Hello I'm back, thy leg is healed but I don't have molars anymore.
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On a bright, sunny morning, a gentle breeze brushed past the lush trees surrounding Alcazarzaray Palace, leaves rustling softly.
Outside a pavilion within the palace grounds, Shao Yun deftly swung down from his horse, his gaze settling on a familiar pink-and-purple figure—Dori.
Dori was leisurely seated on a chair in the pavilion, holding a stack of papers in her hands. A satisfied smile spread across her face as she muttered to herself.
Looking closer, it turned out she was happily reviewing her financial report from last month—clearly, she had made quite a profit.
At that moment, the sound of approaching footsteps finally caught Dori's attention.
When she looked up and saw that familiar face, she was so startled that the glasses perched on her nose nearly fell off.
She screamed in sheer terror, "Ah! The bandit is here!"
Before the words had even finished leaving her mouth, Dori instinctively sprang up from her chair, ready to bolt.
Faced with such an exaggerated reaction, Shao Yun remained completely calm and replied without changing his expression, "Only taking things without paying counts as being a bandit. I came with money to buy something, so I should be called a customer."
Hearing this, Dori's nerves eased slightly, though she still stayed on guard.
Once she confirmed that Shao Yun really was here to buy something, she finally abandoned the idea of running away and walked over to him instead.
"Oh, so you're here to buy something…" Dori muttered as she sized Shao Yun up from head to toe.
Suddenly, as if she had thought of something important, her eyes widened and she asked in confusion, "Hey, wait a minute—when did you come back to Sumeru? How come there was no news at all?"
Shao Yun had long since grown accustomed to seeing people react with surprise at his sudden appearances.
"Don't worry about how I got back. About three months ago, there was a girl from Mondstadt with short sea-blue hair. You did business with her before—does that ring a bell?"
As he spoke, Shao Yun went on to carefully describe Eula's outfit to Dori.
Listening to his description, Dori pushed up the glasses on her nose and then broke into a smile of realization.
"Oh my, now that you describe her like that, I remember! Back then I was doing business in Gandharva Ville. That girl somehow ate a poisonous mushroom by mistake and passed out on the spot."
She paused briefly before continuing, "Luckily, we happened to run into Collei at the time. That child stepped in to save her and patiently explained which mushrooms in the rainforest were edible and which absolutely must not be touched."
Shao Yun hadn't expected such an unexpected bonus—Collei had actually saved Eula?
"What? The little green one from the Forest Ice-and-Fire Man saved the little ice one? Looks like the little fire one's wings are about to get tied in knots?" Shao Yun blurted out cryptically.
Hearing Shao Yun spout a bunch of incomprehensible nonsense, Dori asked curiously, "What on earth are you talking about? Green this, ice that—I don't really understand."
Seeing this, Shao Yun quickly waved his hand and steered the conversation back on track.
"Ah, it's nothing! Don't worry about what I just said—it's not important!"
"I didn't come this time to ask how she got poisoned. I don't care about that at all. What I want to know is—where is the sword she sold to you now?"
Hearing this, Dori froze for a moment, then raised a finger to her chin and began rummaging through her memory from a few months ago.
Suddenly, her eyes lit up and she exclaimed excitedly, "Oh, I remember! That sword! I was doing business in Gandharva Ville back then. That Mondstadt girl came to me saying she didn't have travel money anymore—she looked so pitiful that I just couldn't refuse."
"So, I, Lord Sangemah Bay, magnanimously bought that two-handed sword—an absolute work of art—at a very, very reasonable price!"
As she spoke, a smug, scheming grin crept onto Dori's face, and she added, "Hehehe, I have to admit, that sword really is a rare masterpiece!"
Watching the classic profiteer's grin on Dori's face, Shao Yun remained unmoved and simply asked flatly, "Is that greatsword still in your possession?"
Dori crossed her arms, a knowing smile playing on her lips, and asked calmly, "It's still with me. Are you planning to redeem it like you did with Dehya's?"
Hearing that Eula's weapon was still in Dori's hands, Shao Yun raised one hand and crooked a finger at her.
"Isn't that obvious? Otherwise, why would I go out of my way to ask you all this?"
Dori put on a show of sudden enlightenment and said, "Ooh~ so that's how it is. Redeeming it, huh? Then let me do some calculations first…"
She immediately began theatrically counting on her fingers, muttering under her breath.
After a moment, she stopped, held up three fingers, and declared decisively, "Three million Mora. No bargaining, not a single Mora less. If you agree, I'll hand over that two-handed sword immediately."
Shao Yun knew that every extra minute spent in Sumeru increased the risk of being discovered by Nahida.
As such, he had no intention of haggling with Dori at all.
Without another word, he reached into the pack at his waist and pulled out a bulging sack.
The sack was filled to the brim with Mora—so tall it even surpassed Dori's height.
"Here. Three million Mora."
When Dori saw the massive sack of Mora before her, her eyes went wide with excitement.
She rushed forward eagerly and hugged the enormous sack with glee, her mouth stretching into a wide grin.
