Hello I'm back, thy leg is healed but I don't have molars anymore.
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At dawn the next morning, just as a faint trace of whiteness spread across the horizon, Shao Yun's figure quietly appeared in front of Hotel Bouffes d'ete.
He arrived so early that the surrounding streets were still immersed in the tranquility before sunrise.
To avoid a repeat of what happened the last time he returned to Liyue, Shao Yun deliberately left behind a note before heading out, saying that he had some business to take care of.
As long as she saw this note, Lumine would be able to put her mind at ease.
Shao Yun truly did not want to endure Lumine's terrifying fists again either—when Lumine hit someone, it was definitely not just a little painful!
Before meeting Arlecchino, for safety reasons, Shao Yun switched out John's Cattleman Revolver (Legend of the West), which had never been tested in real combat, and instead gripped the golden Cowboy Revolver (Goat's Blessing) in his hand.
After all, in everything, stability came first.
Shao Yun took a deep breath, then cautiously extended his hand and pushed open the mansion's main door.
Accompanied by a faint "creeeak", the door opened a narrow gap, and he slipped inside sideways.
The moment he stepped into the mansion, the scene before his eyes made his heart tighten.
Inside the mansion was a complete mess—shattered vase fragments and chairs toppled in all directions across the floor.
At this moment, Hotel Bouffes d'ete looked exactly like a place that had just been looted.
The entire interior was empty and devoid of any sign of life, deathly silent like an abandoned tomb.
Staring at the spacious yet eerily quiet interior, Shao Yun grew increasingly nervous, unsure what kind of trick Arlecchino was playing.
"What's going on here? Where did everyone go?"
As he spoke, Shao Yun tightened his grip on the Cowboy Revolver (Goat's Blessing) and tiptoed forward, preparing to investigate the mansion.
Just as he took his first step, suddenly, a chilly voice entered Shao Yun's ears without any warning.
The voice belonged to Arlecchino. She spoke unhurriedly, "There are only the two of us left in the entire mansion now. If you want to see me, I'm in the reception room."
After receiving this message, Shao Yun hesitated slightly, but quickly steadied himself and headed straight toward the reception room.
…
With a soft "creak", Shao Yun pushed open the door to the reception room.
He saw Arlecchino sitting with her legs crossed, leisurely savoring a cup of rich coffee. The expression on her face was exceptionally calm and composed, as if everything happening outside had nothing to do with her.
Without waiting for Arlecchino to invite him to sit, Shao Yun strode over to the seat across from her and sat down heavily.
Then, taking a deep breath, he greeted Arlecchino in a relatively calm tone, "Hello, Miss Arlecchino."
At this moment, Arlecchino's gaze naturally fell upon the golden cowboy revolver tightly held in Shao Yun's hand.
In an instant, a barely perceptible trace of unease flashed through her eyes, as she sensed some kind of hidden danger quietly approaching.
Afterward, Arlecchino casually lifted the cup in her hand and took a gentle sip of coffee, seemingly offhandedly bringing up a topic.
"I finally understand now why, when we first met, you actually mistook me for Eula."
"Thinking about it carefully, that girl's facial features… are indeed somewhat similar to mine."
Seeing Arlecchino take the initiative to mention Eula, Shao Yun followed up smoothly, "Since that's the case, I'm sure you know very well what I came here for today."
Faced with such a straightforward question, Arlecchino showed no sign of panic.
Having anticipated this long ago, she merely sighed lightly with a hint of helplessness, then asked in return.
"Did Neuvillette only send you alone?"
Hearing Arlecchino suddenly mention Neuvillette, Shao Yun felt puzzled and asked in confusion, "Huh? How does this involve Neuvillette? I don't quite understand what you mean."
Seeing this, Arlecchino let out a silent sneer in her heart.
She was convinced that Shao Yun was deliberately playing dumb.
So, Arlecchino stopped beating around the bush and directly voiced all of her speculation.
"Hmph, stop trying to fool me! Do you really think I don't know? There's some kind of cooperation between you and Neuvillette that I'm not aware of…"
"For example, on the surface, Eula is responsible for publicly protecting Furina, while you lie in wait in the shadows, ready to act at any time."
"The real purpose of doing this is nothing more than setting a trap to lure me, this 'big fish,' into taking the bait. Well? Was I right?"
After hearing this, Shao Yun was completely bewildered.
"I say, which eye of yours saw me cooperating with that Neuvillette? I came here purely because of Eula's matter to look for you."
