She scented her elder sister's aura.
Yingda leaned close to Taro's ear while he was enjoying the massage.
"Sir, Vana-nee has arrived."
"Hm?"
Taro opened his eyes slowly.
A graceful girl in blue stood with her hands folded over her abdomen.
She bowed once with soft courtesy.
"Vana, I pay my respects, sir."
"Good that you came."
Taro nodded. "You don't need to be formal here. I'm not the type for ceremony.
Just relax and be yourself."
"Sis~" Yingda smiled at Vana.
"Sir is easy to get along with."
"I will follow his lead." Vana answered.
"Oh, and after lunch you and I will accompany Sir to the Chasm.
Leave the fighting to me, sis."
Yingda winked at Vana, trying to build a private rapport between the sisters.
"Eh?"
Vana froze. "But—shouldn't combat be—"
Thwack.
Yingda received a light knock on the forehead.
"Ow… Sir, that hurts."
Yingda rubbed her head with a pout. The blow wasn't hard but it stung.
"You deserved that." Taro glanced at Yingda. "Try another trick and I'll tap you again."
Yingda's little face showed no guard. Maybe deliberate. Maybe not.
Taro smirked inwardly. She was purposely careless.
"Hmm~" Yingda made a mock-sad face and pretended to sulk.
"Sir gets bored of the new and longs for the old. Once sister's here, Yingda's useless."
Taro fell silent.
Really theatrical.
Vana covered her mouth and chuckled. Among the five siblings, the eldest and the fourth sister were the most mischievous. Vana wouldn't overthink the teasing. She herself had been teased by Yingda plenty.
Sigh. Heavy responsibilities remain.
Yingda thought privately and shook her head. Huo Liya's blatant flirtation could one day get her caught stealing favors.
"Lunch is ready."
Huo Liya's coquettish voice came from the hall. "Boss, and two 'younger sisters,' come eat."
Grit.
A slight sound of teeth-gritting. Clearly Yingda. She couldn't refute anything—age, strength, life tier. Even her milk-white complexion looked younger. Infuriating.
"Let's go eat."
Taro rose from the lounger, fully relaxed. Yingda's massage had been excellent.
"Yingda, Vana, come. After lunch we leave."
Primary goal today: level up, understand skill changes, and run practical tests. Bringing Fushe back was only an extra.
"Coming~" Yingda replied, pulling her sister along.
"Sis, I worried myself sick for you—make sure you do well, okay?"
Vana blinked and lightly tapped Yingda's forehead like Taro had done.
They headed off. On the way, Yingda sent a quick voice-link message:
"You—what can I say about you. Sir did so much for us."
"Repay him," Vana answered. "My good sister."
Yingda laughed helplessly and tugged Vana's arm: "This is literally repaying him."
"Look—Sir has ability, looks, everything. Things we could only dream of before. He can do what the archons can't."
"But—what about the five of us?" Vana asked.
"His life-saving grace was for four of us. How repay that?"
"Besides offering ourselves—what else?" Yingda teased.
Vana fell silent for a moment. Lies don't hurt; truths do. Yingda's words were all fact. They weren't ungrateful people, but such a debt could not be balanced easily.
Taro's deal with the archon was a contract. The adepts and immortals all knew the weight of what he had given. Even if his gift equated to only a stack of mora in his eyes, they could not accept it without conscience.
"Stop with your schemes." Vana gave Yingda a look and held her tongue. Yingda's eyes glinted like a fox that had landed a trick.
Outside the city, in the Northern Bank's secret chamber—
"Master, a reply came from Winter Solstice."
A wind-torn debtor handed over an envelope.
"Finally."
Tartaglia's face was still somewhat pale as he took the letter and squinted to read every word. After a moment, he rubbed his temple.
"This letter is outdated."
"Did the latest intelligence arrive?" the debtor asked. The recent turmoil couldn't be hidden. Tassadar—no, Winter Solstice—already had reports overnight. This letter lagged behind.
"If we act on this, we might as well be asking to die."
"Liyue is a mess now." Tartaglia frowned. If not for a mission he might relocate.
"Master," the debtor said, "if judged by timing, the reply will only arrive tonight. A full reply won't be until the day after."
"The day after?" Tartaglia slammed the table. "When did our intelligence network get so slow? Liyue's situation changes daily. Waiting for them to finish a report is suicide."
Tartaglia knew something important: the former Geo Archon, Morax, had abdicated but was not dead. The new Geo Archon's background was still unclear. Immortals from Jueyun and elsewhere were appearing and gathering at Yuehai Pavilion to assist the new Archon. Liyue's top fighters were concentrated in the harbor. Now was the worst time to be scheming for a god's heart.
He hissed. Better decisions before replying. He might be dead by then.
(End of Chapter)
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