Returning to the back of the Wishing Tree, Zhezhi was painting Lucian on her canvas, with the entirety of Jinzhou stretching out behind him.
"Um… Mr. Lucian, please don't move your eyes…"
Lucian: "..."
Lucian smirked faintly. "Zhezhi, I'm not looking at you. I'm looking at an uninvited guest."
Zhezhi raised her paintbrush in confusion. "An uninvited guest?"
She followed Lucian's gaze upward and saw a red-and-white figure flash past among the branches of the Wishing Tree.
The next moment, as if realizing she had been discovered, the figure stopped hiding and leapt down from the tree.
Lucian chuckled. "If I recall correctly, you're called 'Camellya,' right?"
Camellya stroked her cheek and grinned. "Tsk tsk tsk, only noticing me now? I've been observing you for quite a while…"
"Bringing different girls to the same place in a single night? You really are something."
Lucian crossed his arms. "Flattery, flattery. You're not bad yourself, managing to spy on me for so long."
Zhezhi blinked in confusion. "Lu… Lucian… who is this?"
Camellya laughed softly, suddenly grabbing Zhezhi's slender wrist. "You shouldn't let yourself be fooled by a certain playboy."
"Someone like Lucian loves deceiving naïve and innocent girls like you the most."
Lucian sighed. "How can mutual affection be called deception?"
Camellya glared at Zhezhi, unconvinced. "Mutual affection? Doesn't seem that way to me… Looks more like you tricked this poor girl."
Zhezhi glanced at Camellya, then at Lucian, her face flushing red. "I… I…"
Lucian stepped forward, placing a hand on Zhezhi's head. "It's alright. Just say what's truly in your heart and let Camellya hear it."
Zhezhi lowered her head slightly, feeling the warmth of his palm, her cheeks burning as if she had finally steeled her resolve. "I… I really like Mr. Lucian! …But I don't know if Mr. Lucian likes me… so… so…"
Her voice grew softer, her eyes tightly shut, lashes trembling slightly, her heart pounding wildly.
Camellya scoffed. "How dull."
Lucian pulled Zhezhi back into his embrace. "I like Miss Zhezhi too."
Zhezhi's head snapped up, her eyes shimmering. "R-Really…?! Mr. Lucian likes me too…?"
Lucian nodded slightly, leaning in to kiss her smooth forehead. "Like you beyond words."
Zhezhi stared at Lucian's tender expression, feeling the warmth on her forehead, and suddenly let out a soft "Ah—", her vision spinning, her mind blank, nearly fainting on the spot.
Lucian smirked, taunting, "Well now, Miss Camellya, last time you tried to break me and Rover apart, and now you're trying to split me and Zhezhi?"
"…Let me guess, could it be that you actually like me?"
Camellya's face twisted in fury. "Who would ever like a womanizer like you?!"
With that, she drew her sword Red Spring and slashed at him—today, she swore to cut down this scoundrel and bring justice for Rover!
Lucian raised his hand slightly, Yamato materializing in his grip. With a metallic clang, he blocked the strike.
At the same time, he continued mocking her. "Rover has no complaints, Jinhsi has no complaints, Changli has no complaints, nobody has complaints—care to guess who does?"
Camellya gritted her teeth. "You…!"
Suddenly, her hair began to darken into a deep red, her pupils transforming as if painted by Zhezhi's ink, turning a vivid crimson with a plum blossom-shaped pattern at their center.
Lucian raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Oh? There's a second phase?"
Camellya sneered, a red thread appearing in her hand and pulling her upward as her slender leg lashed out toward Lucian—
Just as Lucian moved to block, he realized the kick was a feint. A red thread suddenly shot from her ankle, whipping toward him like a lash.
Lucian's eyes widened. He immediately pressed Zhezhi's head down, barely dodging the attack.
But it wasn't over yet.
Camellya twisted midair, her other leg sweeping down in a vicious axe kick, the red thread lashing toward Lucian's back. As if he had eyes on the back of his head, Lucian shoved Zhezhi aside before flipping backward to evade.
Zhezhi, now safely pushed away, panicked. "Mr. Lucian, I can help you!"
She summoned her paintbrush, a soundwave device manifesting behind her as she prepared to join the fight.
But Lucian coughed lightly, stopping her. "Zhezhi, go find Rover and the others first. Leave this to me."
Zhezhi hesitated. "But…"
Lucian grinned. "What, don't you trust my skills?"
Zhezhi bit her lip before nodding firmly. "Alright! Mr. Lucian, please be careful. I'll go find Rover right now…"
With that, she hurried off.
Camellya chuckled. "What's wrong? Isn't two against one more reliable?"
Lucian pondered for a moment. The reason he hadn't let Zhezhi fight was that Camellya was from Black Shores—his colleague.
If he injured or even killed Camellya, who knew what consequences would follow?
But then again… Shorekeeper had only told him to protect Rover. She never said he couldn't attack a fellow Black Shores member.
Besides, Camellya struck first. This was clearly self-defense!
Yes… self-defense. Surely Shorekeeper would understand!
With that thought, Lucian stopped holding back. Yamato gleamed crimson as he activated his Blood Saber technique, slashing toward Camellya.
Camellya, equally unyielding, blocked the strike with her red threads before laughing wildly. "Hahahaha… keep going… come on!"
Their figures darted across the dimly lit space behind the Wishing Tree, exchanging blows in a dazzling display of red light that even drew the attention of the crowd below.
Lucian tightened his grip on Yamato. He had to admit—Camellya wasn't an easy opponent. Her threads spun wildly under her control, making it nearly impossible to close the distance.
Camellya continued her frenzied laughter, the threads on her ankle lashing out. "Is this all you've got? …Don't disappoint me now."
Lucian smirked. "Black Shores really is full of talent…"
Then, in a flash, Comrade's Hammer appeared in his hand. He pulled the trigger instantly.
Camellya's eyes widened midair as the bullet curved unnaturally toward her head.
She yanked her threads back, summoning a red blade to deflect the shot—
But in that same instant, Lucian kicked off the ground, appearing beside her in a blur, Yamato already raised for a lethal strike.
The air seemed to freeze.
Camellya's pupils shrank as she instinctively curled into herself, her body erupting in a violent red glow—as if preparing to detonate something—
At the critical moment, a blue domain suddenly enveloped them.
The next second, both figures vanished from the mountaintop of Taoyuan Vale.
This was the scene Rover saw when she arrived…