Let's temporarily set aside the situation with Sumeru City and Nahida.
After leaving the Akademiya, Shao Yun first thought of going to see Dunyarzad, intending to return the house her father, Shahzaman, had originally prepared for him.
When he had left Sumeru City a few days ago, it had been too rushed to inform Shahzaman, so technically the house was still in his use.
Since he wasn't staying there anymore, it was only right to return it.
Sending Nahida back to Sumeru City had taken two days and one night, and by the time he arrived at Aaru Village, it was already evening.
In front of the village chief's house, Shao Yun saw Lumine and Paimon.
Originally, Shao Yun thought it would take a few more days for them to return, but unexpectedly, they were already back.
He smiled, walked forward, waved, and called out, "Whoa, when did you get back?"
Hearing Shao Yun's voice, Paimon immediately turned toward him and exclaimed, "Whoa! Shao Yun, where have you been all these days?"
"We heard from Candace that you'd disappeared for two or three days!"
Faced with Paimon's rapid-fire questions, Shao Yun only smiled faintly and replied casually, "Had a few things to take care of."
Upon hearing that, Paimon didn't think much of it at first.
But suddenly, she remembered the Flora Festival.
At that time, Shao Yun had similarly claimed to have things to deal with—and unexpectedly had brought Nahida out of the Sanctuary of Surasthana.
Now, with him claiming he had matters to attend to again, could it be related to the Hydro Archon in Fontaine?
Thinking this, Paimon instinctively touched her chin and murmured, "Oh? Shao Yun has things to handle again and then left… could it be…"
She paused for a moment, then blurted out, "Shao Yun, did you go to Fontaine to arrange a meeting with the Hydro Archon for us?"
Hearing Paimon's assumption, Shao Yun initially wanted to shake his head in denial, but then thought that since the Dendro Archon had safely returned home, Lumine's worry would be resolved.
In that case, the matters he had been busy with over the past few days were indeed somewhat related to Fontaine.
After a brief thought, Shao Yun gave a deliberately ambiguous answer.
"Yes… and no."
Paimon tilted her little head, her expression puzzled.
"What does that mean? Paimon doesn't understand at all!"
Shao Yun frowned slightly, thought for a moment, then cleared his throat and explained, "Well… it's true that this matter is somewhat related to our trip to Fontaine, but if you ask about a direct connection, it's not that closely linked."
However, instead of clarifying things, this only made Paimon even more confused.
She crossed her arms and muttered indignantly, "Hmph, why have you suddenly become just like that secretive Kaeya, always saying things that make no sense! Just tell me, what exactly have you been doing these past few days?"
Meanwhile, Lumine began to seriously think about what Shao Yun had just said.
After a short while, she suddenly realized something, her eyes lighting up with confidence, "You found Nahida, didn't you?"
The moment she spoke, Paimon, who had been confused, widened her eyes in shock, mouth agape, exclaiming, "Ah? Really? Nahida has been found?"
Seeing their surprised reactions, Shao Yun clapped his hands and laughed, generously praising, "Haha, Lumine, you're smart! You immediately guessed the key point."
Lumine, flattered by the praise, smiled proudly, lifting her chin, "Of course, this little thing is no challenge for me."
"But… what exactly happened?"
Hearing this, Shao Yun immediately replied without hesitation, "Oh, well, a couple of days ago, your big brother Aether suddenly had some free time and came to see me…"
Upon hearing that Aether had come to see Shao Yun, Lumine jumped like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
She signaled Shao Yun not to speak, letting her go first.
"My brother came to see you? When did he come? Why didn't he come to see me?"
Growing increasingly angry, Lumine pouted and muttered to herself, Could it be he thinks I'm not pretty enough? Hmph, how rude, not even coming to see me first!
Shao Yun looked at her sulking expression and quickly smiled, explaining, "Hey, Lumine, don't think too much.
"Actually, your brother did come to see you. But he noticed you were with others at the time, and worried that appearing suddenly might cause unnecessary trouble, so he just watched you quietly from a distance for a while.
"And… he also said he was afraid you might hit him…"
Even though Shao Yun's explanation was reasonable, Lumine still didn't buy it.
She crossed her arms tightly and muttered angrily, "Hmph, even so, he shouldn't have avoided coming to me! That stinky brother, really mean!"
…
Meanwhile, in a mysterious Abyssal ruin where the Abyss Order operated, Aether kept sneezing loudly for some unknown reason.
"Ah-choo! Ah-choo!"
Enjou, standing nearby, grew instantly anxious.
He hurried over in three quick steps, face full of concern, asking, "Your Highness! Have you caught a cold? Are you feeling unwell anywhere? Shall I get you a coat?"
