Hello I'm back, thy leg is healed but I don't have molars anymore.
===BREAK===
Just as Arlecchino was about to withdraw, a crisp click suddenly rang out behind her.
"Hands up—you mysterious person sneaking around at night and harassing women…"
The sudden voice made her shudder violently. Her eyes flew wide open as she swiftly turned her head in shock.
When she clearly saw who was standing behind her, her heart sank with a thud, and she inwardly cried out in alarm.
"This is bad! Why is it him? Shouldn't he be vacationing in Poisson right now? Was the intel just a smokescreen?"
Immediately after, Arlecchino loosened her grip and released Furina.
Furina—utterly terrified, her face pale with fear and tears streaming down—collapsed onto the cold, hard ground.
She curled herself up tightly, wrapping her arms around her body, as if that were the only way to gain even a shred of safety.
At this moment, Furina was frightened beyond measure. She could only sob softly, not daring to make a sound too loud.
She had just suffered a cruel and inhumane violation. The mysterious assailant had nearly touched every part of her body—both areas that could be touched and those absolutely forbidden, private places…
Looking at the tightly concealed Arlecchino, Shao Yun's playful nature surfaced, and he teased her casually. "Well, well, look what I've found—a mysterious figure harassing a young lady in the dead of night. You know, the girl you were taking advantage of just now happens to be the Hydro Archon. You've got guts."
Arlecchino kept her hands raised and turned around. To avoid her voice being recognized by Furina, she communicated with Shao Yun using exaggerated coughs.
"Ahem, ahem…"
[Arlecchino's meaning: It's me—Arlecchino. Not a pervert.]
Shao Yun deliberately made an exaggerated, vaguely shocked sound.
"Mm-hm? Oh~"
[Shao Yun's meaning: You? What's going on—are you interested in Furina?]
Arlecchino coughed again, this time more urgently.
"Mm? Ahem, ahem!"
[Arlecchino's meaning: It's none of your business… let me go!]
Shao Yun refused to let it slide, dragging out his tone deliberately.
"Mm-hmm… hmm?"
[Shao Yun's meaning: You say let you go and I just let you go? Why should I?]
Seeing that Shao Yun was relentlessly blocking her, Arlecchino coughed harder in agitation.
"Ugh! Mm… ahem!"
[Arlecchino's meaning: You! I'm not your enemy… why are you stopping me? Let me go, now!]
Shao Yun responded with a drawn-out, amused tone.
"Mm-mm-hm!"
[Shao Yun's meaning: Not a chance. Dream on.]
Just as the two were locked in a stalemate, a weak cry suddenly came from beneath a nearby streetlamp.
"Don't… don't you dare touch Lady Furina…"
The moment Shao Yun heard that familiar voice, he immediately turned his gaze toward its source.
"What?! Eula!"
In the brief moment that Shao Yun lost focus, Arlecchino seized the perfect opportunity.
Her figure flickered—and in the blink of an eye, she vanished without a trace, leaving behind only the faint disturbance of air from her departure.
Watching Arlecchino disappear into thin air, Shao Yun muttered in complaint, "Damn it. Are you some kind of relative of an Electro Cicin Mage—or a Pyro one? You disappear way too fast."
After venting, Shao Yun took a deep breath, holstered John's Cattleman Revolver at his waist, and broke into a short jog straight toward Eula, who was sitting on the ground nearby.
As he passed Furina—who was also sitting on the ground, tightly hugging herself—Shao Yun only spared her a brief glance and did not stop. At this moment, all his concern was focused on Eula's injuries.
Eula was slumped against a roadside streetlamp, sitting quietly on the cold pavement.
She already looked completely drained, as though her life were burning out.
Her usually beautiful face was now pale and weak.
The lamplight cast down upon her features, highlighting a heartbreaking sense of desolation.
At this moment, there was a bloodied hole in Eula's abdomen nearly the size of a fist. Blood continued to pour out, slowly trailing down her body.
The dark red blood pooled beneath her into a small puddle, releasing a pungent metallic stench.
Eula's hands were pressed tightly over the horrific wound on her abdomen. Though she managed to keep her intestines from spilling out, blood still seeped endlessly through her fingers.
Every breath was torture. Waves of excruciating pain battered her nerves, pushing her to the brink of collapse.
As the blood drained from her body, Eula felt weaker and weaker, her consciousness beginning to blur.
Due to massive blood loss, her thoughts started to scatter.
At this critical moment between life and death, scenes from her past surfaced before her eyes, like a revolving lantern of her life.
First came her childhood at the Lawrence clan estate—not a happy time, but one that had taught her many things.
Then the scene shifted to when she joined the Knights of Favonius. Everyone had opposed a sinner like her joining the Knights, yet with the Grand Master Varka's support, she had forced her way in.
