"Lady Lumina," Yanqing asked, "could you tell me why you're here?"
Lumina smiled gently and shifted her position so Yanqing could see Jingliu standing behind her. "This is Jingliu, my dearest bestie," she said. "She arrived on Xianzhou Luofu aboard a merchant ship and spent some time in Cloudford, but she got lost."
"Eventually, she cried and threw a tantrum, begging me to rescue her. I couldn't resist her pleas, so I had to sneak in here to retrieve her."
Lumina's voice was soft and earnest, her expression utterly sincere, leaving no trace of deceit.
Jingliu: ...
In response, Jingliu merely cast a cool, detached glance at Lumina, offering no explanation.
"Cried and threw a tantrum?" Yanqing repeated, his gaze shifting to Jingliu. Finding no flaws in Lumina's story, he focused his attention on Jingliu. Her aloof and dignified aura made it difficult to imagine her throwing such a fit. However, the black blindfold obscuring her face lent some credibility to Lumina's words.
Cloudford was vast, and without specific guidance, it would be easy for a completely blind person to get lost.
But...
"Cloudford has been sealed off for quite some time now. Your 'close friend' has been lost inside for far too long," Yanqing remarked sharply, his arms crossed.
"Leaving aside the length of time, how is it that Jingliu hasn't been discovered by the Cloud Knights?"
"Cloudford is teeming with monsters. How has she managed to survive without leaving a single trace of combat for so long?" Yanqing scrutinized Jingliu from head to toe, finding no signs of battle on her person.
"She..."
"You're not going to claim that Jingliu didn't encounter a single monster during all that time, are you?" Yanqing interrupted Lumina, a cold smirk spreading across his face.
Lumina: ...
Yanqing's interruption froze the smile on Lumina's face. Her fist clenched slightly, itching to punch him in the mouth.
Noticing Lumina's darkening expression, Yanqing assumed he had struck a nerve and flashed a triumphant grin.
"Ahem."
Yanqing abruptly wiped the smile from his face, his gaze turning icy as he fixed it on Jingliu. "Lady Lumina," he said, his tone frosty, "as an honored guest of Xianzhou Luofu, I can only pretend not to notice her presence here."
"But you—you're coming with me to The Shackling Prison for questioning!"
Yanqing crossed his arms, his expression like a mask of ice. The aura of the Xianzhou Luofu's strongest swordsman radiated from him, as if he intended to overwhelm Jingliu with his sheer presence.
"Looks like he's here for you," Lumina remarked casually, unfazed by Yanqing's arrogance. She shifted slightly, giving Jingliu a clear view of the young swordsman.
Jingliu glanced indifferently at Lumina before sizing up Yanqing from head to toe. "Child," she asked, "who taught you your swordsmanship?"
"That's not a question a prisoner should be asking," Yanqing sneered, refusing to answer.
"He's Yanqing, the current Luofu General—General Jing Yuan's disciple, a Cloud Knight Lieutenant, and nominally the strongest swordsman on Luofu."
Lumina wasn't about to indulge Yanqing. She immediately revealed his full identity.
"Hey, you..." Yanqing glared at Lumina, his anger rising.
While this information was easily obtainable through simple inquiry, hearing it spoken by Lumina and overheard by Jingliu left a bitter taste in Yanqing's mouth.
"The strongest swordsman of the Luofu?" Jingliu chuckled softly at the title, then sighed wistfully. "It seems the Luofu has truly fallen from grace..."
She shook her head, her gaze carrying a hint of disdain for Yanqing.
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Yanqing lowered his crossed arms, narrowed his eyes, and glared back menacingly.
He could tolerate insults directed at himself, but he would never allow anyone to disparage his sword! It was clear this woman had struck a nerve.
"Exactly what I said," Jingliu replied calmly. "For the mighty Xianzhou Luofu to bestow the title of 'strongest swordsman' upon a mere child—isn't that a sign of its decline?"
Yanqing stared intently at Jingliu, then demanded in an icy tone:
"Big Sister, if you hold the swordsmen of Luofu in such contempt, what grand position do you hold yourself?" Yanqing demanded.
"I'm merely a nameless wandering swordsman," Jingliu replied calmly, shaking her head with an air of indifference.
"Nameless? Wandering?" Yanqing scoffed. "How dare a mere wanderer look down on the swordsmen of Luofu? Who gave you the courage? Who gave you such confidence?"
Seeing the tension thicken between them, Lumina interjected, "Enough talk. Why don't you settle this with a one-on-one duel?"
Turning to Yanqing with a "benevolent" smile, she continued, "Since you seem so displeased with my dear friend, why not test your skills against each other? It would be a perfect opportunity to teach her a proper lesson—on my behalf."
Jingliu cast a fleeting, cool glance at Lumina, a woman radiating an inexplicable aura, and said nothing.
"That won't work. I have a mission to complete," Yanqing said, immediately rejecting Lumina's suggestion.
Escorting Jingliu to The Shackling Prison had already taken up a considerable amount of time. Now, engaging in a duel with her would further delay the mission the General had entrusted to him, making the whole endeavor not worth it.
With this thought in mind, Yanqing reverted to his initial demeanor. "I'm busy apprehending fugitives. I don't have time to play games with you." He rejected Lumina's suggestion and couldn't resist taunting Jingliu.
"Apprehending fugitives?" Lumina's eyes lit up as if she had suddenly remembered something. "Could it be... you're going after Blade?"
"What if I am? What if I'm not?" Yanqing frowned, surprised that Lumina had guessed his target so quickly.
"How coincidental! We're after Blade too," Lumina chuckled softly, winking at Jingliu. "Isn't that right, my dear bestie?"