Turning sharply, Enjou glared at the Abyss Apostle Frostfall beside him, complaining, "It's all your fault! You made it too cold here, so His Highness is sneezing!"
Frostfall hadn't done anything, yet was unfairly blamed.
"Hey! Why is this being blamed on me?" Frostfall shouted innocently. "I'm not even on duty today!"
Enjou, still 'concerned,' said to Aether, "Your Highness, shall I light a fire to warm you?"
Being a Pyro Abyssal Lector, making a fire was effortless for Enjou.
Aether, looking at Enjou's overzealous enthusiasm, scratched his nose awkwardly and said, "It's fine. Maybe my nose just itched."
…
Seeing Lumine angrily waving her tiny fists as if she wanted to hit her big brother Aether on the spot, it was simultaneously adorable and amusing.
Shao Yun's lips curved into a small smile as he teased, "Next time, maybe we should trick your brother out again, so you can properly give him a good beating."
After joking, Shao Yun shifted the topic, "But before planning to beat your brother, let's discuss something else. Nahida is safely back home, and you've returned to Aaru Village.
"So next, shouldn't we discuss our follow-up plans?"
While saying this, Shao Yun subtly gestured at Lumine, hinting he wanted her to proceed with the original plan to go to Fontaine.
Seeing his hint, Lumine helplessly shrugged and muttered, "Well, technically we should head to Fontaine, but…"
Hearing the word but, Shao Yun's heart skipped a beat—something unexpected had surely happened.
Sure enough, Lumine and Paimon both glanced toward a spot not far away.
Following their gaze, Shao Yun saw a girl with purple-blue hair adorned with cat-ear-like hair accessories.
She wore a Eremite-style eyepatch, and her upper body was like Dehya's—only a strapless top, showing her tanned skin and slender waist.
On her left lower abdomen, a conspicuous cross-shaped scar was visible.
This girl had to be Jeht.
Floating next to her was a small energy construct—Benben—restlessly moving, sensing her owner's sadness.
Beside them, Candace gently comforted Jeht, bending slightly and saying softly, "Don't cry, Miss Jeht."
Hearing this, Jeht sniffled, trying to stop herself, but couldn't, choking out, "Miss Candace… I really can't control my emotions… my father… sob sob sob…"
Before finishing, she burst into tears again.
Seeing Jeht so heartbroken, Candace tenderly stroked her cheek and said, "Don't cry too much, the harsh desert wind can easily hurt your skin."
Despite feeling Candace's warm touch, Jeht still couldn't suppress her emotions, sobbing, "I know, but I just… sob sob sob…"
Shao Yun muttered, "That girl…"
While Shao Yun tried to piece together what he knew about Jeht, Lumine compassionately explained, "Oh, that's Jeht. We met her while handling a commission."
Paimon recounted the past few days' story.
In summary, Jebrael and Samail, out of faith in King Deshret and pursuit of the legendary 'Golden Slumber,' founded an organization called "Thutmose."
However, their knowledge alone couldn't unlock the secrets of the King Deshret ruins. They kidnapped a promising young scholar, Ufairah Hindi, to assist them.
Jebrael monitored Ufairah while traveling with her to explore the King Deshret's ruins. Unlike Samail, Jebrael was kind-hearted and not fanatic.
Over several years, the two grew close, eventually falling in love and having a daughter—Jeht.
Later, Samail, frustrated by Ufairah's lack of achievements, manipulated Jebrael to indulge in his love life, abandoning greater ambitions.
Samail killed Ufairah to bring Jebrael back, leaving him heartbroken and disillusioned, realizing the true nature of 'partners.'
To protect his daughter from conflict, Jebrael secretly left Thutmose with young Jeht, fleeing the desert.
Because Tirzad Hindi was his wife's relative, Candace accepted the commission out of guilt and promised to protect Jeht to the end.
Paimon concluded, "Finally, we found the 'Golden Slumber' in Khaj-Nisut, but it was a one-way trap. If not for Jebrael, we would have been in danger."
"But unfortunately, her father Jebrael sacrificed himself to save us…" Paimon's voice grew sorrowful.
After hearing Jeht's story, Shao Yun crossed his arms, pressed his lips, and shared his insight:
"A tragic story, but considering the harsh desert, this ending is relatively good. At least Jeht survived with you guys."
Paimon worriedly asked, "Should we try to comfort her? She's seemed mentally fragile the whole way."
Shao Yun glanced at Jeht, still comforted by Candace, and gave the best solution:
"The best approach now is to ensure she's safe and let her be alone for a while. Once she calms down, we can talk. Any words now won't help."
Paimon touched her head, approvingly, "Hmm, okay. Shao Yun, you seem very experienced handling these kinds of situations."
Shao Yun shrugged casually, "Not bad, I guess."
===BREAK===
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