Crack-
"Why did your left foot step forward before your right? You deserve punishment!"
Crack-
"Now your right foot stepped forward before your left. You deserve punishment!"
Crack-
"You even dared to jump. Are you trying to look down on me from above? You deserve punishment!"
Yinyue: o(▼皿▼メ)o
Kill him!
Kill him!
Kill him!
At that moment, it was the only thought left in Yinyue's mind.
Lan Yan watched a certain smug person in speechless exasperation.
He was telling Yinyue to walk while making excuses to whip her.
That's enough.
Even if she were deliberately trying to find fault, she couldn't have come up with excuses like those.
"Oh? Stopping? Who told you to stop? You deserve punishment!"
Crack-
Shen Luolun swung his little whip, landing another lash on Yinyue's butt.
Her dress hid everything, but her snowy buttocks were already red all over.
The slightest movement brought a stinging ache.
Yinyue felt utterly humiliated and wanted nothing more than to blow up together with Shen Luolun, but when she thought of... she held back for now!
Lan Yan watched for a long while before she finally couldn't take it anymore. She said:
"Don't go too far. Even captives have human rights."
Yinyue was delighted. Thinking Lan Yan was speaking up for her, she shot her a grateful look.
Sure enough, Lan Yan was a good girl.
Shen Luolun: "Then what do you want me to do?"
Surely she doesn't want me to let Yinyue off?
I've only whipped her a little over five hundred times, and she already feels sorry for her?
He hadn't even used much force, just a gentle flick.
Sure enough, women were kind creatures who couldn't bear to see the slightest bit of cruelty.
"Can't you whip her somewhere else? Why keep hitting her butt? Isn't her back a bigger target?" Lan Yan thought for a moment before answering.
"Huh?"
Shen Luolun was astonished.
Are you serious, Sister Yan?
He whipped Yinyue's butt because it had plenty of flesh and wouldn't cause lasting harm.
What was her back? Rows of flesh and bone, much thinner than her butt. Even with the slight force he was using, a single lash would probably leave a red mark on Yinyue's back. Another five hundred lashes would surely tear her skin open and leave her covered in wounds.
Besides, her internal organs were right beneath the bones in her back. Too many lashes there could really cause trouble.
So you're this ruthless. Impressive, impressive.
I take back what I said.
Yinyue's face went deathly pale.
She hadn't expected Lan Yan to be even more ruthless than this bastard.
If she were whipped directly on the back another five hundred times, she'd probably be half-dead.
"What's wrong with you two? Why do you look so surprised?" Lan Yan asked, puzzled.
"Nothing, nothing. You're right, absolutely right. I can't believe I didn't think of it. A-Yan, you're amazing." Shen Luolun gave her a thumbs-up.
Wasn't it a bit of a waste for her to study only magical arts? She had the potential to be an executioner too.
Lycurgus: "Executioner? (Keyword triggered) Ah, the savior from beyond the heavens, has my executioner come? I have waited a long time. Pass through the waves and sea spray of the temple and come to my side. (Suggestive tone)"
Shen Luolun: "Damn it, this is Genshin Impact, not Honkai: Star Rail. Get lost!"
"...I keep feeling like you're humoring me." Lan Yan puffed out her cheeks.
Shen Luolun laughed it off. "No, that's just your imagination."
"Forget it. I've had enough fun, so I'll stop whipping her."
"Let's hurry over to Lumine."
He put away the little whip.
Seeing this, Lan Yan felt a little disappointed for some reason, and her hands itched to try it too, but she was too embarrassed to say so. After all, she was a good girl.
"Mm, let's not waste any more time, then."
Yinyue wept tears of joy.
They were finally going to stop tormenting her.
At that moment, she felt the air was sweet and the sun outside was rounder.
With no further interruptions, the three soon arrived at the beef noodle restaurant.
But the sight before them shocked Lan Yan and Shen Luolun.
"There were so many people. Where did they all go?"
