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If it were something else—for example, if Yelan had said, "Oh, it's not easy to run into each other in a foreign land. I haven't had breakfast yet, so how about you treat me to a meal?"—then Shao Yun would have been able to afford it, since he had nothing to do at the moment anyway.
But taking Yelan to see Yanfei was another matter entirely—during this period of time, Shao Yun had basically never seen Yanfei or Eula come out of their room.
Shao Yun had also promised Eula that he would keep his visits to a minimum, so he could only refuse in a teasing manner.
Seeing that Shao Yun had rejected her, Yelan blinked her eyes delicately and deliberately said in a pitiful, tender tone, "Oh my, I've heard that Fleuve Cendre is extremely dangerous!"
"It's said to be a breeding ground for crime—murder, arson, robbery, theft, and all kinds of illegal transactions. Just thinking about it is terrifying!"
"A frail woman like me—what if I accidentally fall into the hands of bad people and get abducted? What would I do then?"
As she spoke, she even lightly pressed a hand to her chest, as if she were truly frightened.
Watching Yelan desperately trying to put on a weak and helpless act, Shao Yun nearly burst out laughing.
However, he managed to hold it in and teased her instead, "Oh really? A beauty? Frail? With your abilities, any human trafficker who dares abduct you would probably need to seriously consider whether they even have what it takes!"
"I say you should go tell jokes at the Opera Epiclese—with your acting talent, you'd absolutely become a master-level performer!"
"But then again, if you really do get sold off someday, remember to have the traffickers write to me—I'll come over and laugh at you in person for a while."
As he finished speaking, he even raised his eyebrows at Yelan.
Yelan shot Shao Yun an annoyed look and complained, "You—you're only refusing me like this because we're already so familiar, aren't you?"
Shao Yun nodded firmly and answered seriously, "That's right. Besides, Fleuve Cendre is actually fairly safe—aside from being a bit dark and damp, everything else is fine."
"Don't tell me your understanding of Fleuve Cendre comes from novels—if that's the case, I'll laugh at you for two and a half years!"
Hearing Shao Yun put it that way, Yelan understood that there was no point in pushing the matter further.
So, she nodded tactfully and said goodbye with a smile, "Alright then, let's forget it this time. I hope we'll have another chance to travel together in the future."
As he watched Yelan's departing figure, Shao Yun suddenly seemed to remember something and quickly called out, "Hey, wait—there's one more thing I need to tell you."
"That small tavern next to the Spina di Rosula—don't drink any of the beverages they sell there, or you'll end up like last time in The Chasm, with your legs so weak from diarrhea that you won't even be able to walk!"
Upon hearing this, Yelan's foot slipped abruptly, and her body instantly lost balance, looking like she was about to take a humiliating fall flat on the ground.
Fortunately, she reacted quickly and stabilized herself in time, but she still couldn't help turning back to glare fiercely at Shao Yun, her gaze dark and resentful.
If it were anyone other than Shao Yun, Yelan would have already thrown a punch.
"You jerk; you actually dare bring that up again to tease me! Believe it or not, I—"
She stopped halfway through her sentence, racking her brain to think of a way to retaliate.
After a moment, Yelan finally squeezed out a threat so childish it was like kids bickering.
"Believe it or not, I'll secretly slip laxatives into your food when you're not paying attention, and let you experience the joy of diarrhea yourself!"
After hearing Yelan's threat, a strange expression appeared on Shao Yun's face as he commented with an amused half-smile, "Isn't that threat a bit lacking in intimidation?"
Hearing this, Yelan suddenly felt powerless and sighed helplessly as she explained, "That's already the most appropriate threat I could think of."
"The others are either too weak to scare you at all, or if I actually carried them out, I'd probably end up getting taken down by you instead."
Seeing Yelan's aggrieved expression, Shao Yun scratched his head and let out a dry laugh as he apologized.
"Haha, I'm sorry—there really won't be a next time."
Yelan lightly flicked her short blue hair, then struck an extremely cool pose and said, "Hmph, I'll remain skeptical… goodbye, and thanks for the directions."
With that, she turned and left, leaving behind a dashing silhouette.
...
After parting ways with Yelan, Shao Yun wandered around the Court of Fontaine, since Lumine and Paimon had disappeared early in the morning, leaving behind only a note saying they had gone to take on commissions.
Without realizing it, Shao Yun found himself near the Adventurers' Guild when he suddenly heard a familiar burst of laughter.
Following the sound, he was surprised to discover Fontaine's number-one "poll queen," Navia, standing in front of the Adventurers' Guild reception desk, chatting merrily with Lumine and Paimon.
Perhaps sensing Shao Yun's gaze, Navia casually glanced over with the corner of her eye and happened to see him approaching.
