Shenhe quickly turned her gaze toward Su Ming, a smile playing on her lips that, to him, looked rather frightening.
"So, this was a gift from you, Su Ming?"
Before Su Ming could respond, Lumine interjected whether intentionally or not and said, "That's right, he gave it to me!"
Then, as if asserting her claim, Lumine tilted her head and beamed at Su Ming.
Su Ming: "..."
To Su Ming's surprise, however, Shenhe calmed down unexpectedly.
She let out a soft sigh and asked nervously, "Is your hand... truly all right? Calamity Queller is no ordinary blade; it is better not to push yourself."
Su Ming helplessly held out his right hand, the one that had just caught the tip of the spear, and spread his palm. "It is really fine. If you don't believe me, see for yourself."
Shenhe didn't hold back, immediately taking Su Ming's palm in hers. She began to stroke and rub it gently.
"Hmm... it really is fine... Junior Brother's hand..."
As she rubbed it, a faint, barely noticeable blush crept onto her face.
"Cough... uh, Senior Sister, can you let go now?"
"Shenhe!"
Su Ming had to call her name several times before she snapped out of it and stopped her movements.
"I am sorry..."
Shenhe quickly retracted her hand and turned to Lumine. "Is she... your friend, Junior Brother?"
Su Ming nodded. "Yeah. I need to head to Liyue Harbor next. Do you want to come along?"
"I..." Shenhe hesitated. She had never been comfortable in crowded places. To be honest, if Su Ming hadn't invited her in for a chat, she wouldn't have even entered this inn.
Seeing her hesitation, Su Ming added, "If you don't want to go, you can head back to Mt. Aocang."
"Junior Brother, must you go? Can't you... can't you come back with me?"
Su Ming shook his head. "Not this time."
"Sigh... in that case, wherever you go, I shall follow." Shenhe took a deep breath, finally making a difficult decision.
Paimon: "Ehh?! She's coming with us?!"
Paimon panicked instantly upon hearing Shenhe's answer. Even though she knew Shenhe was Su Ming's senior sister and couldn't be a bad person, her murderous aura from earlier that morning had been far too intense for Paimon's tiny heart. In Paimon's mind, Shenhe was now tied with Diluc for the number one spot on the list of people you must never provoke.
Lumine chided her, "Paimon! Mind your manners!"
Then, she smiled at Shenhe. "Though there was a misunderstanding, we'll be traveling together from now on. Let's introduce ourselves properly. I'm Lumine, and this is Paimon."
Shenhe looked at Lumine's extended hand and then at the timid Paimon hiding behind Lumine's head. After a moment of hesitation, she reached out her own hand.
"Shenhe. Regarding this morning... I am sorry. I should have clarified the situation before acting."
Lumine: "...So fighting was always going to be part of the process, huh?"
Lumine muttered her complaint under her breath before continuing, "It is fine, it is fine. You and Su Ming must be very close, right? Training together in the same sect is practically like being real siblings. It is only natural to worry and act rashly when you think he is in trouble."
Shenhe looked at Lumine with surprise. "You don't blame me?"
"It is not your fault. It is all because a certain someone didn't leave a message before going out, leaving you to worry." Lumine huffed, glancing at Su Ming, who was currently trying to act invisible.
Shenhe turned her gaze toward him as well.
Feeling uneasy under their stares, Su Ming spoke up. "Um, you haven't had breakfast yet, right? Let's go downstairs and eat."
Paimon, who couldn't read the room at all, was the first to agree. "Great idea! I've been wanting to try Liyue's specialty breakfast for ages!"
Distracted by the mention of food, Lumine and Shenhe turned their attention away. They were both quite hungry. Shenhe especially having rushed all this way without eating, combined with the earlier skirmish, her stomach was now growling.
The group went downstairs and, on the recommendation of the innkeeper, Huai'an, ordered a table full of food. After enjoying a hearty meal, they prepared to set off for Liyue Harbor.
"Lumine, what do you plan to do once we're back in Liyue Harbor?" Su Ming asked.
Lumine thought for a moment. "I'll go to the Northland Bank first and exchange information with that Fatui Harbinger. I want to see if there are any channels to meet the god here. Even if it's just a corpse, that would be enough."
Shenhe looked up at those words. "Why are you so obsessed with the whereabouts of Rex Lapis?"
Paimon jumped in before Lumine could speak, acting as her mouthpiece and explaining their goal to Shenhe and Su Ming. Their purpose was to find the unknown god who had taken Lumine's brother and more importantly, to find her brother's whereabouts.
Unlike Su Ming, who knew everything and remained calm, Shenhe was astonished. "So the purpose of your journey is to find your blood kin?"
"Yep!" Paimon nodded.
Su Ming pondered whether he should give Lumine a spoiler. After all, he knew exactly where Aether was. Sharing that information would be a major shortcut and would certainly alter the plot drastically.
But the problem was: how could he make Lumine believe him? He had no proof, only his word, and he had no prior connection to the twins. If he suddenly told Lumine her brother was now the leader of the Abyss terrorists and planning a massive rebellion,
she likely wouldn't believe him. Given what had happened in Mondstadt, the Abyss Order was a total villainous organization in Lumine's eyes. Convincing her that her brother was now an Abyss leader would be difficult.
Forget it. Aether was going to cause trouble later anyway. Su Ming decided to wait until the siblings met before slowly guiding her.
However, since Lumine seemed set on following the original story path, Su Ming realized he needed to make some changes of his own.
🚨 Note: Consider supporting this story on Patreon.com/Flokixy to access 400+ advance chapters and 2 new chapters daily! (Full story bundles also available without a subscription).