Inside the interrogation room, Kaeya's expression was grave. If this matter were to leak, the Lawrence Clan would undoubtedly seize the opportunity to pressure the Knights of Favonius. Fortunately, at present, only Eula was aware of the situation.
"But what does any of this have to do with me?" Su Bai said, exasperated. "I didn't tell those Treasure Hoarders to rob a tomb. Why am I the one being dragged in here?"
Outwardly, Su Bai sounded calm, but inwardly he was stunned. Had the Treasure Hoarders really become this unhinged? Grave-robbing now? When he returned to Liyue, he would definitely need to report this to Keqing. Otherwise, who knew—what if one day they set their sights on the Keqing family tomb?
"Lord Su Bai," Kaeya replied evenly, "you can't quite say that. When we interrogated the Treasure Hoarder leader, he claimed that the plan was instructed by a young man with a fox tail. Across both Liyue and Mondstadt… you're the only one who fits that description."
"You're saying I instructed them?" Su Bai nearly flipped the table. "Impossible. Absolutely impossible."
This was outright slander. If word of this reached Cloud Retainer, he would be locked into confinement without question.
And confinement at Mt. Aocang meant one thing—
Shenhe.
Su Bai's face went pale.
No. This rumor could not be allowed to spread. If it did, he was finished.
"Kaeya," Su Bai said coldly, "take me to that Treasure Hoarder. I want to see which bastard dares smear my name."
"Do they really think a fox has no temper?"
Seeing Su Bai's reaction, Kaeya felt more confident. This probably wasn't Su Bai's doing—though he couldn't rule out excellent acting.
"Please follow me, Lord Su Bai. The Treasure Hoarder leader is being held next door."
Kaeya led Su Bai into the holding area. Concerned that Su Bai might silence the man permanently, Kaeya followed closely behind as they entered the cell.
The lights came on.
"…Why is it you?!"
The moment Su Bai saw the familiar, brainless face inside, his mind went blank. On second thought—this man had already dared to rob him before, so robbing the Lawrence Clan's tomb wasn't exactly surprising.
The Treasure Hoarder leader, upon seeing Su Bai, immediately lit up.
"Big bro! Big bro! It's me!"
"Explain," Su Bai said, pulling over a chair and sitting down. His fox eyes gleamed with curiosity. "What exactly were you thinking, robbing the Lawrence Clan's tomb—and dragging me into it?"
Kaeya leaned against the wall with interest. In all his years with the Knights, he had never seen a case this absurd.
"Well… it all started after you beat me up, big bro."
After being thoroughly educated by Su Bai, the Treasure Hoarder leader found himself thinking more and more that Su Bai had been right. With the last of his Mora, he went to the black market and bought a book called Grave-Raiding Notes from a man known as Third Uncle.
According to Third Uncle, the book was based on true events. If he hadn't decided to retire from the trade, he would never have sold it.
The Treasure Hoarder leader—being exactly the sort of fool he was—bought it immediately because it was cheap. Seeing how straightforward he was, Third Uncle even threw in an extra book: Feng Shui.
After several days of study, the leader became convinced he had fully mastered Grave-Raiding Notes, while his subordinates had more or less finished studying Feng Shui.
Thus, brimming with confidence, the Treasure Hoarders began digging for tombs within Liyue.
What they didn't consider was where they were.
This was Liyue—land where adepti and mortals coexisted, the birthplace of Feng Shui itself. Did they really think the tombs of those with wealth or adeptal connections would be unprotected?
The poor Treasure Hoarders endured fire traps, flooding mechanisms, lightning strikes, and stone spikes—yet refused to give up. It was only after nearly losing one of their men that the leader finally realized the truth:
Liyue's tombs were far beyond their capabilities.
To his credit, the leader made a decisive call. While his subordinates still wanted to keep trying in Liyue, he suggested heading to Mondstadt instead. If nothing else, they could treat it as practice.
Upon re-entering Mondstadt, the group stayed overnight at the home of a kind old man. There, they encountered an arrogant young man claiming to be from the Lawrence Clan, who not only beat the old man but also arrogantly demanded that the Treasure Hoarder leader become his dog.
That was the final straw.
"Who do you think you are?" the leader had thought. "You think you're that fox guy?"
After beating the Lawrence brat senseless, the old man urged them to leave immediately.
Before they left, the old man warned them that the Lawrence Clan was wealthy—and cruel.
That was when the leader saw opportunity.
A perfect place to "practice."
"So you robbed the Lawrence Clan's tomb… because of that?" Su Bai pressed a hand to his temple. "Even novels wouldn't dare write something this ridiculous."
Kaeya struggled to hold back laughter. The Lawrence Clan would never imagine that one arrogant descendant had indirectly caused their ancestors' graves to be robbed.
"But even so," Su Bai continued, "why would you go on to rob the Knights of Favonius headquarters?"
The Treasure Hoarder leader let out a bitter laugh.
"We weren't discovered while grave-robbing. What happened next was even more absurd."
After successfully extracting a large sum of Mora and a magnificent claymore, the leader generously shared some Mora with the old man. He even sent two subordinates to escort the old man to Liyue to retire—after all, Liyue was far safer than a Mondstadt plagued by Stormterror.
Had they returned to Liyue at that point, nothing else would have happened.
Unfortunately, one subordinate insisted that the claymore was a Mondstadt weapon and that Liyue merchants wouldn't recognize its value. The leader agreed and sent him to sell it.
The man never returned.
Alarmed, the leader investigated and learned that the subordinate had been beaten by a blue-haired woman and taken away.
Could he tolerate that?
That was his brother.
So he immediately rallied his men and stormed the Knights of Favonius headquarters to rescue him.
They hadn't even found where the man was being held when—
The leader was knocked unconscious by a blonde woman wielding a one-handed sword, struck down by a single move called Gale Blade.
At the same time, bolts of lightning descended from above, knocking out all of his subordinates.