Paimon and Lumine exchanged a glance. They were now certain that this guy was deliberately picking a fight. With her keen combat instincts, Lumine had already noticed several burly men approaching her. Still, she wasn't worried—she spotted Su Bai nearby looking for her.
A sly idea popped into Lumine's head. She glanced toward where Su Bai was sitting, calculated roughly whether he could hear her, then took a deep breath and shouted with all her might toward him.
"Ah!!! Harassment!!!!"
Scarface Liu and his goons were dumbfounded. What was going on here? What kind of girl being harassed shouts so energetically? And with you like that, would we even dare harass you?
But Lumine's shout worked. Many people turned to look, including Su Bai. Harassment? Who would be so bold as to harass someone on the street?
"Looks like I get to play the hero saving the damsel."
Su Bai rubbed his chin. He had never encountered a hero-saving-damsel situation in Liyue before. No sooner had he spoken than a bolt of Electro energy crashed down beside the 'crime scene.' As the Electro dissipated, Su Bai swayed his three tails and appeared among the crowd.
"Huh? It's just Lumine."
Uttering a regretful sigh, Su Bai shook his head with the same dead-fish eyes as Diluc. After buying a candied hawthorn skewer from a nearby vendor, he settled in to watch Lumine continue her act.
"Su Bai! What do you mean by 'it's just Lumine'? So the Traveler isn't worth saving?"
Lumine's hair bristled at Su Bai's words.
What kind of logic was that? You come out to play hero, see it's me, and just leave? So in your eyes, I'm not a beauty, is that it?
Lumine summoned her Blackcliff Longsword, cyan Anemo energy flowing along the blade. Seeing that Lumine could control Anemo and seemed close to the adeptus, the thugs began having second thoughts.
"Boss, let's bail. This woman doesn't seem like a good person."
"Afraid of what? So what if she can control Anemo and has an adeptus backing her? We're running a legitimate business. If she dares lay a hand on me, I'll sue her into bankruptcy."
Scarface Liu swallowed hard. Though his words were tough, facing the aggressive Lumine, he unconsciously stepped aside. Money was only worth spending if you were alive to spend it. Provoking this woman right now was clearly not wise.
Lumine didn't hold back. She strode toward Su Bai with her sword, fury radiating from her. It was clear that if Su Bai didn't explain himself properly, she might teach him exactly why Silk Flowers were so red.
Su Bai leaned against the wall, looking completely unconcerned. Enjoying the sweet and sour burst of flavor in his mouth, he squinted his eyes contentedly. This candied hawthorn from the time-honored brand was truly delicious. He should bring some back for Hu Tao and Mona, and of course, Klee too.
Seeing Su Bai like this only made Lumine angrier. She grabbed his shoulders and shook him violently. She shook him so hard that the candied hawthorn skewer nearly fell out of his hand.
This drove the dogs nearby, who had been eyeing the candied hawthorn, crazy with frustration. They wished they could shake Su Bai themselves. But the millennia-old rule of Liyue's stray dogs left them no choice but to watch helplessly.
"You jerk! Explain yourself! What do you mean by 'it's just Lumine'?"
"What's with that regretful and disappointed look?"
"Is the Traveler not a beautiful woman???"
Su Bai remained unmoved. He picked his ear and plucked a few hawthorns from his skewer to toss to the dogs.
"Yeah, yeah, sure. You're beautiful."
"???"
Lumine was at a loss for words.
If you're going to lie, at least act more convincing! Anyone could see through such a perfuntory attitude—even Paimon could tell! Wait, Paimon! Where's Paimon?
Paimon was dumbfounded. You thugs weren't asking Lumine for Mora. Why had they surrounded her? And what was that thick rope for? Were they trying to kidnap her for ransom?
"Boss, this little thing is so intelligent. It must be a rare treasure. Let's tie her up and sell her."
"With that money, we can flee to Mondstadt. The Millelith won't catch us."
The Treasure Hoarder leader thought it over and realized his subordinate had a point. This little thing certainly looked valuable. Selling her would probably earn even more.
"Traveler! Lumine! Help! Mmph, mmph..."
Little Paimon was terrified. Hearing they were going to sell her, she immediately started crying. Her crying threw the thugs into a panic.
"Hurry, stuff a Sunsettia in her mouth! If that adeptus hears, we're done for."
Scarface Liu, being the leader, still had some wits about him. He grabbed a sour Sunsettia and shoved most of it into Paimon's mouth.
How Paimon's body was constructed was anyone's guess—such a small mouth could fit such a large Sunsettia.
At this point, Scarface Liu couldn't care less. His goal was achieved. Better to flee now before they couldn't leave at all.
"Hey, you thugs up there. Did you know you're breaking the law?"
Scarface Liu was about to curse when a streak of Pyro energy zipped past his forehead. Recognizing the familiar method, cold sweat beaded on his forehead. Damn! Had he not checked the calendar before going out today? Why did he have to run into this fearsome lady?
He set Paimon down and slowly turned around. A vibrant, energetic girl stood before him, hands on her hips. Scarface Liu's face fell. Sure enough, it was her.
"Big Sister Yanfei, I surrender. I confess. Can I get a lighter sentence this time? This is at most attempted crime, right?"
"Heh, still thinking about attempted crime? Looks like your legal knowledge is lacking. Don't worry—I'll make sure you study it thoroughly for a while."
"Say, why didn't you try to run? A cute little kid gave me a few bombs, and I wanted to test their power."
Yanfei's tone was full of regret. But since Scarface Liu and his men had already surrendered, hurting them further would be illegal. She put away the Jumpy Dumpties—looked like she'd have to save them for another time.
Scarface Liu stared at the bombs in Yanfei's hand and swallowed. He was incredibly grateful he had developed a fear of Yanfei. If he had actually run, those bombs would have exploded on him. Whether he'd survive would be a question.