After finishing his conversation with Miss Nicole of the Hexenzirkel, Shao Yun wasted no time and headed straight for Aaru Village.
Having made the trip several times before, he was already very familiar with the route.
Along the way he galloped swiftly on horseback, spending only one night and one full day before arriving at Aaru Village by dusk.
The moment he entered the village, he immediately spotted Candace, who had just finished her afternoon patrol and was preparing to take a brief rest.
Shao Yun hurried forward, smiling politely as he greeted her. "Hello, Miss Candace!"
Seeing his arrival, the fatigue on Candace's face instantly melted into a bright, welcoming smile.
She waved enthusiastically and responded, "Oh! So it's you, Mr. Shao Yun! What a pleasant surprise… By the way, where's Sethos? Why don't I see him with you?"
Clearly, Candace had assumed Shao Yun was returning from the northern desert and naturally asked about Sethos, who had been traveling with him.
Shao Yun hesitated for a brief moment, but quickly composed himself and casually fabricated a lie. "Ah, on the way back, Sethos ran into something urgent he had to take care of, so we split up…"
Before the topic could go any deeper and risk exposing his lie, he hurriedly shifted the conversation. "Anyway, let's not worry about him for now. I'll need to stay in Aaru Village for a few more days this time—is that alright?"
A faint look of anticipation flashed in his eyes as he spoke.
Hearing that Shao Yun wished to stay for several days, Candace agreed without the slightest hesitation. "Of course it's no problem at all! Mr. Shao Yun, you're always welcome here."
Smiling warmly, Candace gestured for him to follow. "Come along then. As usual, I'll take you to the village chief's house first so you can rest a bit, and then I'll arrange your lodging."
Shao Yun quickly replied, "Thank you so much!"
Candace chuckled softly, her tone gentle. "No need to be so polite. Treat Aaru Village like your home. You can stay as long as you want."
With that, she led Shao Yun toward the village chief's house.
…
And so, thanks to Candace's kind arrangements, Shao Yun once again settled into Aaru Village.
The days passed one after another. Although he lived peacefully and at ease, he remained quietly anxious, waiting for Lumine and Paimon to arrive.
Before he knew it, ten days had gone by.
That afternoon, Shao Yun sat in front of the house Candace had arranged for him, writing in his journal.
…
「"Sigh, I really did everything within my power, but I never expected my dear brother-in-law to drop the ball at such a crucial moment…"」
As he wrote, Shao Yun shook his head helplessly.
「"Thinking about it carefully, I suppose I can't place all the blame on him. Maybe I was the one being too impatient and failed to consider everything properly. That's why things turned out this way."」
He lifted his head for a moment, gazing at the familiar scenery around him, his heart filled with mixed emotions.
He continued writing, 「"If only the climate here in Aaru Village were a bit more humid and the terrain a bit flatter, I would honestly love to start a ranch here and just spend my days with Lumine and Paimon."」
The thought made the corners of his mouth lift slightly.
Finally, he wrote the last lines he wanted to leave for the moment. 「"Once Lumine returns from Liyue, we'll discuss what to do next."」
「"As for the Dendro Archon… deep down, I honestly did just want her to die…"」
…
Just as he closed his journal, a hearty and familiar laugh echoed from nearby.
Striding over with energetic steps was Dehya, who called out to him with her usual bold enthusiasm. "Hey! Mr. Shao Yun, what are you up to today?"
Hearing her voice, Shao Yun looked up and, seeing Dehya approach, quickly tucked his journal into his backpack.
Then he grinned and lifted his chin in greeting, asking with concern, "Hello, Miss Dehya! It's been quite a few days. Are your injuries fully healed now?"
At the mention of her earlier recovery period in Aaru Village, Dehya couldn't help but give a bitter smile and shake her head as she complained helplessly. "Ugh, don't remind me! Honestly, I felt completely healed ages ago."
"But Candace insisted I needed proper rest, and she basically 'trapped' me in the village. She kept a close eye on me every day, making sure I drank the medicine she personally brewed for me!"
After hearing this, Shao Yun nodded knowingly and sighed. "Looks like your relationship with Candace really isn't ordinary at all. If it were anyone else who got injured, I doubt she'd be so attentive."
With that remark, Dehya instantly grew bashful. She scratched her head awkwardly and let out an embarrassed laugh. "Well… I mean…"
Seeing her shy expression, Shao Yun tactfully switched topics. "Anyway, how's your crew doing these days?"
Hearing mention of her fellow mercenaries, Dehya's brows knit slightly as images of comrades she had fought alongside—some no longer alive—surfaced in her mind. A quiet sorrow filled her voice as she answered, "Same as always… but sometimes late at night, I can't help but think about the friends we've lost."
Her eyes dimmed with melancholy as the words trailed off.
This time, Dehya was the one who shifted the subject.