The enormous crowd of over ten thousand people that had blocked the place earlier had vanished, leaving only the deserted beef noodle restaurant and a few balls of paper rolling across the ground in the wind.
"Could it have been Lumine and Xiangling? How did they do it? Let's go in and see."
The three entered the beef noodle restaurant, and when they opened the door, the scene inside gave them another surprise.
A middle-aged man was holding another man high in the air by the throat with one hand. His eyes were bloodshot, and he paid no heed to the man struggling in his grip.
Lumine and Xiangling were watching from the side, but Lumine had already raised the Starblade Sword. Judging by the slight bend in her knees, she was clearly preparing to stop the middle-aged man's violence.
"A-Luo, Lan Yan?"
The arrival of the three briefly startled everyone present.
Lumine lowered the Starblade Sword and said:
"You came at just the right time. Xiangling's cooking has already defeated their Emotion-Forsaking Beef Noodles. The noodles' effects have worn off, and the residents are all back to normal."
"That's great, Lumine! You two were amazing!" Shen Luolun praised them.
"But what's going on with them?"
"They-" Lumine had just started to speak when suddenly-
"A-Yin-!"
A voice suddenly rang out, full of excitement and emotion.
When the middle-aged man saw Yinyue, his fierce eyes instantly turned red, glistening with tears.
With a flick of his arm, he threw the dying man to the ground.
"You, I... we've finally met again."
He stepped forward and even opened his arms to embrace her, but Yinyue's icy gaze forced him back.
"Get lost! Don't even think about coming near me!"
"A-Yin, you-"
At a loss, he stood there like a child who had done something wrong.
"Tang Hao, I'll never forgive you in this lifetime. Never!"
"If you so much as lay a finger on me, I'll kill you on the spot!"
Those harsh, resolute words made Tang Hao, a lean and powerful man, collapse to the ground.
He said bitterly:
"After all these years, has the bond between us as husband and wife really vanished completely?"
"Is there no room at all for things to improve between us?"
A complicated look flashed in Yinyue's eyes, and she shook her head.
"Tang Hao, you brought all this on yourself. Your stubbornness wore away our feelings for each other long ago. Ever since what happened to Xiaoyue, the last of our bond as husband and wife has completely disappeared too."
"There's nothing left for us to talk about."
The bitterness on Tang Hao's face deepened.
"I thought that since this guy had something of yours, you'd changed your mind..."
"Heh, you wish."
Yinyue said coldly:
"You owe me this. Even if I told you to die, you'd have to die!"
Tang Hao lowered his head in silence.
Clearly, he accepted what Yinyue had said.
Meanwhile, on the other side.
Shen Luolun munched on popcorn, crunch, crunch, his eyes shining as he watched the drama unfold.
Whoa, whoa, these two know each other?
Husband and wife, a falling-out, and it sounds like they have a child named Xiaoyue?
Oh boy, this is some juicy gossip.
Lan Yan came over, grabbed a handful, and said:
"Where did you pull all these snacks from? Do you have somewhere to store things on you? I can't see it at all."
"Oh, it's a storage device a younger aunt of mine far away in Mondstadt gave me. It can hold a lot of things. I usually fill it with snacks so I can take them out whenever I want."
"You have a younger aunt that amazing?" Lan Yan tossed a few pieces of popcorn into her mouth and chewed.
"She's not related by blood. She's my mom's best friend. She's really capable, but she likes playing tricks on kids. After making them cry, she'll give them candy with a smile, then keep teasing them." Shen Luolun couldn't help complaining as he recalled that aunt's pranks.
Although the pranks never went too far and were even fairly gentle, he would inadvertently step into a trap she had set and have to solve a series of puzzles to get through it. Afterward, he still had to thank her for the generous gift she gave him as an elder. She did this more than ten times a year, leaving Shen Luolun feeling rather helpless.
"She sounds a little... mischievous? I guess that's what you'd expect from Auntie Jindai's close friend. They really are quite alike." Lan Yan added a little complaint of her own.
Clearly, Shen Luolun's mother had left her with much the same impression.