Chapter 4: A Gift for Qiqi

Bai Luo's luck was exceptional.

The dagger he had casually thrown earlier had triggered a critical hit. Naturally, this also activated his passive ability.

Passive Skill: Shock

When a normal attack or the dagger (Skill: Shadow Strike) lands a critical hit, it triggers an electric shock, paralyzing the target for 3 seconds (can be triggered once every 5 seconds).

In midair, Beidou, now paralyzed, had all her strength and elemental energy drained in an instant. This sudden loss made it seem as if she had been easily repelled by a light blow.

But if it came to a real fight... Bai Luo wasn't entirely confident he could take on Beidou.

Not because he was weak, but because he understood his own strengths and limitations. With his invisibility and assassination skills, he excelled at ambushes and burst attacks. On land, Beidou would definitely not be his match. However, this was the sea—Beidou's most familiar battleground—while Bai Luo's experience in naval combat was limited. A direct confrontation wouldn't end well for him.

His best bet was to leverage his title to intimidate her into retreating.

When Beidou mentioned Tartaglia, his reaction was mainly due to his dread of the man. After all, who in Snezhnaya didn't know that the Eleventh Harbinger, Tartaglia, was itching for a fight with the Twelfth? Bai Luo feared nothing—except for Tartaglia challenging him to a duel. With other Harbingers, there might be a chance for negotiation. But with Tartaglia? He'd fight first, and then talk about anything else after.

In truth, when Beidou claimed the attack was a misunderstanding, Bai Luo was already thinking of leaving. However, he decided to pretend to be angry and stall for time because of another reason, which had nothing to do with honor or pride. Even though he was newly appointed as the Twelfth Harbinger, everyone in Snezhnaya knew that he was the least principled and least concerned about honor. Otherwise, he wouldn't have trained so many Pyro Agents, which was one of the reasons people were surprised by his promotion to Harbinger.

The reason he was stalling was due to another of his abilities.

Skill: Silver

Passive Effect: Enhances perception, allowing the user to detect the presence of critically injured Vision bearers within a 3-kilometer radius and permanently increases defense penetration by 15% + 5 points.

Active Effect: Marks a target, allowing the user to track the target's location for a limited time. While marking, the user cannot move, attack, or use other skills, and will automatically exit stealth mode.

Bai Luo was using this skill on Beidou. The so-called "acquiring the target's vision" meant he could sense where she was, making it an excellent assassination tool. The progress bar for this skill was currently at 70%, but reaching 100% before the situation escalated into a fight would be challenging.

He needed to find a way to prolong the standoff, giving himself enough time to complete the progress bar, without provoking his subordinates into attacking prematurely.

"You're from Liyue, aren't you?"

As tension mounted, Bai Luo suddenly spoke up, his words in fluent Liyuean with a distinct southern Lisha Outskirts accent.

"Huh?"

Even Beidou was caught off guard by this unexpected move. After all, who would expect a Fatui Harbinger from Snezhnaya to speak such authentic Liyuean?

"Yes... I am. Are you from Liyue too?"

Judging from the exposed skin on his neck, it did seem he was genuinely from Liyue. But when had Liyue produced such a figure who ended up as a Harbinger in Snezhnaya?

"How is Qiqi doing at Bubu Pharmacy?"

"???"

Beidou was even more bewildered. Qiqi, the herb-picking zombie at Bubu Pharmacy, was known only to those from Liyue. Even if outsiders noticed her, they might only comment on her unusual attire, never paying much attention to her specifically. But how did he know about her...

"She's... doing well, her days are pretty peaceful."

As Beidou processed the surprising information, she answered, still puzzled. Bai Luo glanced at the progress bar over Beidou's head and whispered something to the ponytailed Fatui member beside him. Although confused, the subordinate obeyed, soon returning with a wooden box.

The box rattled with the sound of jars and bottles, though its contents were unclear. Following Bai Luo's orders, the Mirror Maiden used the waves to carefully send the box over to Beidou.

"What's this?"

Beidou asked, puzzled as she looked at the box placed in front of her.

"A gift for Qiqi. Just tell her... it's from Xiao Bai."

"Xiao Bai?"

For some reason, the image of Baizhu from Bubu Pharmacy popped into Beidou's mind. Could this man be related to Baizhu? But then again, his hair was black, distinctly different from Baizhu's appearance.

"Considering Tartaglia and Qiqi, let's put this incident behind us. Don't let me catch you next time."

With that, Bai Luo picked up the barrel of dandelion wine from the deck and, after making these final remarks, returned to his cabin. The skirmish came to a close, both sides unfurling their sails and heading in opposite directions.

Bai Luo's decision to end the encounter was naturally because the progress bar had reached 100%. He now had a clear sense of Beidou's presence. Even if they reached Inazuma, as long as she came within a certain range, Bai Luo would immediately detect her.

But... did he know Qiqi?

Yes, he did. But Qiqi didn't know him. The reason Bai Luo mentioned Qiqi to Beidou was due to her unique identity. As a zombie, even if Beidou or Ningguang asked her about Xiao Bai, Qiqi would never remember who he was—after all, her poor memory was notorious. But if Beidou actually gave Qiqi the gift, she would definitely remember Xiao Bai. At the very least, she'd jot down his name in her little notebook.

Because inside that box was...

"Is this... coconut milk?"

Aboard the Alcor.

Beidou, having turned her ship back towards Liyue, still felt uneasy about the box Bai Luo had given her. So she decided to open it with the help of the ship's alchemist. After careful examination, the alchemist determined that the milky white substance inside was nothing more than ordinary coconut milk.

Although Beidou knew of Qiqi, she was unaware of the little zombie's fondness for coconut milk. This made her even more puzzled as to why the Fatui Harbinger who called himself the Instructor would send a box of coconut milk to Qiqi.

"So... Captain, are we still heading to Inazuma?" the one-eyed sailor asked cautiously after seeing Beidou reseal the box of coconut milk.

"We're not going to Inazuma anymore. Turn the ship around! We need to return to Liyue immediately. There's something strange about that Twelfth Harbinger, and we need to report this information as soon as possible."

Beidou glanced at the envelope with the Coral Palace seal, pinned under a paperweight, before giving her command. Inazuma could be visited anytime, but the intelligence needed to be brought back to Liyue without delay.

Once the course was set, Beidou leaped up to the crow's nest and watched as the Fatui ship disappeared into the stormy distance, narrowing her eyes.

"Xiao Bai, huh?"