"Uh, Lord Yuheng, please wait a moment. The two gentlemen are already on their way. How about we have some tea and chat in the meantime?"
Keqing shot a cold glance at the nearby Fatui agent. "Tea isn't necessary. What I want to know is why those two are here."
"Uh... I heard, though it's just hearsay, that the two of them were... sparring."
"Sparring? And they managed to turn this place into this?"
Keqing gestured to the devastated surroundings. "And you've gathered so many Fatui Skirmishers here—what exactly are you planning?"
...
I should probably be thankful those two wrecked this place, the Fatui agent thought. Otherwise, it'd be obvious this was an illegal camp.
At the very least, this could be pinned as illegal land modification, encroaching on public land. At worst? It was a full-blown illegal military gathering—of foreign armed forces no less!
Keqing didn't engage further with the Fatui agent and instead waved her hand, commanding the Millelith behind her, "There are many foreign guests here. For all we know, this might be a secret Fatui outpost. Search the place. Bring me anything suspicious."
At that very moment, Gu Sanqiu and Tartaglia, just arriving on the scene, heard her words. Gu nudged Tartaglia with his elbow.
"See that? That's one of Liyue's top leaders. Impressive, right? She's got a lot of presence."
"Whether or not she has presence isn't the issue. Shouldn't we be more concerned that she's here to arrest us?" Tartaglia glanced sideways at Gu. "Unless you know her? Maybe she'll let us off easy?"
"You're dreaming."
Gu Sanqiu shrugged. "Based on what I know about them, I'll probably end up getting the harsher punishment."
"After all, they've got to make an example out of someone, right? 'If I'm willing to come down hard on a friend, how much easier will it be to deal with everyone else?'"
Tartaglia was briefly speechless. "I understand what you're saying, but I still don't quite get how you Liyue people handle things. Is all this roundabout talk really necessary?"
"In Snezhnaya, if anyone dared disobey Her Majesty's orders, the Harbingers would just crush them on the spot. Simple and clean."
"Half and half," Gu replied. "We're not the same culture, so it's only natural that our methods differ."
Sensing Keqing's gaze, Gu Sanqiu raised his hand with a smile. "Yo..."
"Millelith!"
Gu glanced at the spears resting firmly on his shoulders, flanked by two squad captains, and couldn't help but feel a little frustrated.
"I must be pretty important to warrant two captains, huh?"
"This is Tartaglia, correct?"
Keqing sheathed her sword. "I'll have to ask you both to come with me. What happened today requires an explanation."
"Oh, that's fine."
Tartaglia smiled, looking every bit the picture of innocence. "But please, do treat my friend here kindly. He's been through a lot."
Keqing gave Gu a sidelong glance, her temper rising at his casual attitude.
"No need. He likes being treated this way."
"Hey! That's slander! Pure slander!"
The captains pressed down harder on Gu's shoulders, though Gu, truthfully, was merely playing along to show how strictly the Millelith enforced their laws.
...
"Come on, explain your actions today, and I'll consider reducing your sentence."
Gu Sanqiu blinked. "You're not really going to arrest me, are you? We were just sparring! Sparring! You know, a friendly exchange between friends."
"Your 'sparring'," Keqing said, tapping a document against his head, "destroyed a swath of greenery on a mountainside. That's public property belonging to Liyue."
"And on top of that, your sparring partner is a Snezhnayan envoy. We won't make a public show of it, but his offenses will land squarely on your shoulders."
Σ(っ°Д°;)っ
Gu's expression darkened. "Wait here, I'll go drag him back to take my place in jail!"
"Enough with the antics."
Keqing crossed her arms after setting the documents aside. "That man, Tartaglia. How strong is he?"
"He's powerful. His Delusion is lightning-based and can induce shock effects through water, which is extremely hard to defend against."
Gu Sanqiu shook his head. "But he still hasn't revealed all of his strength. It's said that when he fully uses his Delusion, his appearance changes, but I didn't see that in our fight."
"Without considering the Vision, his physical combat abilities are on par with Master Yunyan. There aren't many ordinary people in Liyue Harbor who could take him on—maybe Hu Tao or you could manage a fair fight."
"Though, in terms of battle intent, you might be equals. But in terms of killing intent? You're far behind. That guy's a pure battle maniac."
"And you? How much of your strength did you use?"
Keqing leaned in slightly, her sharp gaze locking onto Gu as he sat.
"Don't try to fool me with those rumors you spread about being weak. If you were truly helpless, those Lightning Fatui Skirmishers would've captured you by now."
"What the...?"
"During their routine questioning, those girls even asked the Millelith about you. Quite popular, aren't you, Gu the Handsome?"
"That's not the point."
Gu replied, his expression serious. "But fine, I'll tell you how much strength I used."
"Your attempt to change the subject is clumsy. Do better next time."
"Yes, Lord Yuheng!"
"You're already planning for a next time?"
A flash of purple energy sliced past Gu's head, singeing a few strands of his hair with a distinct burnt smell.
"Uh... does this count as entrapment?"
"Speak! How much strength did you use?"
"Sixty percent."
"I even used the Mountain Shaker Spear Art, but that guy still wasn't fully relying on his Delusion. If we'd fought to the death, who knows who would've won."
"Couldn't you have used some spells or something?"
Gu's expression turned blank. "You know I'm not allowed to use spells in the vicinity of Liyue Harbor. Besides, if I had, do you really think I'd be sitting here chatting with you right now?"
"Hmph, fair enough."
"So, will this guy be a problem?"
Gu shook his head. "He's a headache, sure, but to put it plainly, he's just a battle addict."
"To make it simpler, he loves getting into the thick of things."
"And with his strength to back him up, there's no stopping him if he decides to make a move. Trying to block him is pointless."
Keqing snorted. "You're right—better to guide than to block. So, you two will be responsible for restoring that mountainside."
(￣△￣;)
"Huh?"
"I'll be watching him closely, but..."
"You did suggest finding something to keep him busy, didn't you? Or are you going to back out now?"
"Or maybe those girls were right. Did you two really develop some special bond while healing and changing clothes, and now you want to cover for him?"
Gu stared at the sword in front of him, his face twitching uncontrollably.
"No, no! We'll handle the restoration work. Don't worry."
Damn it, those rumors!
The force of their final clash... Forget worrying about soil fertility; just filling in that massive hole would be a monumental task!
Fighting is fun, but the cleanup? That's a whole different story.
---
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