The drugged wine that Shao Yun drank had indeed failed to achieve Babel's intended effect, and Babel had truly suffered for it.
But to say that it had absolutely no effect on Shao Yun was impossible. However, unlike Babel, who had to endure the torment alone, he did not have to shoulder it by himself.
Thus, that night, Lumine ended up bearing the brunt of it.
The commotion was so loud that Jeht, staying in the neighboring tent, heard everything clearly.
The result was predictable. In the days that followed, whenever Jeht happened to encounter Shao Yun, she would deliberately take a detour.
Even on the rare occasions when they came face-to-face, Jeht's words, whether overt or implied, would always unconsciously reveal a sense of anger and resentment akin to "the hatred of a stolen wife."
Shao Yun was genuinely baffled by Jeht's unusually strong reaction.
After all, Lumine was his, not Jeht's. What was Jeht getting so worked up about?
...
Everything seemed to be over. All that was left was to wait for Jeht's coming-of-age ceremony to conclude, and then it would be a complete success.
But Babel, that venomous snake, would not let things end so simply. She played her final move: having Jeht eliminate Lumine.
...
On the morning before the Tanit Tribe's downfall, as the sun had just risen, Shao Yun finished his breakfast as usual.
The only difference was that today, after breakfast, Lumine and Paimon had vanished without a trace, leaving behind no message.
Shao Yun knew the countdown to destruction had begun.
He pretended to be frantic and began inquiring about their whereabouts throughout the tribe.
Shao Yun went from tent to tent, asking almost every person in the entire tribe.
Just then, a Tanit Tribe scout hurriedly ran over, stopped before Shao Yun, and respectfully saluted.
"Honored guest of the tribe, Matriarch Babel requests your presence."
Hearing this, Shao Yun outwardly displayed an anxious demeanor and promptly replied, "Alright, I'll go immediately."
In reality, his heart was already overflowing with wild joy.
"Haha, this moment has finally arrived. The days of waiting in the desert haven't been in vain. Time to start reaping the rewards!"
With an excited heart, Shao Yun quickly walked towards Babel's quarters.
Upon entering the room, he saw Babel lounging lazily on the bed, her long and shapely legs gracefully crossed, fully displaying her alluring figure.
Babel wore a smile, watching with leisurely satisfaction as Shao Yun slowly approached.
Suppressing the joy in his heart, Shao Yun pretended to be angry and questioned, "Matriarch Babel, where are Lumine and Paimon? I heard you sought them out after breakfast and gave them some tasks."
Babel sensed the strong hostility emanating from Shao Yun, but she said nothing. Instead, she stood up and once again meticulously prepared a glass of drugged fine wine.
When she approached Shao Yun, a bewitching smile bloomed on her face as she sweetly and coyly tried to cozy up to him.
"Don't be so hostile. Here, have some wine to moisten your throat."
However, Shao Yun pretended to fly into a rage, pushing aside the wine glass Babel offered and lowering his voice to growl, "Enough nonsense! Answer my question immediately!"
Seeing Shao Yun's furious appearance, Babel felt not a trace of fear. Instead, she secretly rejoiced inwardly, even unable to resist lightly licking her own luscious lips.
"Hmph, do you really think you still have a chance to see either of them again?"
Now, seeing Babel finally making her move, Shao Yun's heart surged with wild delight. After staying in the Tanit Tribe for so long, Lumine could finally gain some experience!
But Shao Yun continued to act as if he understood nothing, persisting in his display of helpless fury.
"What are you talking about? What happened to Lumine and Paimon?"
A smug smile played on Babel's lips as she watched Shao Yun's anxious state with great interest.
She thought to herself that this man had completely fallen into her carefully laid trap and would be completely under her control in the next moment.
Babel lifted the wine glass, gently swirling it, the liquid inside rippling with her movements.
She said to Shao Yun with a half-smile, "Now you have only two paths before you. The first... I can give you one more chance. Just obediently drink this wine, then come to bed with me and enjoy the pleasures of the flesh..."
"When the next day comes, I will send people to clean up the mess for you and deal with Jeht. Then you can stay honestly in the tribe with me..."
As she spoke, Babel slowly extended her other slender, long hand, which moved like a nimble snake towards Shao Yun's chest.
Just as it was about to touch his solid chest, Shao Yun suddenly took a small step back, evading her touch and causing Babel's hand to meet empty air.
Seeing this, the triumphant expression on Babel's face instantly vanished without a trace, replaced by a hint of barely perceptible annoyance and displeasure.
She frowned slightly and muttered, "How boring..."
But soon, she readjusted her emotions, her expression turning somewhat gloomy as she coldly presented the second option.
"The second path is to leave now and go see your wife's head separated from her body."
As soon as the words left her mouth, Babel, refusing to give up, once again reached her hand towards Shao Yun's chest, all the while saying, "After you see it, you will return here like a soul lost, utterly desolate."
"By then, aside from obediently throwing yourself into my embrace, you will have no other choice but to become my personal plaything..."
However, to Babel's complete surprise, Shao Yun sidestepped once more, dodging her second attempt and letting her schemes fall flat again.
Looking at this Shao Yun who was so oblivious to her advances, Babel couldn't help but feel anger rise within her.
She had originally thought Shao Yun was merely putting on a tough front, never expecting him to be so stubborn and refusing to yield until faced with dire consequences.
Babel snorted coldly, slowly extending the wine glass in her hand towards Shao Yun, her tone icy as she said, "Now, it's time for you to make your choice."
Shao Yun stared fixedly at Babel, words squeezed out from between his teeth.
"I choose a third option. I will go find those three girls, then come back and skin you alive!"
Hearing this, Babel was momentarily taken aback, then burst into unrestrained laughter.