Next appeared Amber's bright, sunny smile… and then Klee, Acting Grand Master Jean, Kaeya, Lisa, Mika…
Finally, she saw the destruction of her family, her own days spent drifting in a daze, and her eventual departure from Mondstadt to Fontaine.
As she gazed upon these memories, the corners of Eula's lips lifted slightly into a bleak, despairing smile.
"Am I… going to die? Maybe that's fine. At least then I won't have to suffer anymore…"
Just as Eula felt herself about to sink into endless darkness and lose consciousness, Shao Yun rushed to her side and knelt down, supporting her.
When he saw the horrifying pool of blood beneath her, Shao Yun couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath and joked bitterly, "Oh my god… you're hurt this badly and still alive. Did that drunkard bless you with the Anemo Archon's favor before you left Mondstadt or something…"
Jokes aside, seeing that Eula was barely breathing, Shao Yun quickly took out a Special Miracle Tonic.
He usually wouldn't give this to others—but with a life on the line, he couldn't afford to care.
Shao Yun gripped the bottle and bit down hard, popping the cork open.
He pried Eula's mouth open and quickly poured the entire contents of the tonic down her throat.
"Drink this first… if you stabilize, I'll send you somewhere to recover. If not, I'll send you straight back to Mondstadt."
As the potion flowed down Eula's throat, her originally pale face twisted instantly.
The extreme bitterness assaulted her taste buds, jolting her nerves and snapping her into clearer consciousness.
However, that brief clarity was fleeting, quickly drowned by overwhelming exhaustion.
"So bitter…" Eula struggled to utter a few words before her body slackened once more.
Having only just regained some awareness, she slipped back into a semi-conscious state.
Seeing the bloody hole in Eula's abdomen visibly healing, Shao Yun knew she could still be saved.
He reached out, braced one of her arms, and tried to lift her from the ground.
"Alright, looks like you're not done yet. I'll take you to the Palais Mermonia to rest."
But the moment he moved her, Eula let out an agonized scream.
"Ahh!"
Startled, Shao Yun immediately stopped and gently set her back down.
Only then did he realize his movement had tugged at her abdominal wound.
Lowering his gaze to the troublesome bloodied hole, Shao Yun muttered to himself, "Holding you up won't work, putting you on a horse won't work either… couldn't Arlecchino at least have broken your leg instead? You're really giving me a problem here…"
Taking a deep breath, he changed his approach.
First, he laid Eula flat on the ground, ensuring her body could fully relax.
Then, he slid his left arm beneath her neck to support her head, while his right hand carefully reached beneath her thighs.
Once everything was in place, Shao Yun lifted Eula into his arms.
After picking her up, he turned his gaze toward Furina, who was still sitting on the ground in a daze, utterly bewildered.
With a tone of frustration bordering on exasperation, he shouted, "Stop crying! That mysterious person is gone! Get up right now—I'm taking Eula and you back to the Palais Mermonia!"
"..."
At the same time, at Hotel Bouffes d'ete.
Arlecchino shoved the doors open forcefully, not daring to pause for even a second.
She reached up and removed her mask, then swiftly stripped off her black cloak.
In the next instant, flames rose from her palm, instantly engulfing the cloak and mask she had worn that night, reducing them to nothing but drifting ash.
Arlecchino's brows were tightly knit, her expression dark as a storm.
"This is bad—very bad! Why did Shao Yun show up out of nowhere? I didn't find the Gnosis on Furina either, and I even 'killed' the Hydro Archon's guard. This is seriously bad!"
At that moment, Lyney and Lynette hurried over. Lyney immediately noticed the bloodstains on Arlecchino's body and asked anxiously, "Father, you're back at last!"
"Why is there so much blood on you? Are you hurt?"
Arlecchino glanced down at the blood that belonged to Eula and shook her head helplessly. "This blood… isn't mine."
Lynette quickly stepped forward, supporting Arlecchino's arm as she asked with concern, "Father, would you like to take a bath to relax? I can take you to the bathroom—"
But Arlecchino quickly shook her head and issued an order. "No need. Washing my hands will be enough."
"You two, notify the other children immediately. We're evacuating Hotel Bouffes d'ete at once—activate the emergency evacuation plan. We need to move fast!"
When Lyney heard the words emergency evacuation plan, he froze.
He knew exactly what that plan meant.
It was only activated when facing an overwhelming force that could not be resisted.
For Arlecchino to invoke it now meant the situation had become extremely dangerous.
"Father… what happened? How did things suddenly turn out like this?"
Arlecchino answered concisely. "My attempt to seize the Hydro Archon's Gnosis failed. And during the operation, I was discovered—and was recognized—by Shao Yun."
"I can't be sure whether he has any cooperation with Neuvillette, so we must evacuate immediately."
Understanding the urgency, Lyney dared not ask further questions and nodded at once. "Understood, Father! I'll relay the orders right away!"
With that, he turned and ran off with Lynette to begin organizing the emergency evacuation.
===BREAK===
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