She immediately waved enthusiastically at Shao Yun and called out loudly, "Hello there, Mr. Shao Yun!"
Seeing this, Shao Yun responded politely, "Hello, Miss Navia."
At that moment, Shao Yun suddenly noticed that Lumine and Paimon had just turned around to face him.
He couldn't help feeling both helpless and amused, and teased them, "I have to say, you two really got up early today… didn't even wait for me to have breakfast together?"
Upon hearing this, Paimon immediately put her hands on her hips and retorted indignantly, "Hmph! You've got some nerve saying that—it's clearly because you slept in! We were originally planning to call you and go take a commission together."
As she spoke, she even stuck out her tongue playfully at Shao Yun.
"But luckily, we happened to run into Navia here, so we just chatted with her first."
Navia placed her right hand elegantly on her hip and said energetically, "Haha, we were talking about when to take you guys to Poisson! I promised I'd take you there to have fun. Since I've been free lately, it's the perfect time to fulfill that promise."
Hearing that Navia still remembered this, Shao Yun said, "Really? Poisson is a pretty good vacation choice. I heard about it before from Miss Aeval, that Melusine—she said the environment there is very beautiful."
At this point, Navia suddenly changed the subject and said, "However, before that, I need to go visit Clorinde."
Seeing this, Shao Yun made small talk and asked, "Oh? Does that mean the misunderstanding between you two has already been resolved?"
Navia nodded lightly and answered, "Yes. My father was killed by Vacher—Clorinde was only doing her duty. The real culprit is dead now, but she's injured, so I need to hurry and go see her."
Beside them, Paimon blinked her lively eyes as Charlotte's words from a few days ago suddenly surfaced in her mind.
She quickly raised her little hand and suggested, "In that case, why don't we go visit Clorinde together? No matter what, she's eaten with us before!"
"What do you think, Shao Yun?" Paimon asked eagerly, looking at him with hopeful eyes.
After thinking for a moment, Shao Yun replied, "I think that sounds great, but shouldn't we prepare some gifts before visiting? Going empty-handed feels a bit impolite."
Hearing Shao Yun mention buying gifts, Navia quickly waved her hands and shook her head. "Oh, no need! I've already prepared the gifts. And Melus and Silver even made a special trip to Liyue to buy medicine."
When Paimon heard Navia mention Melus and Silver, she immediately perked up, stretching her neck and looking around curiously. "Then where are they now? Why don't I see them?"
Navia chuckled and explained, "Oh, they're busy right now."
"They're currently responsible for a joint operation between the Spina di Rosula and the Palais Mermonia."
"This operation is mainly aimed at cracking down on the protective forces behind the Cabrière Chamber of Commerce's sale of Leis. It's a difficult and important mission that requires—"
Shao Yun caught on immediately and smoothly picked up the thread. "Mm, I get it—this is what you call cooperation between law enforcement and civilians, right? Everyone working together to combat illegal activities."
Navia responded enthusiastically, "Yes, yes, exactly! With close cooperation between the authorities and the public, I'm sure we'll be able to effectively eradicate these evils."
Shao Yun couldn't help but sigh. "In that case, it feels like the status of the Spina di Rosula will rise even further."
...
Clorinde's apartment was located in the Quartier Lyonnais, and it was worth noting that the headquarters of the Duelist Champions was also set up in this area.
Probably for commuting convenience…
Shao Yun curiously examined the seemingly ordinary apartment building in front of him and couldn't help voicing his thoughts.
"I originally thought someone as formidable as Fontaine's strongest Duelist Deputy would live in a villa out in the wild… I didn't expect her to live here."
Standing beside him, Navia smiled and explained, "What you're talking about is probably Clorinde's home in her hometown."
"Because of her work, Clorinde usually stays in an apartment in the Court of Fontaine, and only goes back during holidays."
As she spoke, Navia paused to think and then recalled, "If I remember correctly, her childhood home should be just south of Poisson. Back then, we often played together!"
"And also…" Navia continued with a smile appearing on her face, "Clorinde's mentor, 'Petronilla,' really wasn't great at cooking, so Clorinde often came over to my place to mooch meals."
Hearing this, Shao Yun nodded in agreement. "That makes sense. If she really lived outside the city, commuting every day would indeed be a problem."
Right after that, Shao Yun noticed Navia mention Clorinde's mentor being bad at cooking.
He couldn't help but mock himself, saying, "Still, no matter how bad her mentor's cooking was, it was probably better than Pearson's pickled offal stew!"
At this, Navia froze slightly and asked in confusion, "Pear… what? And what kind of stew?"
Seeing this, Paimon hurriedly tried to cover up the awkward situation in a flustered manner.
"Oh, don't mind it! Shao Yun always likes to spout nonsense and say things that make no sense. Let's just hurry inside!"
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