Chapter 157

Luo Li considered whether he should explain to Baizhu not to sell herbs to Shenhe if she came again.

Otherwise, the habit would never be broken, and he couldn't keep an eye on the young lady forever.

"Oh, it's Mr. Luo Li."

Hearing the familiar voice, Beidou turned around and couldn't help but let out a hearty laugh upon seeing an acquaintance.

The two hadn't seen each other for a long time since the pirate incident, but it didn't matter; their friendship hadn't cooled in the slightest.

Lumine and Paimon also greeted him.

Too busy to reprimand Shenhe, he helplessly confiscated the herbs the young lady was hiding behind her back, and under her pitiful gaze, handed them to Ganyu and instructed her.

"From now on, Shenhe is under your care. If she doesn't listen, you, as her senior sister, should reprimand her."

Ganyu was in a difficult position; it was truly impossible for her to reprimand others.

The Qilin girl's nature was relatively soft, and she couldn't even say harsh words, let alone scold someone.

Luo Li didn't care; this was just the thing to temper Ganyu's temperament, killing two birds with one stone.

Leaving the two women to stare at each other, he turned to face Beidou to respond.

"I didn't expect to run into Captain Beidou here. May I ask what brings you here?"

Beidou said without concealment: "I'm heading out to the far seas recently, and the fleet's reserve of medicinal herbs is running low, so I came to stock up at Boss Baizhu's place."

"And I just happened to hold a martial arts tournament for brother Kazuha to select a warrior capable of awakening a Vision. This one here is one of the contestants; I didn't expect you two to know each other."

Pointing at Lumine, Beidou seemed to think quite highly of her.

After all, she was the Honorary Knight of the Knights of Favonius who resolved the dragon disaster and played a key role in the Archon chaos.

Hmm... she broke the seal, which was indeed key; otherwise, that incident wouldn't have happened at all.

Paimon said confidently: "We aren't here for the Vision; Captain Beidou just said that if we win, she can take us to Inazuma."

Luo Li nodded slightly: "I originally intended to ask Beidou to give you a ride, but it seems you hooked up with her yourself."

Beidou laughed: "It seems everyone is truly fated then."

Paimon retorted with dissatisfaction, what do you mean "hooked up," that sounds terrible.

Pretending not to hear the little one's protest, Luo Li asked: "When are you setting sail?"

Beidou calculated the time and said straightforwardly: "In three days. The fleet will likely stop at Ritou to stock up on fireworks from the Naganohara family."

Although Liyue has a wide variety of fireworks, they fall short of being as impressive as the Naganohara family's.

That girl is known as the Queen of the Summer Festival; few can rival her in the art of fireworks.

"Three days, then."

It seems I'll have to finish up the trivial matters here in Liyue these next few days.

Luo Li muttered to himself, planning to head to Inazuma with Beidou and Lumine when the time came.

This time he wasn't planning to bring anyone; his main goal was to check on the current state of Inazuma, and if he could see old friends, that would be even better.

It would be best if he could quietly reveal the news that he and Raiden Makoto were still alive, giving those people some time to buffer.

"Captain Beidou, the herbs you wanted are packed."

At this moment, a rather refined-looking green-haired man walked out from the depths of Bubu Pharmacy.

He had a white snake coiled around his neck and wore glasses, giving a very scholarly impression.

Beidou happily took the several large bags of herbs, carrying them easily in one hand: "Alright, I'll be off then."

Baizhu called out to her: "Wait, there's more."

After speaking, he shouted toward the medicine-dispensing counter: "Qiqi, have you finished grabbing them?"

A moment later, a voice suddenly came from a place where one couldn't see anyone behind the counter.

"Co... coming."

A soft, lifeless voice drifted over.

After a while, a short loli emerged from under the counter.

The loli lacked facial expressions, had a talisman stuck to her head, wore prayer beads around her neck, and had bandages wrapped around her legs.

However, she looked very cute.

"So this is a zombie?" Luo Li examined the loli named Qiqi with great interest.

He still remembered that this little one had accidentally wandered into the battlefield of an adeptus and an Archon, and had died helplessly. Later, the adepti, out of guilt, used adeptal arts to try and revive her.

But the Qiqi that was ultimately revived was full of defects; she was no longer the little girl who picked herbs, and she suffered from frequent amnesia.

Unlike ordinary zombies, due to her adeptal connection, Qiqi needs to give herself orders when she moves.

"Here."

Qiqi handed another bag of herbs to Beidou, her eyes somewhat dull and lifeless, which was also a common trait of zombies.

"Thanks, little Qiqi."

Beidou took the last bag of herbs and turned to bid farewell to Luo Li: "Then, Mr. Luo Li, I'll be leaving first."

After speaking, she reminded Lumine not to forget the time for the martial arts tournament tomorrow.

Watching Beidou's figure disappear down the stairs outside Bubu Pharmacy, Luo Li gazed at the gentle-faced Baizhu.

This man's identity was quite mysterious; he wasn't as refined and kind as he appeared. His purpose in adopting Qiqi was impure, mainly coveting the loli's immortal body.

As far as Luo Li knew, there was some problem with Baizhu's own body; Qiqi had said his body was even worse than her own.

But that had nothing to do with him.

"This guest, is there anything you need?" Baizhu revealed a kind smile.

After meeting his gaze for a moment, Luo Li shook his head gently: "I just came to take A-He away. In the future, if she comes again, Boss, remember not to sell her any more herbs."

"Understood."

Looking at the silent and somewhat pitiful Shenhe, Baizhu indicated he understood.

His gaze inadvertently swept over the white snake hiding behind Baizhu's neck, fearful of him, but Luo Li didn't care at all.

"Lumine, would you like to accompany me to the Heyu Tea House to listen to a play later? Yunjin recently wrote a new play that is worth enjoying."

Before preparing to take Shenhe and Ganyu away, he extended an invitation to the tool duo.

Because he had learned the specific details of the "Divine Damsel Devastates" from Shenhe some time ago, Yunjin had perfected the play again, striving for perfection, and during this period, she had let Luo Li critique it several times.

Now, she was finally confident enough to perform it.

Just yesterday, she had delivered an invitation to Luo Li at the first opportunity.

Paimon's eyes lit up: "Listen to a play?! Great, great, let's go now!"

She agreed so quickly that Lumine didn't even have time to stop her.

There was no help for it; since Paimon had already agreed, and there was nothing else to do anyway, she just went with the flow and nodded.

As for plays and such, Lumine was actually interested herself.

Who doesn't like a freebie?!

After reaching a consensus, Luo Li nodded to Baizhu one last time: "Then, sorry for the trouble, Boss."

"No, what are you saying, guest? If you have any needs, please feel free to ask."

Seeing the group out, Baizhu stood at the entrance of Bubu Pharmacy, and only when Luo Li had completely disappeared by the clear pond did the smile on his face vanish.

Gazing in the direction he left, Baizhu stroked the white snake on his shoulder that had finally relaxed, remaining silent for a long time.