Chapter 121 – 121: Bait To Be Taken

Before Bai Luo could remove his mask, Beidou grabbed his wrist.

“Since you trust me, Himura, I’ll return that trust in kind. Get some rest for now—I’ll report to my superiors as soon as possible and try to arrange for departure within three days.”

She took another glance at the Reverse Blade Sword in Bai Luo’s arms before turning to leave his cabin.

Under the glow of the lanterns, the smooth, bare skin of her back was faintly visible through the gaps in her clothing, causing Bai Luo to sigh to himself.

Even after Beidou left, though there were no obvious guards outside Bai Luo’s door, he could sense the presence of several hidden watchers keeping an eye on him.

Through his perception, he confirmed that Beidou had indeed left the ship that night. However, instead of heading to her so-called superiors, she went straight toward the Jade Chamber.

Well… in a way, the Jade Chamber really was her superior.

Before going to sleep, Kazuha finally managed to extricate himself from the ongoing festivities.

Perhaps out of politeness, he sat down with Bai Luo for a brief chat before retiring for the night.

Afterward, Bai Luo extinguished the lights.

Other than the occasional soft snores, the cabin fell into complete silence.

Every now and then, faint murmurs of sleep-talk could be heard.

The sailors assigned to keep watch did not enter to check on him. Beidou had explicitly warned them—

The man inside was no ordinary individual. He was someone who had managed to wound a god without relying on the power of a Vision.

Unless there was an emergency, they were to avoid disturbing him at all costs.

But none of them realized—

Bai Luo was no longer inside the cabin.

In his place, a peculiar phonograph continued to loop the sounds of snoring and sleep-talking.

By now, most of Liyue’s buildings had gone dark.

Aside from the distant Jade Chamber, the city had largely fallen into slumber, shedding the liveliness of the day and settling into an almost eerie silence.

“Lord Ausbilder!”

In a secluded corner of Liyue, a Fatui Pyro Agent revealed himself, bowing respectfully to the masked figure before him.

“What’s the status of your investigation?”

Perhaps due to his white mask, Bai Luo’s voice carried a low, oppressive weight, sending an unsettling chill down one’s spine—

Like the gaze of a venomous serpent, tightening around its prey.

“That man has exceptional counter-surveillance awareness. He left Liyue overnight after departing from the Jade Chamber. However, we managed to steal a letter from him. It was written in code, but our intelligence team has already begun decrypting it. We’re just waiting to deliver the document.”

There was no unnecessary flattery, no empty pleasantries.

As a direct subordinate of the Lord Ausbilder, the Pyro Agent knew his superior’s temperament well.

So he reported only the facts.

“You weren’t detected, were you?”

“No. He has no idea that we copied the letter. He still believes he covered his tracks perfectly.”

The Pyro Agent and Bai Luo were, in a sense… cut from the same cloth.

Perhaps some lacked the natural talent of a young Collei, but when it came to ruthlessness, they far surpassed her.

If not for Bai Luo’s prior instructions, that man would likely have vanished without a trace the moment he left Liyue.

The Fatui had promised not to stir trouble within Liyue—

But once outside Liyue’s borders…

Well, no one could fault them for being merciless.

“Good. You’ve done well.”

Everything was proceeding as Bai Luo had expected.

If the spy had been carrying no letter, then he could have put this matter aside for now.

But since a letter was found—

It was time for the next step.

“Where is the copied document?”

“As per your instructions, my lord, I placed it in the abandoned outpost south of the city. I planned to transfer it to our intelligence division at dawn for decryption.”

Dawn, huh?

Looking once more at the brightly lit Jade Chamber in the sky, then at the significantly dimmer southern district of the city, Bai Luo knew the fish had taken the bait.

With a slight movement of his left hand, a fiery red bracelet materialized on his wrist.

It appeared solid, yet had an ethereal quality to it. Upon closer inspection, one could see what looked like molten lava flowing slowly within.

‘Heartfire of the Earth!’

As a Fatui Harbinger, Bai Luo knew the locations of every Fatui outpost in Liyue better than anyone. Naturally, he hadn’t overlooked the supposedly abandoned stronghold in the southern district.

Lifting his left hand, he tapped lightly in the air.

The bracelet on his wrist transformed into a streak of light and vanished.

<+>

Southern Liyue – The Shipyard

This shipyard wasn’t just for building ships—it also handled repairs and modifications.

Given that Liyue was one of Teyvat’s busiest maritime trade hubs, business here was always booming.

Even at night, the place remained brightly lit, with many workers still toiling away.

“Uncle Li, don’t you think something feels… off tonight?”

Nearby, a young carpenter named Xiao Wang took the nail from his mouth and spoke while laying down a wooden plank.

Night shifts were more exhausting, but the pay was significantly better. Since he was still young and energetic, he had always preferred working at night.

Usually, after work, he’d stop by a local tavern for some cheap ale to wash away his fatigue.

But tonight… most of the stores—aside from a few residential shops—had already closed their doors early, including his go-to tavern.

“Mind your own work and stop asking questions.”

Uncle Li, the foreman, likely knew something. His face darkened slightly at Xiao Wang’s curiosity.

Loose lips could lead to trouble, and he didn’t want any misunderstandings that might cost him his position.

“…Oh.”

Noticing the rare irritation on Uncle Li’s usually cheerful face, Xiao Wang wisely kept his mouth shut and focused on his work.

But his curiosity remained.

He kept glancing into the darkness, as if trying to uncover some hidden secret.

No one noticed the sudden flash of a crimson ring inside one of the shipyard’s accounting rooms.

Glowing brightly against the night, the ring would have been impossible to miss—

If not for the wooden walls concealing it from view.

As the ring pulsed faster and faster, the power within it finally erupted.

Boom—!

Blinding flames shot skyward, instantly engulfing the bookshelves inside.

Scalding-hot lava gushed out like an unrestrained flood, rapidly consuming the wooden structure.

As the fire grew more intense, both the crimson ring and the molten lava vanished—

Even the faint trace of sulfur in the air dissipated completely.

By the time workers rushed over to put out the flames, all that remained were the burning ruins of the accounting room—

Not a single trace of elemental energy left behind.

No matter how one looked at it, this was nothing more than an ordinary fire.

. . . . .

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