"Su Bai, Ayaka, you two go ahead and look around. Paimon and I will go help Thoma buy some things."
"Go ahead, little Paimon. If you see anything nice, you can buy it. Just put the bill on the Kamisato Clan's tab."
"Wow! Ayaka, you are truly a good person!"
Ayaka smiled and watched Paimon, who was thinking about what to buy, leave the festival. Watching Paimon and the others walk further away, Ayaka's face flushed slightly as she looked at Su Bai. Finally, she could spend some time alone with him.
At this moment, Su Bai was still savoring the taste of the fried skewers and did not notice Ayaka's unusual behavior. Of course, even if he had noticed, he would not have thought in that direction, as they had known each other for far too long.
"Su Bai, let us go take a look over there. I have not really had the chance to properly stroll around this festival."
Ayaka pointed to a less crowded area and made the suggestion in a soft, gentle voice. Su Bai naturally did not object, stood up, and accompanied her as they walked over.
Along the way, Su Bai told Ayaka many stories about Liyue. Listening to Su Bai describe Liyue, Ayaka could not help but feel a sense of yearning. Having never left Inazuma, she was actually very curious about the outside world, but her status forced her to suppress that curiosity. Now that Su Bai was mentioning Liyue, she listened with great fascination.
"Ayaka, it seems there are no vendors around here. Let us head back."
As they talked, they reached the edge of the festival. This location was quite remote, with few people wandering around and no vendors setting up stalls. Everything seemed so peaceful.
Looking around, seeing that no one was nearby, Ayaka's heart leaped with joy. Was this not the perfect place she had been dreaming of?
Oh, Shogun, please bless me and let this succeed.
"Um, Su Bai, I..."
After a moment of internal struggle, Ayaka parted her lips. But just as the words carrying a young girl's feelings were about to leave her mouth, a loud, rumbling noise interrupted her.
"Hmm? It seems like there was some kind of accident over there. Ayaka, let us go take a look together. We should make sure nothing bad happened."
Ayaka's expression stiffened. Although she was very reluctant in her heart, she still nodded. After all, this festival was hosted by the Yashiro Commission. For the sake of ensuring the festival went smoothly, it was necessary for her to go check it out personally. It was just a pity about this perfect opportunity to confess.
Seeing that Ayaka had no objections, Su Bai took her hand and ran toward the source of the rumbling noise. If it were any other time, Su Bai might not have been this attentive, but this time he had sensed a familiar Geo element, which forced him to go check it out himself.
As expected, things developed exactly as Su Bai had guessed. When he and Ayaka arrived, they only saw Itto lying on the ground with a bruised and swollen face, while little Zhongtuo was sitting on his back.
"Speak, do you yield or not?"
"I am the great Arataki Itto, Number One Under Heaven! For me to yield? Impossible! If my Vision had not been confiscated by that Kujou tengu, would I have lost?"
"Oh ho, you have a pretty tough mouth. Later, when Hu Tao sends you to the afterlife, your whole body will be soft, and I am afraid only your mouth will remain hard."
Seeing that Itto still refused to yield, Azhdaha kicked him in the butt a few more times. Itto let out a few "Ahhh" yelps, but his stubborn demeanor did not change in the slightest.
"Ahem, Hu Tao, what is going on here? Did Itto steal little Zhongtuo's lollipop?"
Considering Itto's past "glorious" deeds, Su Bai decided to ask Hu Tao what exactly had happened. Hu Tao shrugged and spoke innocently.
"We originally just wanted to come to the festival to sort out dinner. But this big guy blocked us, insisted on taking our phones, and even wanted to send Zhongli to jail."
"Uh, could there be some kind of misunderstanding here?"
Three question marks popped up on Su Bai's forehead. He knew Itto better than anyone, and Itto was simply not the type of person to forcefully rob others of their belongings.
"Do you think that is why little Zhongtuo is angry? No, no, no. The reason little Zhongtuo is angry is that this big idiot actually thought she was Zhongli's child."
"That immediately made little Zhongtuo's fur stand on end. Tsk, tsk, tsk, how pitiful~"
Hu Tao took out her phone, snapped a few photos of Itto's miserable state, and sent them to the group chat. The corner of Su Bai's eye twitched.
Well, it seems Itto's miserable state is about to go viral.
[Hu Tao: This guy got beaten up by little Zhongtuo for saying the wrong thing. But Shinobu, why did your boss call us thieves?]
[Kuki Shinobu: This... maybe because the boss does not know you, and you have phones in your hands, so he mistook you for thieves?]
[Hu Tao: Uh, should he not have realized we are Su Bai's friends?]
[Kuki Shinobu: Given the boss's brain, he probably really could not think that far ahead.]
[Hu Tao: ... Alright, this Director gives up.]
"Alright, Zhongtuo, let Itto go. He is my friend. There might have been a misunderstanding between you two just now."
Lifting Zhongtuo off Itto, Azhdaha let out a cold snort.
Damn it, this big idiot is stupid enough, but his eyes are also malfunctioning. Could he not tell that I and Morax are siblings?
"Hey, cough, cough, cough. Su Bai, is this father with two children your friend? No wonder they have phones. Hey, hey, hey, little brat, what are you doing? I am warning you, if you take one more step forward, I will not hold back."
"Ahhh, no!"
"Why are kids these days so strong? My head!"
Holding the large bump on his head, Itto felt a bit depressed. He never expected that one day he would be beaten up by a little girl. This was truly a disgrace.
No, when I get back, I need to pick up the Oni sword techniques and practice. Losing to a little girl is way too embarrassing.
"Let me tell you, you big idiot, if you ever call me Zhongli's daughter again, I will rip those two horns off your head and use them as fishhooks!"
Azhdaha glared fiercely at Itto. If Zhongli had not held her back, she definitely would not have let Itto off so easily. Itto was a bit stunned by Azhdaha's words. Was this little girl not that man's daughter? Wait, could it be that!
Not knowing what Itto was thinking, the look in his eyes as he stared at Zhongli began to turn somewhat bizarre, even bordering on disgust. Meanwhile, Zhongli, who was sipping an Inazuman iced drink nearby, was completely bewildered. He had only drunk some juice and done nothing else, so why was he being looked at like that? Just as Zhongli was puzzled, Itto noticed some passing Shogun's Army soldiers and pointed at Zhongli, shouting loudly.
"Hey, you guys over there, hurry up and come here! There is a bad guy here who likes little kids! Hurry up and arrest him and throw him in jail for some education!"
"Huh?????"
The corner of Zhongli's mouth twitched, and he directly spat out the iced drink in his mouth. What the heck? He liked little girls? No, what was all this nonsense? Could this Oni kid's brain have been broken by Azhdaha's beating?