
Shao Yun offered Yae Miko a bit of warmth, and unexpectedly, she truly blossomed with radiance!
Noticing his gaze lingering on her stunning, nation-toppling face, Yae Miko decided to tease him.
After all, it was just harmless fun—and with this deluxe novel in hand, what could Shao Yun possibly do to her?
She raised her hand to gently stroke her cheek, her eyes shimmering with allure as she asked coyly, "What is it? Is there something dirty on my face? Or… have you perhaps fallen for my celestial beauty?"
At these words, Shao Yun's mouth twitched. This foxy vixen really is full of herself…
That cherry blossom fragrance that hit my nose earlier… don't tell me it came from her…
Still, Yae Miko had calculated correctly—Shao Yun did not strike her.
He only rolled his eyes at her, replying, "Don't flatter yourself. But I do want to ask, how did your talk with the Anemo Archon go?"
As his words fell, Yae Miko casually sat down on the chair across the table. She brushed a hand against her pink fox ears and said,
"What do you mean 'how did it go'? It was just small talk, like a new editor visiting the Yae Publishing House—polite greetings, nothing more."
Hearing this, Shao Yun rubbed his chin and muttered under his breath.
"I thought you'd exchange statecraft ideas with that drunkard, considering how good he is at slacking off."
Yae Miko raised her brows and teased, "Does slacking off really require studying?"
Shao Yun shrugged helplessly, a bitter smile tugging at his lips. "Alright, just pretend I was making small talk."
The two then slipped into a casual conversation.
Yae Miko suddenly brought up their upcoming journey.
"With the Irodori Festival nearing its end, I suppose you'll be leaving Inazuma for the next nation soon."
Shao Yun nodded, answering truthfully, "We plan to head to Liyue first, then travel overland to Sumeru."
…
As they chatted, Shao Yun shifted the topic toward the Irodori Festival.
He had a mischievous idea to give this pink-haired fox a little scare.
He asked nonchalantly, "One more thing—since you mentioned the festival just now, the plaza murals are nearly finished. Four are complete, only one remains. Who do you think the last one will depict?"
Yae Miko froze slightly, her expression betraying unease.
She subconsciously scratched her arm to cover her discomfort, then feigned composure as she replied, "How would I know? You should ask 'Calx' himself."
The ever-mysterious Albedo seemed to say: at this moment, I truly have no idea.
But Shao Yun wasn't deterred—on the contrary, he teased her with greater interest.
"Let me guess… could it be Scaramouche?"
At once, Yae Miko's heart plummeted as though into an icy abyss, chills spreading across her back.
Could it be… has our secret deal already been exposed?
In truth, Shao Yun had no idea why he used Scaramouche to spook her—perhaps it was just intuition.
"I…"
Faced with this, Yae Miko was at a loss for words.
Shao Yun noticed her reaction and pressed further.
"This morning, Lumine told me she was heading out with Kazuha, Ayaka, Venti, Albedo, and Xingqiu to investigate the downfall of the Kaedehara Clan and the decline of Isshin Art."
"She also mentioned documents about the Five Kasen. You didn't host this festival just to slack off, did you…"
Listening, Yae Miko couldn't figure out how Shao Yun had come to suspect Scaramouche as the subject of the fifth mural.
"How did you know that?"
She suddenly recalled her earlier conversation with Venti, and with a probing tone asked, "Did that thing behind you tell you?"
At her words, Shao Yun's lips twitched.
In truth, he had only wanted to get back at this foxy woman for her earlier teasing, frightening her a little. Who could have guessed the topic would veer toward that one.
Just the thought of him made Shao Yun uneasy, an inexplicable discomfort rising in his chest.
He shivered involuntarily, muttering in complaint, "As if! That damned bastard would never hand me useful information so easily."
The two of them were clearly on different pages—like speaking at cross purposes.
Yet from Yae Miko's perspective, judging from Shao Yun's expression, it seemed he truly did not know about her dealings with Scaramouche. That was good.
As their conversation drifted here, Yae Miko thought it might be better to reveal the "nine truths and one lie" directly, rather than let Shao Yun fumble about, hoping he wouldn't discover the truth.
Clearing her throat, she adjusted her tone and began explaining to Shao Yun about the Raiden Five Schools and Scaramouche.
"The matter of the Raiden Gokaden is complicated… where should I begin?"
…
Yae Miko began from the Cataclysm of Khaenri'ah.
After that calamity, Beelzebul wished to retreat into the Plane of Euthymia, so she created puppets to store the Gnosis.
The first creation was Kunikuzushi. But Beelzebul found him too fragile, and sought to destroy him.
Yet Yae Miko intervened, preventing his destruction, and merely set him into slumber. Somehow, however, Kunikuzushi awoke.
By then, Raiden Ei had already withdrawn into the Plane of Euthymia. The Shogun puppet governed in her stead—but the puppet cared not for such matters, nor did Yae Miko interfere. Thus, Kunikuzushi was allowed to live freely in Inazuma.
Later, during a furnace leak at Tatarasuna, Kunikuzushi approached her for help.
She had agreed, but when she gathered her people and went, the matter had already been resolved.
Afterwards, he lived in Inazuma for some time, until vanishing without a trace. Yae Miko thought little of it and went on with her life.
But suddenly, Kunikuzushi returned as the Fatui Harbinger "Scaramouche," launching vengeance that devastated the Raiden Gokaden.
He tampered with the Kamisato Clan's forging diagrams, throwing them into grave crisis.
Now, only the "Amenoma Art" and "Isshin Art" lineages remained.
The rest of the tale matched Shao Yun's own experiences, and what he had heard from Gorou.
…
After finishing Scaramouche's story, Yae Miko's expression grew heavy. She then explained why she used the Irodori Festival as an opportunity to reveal the truth.
"That is the situation. The Kaedehara and Kamisato Clans have a right to know. That is why I used the Irodori Festival and the tale of the Five Kasen to reveal this long-buried truth to the public."
She paused, her gaze deepening, then deliberately placed the "lie" within the nine truths—pinning all responsibility for the Tatarasuna explosion on Scaramouche.
Shao Yun had not known which Fatui member was responsible for the blast, but now it was clear—it had been Scaramouche.
At this point, Yae Miko sighed softly, her face full of regret.
"Ah… how I regret it. If only I hadn't stopped Ei from destroying him back then…"
Her beautiful eyes fixed intently on Shao Yun, carrying a plea.
"If one day you encounter him, please destroy him for me, won't you? Remember, he's a deceiver now. Don't believe a word he says."
Inwardly, Yae Miko calculated: if Shao Yun could kill Scaramouche, then only Kokomi and Gorou would remain who knew of her past dealings with Kunikuzushi.
She had already struck a bargain with Kokomi. The sole unstable factor left was Scaramouche.
If he died, then this "Sword of Damocles" would no longer hang above Inazuma, ready to shatter it.