"Lumine! Watch out!" Paimon shouted from behind a large tree, her face a mask of panic.
Lumine was currently in a dire situation. Staring at the white-haired woman wielding a spear before her, she was truly at a loss for words. She had racked her brain but couldn't imagine how she could have offended this woman,
or when she could have possibly done so. This was supposed to be their first meeting, yet Lumine couldn't understand why the woman before her radiated such intense killing intent.
Lumine had woken up quite early that morning. Thinking about the events of the previous day, she had planned to head into the wild to gather some fresh ingredients. Her plan was to borrow the kitchen and prepare a magnificent breakfast for Su Ming as a way to return his kindness.
However, before she could even begin gathering ingredients, she had barely stepped out of the inn when this woman blocked her path.
"Where is he?"
"Huh? Excuse me, are you talking to me?"
"You won't talk? Then I shall beat it out of you!"
That was the extent of their only exchange.
There was an old saying that when a conversation was going nowhere, even half a sentence was too much. But this was the first time Lumine had ever met someone who would resort to a physical brawl just because the talk was going poorly. Despite having traveled through countless worlds, this was the first time she had encountered such a hot-tempered older sister.
Lumine struggled to keep up, finding it exceptionally difficult. Even with the power of Anemo and Geo at her side, she could only manage a stalemate. It did nothing to change the fact that she was being one-sidedly thrashed.
Soon, the sword in her hand was knocked flying by the tip of the spear.
However, Lumine remained relatively calm. She used Anemo to lift herself into the air and then used Geo to create massive boulders to hurl at the white-haired woman. Taking advantage of the moment her opponent was dealing with the rocks, Lumine performed a roll and reclaimed her sword.
But that roll caused something to fall out of her pocket.
Hearing a sound, Lumine looked over to see an Ink-black Ice Flower lying on the ground not far away.
"Oh no!" Lumine's heart skipped a beat. She instinctively reached out to pick up the ice flower, but her opponent seized the opening. The long spear lunged forward, aimed straight at Lumine.
Seeing this, Paimon flew toward Lumine, screaming, "Lumine! Be careful!"
Lumine realized too late that she had actually been distracted in the middle of a battle! In her frustration, she watched the incoming attack close in.
"I can't dodge!" Lumine silently gripped the ice flower she had just managed to snatch up and hurriedly raised her sword to block.
But a frantic block like that was useless. The spear tip precisely bypassed her sword, piercing through Lumine's entire defense as it continued its thrust toward her.
Staring at the spear tip inches from her face, Lumine closed her eyes and prepared for the end.
Yet, the anticipated pain never came. She slowly opened her eyes to find that the spear had stopped. A large hand had caught the spear tip, preventing it from advancing a single inch further.
Su Ming looked at the woman before him and sighed helplessly. "Senior Sister, what are you doing? You two have no grudge against each other. Why go straight for the kill?"
"Su Ming! You... are you alright?"
The white-haired woman Shenhe, who had tracked the scent all the way to Wangshu Inn was clearly stunned when she saw Su Ming.
Su Ming let go of the spear, and Shenhe retracted the Calamity Queller. However, the concern etched between her brows was a stark contrast to her usual icy demeanor.
"Your hand..." Shenhe looked at Su Ming's right hand, the one that had just grabbed the tip of the Calamity Queller. She appeared panicked and somewhat at a loss, like a child who had done something wrong.
Su Ming raised his hand, showing her the uninjured palm before saying, "Let's go inside before we talk."
Then, Su Ming bent down and pulled Lumine up from where she sat slumped on the ground.
"Are you okay?" Su Ming asked.
Lumine shook her head. Though she looked a bit disheveled, she wasn't actually hurt. Even though the white-haired woman had radiated heavy killing intent, she hadn't actually tried to kill her from start to finish. Even the spear thrust just now hadn't been aimed at Lumine's vitals.
Nevertheless, Lumine felt a wave of indignation rising within her. She looked at Su Ming with a pouting, aggrieved expression, looking very much like a bullied child who had finally found their guardian to file a complaint.
"I'm sorry," Su Ming said. "My Senior Sister acted recklessly. I believe there has been a misunderstanding, so I'll apologize on her behalf."
Lumine waved her hands quickly. "No, it's fine! I'm not hurt anyway... But, you said she's your Senior Sister?"
"Then why didn't I see her on Mt. Aocang before?"
Su Ming explained, "She went out for training before you came up the mountain. It's my fault for not leaving a note to explain the situation. I suppose she misunderstood something. If you went home and found your entire family had disappeared without a trace or a message, you'd be panicked too, right?"
Lumine nodded, accepting Su Ming's explanation.
The four of them Su Ming, Shenhe, Lumine, and Paimon returned to their room in the inn.
"My apologies. I acted too rashly and nearly hurt you," Shenhe said, admitting her mistake frankly.
In truth, once she saw that Su Ming was safe and sound, eighty percent of her anxiety and unease had vanished. The remaining worry had been for Cloud Retainer, but Su Ming quickly explained everything that had happened.
Su Ming also learned how Shenhe had managed to find them at Wangshu Inn. It turned out she had been tracking Lumine's aura using Adeptal Arts.
Seeing Shenhe apologize, most of Lumine's anger dissipated, and she nodded with a smile to accept the apology. However, Shenhe's next question caused the atmosphere to instantly turn tense.
Shenhe pointed at the ice flower that Lumine was still clutching tightly and asked, "What is that? Is it very important to you? Important enough that you would risk defeat and death in battle just to keep it in your hand?"
Lumine's face turned slightly red. She cast a fleeting, almost imperceptible glance at Su Ming before nodding seriously.
"Yes, it is very important to me."
"After all, this is the first gift Su Ming ever gave me!"
Hearing Lumine say this, Su Ming felt quite happy. No one is unhappy when someone treasures a gift they gave.
However, he soon sensed that something was wrong. The teacup on the table had been frozen solid at some point.
Su Ming hadn't used his powers, so who had done it?
The answer was obvious...
Su Ming turned his head to look. Though Shenhe appeared calm on the surface, no different from her usual self, the red light flickering in her eyes and the swaying of her Red Ropes revealed that her heart was currently anything but peaceful.
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