"Xingqiu: ???
Who's the big sister?!
'Pfft…'
Hearing this, Hu Tao couldn't help but laugh out loud.
'Big sister… hahaha~ Big sister~'
Xingqiu rolled his eyes at her.
'Alright, enough of that.'
Then he crouched down and looked at Klee seriously, saying,
'Little sister, I'm a big brother!'
'Big brother?'
Klee looked at Xingqiu with some confusion, then nodded thoughtfully.
'Klee understands…'
'Hehe~ Klee, you…'
Hu Tao was about to ask more, but her peripheral vision inadvertently swept over and she suddenly recognized a familiar face.
'No way…'
Hu Tao immediately rubbed her eyes, observed carefully for a moment, and then became excited. She dashed off, leaving Xingqiu standing there bewildered.
'Uh…'
'What's no way…'
Ying saw Hu Tao rushing towards her from afar. To prevent her currently fragile body from being knocked unconscious, Ying quickly raised her hands and made a large stop gesture, calling out loudly,
'Stop! Stop!!'
Hearing this, Hu Tao, who had been rushing forward, slammed on the brakes and stopped right in front of Ying. Seeing Hu Tao's confused expression, Ying scratched her cheek and said apologetically,
'Ahem~ Sorry, for some reason, my body is a bit weak right now, so I can't do the kind of moves you might expect.'
'Oh ho…'
Hu Tao blinked her eyes and soon noticed something different about Ying compared to usual…
Well, it was obvious, really. Seeing Ying needing Noelle to help her walk, anyone could have guessed.
Seeing how badly injured Ying was, Hu Tao immediately clenched her small fists and asked aggressively,
'Did someone bully you, Ying? Do you need this Hall Master to teach them a lesson?'
Ying thought for a moment with a troubled expression.
'Uh… I wouldn't say I was bullied, but I do need your help with something.'
As for revenge…
It's just not like the game. Otherwise, I'd really have you beat her up for me…
Hearing that Ying needed help, Hu Tao confidently patted her chest.
'No problem, no problem. I'll definitely help with Ying's matters. Oh, right, Xingqiu is also here. I'll call him over too.'
Saying that, Hu Tao turned and waved at Xingqiu, who was walking towards them.
'Hey! Xingqiu, hurry up and bring Klee over here. The plan has changed!'
'Mhm…'
Hearing the call, Xingqiu quickly brought Klee over and greeted Ying.
'Hi, long time no see, Traveler's sister and her friends. Nice to meet you, you can just call me Xingqiu.'
Ying nodded and smiled in response. Although she and Xingqiu weren't very close, Lumine had a good relationship with them.
Seeing that the people she wanted to find were all gathered, Ying got straight to the point and explained,
'Long story short, Lumine and I ran into some troublesome issues in Inazuma, which has left both of us with little combat ability.'
'I came to find you all hoping you could help Lumine and me with something. Ah~ Of course, I won't force you.'
Hearing Ying's polite words, Hu Tao pinched her cheek a little angrily.
'Hey, hey, hey~ We haven't seen each other for long, and you're already being so distant with this Hall Master. If you talk to me like that again, I'll eat you up on the spot!'
'Ouch, ouch, ouch! No, no! I just don't know how to ask for favors! And please don't say such scandalous things in front of so many people, there are children here!'
'Oh wait… I should say that you yourself aren't that old. Please don't say such scandalous things with such a casual tone! (≧﹏≦)'
Ying covered the cheek Hu Tao had just pinched, looking at Hu Tao with an innocent expression, as if trying to accuse her with her eyes.
'Hahahaha~'
Seeing her like that, Hu Tao couldn't help but laugh.
'Aiya~ It's because I haven't seen you in so long. Alright, alright~ Don't look at me like that. This Hall Master gets it, okay~'
After speaking, Hu Tao greeted the two behind her and introduced herself.
'Hello, this Hall Master is Hu Tao, and I'm Ying's good friend~'
The two nodded in response.
'Ying's friends are my friends. You can call me Diona.'
'Hello, my name is Noelle, a maid of the Knights of Favonius, and also Ying's friend.'
Seeing this, Klee jumped up anxiously,
'Me too, me too! Klee too!'
Xingqiu chuckled teasingly.
'I say, if you keep chatting like this, it'll probably be night before we're done.'
'Oh, right, right, right!!'
Ying finally reacted and instinctively wanted to hit her head, but then remembered the pain from earlier and restrained herself. She quickly said,
'Everyone, grab my clothes, I'll take you to Inazuma.'
Inazuma, Tenshukaku…
Lumine ran quickly, trying to catch up with Kujou Sara's pace, but unfortunately, her current physical condition was far inferior to Sara's. She had just entered the gate and had already lost sight of her.
'Haa… haa… Damn it… I originally wanted to wait until Ying recovered, but now the plan is completely ruined…'
The long-distance run had pushed Lumine to her limit. Since she couldn't catch up anymore, she decided to walk and take the opportunity to recover some stamina.
Paimon, standing beside her, looked at the unconscious Shogunate soldiers on the ground and asked with some concern,
'Lumine, did Kujou Sara knock these people out? If so, won't the Shogun punish her…'
Lumine shook her head helplessly.
'There's nothing I can do. It was her decision, and honestly, I have no right to interfere.'
'In any case, since I didn't catch up with her, let's go find Ying first. Yae Miko said that after fighting with that Ei, she paid with serious injuries to gain a chance to change the Electro Archon's mind. She's resting in Tenshukaku now.'
Saying that, Lumine clenched her fist angrily and muttered to herself with a seemingly kind expression.
'That silly idiot dared to lie to me and say she was going to find weapons. When she recovers, I'll make sure she knows why the flowers are so red! (^_^ angry)'
Paimon:………………
Poor Ying, Paimon will pray for you…
With that said, the two continued forward. But after only a few steps, Lumine saw a familiar figure and her eyes lit up. She happily called out to them,
'Paimon! Over here, over here~'"