"Old man, just confess already. It has been this long. As long as you talk, we will make sure you enjoy the service of a luxury private cell."
"Yeah, yeah. Just confess and tell us who your accomplices are. We will definitely not mistreat you. Letting you go is not entirely out of the question either."
Surrounded by the tempting voices, Master Masanori let out a defiant snort. It did not matter if they beat him to death. He was old and did not have many days left anyway. But he absolutely could not let these people find out about Yoimiya.
Seeing that Master Masanori still refused to say a word, the Shogun's Army soldiers around him grew furious. This old man truly did not know his place. They had already offered him a deal and he still would not confess anything. Did he really think they would not go all out? Enraged, several soldiers raised their weapons, preparing to deliver a brutal blow to Master Masanori.
"Stop!"
Before the strike could land on Master Masanori, a bolt of Electro descended from above, shocking the soldiers into numbness. The sudden turn of events left the surrounding Shogun's Army soldiers stunned.
Good grief, which Vision holder had the audacity to cause trouble inside a prison?
However, the soldiers quickly became excited. Was this not military merit delivered right to their doorstep? If they could capture this person, the credit and rewards would certainly be substantial.
"Raising your weapons at me. If there was no greed in your eyes, I might have even praised you. But right now? Tsk."
Su Bai did not bother hiding the mockery on his face. The overwhelming Electro energy finally made the Shogun's Army soldiers realize that Su Bai was different from any other Vision holder they had encountered. This person was simply not someone they could afford to provoke.
"Master Masanori, I have come to save you."
Yoimiya could no longer concern herself with any of that. She rushed to Master Masanori's side and began checking his injuries. Hearing Yoimiya's voice, Master Masanori tried to push her away.
"Yoimiya, leave quickly. You cannot let them catch you. These people are nothing but demons."
"It is alright, Master Masanori. Su Bai came with me. With him here, nothing will go wrong."
"Su Bai. He is back. Good."
Hearing that Su Bai had returned, Master Masanori visibly relaxed. From the incident where Su Bai used one of Yoimiya's fireworks to blow up Tenshukaku and only ended up with a slightly swollen backside the next day while still being able to run around freely, Master Masanori could tell that ordinary people in Inazuma simply could not touch Su Bai.
"Master Masanori, do not move yet. Let me treat your wounds."
"Right, right, right. Master Masanori, let me apply the medicine first. We do not want the wound getting infected."
Yoimiya originally wanted to help tend to Master Masanori's injuries, but he politely refused. He knew full well that his wounds were not external. They were internal injuries. Once they got back, he would likely need to take some medicine to recover.
Master Masanori's explanation also forced Lumine to put away the ointment. The medicine Baizhu had given her could only treat external wounds. It was completely useless for internal injuries.
...
Just as Su Bai faced off against the Shogun's Army soldiers, an arrow crackling with Electro energy struck the ground between Su Bai and the soldiers. Seeing the arrow, the soldiers let out a sigh of relief and smiles spread across their faces. Their General Kujou Sara had arrived.
However, what the soldiers never expected was that the Electro on the arrow was not aimed at Su Bai. Instead, it surged toward them. Completely unprepared for such a development, the soldiers were shocked half to death and collapsed to the ground one after another.
"What a spectacle. How disgraceful."
"I never imagined that despite my repeated warnings, you would still resort to torture. Someone, take them away and lock them up. Without my order, they will remain in their cells indefinitely."
Watching the dashing woman command a group of soldiers to drag away the ones who had used torture, Paimon's eyes practically sparkled with stars. She tugged at Lumine's sleeve and whispered.
"Lumine, this person is clearly a high-ranking official in Inazuma. Should we ask her if she has any commissions? People like her usually pay quite well."
Hearing Paimon say that, Lumine was tempted as well. But she quickly suppressed the urge. She was still not very familiar with Inazuma. Taking on commissions recklessly could lead to all sorts of dangers.
"Sara, long time no see. I did not expect you to have gotten even stronger over these past few years."
"For the Shogun's sake, getting stronger is a necessity. As for you, do you not feel that you owe me something?"
Su Bai greeted Kujou Sara with a smile. Sara looked him up and down. Seeing that he still carried that same lazy demeanor, she walked up to him and delivered a punch straight to his stomach.
"Cough cough. Kujou Sara, I did not offend you, did I? That really hurts."
Caught completely off guard, Su Bai hunched over, clutching his stomach. He never in a million years expected Sara to suddenly hit him.
"That punch was for leaving Inazuma without saying goodbye to me."
"If Guuji Yae had not told me you left Inazuma, I would have thought you ran into some danger and died out there."
After explaining herself, Sara turned to look at Master Masanori, who was being supported by Yoimiya. She glanced at Yoimiya. She knew this young girl had been helping people forge fake Visions recently, but without concrete evidence, Inazuman law did not permit arrests.
"There is no need to be tense. You may leave. But remember this. Not every time will Su Bai be available to handle situations like this. Next time, be more discreet."
"Also. You must be Yoimiya, correct? You are not allowed to provide Su Bai with high-powered fireworks anymore. If Tenshukaku gets blown up again, I will personally pay a visit to your fireworks shop."
"Hehe, I would not, I would not. That was all a long time ago when we were kids."
Yoimiya shook her head, indicating she would not do the same things she did as a child. Sara glanced at Su Bai. She had a feeling he would not stay out of trouble. With Inazuma's three key figures not yet having formally gathered, Sara felt it was necessary to nip certain risks in the bud.
"That would be best. But I suspect certain people have always had that sort of idea in mind."
"Ahem. Sara, you are wrongfully accusing an innocent person here. In Liyue, I am a law-abiding, well-behaved fox. Besides, I even brought you a gift, and this is how you treat me. Truly heartbreaking."
"Hmph. Enough with the nonsense. Hand over the gift. You are a free spirit with nothing to do, but I have a mountain of work at my barracks. If you really have nothing better to do, you can come assist me. The resistance forces have suddenly intensified their attacks recently. If you come help me, we could likely crush them outright."
Kujou Sara snatched the phone from Su Bai's hand without a shred of hesitation. Perhaps from spending too long in the military, she had become far more decisive in her actions.
"Go to the barracks? Absolutely not. If I actually went to assist you at the barracks, the noble families of Inazuma would not be able to sleep at night."
Hearing Sara try to talk him into working for free again, Su Bai rejected the idea without a moment's hesitation. It was not that he did not want to help Sara. It was simply that their identities were too sensitive. Su Bai, one of the spokespeople of the Grand Narukami Shrine, suddenly appearing at the military camp alongside Kujou Sara would inevitably give certain people ideas.