Chapter 220: Little Tanuki, Do You Want to Hear a Tune?
"Go to sleep early. Tomorrow, we set off for Inazuma. Once we arrive, I'll set you free. You can go wherever you want."
Though he called it a "bed," it wasn't much different from a floor mat. After all, this was a military camp—how comfortable could it be? Just having a clean blanket was already considered a luxury.
Some people didn't even have that and could only sleep directly on the wooden floor.
However, ever since the anonymous donation from Bai Luo had arrived, even those issues had been largely resolved.
"You'll really let me go? I know quite a few of your secrets, you know."
Sayu was wrapped up like a cocoon, only her face sticking out. She stared at Bai Luo with deep suspicion.
She felt like he was pulling a trick on her again.
After all, he'd done this before—let her go only to turn around and grab her by the scruff of fate, dragging her right back again.
"And what secrets do you know, exactly?"
"..."
Sayu went blank for a moment at his question.
Wait... what did she know?
Aside from the fact that he used to be Battousai, what else?
Maybe that the Fatui, Watatsumi Island, and the Resistance are closely connected?
But that wasn't really a secret—the clan head already knew. No need for her to say anything.
In the end, it turned out... she actually knew nothing.
The time she'd spent following Bai Luo had basically been a string of mental breakdowns and passive loafing.
Whenever Bai Luo was up to something, she was either asleep or deliberately sent away.
Though it looked like she stayed close to him, the truth was she hadn't learned much at all, let alone any core secrets.
"I... I was careless..."
She slapped her forehead in horror.
All this time, she'd thought she was just physically restrained—but now she realized she'd been manipulated in the palm of his hand.
If Bai Luo hadn't pointed it out, she might not have noticed until she was already back in front of the clan head, empty-handed.
This man... is terrifying!
"If there are certain 'important secrets' you want to know, I suppose I could tell you~"
Seeing the rare sight of this little tanuki not dozing off, Bai Luo felt like teasing her a bit.
"Oh? Let's hear it then."
"The problem is... if I tell you, I'll have to silence you."
Without warning, Bai Luo pulled out a dagger from seemingly nowhere. With a flick of his wrist, he stabbed it straight into the wooden floor.
The blade sank in completely effortlessly—so sharp and precise it made the little tanuki break out in cold sweat.
She instantly waved her hands.
"Okay okay, forget it! Sleep! I sleep!"
Sayu decisively turned away, bundled herself tightly in the blanket, and within moments, her gentle snores began to rise.
Escape?
Yeah, right. It's not like she hadn't tried before.
This man had too many tricks. Every time she thought she'd finally escaped his clutches, he'd come crashing down from the sky like a nightmare, utterly smashing her hopes to pieces.
"Little tanuki?"
"..."
"Do you want to hear a tune?"
"A... tune?"
At the mention of music, Sayu couldn't help but turn back, eyeing Bai Luo curiously from his spot on the floor.
This man... played music? That was new.
Noticing her gaze, Bai Luo gave a small flick of his hand—the dagger turned into a two-stringed erhu.
Seeing the instrument, Bai Luo couldn't help but recall that old man from the ship.
"A melody to tear the soul... a pure sound, yet those who understand it are few."
Gripping the erhu, Bai Luo let out a soft sigh as he began to play—channeling the skill he once used to kidnap his erhu master.
That rainy night, the sound he played didn't carry far.
But in the background of the falling rain, the melody became something ephemeral—a haunting, flickering presence.
And that faintness... only made it more eerie.
That night, many soldiers of the Resistance had the same nightmare.
In their dreams, they were running through dense, rainy forests.
Behind them was a giant figure, towering like a mountain.
The giant was shrouded in black mist, its form completely indistinct—but the oppression it radiated was very, very real.
Its voice was hoarse and guttural, like saws cutting through trees, or wooden planks grinding against each other with unbearable force.
Sparks were flying by that point.
No matter how far they ran, they couldn't escape the giant's voice.
It wasn't until the early hours of the morning that the soldiers, exhausted by the nightmare, finally managed to fall into a deep sleep.
. . . . . . . . . . .
When the tune ended, Bai Luo looked over at the little tanuki on the bed, still feeling the lingering emotion of the song.
But to his surprise, she had somehow fallen asleep.
Well, sleep was sleep.
But this girl was drooling in her sleep.
What was strange was that the drool was foamy.
As in... she was literally foaming at the mouth.
"Was the milk I got from the Hilichurls tainted? But I watched them drink it first, and only scooped it out after that…"
Putting away the erhu, Bai Luo walked over to Sayu's side, pulled the nearby blanket over her carefully, and then lay back down.
Still full of unanswered questions, he eventually drifted off to sleep to the rhythm of raindrops tapping against the roof tiles.
. . . . . . . . . . .
The next morning, perhaps due to the urgency of heading to Inazuma City, Bai Luo woke up earlier than usual.
Normally, the soldiers in the camp would have been up even earlier than him, but surprisingly, everyone was still asleep.
Even Sayu remained soundly out cold.
It wasn't until nearly an hour later that the first sounds of waking stirred across the camp.
But all the soldiers looked... off.
Their faces were pale and sluggish—like they'd all been tormented throughout the night.
Later on, Gorou conducted an investigation into the matter.
But after digging into it from all angles and finding no clear explanation, he ultimately pinned the blame on the Tatarigami.
. . . . . . . . . . .
When Bai Luo left, he didn't wake anyone.
Only Gorou came to see him off.
Not because Bai Luo didn't want to reveal his movements—but because Gorou had personally requested full secrecy.
After all, Bai Luo's trip to Inazuma City... had something to do with him.
"I'm counting on you with this."
Logging into the Yae Publishing House's Gossip Monthly... with a cross-dressed photo of himself—just thinking about it made Gorou want to bury his face in the dirt.
But for the sake of the Resistance's success, and for the future of Watatsumi Island, Gorou felt he had to make some sacrifices.
Besides... who would ever connect that photo to him, right?
Worst-case scenario, it'd just be Miss Hina who's embarrassed—not Gorou.
"Don't worry. I'll get it done!"
Bai Luo confidently thumped his chest, holding the still-unconscious Sayu by the collar like luggage.
In some twisted way, he and that damn fox were actually quite similar—both were chaos-loving spectators, thriving off drama and gossip.
Something this fun? Of course he'd be all-in.
Once again handing Bai Luo his accumulated military pay, Gorou stood quietly at the side gate of the camp, watching the red figure slowly fade into the rain.
In his heart, he held hope for the Resistance and Watatsumi Island's future.
But what he didn't know was that while he was out there, fighting on the frontlines, giving his all for the cause, his precious Divine Priestess back home had already been stolen.
By none other than the person he'd just said goodbye to.
And not just stolen—it was completely broken.
By the time Gorou sensed something was wrong, it was already too late.
Because by then, he was already sitting in a strange fan meetup, awkwardly eating grilled lavender melons with an equally strange oni youth.
. . . . .
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