Seeing that Valerius was ignoring them, Lisa rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath,
"What's with the attitude? Acting like you're so impressive."
Bailu quickly covered Lisa's mouth and whispered seriously,
"Keep your voice down. I've heard that guy's a bad influence. Don't let him hold a grudge against you."
"Why do you say that?"
"Oh my… didn't you see that girl next to him, Jingliu, glaring at you?"
"I heard Valerius has a rather… unclear relationship with her."
"And back on the Luofu, she was someone who killed without blinking."
"Oh my goodness, that terrifying?"
"You bet."
"Otherwise, why do you think she was locked up in the Shackling Prison?"
Bailu narrowed her eyes mysteriously.
"Do you know what kind of people are imprisoned there?"
"They're all major criminals."
"If she was locked up there, she must've committed some terrible crimes."
"That makes sense."
"Then we'd better not provoke her."
"Exactly."
"Oh dear… she's looking over here."
"Let's keep our voices down…"
"This old lady's heart can't take the fright."
Although they were whispering…
Jingliu heard every single word.
Her fists clenched until they cracked.
She silently reminded herself over and over:
She's Baiheng's reincarnation.
She's Baiheng's reincarnation.
Even so…
A nameless irritation welled up inside her.
A faint chill spread from her body.
The two immediately noticed.
Both of them froze before hurriedly forcing flattering smiles.
"Oh my…"
"Isn't this little Jingliu?"
"How have you been lately?"
"Pfft!"
Valerius nearly spat blood.
Little Jingliu?
Bailu calling her that was one thing…
But Lisa joined in too.
Did they realize Jingliu was old enough to be their ancestor?
Jingliu snorted coldly.
"I'm just a criminal who's been in prison."
"What kind of life do you think I have?"
"Gulp…"
The pair shrank their necks.
Lisa, in particular, felt like all that killing intent was aimed squarely at her.
She immediately stood up while rubbing her waist.
"Oh dear…"
"I'm getting old."
"My body's not what it used to be."
"I'll be going now."
"You all enjoy yourselves."
"Alright."
"We'll chat another time."
Unlike Lisa…
Bailu didn't seem particularly scared.
For some reason…
She felt Jingliu wouldn't actually do anything to her.
As Lisa disappeared from the space…
Bailu immediately clicked her tongue.
"Tch."
"That old hag sure loves talking."
"And she says she had strict family discipline?"
"Has she looked at the way she dresses?"
"She's dressed so… provocatively."
The livestream exploded.
[Jing Yuan: Pfft… this is becoming difficult to watch.]
[Feixiao: I seriously feel like giving Bailu a spanking now.]
[Yunli: She really has become a gossiping old granny.]
[Sushang: Little Gui, let's postpone our performance for a week. We absolutely can't get injured right now.]
[Guinaifen: Right! Sushang, you're absolutely right! …Wait, are you actually scared?]
[Sushang: What's wrong with being scared? Isn't Bailu terrifying enough?]
[Guinaifen: No, I mean… you're under your punishment too.]
[Fu Xuan: Even while being punished, Sushang still doesn't dare provoke Bailu… that's honestly frightening.]
[Qingque: This punishment is ridiculously powerful.]
Everyone on the Xianzhou finally understood just how terrifying this punishment really was.
Even someone like Sushang…
Wouldn't dare mess with Bailu while she was affected.
"Ahem."
Now that two of the three punished players had already left…
Bailu alone wasn't nearly as destructive.
Valerius simply took out the reward machine.
He'd laughed enough already.
Time for the rewards.
He handed sixteen coins to Hu Tao and Sparkle.
"Go ahead."
"Draw your rewards."
"The sooner you're done, the sooner this game ends…"
"…and Bailu can go back to terrorizing the Alchemy Commission."
"Hehe."
"You first."
Sparkle wasn't interested in competing.
She gestured for Hu Tao to go first.
"Fine."
"I'll do it."
Hu Tao walked over to the machine.
Just as she was about to insert the coins…
Sparkle suddenly asked,
"Hu Tao."
"What weapon do you use?"
"A spear."
"Why?"
"Oho~~"
Sparkle drew out the sound with a meaningful grin.
Then deliberately raised her voice.
"Then you'd better watch out for Yae Miko."
Hu Tao's hand froze.
What do you mean by that?!
It sounded like Sparkle was warning her…
But in reality…
She was reminding Yae Miko instead.
[Yae Miko: Ohoho… Should I add a little excitement for Liyue?]
[Ganyu: Lady Yae, please don't joke like that.]
[Ningguang: We're supposed to be allies.]
[Yae Miko: Heh. We're split into factions now. Who's your ally?]
[Keqing: We still have Shenhe. Have you thought that through?]
[Yae Miko: Uh… alright… you win this time.]
Miko had only wanted to tease Liyue a little.
But the moment Shenhe's name came up…
She immediately backed off.
What if Shenhe suddenly imagined her abilities being sealed forever?
That would be disastrous.
Holding the coins…
Hu Tao hesitated.
She was genuinely worried Miko might secretly tank her luck.
"Just draw already."
Valerius rolled his eyes.
"You think Yae Miko is stupid?"
"Huh?"
Hu Tao blinked.
"If she doesn't get anything out of it…"
"Why would she bother?"
"…True."
Hu Tao nodded seriously.
Only then did she throw all eight coins into the machine.
She pulled the lever.
The machine rattled.
…
No flashy lights.
No golden glow.
Nothing.
"…Aw…"
Hu Tao looked disappointed.
She'd always considered herself fairly lucky.
Maybe not rainbow-tier lucky…
But surely golden-tier at least?
How did she end up with an ordinary reward?
Looking at the item that dropped out…
She looked rather dissatisfied.
"Valerius…"
"Can I redraw?"
"Sure."
"Your reward drops to one point."
"That's unfair!"
If it became a one-point reward…
What would even be the point of redrawing?
Pouting…
She picked up the item.
"…It's a spear?"
"What does it do?"
The crimson spear felt excellent in her hand.
But she had no idea what its ability was.
"This…"
Valerius picked it up.
"…is a Noble Phantasm."
"…Another one?"
Noble Phantasms had appeared several times already.
Although Hu Tao wasn't entirely satisfied…
She still couldn't help feeling excited.
After all…
Every Noble Phantasm they'd seen so far possessed extraordinary abilities.
Since hers came from an eight-point reward…
It ought to be even stronger.
"Gáe Bolg."
"That's its name."
Valerius casually twirled the crimson spear.
It handled beautifully.
Only then did he begin explaining.
"Once activated…"
"It reverses cause and effect."
"The result…"
"Your target's heart is pierced…"
"Occurs first."
"The spear piercing the heart…"
"Becomes the cause afterward."
"…Huh?"
Hu Tao looked completely confused.
"What does reversing
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