Hearing Shao Yun deny any connection with Neuvillette and insist that he came solely to resolve Eula's issue, Arlecchino could not help but close her eyes.
"Really? If that's true, then this is going to be troublesome…"
If there had been cooperation between Shao Yun and Neuvillette, Shao Yun might still have exercised some restraint and left room for maneuver.
Now that she knew Shao Yun was acting alone, this meant the situation could potentially spiral completely out of control.
Thinking of what The Fair Lady, Childe "Tartaglia," and Scaramouche had gone through before, Arlecchino's heart could not help but tighten.
Even Childe "Tartaglia," who had suffered relatively lighter injuries, had still needed more than half a year of bed rest!
At this moment, seeing Arlecchino close her eyes and fall into contemplation with a thoughtful expression, Shao Yun felt extremely puzzled.
What was going on—was she meditating or something?
Shao Yun really couldn't figure out what she was thinking about, so he simply continued the conversation on his own.
"Before we get to the main point, there's something I need to ask you. What exactly happened last night?"
With her eyes tightly shut, Arlecchino instead threw another question back at Shao Yun first.
"Last night? Very simple. You also know what our Fatui have been working so hard for in other nations, don't you?"
Hearing this, Shao Yun replied without hesitation, "For the Gnosis. But that mess has nothing to do with me."
Hearing that Shao Yun still remembered the Fatui's plan, Arlecchino finally began explaining the reason behind her attack on Furina last night.
"For the past month, I attempted many times to engage in equal diplomatic negotiations with Fontaine's upper ranks, hoping to obtain the Hydro Archon's Gnosis through peaceful means such as trade. Unfortunately, every effort ended in failure."
At this point, a trace of irritation surfaced on Arlecchino's face.
"As time passed, my patience was gradually worn away. Finally, the day before yesterday, I decided to stop waiting and took forceful action last night."
"It's just that girl named Eula—she was far too troublesome. I didn't want to bother with her, but she kept buzzing around me like a fly."
Arlecchino paused slightly, recalling the scene at the time, unsure what she felt now.
"To be honest, I don't know whether I lost control of my strength back then, or whether that girl's body was simply too frail. I casually gave a light swing, and my hand went straight into her abdomen…"
"Without that nuisance in the way, I easily captured Furina."
"However, the Gnosis wasn't on her at all! Sigh… all that effort for nothing…"
At this point, Arlecchino opened a narrow slit in her eyes, secretly observing Shao Yun's expression.
"I had no choice. Everything was for Her Majesty the Tsaritsa. I'm sure you've personally witnessed how crazed my colleagues have become in order to obtain the Gnosis. In truth, I am no different."
After listening to Arlecchino's account, Shao Yun raised a question.
"If I hadn't happened to show up back then, would you have just left?"
Hearing this, Arlecchino slowly opened her eyes and nodded, admitting frankly, "Indeed. To me, I have no obligation to save irrelevant people."
"If you were in my position, you would probably make the same choice."
After hearing Arlecchino's words, Shao Yun fell into silence.
The atmosphere at this moment became exceptionally heavy. Seeing Shao Yun remain silent, Arlecchino mistakenly believed that this calm was the omen before a storm.
Thinking that this fierce conflict was now unavoidable, Arlecchino took a deep breath and voiced her request.
"Very well, since battle is unavoidable, so be it. Fortunately, I already arranged for the children to leave Hotel Bouffes d'ete overnight."
"Let's choose a more secluded place to fight. Fighting in the Court of Fontaine will attract unnecessary attention, and neither of us would be able to fight freely."
Then she paused and continued, "If you end up winning this duel, please search my body carefully. There will be a note."
"After finding it, take it to Lyney and the others, and convey my final words for me. I believe someone like you would not raise a hand against innocent children."
However, if the one who ultimately won was Arlecchino herself, she also had her own condition.
"If I happen to win, then consider the fourth wish Pierro gave you as already used. From this day forward, neither of us is allowed to mention anything that happened last night again!"
At this moment, Shao Yun couldn't understand at all how he had only come to talk things through with Arlecchino, yet she had already assumed a stance of fighting to the death and even prepared her last words in advance.
"Were you led astray by Tartaglia? I didn't come here to fight you. Didn't you say yourself that you could communicate?"
Hearing the word "communicate" come out of Shao Yun's mouth, Arlecchino froze on the spot.
Wasn't Shao Yun here to avenge Eula, whom she had killed?
"W-What?Communicate? You're not here to take my life?"
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