After a while, Paimon finally explained everything clearly, kneeling before Lumine and sobbing.
Lumine sorted through what Paimon had said and gave her a skeptical look.
"So you're saying that when you saw that beam of light pass through your chest, you thought it had pierced a hole through you, so you screamed instinctively?"
Paimon lifted her tear-streaked face and nodded vigorously at Lumine.
Lumine could tell that Paimon wasn't lying. After a moment's thought, she returned the money pouch to her.
Paimon wiped the tears off her face and hugged her money pouch as though she were reuniting with a spouse after decades apart. The things she did with her hands and face left Lumine watching in alarm.
Even Zhongli, who normally wouldn't flinch if a mountain collapsed before him, couldn't help questioning his very soul at the sight of Paimon's antics. Have I really not lost touch with this era?
With Paimon's situation resolved, Lumine turned her attention back to Zhong Baiye.
Since that beam had passed through Paimon's body, its target must have been Zhong Baiye.
There was something else strange, too. Even after everything that had just happened, Zhong Baiye hadn't reacted at all. He still held his praying posture, as though he hadn't heard any of it.
Lumine approached Zhong Baiye, but just as she was about to wake him, a tall figure suddenly appeared in front of her and stopped her.
She looked up and discovered that the person blocking her was actually Zhongli. Yet he had clearly been standing some distance away just a moment ago. How had he suddenly appeared here to stop her?
Zhongli gave Lumine a reassuring look, then turned to face Zhong Baiye.
Only then did Lumine notice a strange light coiling around Zhong Baiye.
The light was like