"Oh, right—Mr. Shao Yun, did you hear? The Dendro Archon has gone missing."
Although Shao Yun naturally already knew, he pretended to be shocked. "What? How could that be?"
Of course, he knew perfectly well that the Dendro Archon had fallen from the Irminsul and been swept away by the leyline currents.
But he absolutely could not reveal any of this. If he opened that door, it would trigger a chain reaction of tangled secrets—especially involving his illustrious brother-in-law's Abyss Order.
Seeing his apparent shock, Dehya assumed he truly had no idea and earnestly continued. "I heard about it when I returned to Sumeru City last week. Dunyarzad told me everything."
"Ever since the Dendro Archon disappeared, the entire Akademiya has fallen into chaos. And quite a few students even requested leave to go home because of the incident."
Then she frowned with confusion. "But I don't get it. What does her disappearance have to do with going home? Are those students planning to search for her on their own or something?"
Shao Yun privately thought that most of those students were probably using her disappearance as an excuse to avoid writing their papers…
Still, he admitted to himself that the possibility Dehya mentioned couldn't be entirely ruled out either.
After a brief pause, he smoothly shifted the topic toward Alhaitham and Cyno. "Well, I think Alhaitham and Cyno should be able to stabilize the current situation."
Hearing those names, Dehya perked up with renewed energy. "Exactly! Alhaitham has already announced that he'll be organizing a team to search for the Archon and calming everyone at the Akademiya so they don't panic."
"And during this period, he'll continue serving as Acting Grand Sage."
She took a breath and continued, "As for Cyno, he's leading the main group investigating Nahida's whereabouts."
After listening, Shao Yun couldn't help but smirk with a hint of teasing. "Looks like Alhaitham's plan to resign as Acting Grand Sage is going to be delayed."
Relying on her intuition, Dehya hesitated for a moment before asking, "If you don't mind me asking… Mr. Shao Yun, why do you think Nahida suddenly disappeared? Do you know anything?"
In her eyes, Shao Yun—and especially Lumine and Paimon—had an unusually close relationship with Nahida, having saved her life.
Shao Yun froze for half a second, then gently shook his head. "Sorry to disappoint you. I haven't seen her for a long time."
Hearing he was just as clueless, Dehya's face clouded with worry. She murmured a soft prayer under her breath. "I hope she's alright… Please let nothing bad happen to her…"
At that moment, hurried footsteps approached rapidly. Shao Yun looked up and saw Candace rushing toward them.
Once she reached them, slightly breathless, she called out, "Mr. Shao Yun—there you are!"
Seeing that she clearly had something important to discuss, Shao Yun asked, "Miss Candace, what's wrong? Don't tell me the library construction needs manpower."
Candace quickly waved her hands. "No, it's not about the library. There's another matter I was hoping you could help with."
Then she gently explained, "A traveler from Mondstadt rescued a merchant caravan carrying building materials from a group of Eremites, and came to Aaru Village with them."
"I gave her a proper welcome, and afterward she said she wanted to explore the desert."
"So I thought I'd prepare some essential supplies and a sturdy pack beast for her. Could you help me with some of the heavy lifting?"
She looked at him expectantly.
Hearing that the guest was from Mondstadt, Shao Yun's curiosity spiked immediately. "Sure thing. I'm apparently only fit for manual labor these days anyway."
"But tell me—what does this Mondstadt traveler look like?"
Candace thought for a moment and answered, "Well… she has short blue hair…"
The moment he heard "blue hair" and "Mondstadt," Shao Yun immediately thought of the eyepatch-wearing "pirate captain," the cavalry captain with no horse—the infamous Kaeya.
"Blue hair… Mondstadt… Don't tell me it's Kaeya?" he asked with interest.
After all, that was naturally the first person who came to mind who fit the description. And considering Kaeya's background as a descendant of the Abyss Order's founder, it wouldn't be strange if he had come to gather intel—especially given his brother-in-law's recent accomplishments.
But Candace shook her head firmly. "No, no, it's not Kaeya. Her name is Eula."
Hearing the name "Eula," Shao Yun froze. He hadn't immediately associated it with Eula Lawrence. He wondered if it might simply be someone with the same name.
He quickly asked, "What? Eula? Is her full name Eula Lawrence?"
Candace frowned and shook her head. "She never mentioned her surname. Why? Do you know her?"
Shao Yun pressed his lips together and asked, "Where is she now?"
Candace naturally pointed toward the village chief's house. "In the chief's house, of course."
Shao Yun felt his eye twitch. Why was it always the village chief's house? Had it become the village's official reception hall?
Even so, he decided to go and see Eula. Their relationship wasn't exactly close, but she was an old acquaintance after all.
===BREAK===
Like the story and want more chapters?
Join and support me by joining my Patreon!
[email protected]/SiRoasa