As night fell, the streets of the remote island were already deserted, with no one in sight.

Bai Luo sat by the window in his temporary residence, sipping tea and gazing in the direction of Inazuma City, squinting slightly.

"Lord Ausbilder, are you really not going to meet with the Hiiragi and Kujou Clans?" As Bai Luo's most trusted Pyro Agent, Ah Qi naturally stayed by his side.

"Even if I went, it would just be flattery and flattery. I don't want to go," Bai Luo replied.

Before becoming a Harbinger, he often encountered such situations similar to this. However, back then, he had no power or legitimate reason to refuse it.

Now, as one of the Harbinger, he was above all others.

In the entire Fatui's Brigade in Inazuma, his position was the highest.

Being a bit willful like this wasn't a problem.

"You're right. Lord Ausbilder, as the envoy of Snezhnaya, designated by the Tsaritsa herself, even if they receive you, it won't be these three Clans. Instead, it will be the esteemed Raiden Shogun who is high above herself," Ah Qi explained.

"Pfft—" Before Ah Qi could finish speaking, Bai Luo sprayed the tea in his mouth.

"Ah Qi."

"Yes!"

"That's enough, don't say anything more next time!"

"???"

Even though Bai Luo's task was to obtain the Gnosis from the Shogun, he still didn't want to face the Shogun.

There are two main reason for this, the first one is simple, the Gnosis simply wasn't with the Shogun, the Inazuma Archon had gave it away to Yae Miko, and the second one is because he didn’t want to attract Raiden Shogun’s attention.

‘As expected, being sanctioned in Liyue would be better after all, now, if only that orange-headed fellow would stop pestering me every hour for a match.’

"Hmm?"

Just as Ah Qi was about to report the scheduled arrangements to Bai Luo, he raised his arm slightly to stop the Agent.

They had trained together often, so even a small movement held a different meaning in each other's eyes.

"After the turbulence all the way to Snezhnaya, I'm tired. We can discuss everything tomorrow. I'm going to sleep for now."

"Understood, Lord Ausbilder."

Ah Qi naturally left the room, closing the door behind her.

Bai Luo yawned and casually placed the teacup on the nearby table.

As he walked toward the bed, he unfastened the luxurious attire on him, colored with the distinct hues of Snezhnaya.

With the last button undone, Bai Luo grabbed the coat and flung it forcefully.

"Swoosh—"

With the coat as cover, a specially crafted dagger flew out and firmly lodged itself in the ceiling.

"Click, clack—"

The mechanisms at his waist activated, and under the tension of the steel wire, he flipped onto the ceiling.

But there was something on the ceiling that surprised him.

It was a Muji-Muji Daruma.

It was hidden quite well. If Bai Luo weren't an expert in concealment himself, he would definitely have been deceived by this little fellow.

After a second of eye contact, the doll made its move first.

"Yoohoo Art: Shadowy Minks Dance!"

The kokeshi doll suddenly emitted a vibrant green light.

In the next moment, a strong airflow wreaked havoc throughout the room, and a small figure took the opportunity to leap out of the doll, somersaulted on the ground, and leaped out of the open window.

This move left Ah Qi, who was guarding the door, dumbfounded.

Don't these self-proclaimed ninjas ever use the door?

"Ah Qi, check for any traces. I'll go after them."

"Understood!"

After receiving Ah Qi's response, Bai Luo skillfully jumped out of the window and dashed toward the small figure not far away, bathed in the moonlight.

"Yoohoo Art: Wind Concealment Advance!"

The small figure noticed Bai Luo chasing after her and was so scared that her tail almost stood up.

She was well aware of Bai Luo's danger, so without hesitation, she activated her escape technique.

The small figure jumped high into the air, forming hand seals in an instant.

Then, she curled up, hugging her legs tightly.

Upon landing, she began rolling on the ground like a wheel, propelled by the gentle breeze.

In no time, she had left Bai Luo far behind.

As long as she reached the nearby forest, a place she was very familiar with, Bai Luo would never catch her.

In Bai Luo's eyes, her actions seemed contradictory to her identity as a ninja.

This elemental technique for escape was indeed fast, and the traces she left behind were quite clear in comparison.

Especially the flattened grass that she left behind due to her roll, even an ordinary person without tracking experience could notice something was amiss.

And Bai Luo, being a skilled expert, was even more capable of discerning the tracks, even if he couldn't see the figure anymore. He followed the traces and arrived near a wooded area.

During the day, he didn't pay close attention, but once night fell, the forest seemed rather eerie.

As the night breeze blew, the rustling sound of leaves filled the air.

If one listened carefully, among the sound of the wind, there seemed to be murmurs, as if people were whispering.

With a flip of his right hand, the dagger he had already put away was once again held firmly in his grip. Bai Luo heightened his alertness and entered the forest.

"Whoosh—"

The moment he stepped into the forest, countless birds took flight.

Their squawking cries were unpleasant, scattering in all directions and disappearing into the night.

Crows, truly a creature that wasn't easy to like.

Bai Luo remained vigilant and continued examining the traces on the ground, trying to find the hiding place of the little figure.

It must be admitted that once inside the forest, the small figure's hiding technique had reached its peak.

Especially after the disturbance caused by the crows, there were no useful traces to be seen on the ground.

Instead, in the surrounding Grass, occasional glimpses of figures could be seen, creating an illusion of people everywhere yet invisible.

The moon in the sky was already obscured by the tall tree canopies, leaving no trace of moonlight.

However, this did not affect Bai Luo's vision.

Because within the forest, certain blue flowers were in full bloom.

The petals of these flowers emitted a faint blue glow in the darkness.

But under this ethereal glow, everything around looked eerie and sinister.

Combined with the peculiar sculptures covered in moss, even the inhabitants of Inazuma who lived here probably wouldn't dare to linger for long.

However, it was in such circumstances that Bai Luo encountered someone.

He wasn't even sure if the person he met was truly human.

"Who are you?"

She furrowed her brow, holding a bamboo basket in her hand, and asked Bai Luo.

Unlike ordinary women, this woman had a neat short hairstyle and wore the attire that only Shogunate soldiers were qualified to wear.

However, compared to ordinary soldiers, her attire was much more "luxurious."

The most eye-catching thing about her was the red bird-like mask on her head.

If he wasn't certain that the Fatui's Brigade didn't wear this style of mask, he would have thought she was a member of the Fatui's Brigade as well.

"There was a thief in my room, and I chased the thief here," Bai Luo calmly explained, retracting the hidden dagger in his sleeve.

He had already realized who this woman suddenly appearing in the mountains was.

No... she wasn't a human at all, but a yokai.

A yokai known as a Tengu.

She was also a captain of the Shogunate forces—Kujou Sara.