The already overwhelmed Ying was even less of a match without her weapon, and after only a few more exchanges, Scaramouche had her by the throat, pinning her to the ground.
Ying struggled to pry his hand away, but he countered by pinning her wrists.
Scaramouche controlled his strength, his intention obvious: to make Ying inhale that power again and join his ranks.
"Hehehe... Now, who can save you?"
The pain in her neck made Ying feel dizzy. She gritted her teeth and glared at Scaramouche.
"You... how did you... know... I was here..."
"Heh... Don't rush. Once you're one of mine, I'll tell you everything~"
"You... dream on... (≧﹏≦)"
Ying forced herself to concentrate, intending to use a long-planned but never-before-attempted move. However, before she could, a whistling sound suddenly struck from behind Scaramouche, forcing him to release his grip on Ying.
It was Teyvat, who calmly walked into the cave and looked at Scaramouche.
"Trying to bully a girl when I'm not around, don't you think that's rather pathetic?"
"Oh? You again..."
Scaramouche blurted out instinctively, but then paused mid-sentence, before continuing, "Where did you pop out from, daring to meddle in my business?"
"This is my home. Since she's inside my home, she's under my protection. If you want to harm her, you'll have to get past me first."
"Heh... As you wish!"
Scaramouche sneered, and the dark purple energy erupted from him, charging straight towards Teyvat.
But Teyvat showed no panic, standing still as before. Yet, a fierce gale instantly swirled around him, blowing the energy away from the cave before it could reach him.
"What?!"
Scaramouche's eyes widened, clearly not expecting his attack to be so easily neutralized.
Ying, now free from Scaramouche's grasp, had already retreated behind Teyvat. After witnessing what just happened, her eyes lit up.
"So that's how you can deal with it..."
The two stopped short of further action. Teyvat continued in his calm tone, "If you don't leave now, it won't be so easy to get away..."
"Tch..."
Scaramouche pouted, looking intently at the two for a moment, as if contemplating something. After a brief pause, he said coldly, "Heh... Next time, you won't be so lucky..."
"Pah! If you hadn't ambushed me, I wouldn't have been so easily pinned by that nuisance!"
Scaramouche didn't reply, instead turning into a wisp of purple smoke and vanishing from the spot.
"Honestly, it's like he has a GPS tracker on me."
Ying huffed, finding Scaramouche's appearance this time truly abnormal.
"Heh... Perhaps he likes you~"
Teyvat, uncharacteristically, made a joke with Ying, who quickly shook her head.
"Impossible. Absolutely impossible. It would be more plausible for a Fatui Harbinger to dislike fighting than to like me."
"Speaking of which, thank you so much for this time. Otherwise, I don't think I would have gotten rid of that guy so easily."
Heh heh~ I didn't expect to meet such a strong and kind person so easily! I actually suspected him of being a bad guy before. It seems a girl's intuition isn't always reliable...
Seeing that Ying's gaze was no longer filled with suspicion, Teyvat's lips curved slightly as he spoke, "You don't need to thank me. By the way, why is he so persistent about you?"
Ying recalled past events, and spoke with a hint of distress, "Uh... explaining this might be a bit troublesome..."
"It's fine. We have plenty of time, after all, it's still raining heavily outside."
"Mm... that's true..."
After hearing Teyvat's words, Ying nodded in agreement and began to explain slowly. Of course, as she hadn't known Teyvat for long, Ying only focused on describing her unfortunate encounters with Scaramouche, without revealing any other crucial information.
"I see. It can indeed be called a fated entanglement..."
After listening to Ying's account, Teyvat nodded, agreeing with her assessment, while inwardly chuckling.
Heh heh... To witness a falling out between kin, and after so long, that person still hasn't changed much.
Ying, having just finished her story, suddenly remembered she needed to contact Lumine and the others. She quickly asked, "Um, do you have a pen here?"
Teyvat nodded and produced a rather 고급 pen from his pocket.
"Yes. I need it for experiments, to record some information."
"Could I trouble you to borrow it? I want to write a letter to my sister."
"Oh?"
Hearing Ying's request, Teyvat gave her a look of knowing amusement.
"You can, but it's still raining heavily outside. You probably won't be able to send it, will you?"
"Don't worry, I have time..."
Ying started to say instinctively, but then realized it was inappropriate and quickly corrected herself, "I have time... I'll go when I have time..."
Phew... I almost revealed that I have a peculiar space. Although this elder brother is kind, it's best not to tell too many people about such things.
"Mmmhmm..."
It seems she has some unique means... Heh... Interesting...
Ying knew her hastily fabricated excuse was unconvincing and quickly changed the subject.
"By the way, elder brother, what kind of experiments are you doing?"
Ying's question made Teyvat pause, and he looked at her with a knowing gaze.
"Nothing much, just trying to understand how to grant others greater power..."
"Power... I think if you just work hard and work harder, and keep at it, even if it's not as wonderful as one might imagine, there will definitely be progress (^～^)"
"Hehehe... Is that so..."
Teyvat didn't reply, merely brushing off the topic with a laugh.
Some time later...
By the time Ying finished her letter, the wind and rain outside had subsided. As time passed, the storm eventually disappeared completely.
Seeing that the rain had stopped, Ying immediately put on her shoes and socks. She walked to the cave entrance, turned back to Teyvat, and said, "I'm leaving now. Thank you for the pen and your help earlier. If there's anything I can do for you, please don't hesitate to ask. I'll help you within my capabilities (^～^)～"
Hearing Ying's words, Teyvat nodded.
"Yes, I look forward to that day."
After Ying turned and left, Teyvat stared at her receding figure until she disappeared from sight, murmuring, "It was indeed a perfect plan... From now on, please take care of me..."