Genshin Impact: The 12th Fatui Harbinger

Chapter 241 239: Bai-Style Physical Deep Hypnosis

"This will be tricky..."

High atop a watchtower in a Hilichurl camp, Bai Luo and Yae Miko stood together, gazing toward a distant campfire. In the camp behind them, rows of Hilichurls lay flat on the ground, trembling in fear.

Gathered around that distant fire was the Arataki Gang. Neither Bai Luo nor Yae Miko were ordinary people, so they could see the situation clearly even from that distance. Bai Luo, who knew a bit of lip-reading, could even make out what they were saying.

"Oh? It seems you know quite a bit about young Shinobu as well."

Yae Miko naturally understood why Bai Luo said it would be tricky; he was likely referring to Kuki Shinobu.

The Arataki Gang had managed to survive this long without being kicked out of Hanamizaka largely because of her. And Shinobu happened to be a former apprentice shrine maiden at the Grand Narukami Shrine.

Come to think of it... Miko still had photos of her from back then. The girl probably had no idea that Miko had kept them all this time.

"She's the Arataki Gang's 'external brain.' As long as we handle her, the rest of the gang will be putty in our hands," Bai Luo said.

While he spoke, his eyes kept drifting toward Yae Miko's chest. He wasn't looking at those "fresh, juicy red apples," however; he was looking at the Sunsettia the pink fox had tucked away in her robes.

"There's a child at our shrine who loves these simple yet energy-rich fruits. I think I'll take it back for her," she had said when they left.

Whether it was her "Insight into Heaven and Earth" that made her sense the fruit's anomaly, or if Sayu had already told her about the effects of his Sunsettias, Yae Miko had—surprisingly—not eaten it.

'How am I supposed to trick her into eating it?' Bai Luo wondered.

"As for Shinobu, I have a way to deal with her. Leave it to me."

Miko chuckled behind her hand. Though they hadn't spent much time together, she understood Shinobu better than most. If it hadn't been for Miko's intervention, the Kuki family wouldn't have let her go so easily, even with her sister's lobbying. She knew exactly where the girl's weaknesses lay.

As she spoke, she transformed into the likeness of a shrine maiden, holding a lantern bright enough to ensure her presence would be noticed in the dark.

***

Back at the Arataki Gang's fire:

"Boss, this one is ripe."

Shinobu used her knife to slice the skin of a Lavender Melon, gave it a sniff, and nodded with satisfaction.

"It... it's not one of those 'faded' ones, is it?" Itto asked tentatively before taking it. Even though it smelled good, the last fruit he'd eaten had smelled even better—good enough to steal one's soul—and yet it had nearly killed him.

"Don't worry, I bought this one in the city. It's fine."

Shinobu hadn't eaten the fruit that day, but she didn't think the fruit itself was the problem. Itto's reaction looked exactly like a bean allergy. Either that "Sunsettia" was actually a mutant bean, or someone had injected bean products into it. Either way... it wasn't a concern now.

"Hmm?"

As she handed over the melon, a brief glance into the distance made Shinobu freeze. That shrine maiden walking from the direction of the Grand Narukami Shrine, holding a lantern... wasn't that her sister, Miyuki? Based on her direction, she was headed for Konda Village.

'This is bad.'

If her sister found out she had joined a gang after "studying abroad" in Liyue, she would never hear the end of the lecture. The lecture was secondary—it wouldn't be the first time—but her sister would definitely try to force her to quit the gang. That was the last thing she wanted.

"B-Boss... you guys eat. I have business to attend to," Shinobu said softly, pulling her mask over her face. Even with the distance between them, she instinctively lowered her voice as if her sister might hear her if she spoke too loudly.

"Eh? What business? You going to get your Vision back? Wait for me! The Boss will help you get it back!"

Hearing this, Itto heroically slammed his melon onto the ground and grabbed his weapon, ready to follow.

Shinobu felt a pang of annoyance at the sight of the wasted food. Even if melons weren't expensive, they were currently their emergency rations, and he just threw it?

'And I even gave you the first one!'

"There are some things you guys can't help with."

Noticing her sister seemed to be looking her way, Shinobu instinctively ducked behind Itto's massive frame, trying to use his "unique" build as a shield.

"What nonsense are you talking, Shinobu? The Arataki Gang is a family! If you want your Vision back, we're helping!"

"Yeah! We support Sister Shinobu!"

"Support Sister Shinobu!"

The gang members got more excited by the second, eventually chanting slogans loud enough to startle the nearby birds.

"Idiots! Are you going to follow me to the bathroom too?!"

Seeing her sister start to walk toward the noise with her lantern, Shinobu didn't care about anything else. She stayed low and, with incredible speed, vanished into the night.

Itto and the others watched, dumbstruck.

"Man... Shinobu must really have to go."

"Yeah. Aside from that time we almost got locked up for releasing those fish, I've never seen her run that fast."

Setting his weapon back down, Itto sighed and reached for his melon.

'Wait... where's my melon? Which bastard threw my melon on the ground?!'

***

The shrine maiden, seeing Shinobu disappear, also vanished into the darkness.

But neither Itto nor the fleeing Shinobu noticed one thing: someone was already following her.

As Shinobu sensed something was wrong, a man holding a wooden stick appeared before her.

"You're... Mr. Bai?"

A black trench coat and a white mask. This was the exact description Itto had given her, and the features Shinobu remembered most clearly. It was obvious this sudden arrival was the "Mr. Bai" her Boss had mentioned.

Why was he here? Was it because of Itto?

"You—"

"What is this?" Bai Luo interrupted her, holding up his wooden stick.

"A wooden stick, obvious—"

"WHACK."

Shinobu let out a muffled groan as the stick connected with her head.

"Wrong answer," Bai Luo said. "This is the 'Bai-Style Physical Deep Hypnosis Stick'!"

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