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Alhaitham's words gave Lumine a new way of thinking.
Indeed—what if Shao Yun's illness really came from another nation? It wasn't impossible.
Thinking of this, Lumine began to recall everything that had happened over the past half year, sharing it all with Alhaitham.
"I remember we met at the seaside of Mondstadt. At that time, Paimon and I found Shao Yun lying on the beach."
"He looked like he had gone through a terrible shipwreck—lying there all alone on the sand, barely breathing. Out of pity and kindness, Paimon and I took care of him."
Here, Lumine paused slightly before continuing, "When he woke up, he admitted with his own mouth that he was a murderer—a fugitive."
"To be honest, when I heard that, I wasn't all that shocked. Paimon and I had already found his weapon, and out of caution, Paimon hid it behind a rock."
"But in the end, his honesty made us decide to let him travel with us."
"At first, I thought once we found the right opportunity, we could settle him down in Mondstadt. But later, we went through a few things, and then…"
At this point, Lumine's cheeks flushed slightly red. She shyly covered them with her hands and said softly, "Ah, the things that happened afterward are kind of embarrassing to say."
After all, even thinking back on all the hugging and kissing made Lumine wonder why she had acted that way.
Seeing Lumine struggle to continue because of embarrassment, Paimon quickly stepped up to act as her "spokesperson."
"Anyway, it was those experiences in Mondstadt that really tied us to Shao Yun—we couldn't separate after that, and eventually became close travel companions."
Hearing Paimon fill in the rest, Lumine hurriedly nodded in agreement. "Yes, yes, that's right. After helping Mondstadt, we stayed there to rest for a while."
At those words, Paimon also fell into nostalgic memories. A faint look of regret appeared on her face as she said slowly, "Ah, that time really was carefree. Every day felt peaceful and simple."
"At the time, you and I even talked about visiting Dragonspine—but instead, we went straight to Liyue."
Listening to Paimon, those old memories surfaced vividly before Lumine's eyes. She pouted a little and muttered, "I remember, it was Shao Yun who asked us to go to Liyue. He kept urging us for more than half a month. But come to think of it, that was strange…"
Paimon, as if recalling something, rubbed her chin thoughtfully and narrowed her eyes. "Now that I think about it, Shao Yun did act kind of strange back then."
"It was like he was deliberately trying to avoid something—constantly pushing us to leave for Liyue. But even so, it still took us half a month to finally leave Mondstadt…"
Then Paimon paused, before casually adding, "Looking back now, it's hard to imagine that Shao Yun was ever afraid! That's really surprising!"
"In my impression, he's always been someone who fears nothing and no one. Judging by everything that happened in Inazuma, he's clearly a…"
At the mention of the word afraid, Lumine's eyes widened suddenly. All those scattered, seemingly unrelated details in her memory instantly connected—like pieces of a puzzle snapping into place.
Her heartbeat quickened; her breathing grew sharp.
"Wait! No… that's not right…"
Lumine's entire body stiffened in panic so clearly that even Paimon could see it. Paimon blinked, confused. "What's wrong? That all fits what we've experienced, doesn't it?"
Lumine quickly reached out and covered Paimon's mouth, her hand trembling as she tried to suppress the fear rising inside her.
Then, lowering her voice, she spoke in a tense whisper.
"No… why did he look so frightened that night after saving Sister Jilliana?"
Paimon pushed Lumine's hand away and blinked, replying absentmindedly, "Well, everyone's afraid of something!"
But that didn't calm Lumine at all. Instead, her suspicion only grew deeper.
"But for something to make Shao Yun afraid… how terrifying must it have been?"
In her mind, Shao Yun was always fearless.
Back then, he had the guts to wipe out an entire hotel full of Fatui, and afterward, to drag her and her brother up into the snowy mountains to hide from the Abyss Order.
More recently, he even dared to kill one of the Seven—an Archon.
How could someone like him come back shaking after saving a single nun that night?
