Tn: This chapter is re-written at 8 / 10 / 2025
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Chapter 37: Bound Weapon
Once Bai Luo slipped into the water, he didn't simply vanish into thin air.
The moment he submerged, he shifted into [Hei] and activated his quantumization ability.
As mentioned before, this quantumization wasn't just for offense or brief invulnerability—it also had a long-range teleportation function.
And that teleportation didn't only work on enemies—it could be used on allies as well.
When combined with his marking skill, [Silver], it became nothing short of an assassination cheat code.
Right now, his target was one of the Fatui agents in the courtyard.
The man had just stepped in from outside and was about to knock on Bai Luo's door when a sudden chill crept over him.
In the next instant, the air above his head warped, and a thin black line appeared, as though it had sliced open space itself.
Gurururu…
The line slowly widened, revealing what looked disturbingly like an eye.
Bloodshot veins ran across it, twitching faintly as the eye scanned its surroundings before finally locking onto the Fatui agent.
Once the target was confirmed, the pupil contracted sharply—turning into the vertical slit of a beast's eye.
And right then, Bai Luo materialized behind him.
Tap
"Uwaaah!"
A light tap on the shoulder from Bai Luo nearly made the man jump out of his skin.
In Inazuma, there was no shortage of eerie, supernatural encounters, and he'd seen his fair share. But that feeling just now—as if his very soul had been laid bare—was enough to set anyone's hair on end.
"It's me."
Bai Luo removed the mask from his face and hooked it casually to his waist.
When he transformed into [Hei], his outfit shifted along with him.
His [Battousai] attire had even gained subtle changes compared to the red kimono he had purchased earlier.
The same went for the weapon in his hand—a broken blade that had turned into a Reverse Blade Sword.
That transformation was courtesy of the system.
Both outfits and weapons had something like a binding option.
Once bound, they would change accordingly.
For example, the twin daggers tucked at the small of his back.
It was in the dead of winter that he had jumped into a river to save a drowning child—and that was when he ended up in this world.
When he went in, he hadn't been carrying any weapons. But after rescuing the child and nearing exhaustion—on the verge of drowning himself—he was fished out by the Fatui Harbinger known as the Rooster.
According to the Rooster, Bai Luo had already been carrying this strange dagger when he was pulled from the water.
Later, he simply converted that dagger into his [Hei] weapon.
Of course, binding an outfit or weapon had requirements—color, type, that sort of thing.
The system wasn't unreasonable; it didn't have to be an exact match, just close enough in appearance.
That was one of the reasons Bai Luo had worn a red kimono to the scene today—just in case when he triggered the binding, he wouldn't have to waste time finding clothes.
What surprised him most was that switching between [Hei] and [Battousai] automatically cleaned his clothes and weapons.
For example, a moment ago his outfit had been drenched, but the instant he switched to [Hei], it was completely dry again.
Though, thanks to his quantumization, seawater couldn't affect him anyway—otherwise he'd have needed to switch a second time.
"Oh, it's you, Lord Ausbilder."
Recognizing Bai Luo, the Fatui agent let out a sigh of relief.
Veteran subordinates wouldn't have been startled—after all, both Bai Luo and the Pyro Agents he trained were masters of stealth.
They were long used to this sort of thing.
But this man had been part of the earliest expeditionary force to Inazuma and had never seen Bai Luo's techniques before, so the scare was understandable.
"What is it?"
Even with the deafening "Glory to the Shogun and her everlasting reign" echoing from the Tenryou Commission next door, Bai Luo already had a guess.
"Um… General Kujou is here to see you, sir. I didn't dare turn her away, so I came in to report."
When Bai Luo had left earlier, it had been under invisibility—without alerting anyone.
Even his own men thought he was in his room, working on his novel.
"Let her in."
He motioned for the man to fetch her, then pushed open his own door and sat back down at the desk, resuming the manuscript he had left unfinished.
It wasn't long before Kujou Sara swept into the room, brisk and full of purpose.
The moment she stepped inside, Kujou Sara's sharp eyes swept over Bai Luo's outfit… then over to his bed.
At first glance, it looked like she was catching him in some scandal, but in truth, she was searching for clues—trying to spot any similarities between Bai Luo and the man she had seen at the training grounds. She was even hoping to find the clothes he might have discarded.
In all of Inazuma City, no one had interacted with Bai Luo more than she did. Though that mysterious swordsman's presence had felt entirely different from Bai Luo's, before he drew his blade against the Shogun, that stance, that sensation—it had been very much like him.
And as the current general of the Tenryou Commission, Sara trusted her instincts.
"Congratulations, General Sara, on winning your duel before Her Excellency," Bai Luo said, setting down his pen and offering his well-wishes.
But his words only made Sara's gaze grow more suspicious.
"…How do you know I won?"
Her right hand had already found the hilt of the katana at her waist.
If he didn't give her a proper explanation, she wouldn't hesitate to act.
Rumors in town might say they were lovers, but their relationship wasn't nearly that close.
"The duel before the Shogun is a fight to the death. Since you're standing here alive, isn't it obvious that you won? If you didn't win, then what, did you become a ghost and come to see me?"
"…"
Her lips tightened. She had been so focused on linking him to that mysterious swordsman that she had completely overlooked the obvious.
"There… was a small accident during the duel," she admitted at last. "But it's over now. More or less."
She wasn't planning on hiding the matter from him.
Even if Bai Luo wasn't that masked intruder, with his current position it wouldn't be hard for him to dig up some details.
Her face darkened as the thought returned to her—she had known for some time that the Fatui had infiltrated Inazuma, but the extent was far beyond what she'd imagined.
She even suspected there was a traitor within the Kujou Clan itself… she just didn't know who yet.
It seemed she would have to report this to the clan head tonight and make preparations.
"I see… I didn't think I'd miss such a spectacular show. What a shame. If the Yae Publishing House hadn't been breathing down my neck today, I'd have been there to cheer you on."
His line wasn't just an excuse for missing the duel—it was also part of Bai Luo's plan to create "proof" of his absence.
"Yae Publishing House?"
Sara's eyes flicked toward the paper and pen in front of him.
She had assumed he'd been practicing calligraphy… but now it looked like…
…Was he writing a novel?
This guy can write novels?
"Yeah. Though I doubt I'll be able to finish it now," Bai Luo said with a sigh.
And wasn't that the truth? Before she arrived, he had been planning to keep writing.
However, the Commission's troops' continuous drills and chants next door distracted him.
Before he knew it, the noise had slipped into his manuscript.
For example—
Under the cover of night, Her Excellency the Shogun mounted atop the sleeping Yae Sakurako, smacking her awake with a slap and declaring sternly: 'Stand properly!'