TN: And we're back! sorry for the week long hiatus, it was not intentional since I had to get my right leg in a cast after tripping 3 floors down a stairwell (like an idiot ://) and be unable to use my PC setup upstairs BUT I should be OK now.
Anyways, Thanks for Arcanic Madness, WeissAkumu and WolfWTF for becoming as Supporters!
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At this tense moment, the door suddenly made a faint sound.
Immediately after, a crisp click rang out as the door shut tightly once more.
Then, a clear yet authoritative, cool female voice sounded from outside.
"Lord Jester, the invitation has been successfully delivered to the Adventurers' Guild…"
Hearing this voice, Shao Yun instinctively turned his head, his gaze instantly drawn to a figure entering the room.
The woman who stepped inside had hair in a striking black-and-white palette, predominantly white, tied into a low ponytail.
Within her eyes were vivid red cross-shaped patterns, radiating an eerie sense of intimidation.
She was tall and slender, wearing a pair of exquisitely crafted pointed high heels.
Her posture was elegant yet imposing; every gesture carried an innate air of dominance that warned others to keep their distance.
Most importantly of all—she looked remarkably like Eula.
Staring at the woman who so closely resembled Eula, Shao Yun was momentarily dazed and blurted out without thinking, "Eula? Why are you wearing colored contacts—and when did you dye your hair?"
At this moment, Arlecchino was so surprised by Shao Yun's early appearance before the Jester that she completely ignored how he addressed her.
After a brief silence, Arlecchino did not respond at all. Instead, expressionless, she reached out once more and opened the door—clean and decisive, without the slightest hesitation.
Then, without looking back, she walked straight out of the room, lightly closing the door behind her. The entire process flowed smoothly, as if it were second nature.
As the door slowly closed, only Shao Yun and Pierro remained in the room once again.
Shao Yun immediately understood what had happened. Taking a deep breath, he calmly explained to Pierro, "There may be some misunderstanding here. My original intention was simply to come visit Tartaglia's younger brother, Teucer."
However, regardless of who had actually sent the invitation, Pierro had now personally seen Shao Yun standing before him—and that alone was enough.
With composure, Pierro said, "There's a saying in Liyue: 'Arriving early is not as good as arriving at the right moment.'"
"Since you're already here, why don't we have a proper talk? I assure you; I mean no harm."
Shao Yun thought it over. He was already worried about how to make contact with Freminet—this was a perfect opportunity.
After a brief pause, he nodded readily.
"Alright. Then let me hear what you have to say."
Pierro calmly proposed a fair and reasonable condition.
"How about this: I ask you one question that you can answer. You answer it, and in return, I fulfill one request of yours within my power. What do you think?"
Hearing such favorable terms, Shao Yun was clearly tempted.
Pierro wouldn't possibly pull the carpet under his feet, right?
With that thought, Shao Yun nodded, agreeing to the deal.
"It seems you've prepared thoroughly. Go ahead," Shao Yun said, lifting his chin to signal Pierro to begin.
Pierro did not hesitate and immediately asked his first question.
"First question: how exactly did Rosalyne-Kruzchka Lohefalter die?"
This question had long haunted Pierro's mind, remaining an unresolved mystery.
According to official reports from Inazuma, "Rosalyne" detonated the Mikage Furnace Core at Tatarasuna and perished together with Beelzebul.
However, information from the Doctor told a different story.
It claimed that Scaramouche had actually destroyed the Furnace Core, while Rosalyne had been sent away to Tenshukaku to retrieve the Electro Archon's Gnosis.
Then, in Sumeru, Shao Yun destroyed the Doctor's most heavily defended segment—leading Pierro to suspect whether Shao Yun himself was responsible.
After all, Rosalyne was someone Pierro had personally saved. No matter what, he needed to know the truth behind her death.
Upon hearing the question, Shao Yun's expression did not change in the slightest.
He slowly raised his right thumb and made a slicing gesture across his neck.
Then, lifting his chin once more, he looked at Pierro with a meaningful gaze.
The moment Pierro saw this gesture, his heart sank.
He instantly understood its meaning, and his expression darkened.
"I see."
Pierro forcefully exhaled through his nose, staring intently at Shao Yun—but ultimately said nothing more.
After a brief silence, Pierro took a deep breath and asked his second question.
"Then tell me—what exactly happened to Sumeru's sky three months ago?"
Hearing this, Shao Yun replied calmly, "Oh, that?"
He briefly explained the deal he made with the Devil, the deaths of a quarter of Sumeru's population, killing Scaramouche, and finally encountering the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles.
When Shao Yun delivered such earth-shattering revelations in such a flat tone, Pierro hurriedly raised a hand to stop him.
"Wait! You said you met the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles? Can you tell me more—details?"
Seeing Pierro grow anxious, Shao Yun gestured for him to calm down and replied leisurely, "That should count as the third question, shouldn't it?"
Pierro clearly hadn't expected this move and was momentarily left speechless.