She looked Shao Yun up and down, then spoke in a superior, mocking tone, "Hmph, such an overconfident fool! I advise you to abandon this hopeless notion. Staying here obediently with me is the wise choice."
"But... if you insist on going to look, I would be quite happy to see you eventually crawl back here like a dog."
"I look forward even more to witnessing you lying on my bed, watching as I slowly drain your energy bit by bit until you shed tears of unbearable agony. Hahaha..."
Shao Yun narrowed his eyes, pretending to speak fiercely, "My tears have long since dried up, leaving only flames of anger. You just wait for hell!"
Seeing Shao Yun's ironclad determination, Babel did not stop him.
A contemptuous smile curled at the corner of her mouth as she responded with a cold laugh, "Fine, since your mind is made up, I won't stand in your way any longer."
"But remember this: when you discover your beloved wife has become a cold corpse, try not to cry too pitifully."
"And also, when you return, I will personally come to 'welcome' you. Then I'll take a good look at how ugly your face, twisted with despair, will be! Hahaha..."
Shao Yun had no desire to waste another word on Babel. He left after uttering one final sentence.
"You will pay for your arrogance."
...
Shao Yun arrived at the Fatui action stronghold that had been slaughtered a second time.
At this moment, the remaining Fatui from the previous time were mostly gone, though there might still be stragglers... such as that "Orest" grunt...
Shao Yun stepped over the fallen Fatui lying in pools of blood, some still groaning in pain, and strode step by step deeper into the stronghold.
The weak, desperate pleas for help from the Fatui echoed in his ears, but these sounds could not stir any pity within him.
As he went further inside, the pungent smell of blood grew increasingly thick.
Finally, Shao Yun entered the main hall.
Instantly, an overwhelmingly thick, nauseating metallic scent of blood assaulted his nostrils.
He focused his gaze and saw various fragmented human remains scattered throughout the hall.
The scene was as if a living person had swallowed a bomb, which then exploded within their body.
At this moment, in the very center of the hall, there were only three people: Lumine, Paimon, and Jeht, who was sitting sideways facing Lumine.
Suddenly, the faint sound of footsteps came from behind. Lumine, who had been fully concentrated, was startled.
She swiftly turned around, raising the Otis Miller's Revolver held in her left hand, aiming its dark muzzle at this sudden "uninvited guest" behind her.
Shao Yun was startled by Lumine's overly intense reaction and hurriedly called out, "Whoa! Careful now, I seem to remember teaching you how to use a gun. Never point the muzzle at your own people!"
When Lumine saw it was Shao Yun, the tension in her heart finally eased.
She let out a soft sigh, then deftly and slowly holstered the gun she had been gripping tightly.
Then, she looked up at Shao Yun, who was walking towards her, and said, "Shao Yun, you're here..." Her voice carried a hint of relief.
Shao Yun quickly walked forward. When his gaze passed over Lumine and noticed Jeht sitting sideways before her, he continued, "I was worried you might have accidentally killed Jeht too."
Hearing Shao Yun's words, Lumine unconsciously pursed her lips, the memory of the harrowing "Tadhla" incident from days past involuntarily surfacing in her mind.
Those images flashed before her eyes, remaining fresh in her memory.
After a moment of silence, Lumine took a deep breath and began to explain.
"Having made a mistake once, I absolutely will not make it a second time."
Shao Yun nodded and continued asking, "Is that why you've been wearing this outfit for the past few days?"
As he spoke, Shao Yun's gaze deliberately or otherwise swept over the "Gunslinger Dress" Lumine was wearing.
Just then, Jeht, who had been sitting sideways on the ground, let out a soft moan.
She tightly clutched her calf, which had been pierced by a bullet, beads of cold sweat on her forehead, enduring tremendous pain.
However, even injured, Jeht still managed to force out an apologetic smile and said softly to Lumine, "I'm sorry, I was too impulsive earlier and accidentally tore your clothes."
As she spoke, Jeht's gaze slowly moved, first landing on Lumine's left forearm, where the fabric was slashed open in a long tear.
Then it shifted to Lumine's abdomen, where a few faint scratch marks were visible.
Clearly, although the several slashes she had swung earlier hadn't actually injured Lumine's body, they had indeed successfully torn her clothes.
Lumine looked down at the torn places on her clothes, a pang of regret welling up in her heart.
This outfit had been meticulously tailored for her by Shao Yun! To say she wasn't upset would be a lie. However, compared to Jeht being injured, what did clothes matter?
After all, clothes could be mended, but a person lost was truly gone.
Lumine shook her head, then quickly walked over to Jeht's side and asked with concern, "It's alright, Jeht. How is your leg?"
Hearing this, Jeht also looked down at her right calf, which was still bleeding steadily.
Blood continued to flow from the wound, staining the ground beneath her feet.
She bit her lip, shook her head, and said, "It hurts a lot... My leg has no strength at all. I can't walk."
At that moment, Shao Yun stepped forward, crouched down, and carefully examined Jeht's injured leg.
As he looked, he said softly, "Let me see..."
When Shao Yun got so close to her, Jeht's body involuntarily tensed up, a instinctive physiological resistance surging within her.
But in the end, she forced herself to endure the discomfort and obediently allowed Shao Yun to inspect her wound.
Shao Yun stared at Jeht's injured right leg for a while, then slowly looked up and said, "How to put it... the situation is somewhat better. The bullet narrowly missed the bone; it just passed through the muscle of the calf."
"However, if not treated properly, becoming a cripple or even requiring amputation is a possibility."
Then, for the sake of Lumine and Paimon, Shao Yun, breaking his own precedent, took out his finest Special Miracle Tonic.
Shao Yun handed the medicine to Jeht and said, "Drink this, then get some proper rest."
"If all goes well, your leg injury should heal quickly."
===BREAK===
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