Under the Sacred Sakura in Inazuma, Jingliu danced with her sword.
Meanwhile, Makoto and Su Ran sat together beneath the moon, sharing drinks.
As for Jingliu's sword dance,
Raiden Makoto had only one evaluation:
It wasn't as good as Chiyo's.
She simply chose not to say it aloud.
Jingliu's performance was less a dance than an outpouring of emotion.
Years of sorrow, grief, and hatred were all expressed through her blade.
She had never trained as a dancer.
Everything she learned with the sword had been for killing enemies.
As a result, her movements possessed overwhelming sharpness, but lacked some elegance as a performance.
Still—when the performer herself was beautiful, such flaws became easy to overlook.
"What a shame. Without any music accompanying this, it feels like something's missing."
Serval watched Jingliu's solitary dance beneath the moon with regret.
She didn't understand swordsmanship or sword dances.
But even she could tell how breathtaking Jingliu looked at this moment.
On the roof of the shrine, three more people silently observed the performance.
Raiden Ei.
Mikoshi Chiyo.
And Fox Saiguu.
"She is a true warrior."
Ei's eyes shone with appreciation.
It had been a very long time since she'd met someone like this.
Someone so much like herself.
Chiyo was also a warrior.
But the gap in their strength had always been too great.
Ei had never truly enjoyed sparring with her.
As for Su Ran—although he was immensely powerful, he wasn't a martial artist.
There was little satisfaction in crossing blades with him.
Not only would she lose, it simply wouldn't be enjoyable.
But now, she had finally found someone she felt she could truly connect with.
Yawning lazily, Yae Miko emerged from a nearby room.
"The children are asleep."
"So..."
"Is it finally time for our nightlife to begin?"
She smiled at Su Ran before glancing toward Jingliu.
Even she couldn't help sighing.
Su Ran certainly had exquisite taste.
He'd somehow brought back yet another peerless female swordswoman from beyond the stars.
Though...
her voice sounded oddly familiar.
If she closed her eyes, she'd almost think Ningguang from neighboring Liyue was speaking.
Jingliu lowered her sword.
She glanced at Yae Miko, ignored her, then calmly walked over and sat beside Su Ran and Makoto at the low table.
This was an unfamiliar world.
She could understand what everyone was saying, but couldn't communicate with them directly.
"Why did you bring me here?"
She had left Luocha behind and followed this man into another world.
Yet she still didn't know what his intentions were.
However, since Baiheng's remaining consciousness was with him, she had no intention of leaving his side before Baiheng was revived.
"To introduce you to a fox girl."
Su Ran waved toward Fox Saiguu on the rooftop.
Seeing the gesture,
Fox Saiguu immediately leaped down and gracefully sat beside him.
"Benefactor~"
"Did you need something?"
"Take a look."
"Doesn't she resemble your Baiheng a little?"
Su Ran casually rubbed Fox Saiguu's head.
Combined with her fox ears, it was an exceptionally pleasant feeling.
Jingliu stared at Fox Saiguu.
She fell silent.
Even though she'd already seen her before, seeing her again now still made her lose focus.
It wasn't merely because she was another fox woman.
More importantly, her personality bore striking similarities to Baiheng's.
"...She's inferior to Baiheng."
Yet no matter how similar she seemed, she was only similar.
In Jingliu's eyes,
Fox Saiguu lacked some of Baiheng's carefree spirit, though she possessed considerably more feminine charm.
Unable to understand Jingliu's language,
Fox Saiguu simply looked at Su Ran, waiting for him to translate.
"She says you're not as good as another white-haired fox."
Su Ran faithfully conveyed Jingliu's meaning without adding or removing anything.
Fox Saiguu's smile froze instantly.
What did she mean—not as good as another white-haired fox?
As the former Guuji of the Grand Narukami Shrine, she considered herself quite charming.
In that instant, Jingliu's reputation in Fox Saiguu's heart plummeted.
What an impossible woman to like.
Always wearing that gloomy expression.
She doesn't even smile.
No wonder no man would want her.
"So where did you abduct this young lady from?"
Makoto looked at Jingliu with gentle curiosity.
She could sense that this woman carried a long story.
Unfortunately, it didn't seem to be a happy one.
"From a giant ship..."
"One very similar to Liyue."
A ship...
similar to Liyue?
Why not simply say it was a Liyue vessel?
None of them could imagine how extraordinary that ship truly was.
"That ship has a population of over ten billion."
Jingliu showed no reaction.
Serval, having seen it herself, wasn't surprised either.
Everyone else, however, froze.
Ten...
billion?
Even multiplying Inazuma's population by a thousand probably wouldn't reach that number.
What kind of ship was that?
Fortunately, they had all visited Su Ran's space station before.
They had some understanding of the impossible things surrounding him.
Otherwise, they would have assumed he was making it all up.
"On such an enormous ship..."
"...and you only brought back three people?"
Yae Miko walked over, slipped neatly into the space between Su Ran and Makoto, and naturally leaned against Su Ran's chest.
Makoto's expression became rather subtle.
"Then you've misunderstood."
"I actually brought back four and a half."
"I understand the four..."
Fox Saiguu asked curiously.
"But what's with the half?"
"Can a person even be half?"
"Don't tell me someone got cut in half?"
"...Well..."
"The 'half' is basically just a tiny fragment of consciousness."
"I'm waiting until I can revive her."
After thinking it over, Su Ran explained.
"Our benefactor truly is kind."
Fox Saiguu immediately seized the chance to praise him.
"No matter where you go, you never forget to save people."
Yae Miko's lips twitched.
Kind?
Please.
Isn't he obviously just collecting wives?
She would bet anything that the person waiting to be revived was another stunning beauty.
He was probably just planning to revive her first, then let gratitude do the rest.
Hopefully... that woman would be as sensible as Lady Fox Saiguu.
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