Yet his intense desire for this crucial information overcame his embarrassment. Gritting his teeth, he nodded firmly.
"It counts! Go on—tell me!"
…
Shao Yun then explained how the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles used the souls of deceased Vision bearers to repair the fractured boundary, and how she planned to use Lumine as a "filter," to "purify" the Abyss.
When Lumine's name was mentioned, Pierro's expression subtly changed, a trace of worry flashing through his eyes.
Naturally, Shao Yun left out how he had died and come back to life—he didn't want to cause trouble for Candace.
In truth, just as Candace had said, that so-called "Ankh" didn't really do much.
So, the story became this: Shao Yun, on the brink of death, held on by sheer will. After the Sustainer finished repairing the rift in the sky, he shot her from behind, killing the weakened Sustainer.
Then, barely clinging to life, he descended from the sky using a Wind Glider.
…
Pierro listened gravely, murmuring to himself after Shao Yun finished.
"The Sustainer of Heavenly Principles falls into slumber once more… the souls of Vision bearers ascend into the sky, used as materials to mend the boundary…"
After muttering this, Pierro took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.
Then he asked the fourth question.
"Fourth question: two months ago, we detected a surge in ley line fluctuations. After that, I felt that certain things had been altered—deleted."
"The only explanation I can think of is that something went wrong with Irminsul. Do you know what happened?"
Hearing such a sensitive topic, Shao Yun felt a tightening in his chest and narrowed his eyes slightly.
After a moment, he put on a thoughtful expression and deliberately dragged out his words.
"Irminsul's issues are something you should ask the Dendro Archon about—not me. I'm not the Third Dendro Archon."
After all, this concerned his brother-in-law Aether's plans. The fewer people who knew, the better.
After hearing Shao Yun's response, Pierro sat quietly, studying him in silence.
After quite some time, he finally spoke.
"Very well. I have no more questions."
"You answered the first three. As for the fourth—although I didn't receive a definitive answer, I'll consider it an answer nonetheless."
"According to our agreement, since you've satisfied four questions, I will fulfill four of your requests in return."
Shao Yun nodded, wasting no time stating his demands.
"First: I need you to help locate the families of the missing girls involved in Fontaine's serial disappearance cases."
Pierro immediately nodded.
"That's no problem at all."
Encouraged, Shao Yun presented his second request.
"Second: I need someone from the House of the Hearth—a child named Freminet—to teach me how to dive and help me salvage something."
Since this merely involved mobilizing internal personnel, Pierro found it trivial.
"Approved."
Shao Yun continued with his third request.
"Third: I need you to investigate Marcel of the Cabrière Trade Association—his real name should be Vacher, originally from Snezhnaya."
"He's the mastermind behind yesterday's attack on Lumine and Paimon, and he's dealing in 'Sinthe.' I need solid evidence of his crimes."
Hearing this intelligence request, Pierro readily agreed.
"Simple. Intelligence work like this is easy for the Fatui."
When it came to the fourth request, Shao Yun fell into thought, clearly unsure.
"As for the fourth… I haven't decided yet," he said awkwardly.
Seeing this, Pierro already had an idea and offered a suggestion.
"Don't you want to ask about your wife's blood relatives—their past in Khaenri'ah?"
Hearing mention of Lumine and Aether's past, Shao Yun shook his head.
"I don't care whether my wife and brother-in-law were royalty or common folk."
"To me, they're just my family. That alone is enough."
Pierro realized further discussion was pointless and cleanly concluded the meeting.
"Very well. I understand."
"I can't remain in Fontaine for long. Since my purpose here has been achieved, I must return to Snezhnaya immediately."
"As for your fourth request—if it needs to be fulfilled while you're in Fontaine, Arlecchino can handle it on my behalf."
After brief consideration, Shao Yun replied, "That works."
Satisfied, Pierro nodded, then turned toward the door and called out, "Arlecchino, you heard everything we discussed, correct?"
Her voice came from outside.
"Yes. I'll take care of it."
Before the words even faded, the rhythmic sound of high heels receded into the distance.
Shao Yun quickly turned toward the door, eyes sharp with vigilance, and asked Pierro in a low voice, "She was listening in the whole time?"
Pierro remained calm, nodding slightly.
"No need to worry. With her guarding the door, no one else could overhear our conversation."
With that, Pierro slowly stood up and straightened the mantle symbolizing his status as a Fatui Harbinger.
In a steady, solemn tone, he said, "My time in Fontaine is limited. I look forward to the day when you come to Snezhnaya as our 'friends.'"
…
After Pierro left, Tartaglia arrived with his younger brother Teucer.
Just as Tartaglia had said, he truly only wanted Shao Yun to meet his brother.
The "unexpected benefit" he mentioned earlier turned out to be a box of high-end Fontaine desserts—supposedly something Paimon would definitely love.
Tartaglia really found a loophole here.
One sentence said it all: It's for the kid.
And Shao Yun—how could he possibly refuse that?
===BREAK===
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