"Wow! You're as straightforward as ever, honored customer! Please wait just a moment—I'll go fetch the sword right away!"
With that, Dori hoisted the heavy sack of Mora onto her shoulder and dashed straight into her Alcazarzaray Palace, off to retrieve what Shao Yun needed.
…
Afterward, Shao Yun sat leisurely in the pavilion, waiting for Dori's return.
Seconds ticked by, and suddenly, a gust of wind passed through, sending several tender green leaves drifting slowly across his field of view.
At first, Shao Yun didn't pay it much attention—it was just a few fallen leaves, after all.
However, as time continued to pass and Dori still failed to emerge from the palace, a trace of doubt crept into his mind. Could something troublesome have happened inside?
Logically speaking, Dori would never run off over a mere three million Mora—it wasn't even a case of losing a watermelon over a sesame seed, just pure idiocy.
Perhaps she had run into some minor trouble while searching—like momentarily forgetting where she had stored Eula's weapon.
Just as Shao Yun was about to head inside Alcazarzaray Palace to check, a crisp and familiar voice suddenly sounded beside his ear without warning.
"Hey, can you hear me?"
The sudden voice startled Shao Yun badly. His muscles tensed instantly as he scanned his surroundings warily and asked, "Nahida?"
After hearing his response, Nahida's voice continued on its own.
"Well then, it seems our connection doesn't have any issues."
At this moment, Shao Yun had no interest in small talk with Nahida and hurriedly explained, "Listen, I'm not here to cause trouble. Once Dori gives me what I need, I'll leave immediately."
Hearing that Shao Yun was only here for Dori, Nahida's voice—previously tinged with anticipation—now carried a hint of disappointment.
"So that's how it is. I sensed a fluctuation of Abyssal energy earlier, then detected your presence through the ley lines."
"I thought you had brought your relative to discuss cooperation with me. Turns out that's not the case…"
When Shao Yun heard that Nahida was still thinking about his brother-in-law and the Loom of Fate, he could only explain helplessly, "I'm just here to redeem something from Dori. As for your wish to cooperate with my brother-in-law, I haven't even seen him yet."
Nahida's voice immediately revealed a hint of curiosity.
"Oh? Redeeming something? That does sound rather interesting."
Noticing Nahida's interest in his purpose in Sumeru, Shao Yun laid everything out honestly.
"That's right. It happened several months ago. There's someone who's both a friend and an enemy of mine. She sold her weapon to Dori, so I came to redeem it for her."
Upon hearing this, a trace of caution entered Nahida's voice as she questioned, "Are you planning to seize it from Dori by force, or…"
Hearing that, Shao Yun felt utterly helpless.
"Redeem it! I'm paying to redeem it—just like when I redeemed Dehya's weapon back then. You should still remember what happened during the Sabzeruz Festival, right?"
At the mention of the Sabzeruz Festival, Nahida's voice grew slightly complicated.
"I see… then it seems you're not here to cause trouble."
When Shao Yun heard the words "cause trouble," the very thing he feared most came to mind.
"What do you mean by that?"
Faced with his question, Nahida did not give a direct answer.
Seeing that Shao Yun hadn't brought his brother-in-law to discuss cooperation, her voice gradually turned cold as she said indifferently, "Take what you want and leave Sumeru immediately. I'm lifting the dream now. The rainforest does not welcome you…"
The moment Nahida mentioned a dream; Shao Yun was shocked—when had he even been pulled into one?
Suddenly, he recalled the leaves drifting past his eyes earlier and asked, "Was it those leaves just now?"
In response, Nahida's voice faded into the void without offering any explanation.
At that moment, the faint rustle of leaves reached Shao Yun's ears once more.
The dream interference imposed by Nahida vanished.
At the same time, Dori stood right in front of him, staring at him impatiently.
No matter how much Dori had called out earlier, Shao Yun hadn't reacted at all.
Finally, seeing Shao Yun standing there like a fool, Dori lost her patience completely and shouted, "Hey! Do you even want it or not? If not, I'm going to sell it myself!"
At that instant, Shao Yun snapped out of the dream. He blinked a few times, steadied himself, and slowly focused his gaze on Dori.
Scratching the back of his head awkwardly, Shao Yun quickly explained, "Ah, sorry about that—I spaced out for a moment."
As he spoke, he hurriedly reached out and took the heavy greatsword from her.
Watching Shao Yun take the two-handed sword—an artistic masterpiece she had bought for one million Mora—Dori's face filled with heartache and regret.
"Oh dear, such a fine treasure, sold for a mere three million Mora. I really took a huge loss!"
Seeing Dori's exaggerated, fake-pained expression, Shao Yun raised a finger and lightly flicked her on the forehead.
"Quit acting like you're the victim after getting a bargain. The fact that I didn't just take it by force already shows you plenty of respect. Be satisfied."
Seeing that Shao Yun wasn't holding back at all, Dori immediately switched to a flattering grin, rubbing her hands together as she said ingratiatingly, "Hehehe, thank you for your patronage! Please come again—I'll make sure you leave satisfied every time!"
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