The Cockroach Rat did not chase them. In fact, it paid them no attention at all.
The two had run a long way before they realized it.
"That thing doesn't seem to have followed us," Lan Yan said, gasping for breath.
Shen Luolun looked back and, after confirming that the Cockroach Rat was nowhere in sight, heaved a huge sigh of relief and nodded.
"Right, it probably never meant to chase us. We just ran because it scared us. Still, let's get as far away from that thing as we can. It's way too creepy."
This Cthulhu stuff is tanking my sanity. Get the hell away from me!
Come to think of it, how did a creature like that show up in Teyvat?
Had Teyvat's environment gotten so bad that even cockroaches and rats had to merge and evolve to survive?
If that was the case...
Ah, Lord Phanes, please send down a celestial nail and cleanse this land!
(A certain Skyfrost Nail: Coming, coming. Don't rush me, bro. I'll be there next version.)
"Since there's a Cockroach Rat, let's not go back for now. We should find somewhere to rest first. We don't need to worry about Lumine. With her strength, Xiangling should be fine," Shen Luolun suggested.
Lan Yan nodded at once.
She did not want to see the Cockroach Rat again either.
"Huh? Why is it raining?"
Shen Luolun touched the wet spot on his head.
He looked up.
As it turned out, beads of sweat had gathered on the girl's rosy, delicate chin.
They dripped down as her head moved.
A maidenly fragrance, faint as orchids, filled the air.
"Lan Yan, your sweat is sticky and stinky. Why don't you wipe it off?"
The young man criticized her without hesitation.
He was very particular about hygiene.
"Hah?!"
Haki Lan hissed.
"Could someone please get down before he says something like that?!"
"Can't you see I've been holding someone up with my hands this whole time?!"
What an ungrateful jerk.
Who was it that carried him all the way here?
And he had the nerve to complain and say she stank!
(▼ヘ▼#)
Sensing the killing intent drifting off the girl, Shen Luolun smiled awkwardly and hurriedly jumped out of her arms.
"I forgot, I forgot. Sorry about that."
"Want me to wipe it off for you?"
He pulled a silk handkerchief from inside his clothes.
"No!"
Lan Yan glared at him, snatched the handkerchief, and wiped herself off.
The two rested where they were for a while, then found a pavilion to sit in after recovering some of their energy.
Shen Luolun laid Paimon on a bench and adjusted her into a comfortable sleeping position while he was at it.
"Sleeping Paimon."
"Let's wait here for now."
"Mm."
Lan Yan nodded.
She tugged her collar open slightly and gently fanned herself with her hand, letting the cool breeze carry away the excess heat from her skin.
She had exercised far too much today and worked up a sweat all over.
At least half of that was thanks to a certain someone.
Once we get back, I have to squeeze him dry and make him release thirty more volumes of manga!
As she thought about it, she casually glanced outside.
That single glance made her freeze.
"A-Shen?"
"Hmm?"
Shen Luolun, who was also fanning himself, paused.
"What is it?"
"Look over there."
She pointed in a certain direction.
Following the direction she pointed, Shen Luolun spotted someone he knew.
Well, strictly speaking, he did not really know him.
Su Qing!
The unlucky guy they had saved on the ship.
"What's he doing here?"
"Who's the man talking to him?"
Lan Yan narrowed her eyes and cupped her hands around them like binoculars.
"I don't know, but they seem to be arguing. Looks pretty heated."
Shen Luolun promptly lost interest.
"What's so interesting about two grown men arguing?"
"It's not as exciting as watching girls have a catfight."
"Let's rest."
Lan Yan pinched him.
"You want to watch girls fight? You bad egg."
"Don't you?"
"..."
All right, she was a tiny bit curious.
Lan Yan had been well protected all her life and had never seen girls fight.
"Keep watching. I'm a little thirsty, so I'm going to buy some drinks," Shen Luolun said, getting to his feet.
"Oh, right. The same as usual for you? Sweet flower tea?"
"Mm-hmm, go ahead."
Lan Yan continued watching.
"The argument between contestant Su Qing and contestant Mystery Man is growing more intense. It's reaching a fever pitch."
"What's this? Words have lost their power to communicate, and they're rolling up their sleeves! They're rolling up their sleeves!"
"They're moving closer! Closer! They're going to fight! They're fighting! They've started fighting!"
Listening to her commentary, Shen Luolun was at a loss for words.
You're really putting on a show.
He shook his head and turned to leave.
Just then-
"Contestant Mystery Man's blows are heavy and powerful. Contestant Su Qing is at a disadvantage. Contestant Su Qing's defeat is certain. Contestant Su Qing pulls out a knife-wait, a knife?!"
Both of their expressions changed.
Su Qing drove the dagger viciously into the man's chest.
His eyes were bloodshot, seething with intense hatred.
"Die! You bastard!"
The man stared at him in disbelief.
"Su Qing, how dare you-agh!"
The intense pain and massive blood loss quickly blurred his consciousness.
Driven by the desire to survive, he reached out toward a certain corner instead of begging Su Qing for mercy, pleading:
"Save me, save me..."
But no one answered him.
Or rather, silence was the best answer.
Squish, squish-
Su Qing stabbed him more than a dozen times in succession, tearing a gaping hole in his chest. Only when the man had stopped breathing entirely did Su Qing finally stop.
Then he threw away the dagger, covered his face with his blood-soaked hands, and wept bitterly.
"Why? Why did it have to be you? Why?!"
Click, click, click, click-
The sound of high heels came from outside.
A figure slowly emerged from a dark corner.
When she stepped into the sunlight,
she proved to be an exquisitely beautiful, mature woman.
The beautiful woman was unmoved by the mangled corpse on the ground. She said coldly, "Your request has been fulfilled. From now on, work hard for us."
She was the mastermind behind this murder. Killing the man had been Su Qing's request, and now that the man was dead, it was time for Su Qing to repay her.
To her surprise, Su Qing stopped crying and slowly lowered his hands, revealing his bloodstained, twisted face.
"Don't even think about it!"
"Dream on!"
The mature woman's beautiful eyes turned cold.
"What did you say? You're going back on your word?"
"I said, eat shit!"
"You beasts are worse than pigs and dogs!"
"You actually believed me? You want me to do evil with you? Keep dreaming!"
Su Qing spread his arms and burst out laughing.
The beautiful woman looked angry and humiliated.
Su Qing had actually played her.
"Courting death!"
She flicked her right hand, and a barbed iron whip slid out.
Specks of blood and scraps of flesh clung to its sharp iron barbs.
"I'll show you what it means to wish you were dead!"
She decided to make Su Qing experience the greatest pain this world had to offer!
"Whoosh-!"
The iron whip tore through the air with a piercing shriek, hurtling straight toward Su Qing's face like the grim reaper's scythe!
Su Qing closed his eyes, calmly accepting death.
After the man died, his own determination to live had faded with him.
"Wind threads, dance with the shears!"
"Clang-!"
A piercing clash of metal rang out, sparks scattering as the iron whip was knocked back, vibrating with a hum.
The beautiful woman's pupils contracted slightly.
"Who?!"