Suddenly, Lumine's beautiful eyes widened to the extreme, as if they might burst from their sockets.
A memory she had long since buried came flooding back.
"I remember that night—Jilliana went missing, and I had a nightmare. I was sitting on the couch downstairs, waiting for Shao Yun to return."
"When he came back, he drew a sketch for me—a sketch of a person without a face. He said he had drawn the face, but all I saw was the outfit and a hat. I thought he was just trying to scare me and take advantage of me…"
"But now—why does the person in Collei's picture frame look exactly like the faceless figure Shao Yun drew for me!?"
The shocking realization left Lumine completely stunned.
Right then, she forgot about everything else—even the matters at the Bimarstan.
In a flash, she jumped to her feet and sprinted toward Aaru Village.
In mere seconds, she was far ahead of Paimon.
Paimon watched Lumine's vanishing figure and shouted, "Hey! Where are you going? Wait for me!"
Not even glancing at Alhaitham, Paimon chased after her.
But Lumine had no time to respond—she only shouted back, "I have to find Shao Yun right now! I need to talk to him about this!"
And so, the Bimarstan was left with only Alhaitham.
He glanced in the direction they had gone, then calmly picked up his book again.
…
Meanwhile, in Aaru Village, a figure burst through the air toward the house where Shao Yun was resting.
Bang!
The door, which had been tightly shut, flew open with a thunderous crack—almost breaking off its hinges.
Inside, Shao Yun was sitting on the bed, quietly writing in his journal to pass the time.
Startled by the noise, he looked up—just in time to meet the eyes of Lumine, flushed and panting.
Seeing her so breathless and flustered, Shao Yun frowned slightly in confusion. "Did something happen?"
But Lumine's eyes were fixed on the journal in his hands.
Breathing heavily, she reached out instinctively, fingers grasping at the air as she said urgently, "Let me see your journal—now!"
The moment Shao Yun heard that, he didn't hesitate for even a second. He immediately tucked the notebook into his Legend of the East backpack.
"What's going on? Why do you suddenly want to read my journal?"
Seeing his firm reaction, Lumine knew forcing him wouldn't help. She gave up—temporarily.
But she didn't back down. Her tone grew sharp and serious. "That night when you saved Sister Jilliana—the person in that sketch you showed me—who was it?"
Shao Yun didn't panic. Instead, he looked calm—he had known, ever since Lumine saw the picture frame in Collei's room, that the truth wouldn't stay hidden forever.
Sooner or later, everything would come to light.
Even now, he wasn't ready to surrender easily. He decided to take one last gamble.
"It was nothing. I just wanted to scare you a bit… to take advantage of you, maybe."
But Lumine was desperate now. She knew that only by uncovering the truth could she make sense of everything.
She took a deep breath, steadied herself, and began laying out her reasoning piece by piece.
"You're lying. When we faced the massive Hilichurl horde threatening Mondstadt, you didn't show even a hint of fear. You even wiped out the Fatui at the Goethe Hotel with ease."
"So why, when facing a seemingly ordinary person, did you look so utterly terrified?"
"That was the only time I've ever seen you so afraid!"
She paused, then pressed him further. "The person in that sketch—who is it? And why does Collei have a picture frame of someone wearing the same outfit as that faceless figure you drew?"
Her eyes lit up suddenly as she continued, "The only logical explanation is that you faced some kind of great threat that night."
"Was the person in that frame someone you knew? An old partner come to find you? Was that sketch a warning? Or do you owe that person something…?"
By now, Shao Yun was completely stunned. Lumine's deductions were frighteningly accurate—only slightly off in the details.
But he quickly regained composure.
He gently patted the space beside him on the bed, giving Lumine a warm look that seemed to say, sit here.
Without hesitation, Lumine sat down right next to him.
She gazed at him quietly, waiting for an answer.
Shao Yun looked back at the sharp and perceptive girl before him and said sincerely, "You're very smart."