"What did you guys do before that made Dvalin so afraid of you?"
Lumine, unable to contain her curiosity, turned her head and asked.
Hearing this, Jesse slowly pulled out a drawing board, on which a suffocating scene was depicted in stick figures:
The chibi Dvalin was sticking his rear out, his dragon face filled with terror.
Behind him, a hand formed of purple energy was striking the classic "Thousand Years of Death" pose, accompanied by the onomatopoeia "Puchi."
Lumine: "..."
She subconsciously clamped her legs together, feeling a faint ache in a certain area.
Vicious! Absolutely vicious!
Lumine, holding Paimon, hurried along the forest path, trying to shake the image of Dvalin being subjected to the "Thousand Years of Death" out of her mind.
Paimon swung back and forth in her arms, looking confused: "Traveler, why are you walking so fast? There aren't any monsters chasing us..."
Before she finished speaking, a crisp "click" sounded from behind them.
Everyone turned around and saw Elliot, who had somehow pulled out an old-fashioned instant camera and was taking a picture of the drawing board in Jesse's hand.
The photo slowly emerged, clearly showing a close-up of Dvalin's "dark history."
"Just for posterity."
Elliot smugly tucked the photo into an album titled "Teyvat Rare Creature Index" on the cover.
Lumine: "..."
She suddenly wanted to stuff these people into a tornado and blow them away too.
Behind them, the quartet slowly followed.
Jesse stroked his chin: "Next up should be Amber's appearance, right?"
Elliot rubbed his hands together: "Should we prepare anything?"
Matt: "Can't we just let nature take its course?"
Zane adjusted his mask: "Amber doesn't know us. Given her personality as an Outrider Knight, she will likely mistake Lumine for an accomplice of the Abyss Order... We'll have to watch out for sneak attacks."
Jesse nodded thoughtfully, then suddenly pulled a coil of thick hemp rope from his four-dimensional pocket.
"So..."
He showed a gentle smile.
"Are we going to beat Amber up and tie her down?"
Elliot: "!!!"
Matt: "???"
Zane: "..."
After three seconds of silence, Elliot gave a thumbs-up: "Good heavens... if she won't listen to reason, we'll talk physical!"
Matt scratched his head: "But... that really is a good idea."
Zane sighed and silently pulled out a tranquilizer dart: "Then I'll be responsible for keeping her quiet."
The group continued forward.
Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled shadows, and the wind carried the fresh scent of dandelions.
This should have been a pleasant journey, if not for the following scene:
Jesse practiced various knots with the rope as he walked;
Elliot occasionally pulled out strange props (including but not limited to back scratchers and pepper spray);
Matt carried a mace on his shoulder with a sign hanging from it that read "Free Cupping Therapy";
Zane fiddled with the smoke bombs, tear gas, and tranquilizer darts in his hands.
Paimon quietly flew up to Lumine's ear: "I have a feeling they are plotting something terrifying..."
Lumine silently quickened her pace: "Let's walk faster and try to get there before dark..."
"Whoosh!"
A Burning arrow suddenly struck the tree trunk right in front of them.
"Suspicious individuals ahead, stop immediately!"
A clear female voice came from the treetop.
Everyone looked up and saw a girl wearing a rabbit ear bow, drawing her longbow taut, with the Pyro element dancing on the arrowhead.
Paimon exclaimed in panic: "Wait, she seems to think we're the bad guys!"
Just as Lumine was about to explain, a synchronized "shush" sound came from behind her—
Jesse and the other three had, at some unknown point, put on black masks and painted their bodies with black and red pigments, making them look like a dark force, and they were holding... "Wait! When did you prepare those sacks?!"
Lumine looked back in horror.
Jesse: "Professional team, always on standby."
Elliot said while stuffing feathers into a sack: "Don't worry, this is used for..."
"Boom!"
A cloud of smoke suddenly exploded; it turned out Zane had thrown a smoke bomb.
When the smoke cleared, Amber was nowhere to be seen on the tree.
Matt had an incessantly squirming sack on his shoulder: "Got her."
A muffled shout came from inside the sack: "Let me go! The Knights of Favonius won't let you get away with this!"
Lumine covered her face in despair: "Are we really going to enter the city like this..."
Paimon was terrified speechless: "I-Is it too late for us to surrender now?"
"Don't worry, this stuff isn't for you."
Jesse confidently shook the hemp rope in his hand, flashing a smile he thought was gentle.
However, five minutes later.
Zane looked at Amber, who was tied up like a zongzi, and a vein pulsed on his forehead.
The Outrider Knight was tied up in an extremely undignified posture: her hands and feet were bound together with rough hemp rope, making her look like a suckling pig ready for slaughter; her mouth was stuffed with a rag found from unknown origins; her normally lively rabbit ear bow stood up straight in anger, and her large, Amber eyes screamed, "You are all dead."
The most outrageous part was—Jesse had even tied a bow on her back!
"Jesse!"
Zane punched his teammate on the head.
"Are you tying up a wild boar?! And why did you gag her mouth! We came here to negotiate, not to kidnap!"
"Ouch!"
An exaggerated lump instantly swelled up on Jesse's head, perfectly replicating the shape of Qingyun Peak in Liyue.
Amber: "Mmmph! Mmmph!!"
(Translation: I'm going to send all of you to the Knights of Favonius Prison!)
Lumine and Paimon stood aside, their faces clearly saying, "I don't know these people."
Paimon whispered: "Are we really going to travel with this group of perverts..."
Just as Zane was preparing to use a whiteboard to explain, his peripheral vision caught Elliot creeping toward Amber, holding a—black lace blindfold?!
"Elliot, what are you doing!!"
Zane's roar startled the birds in the trees, and the whiteboard traced a perfect parabola in the air before slapping Elliot across the face.
Elliot rubbed his nose mournfully: "Aren't we supposed to take Amber into the city? Negotiate with the Knights of Favonius using Amber as a hostage..."
"That's the Fatui's style!"
Zane was so angry his mask was crooked.
"Our goal is communication! Communication! We tied Amber up because we need to force her to communicate with us! Otherwise, she won't listen!"
Matt squatted nearby and suddenly raised his hand: "Then how about we try my method?"
After speaking, Matt pulled out a bottle of potion labeled, "Memory Erasing Potion."
Amber: "!!!" (Shaking her head wildly)
Although Amber couldn't understand, she was certain that this group had absolutely malicious intentions!
Lumine finally couldn't watch anymore and stepped forward quickly: "Enough!"
She deftly untied the rag from Amber's mouth.
"We are..."
"Help! There are perverted Hilichurls!!"
Amber's scream instantly echoed through the sky.
In the direction of Mondstadt City in the distance, the sound of armor clashing suddenly rang out.
Paimon clutched her head in despair: "It's over, it's over, the entire Knights of Favonius has mobilized..."
Jesse silently pulled out a Galaxy Destruction Bomb: "Shall we communicate physically?"
Everyone: "Shut up!!!"
At this moment, Venti, at the top of the cathedral, laughed so hard he rolled off the bell tower.