"Harder!"
"Understood!"
The small clearing was lively with the shouts of Yu Jin and Ellin.
On the steps not far away, Garura and Collei sat shoulder to shoulder, meticulously poring over the massive book in their hands.
They had finally gotten the hang of it; even Garura, who was a bit slower, could now miraculously heal injuries, though it was barely a minor recovery.
Still, Garura was incredibly surprised when she first managed to use it.
As for Collei, who had Talents, she could already imbue her hands with black flames. While she couldn't yet attach them to weapons or project them from her body, she at least had some means of self-preservation.
Yesterday, they heard that Yu Jin had taken on an apprentice, and immediately, they eagerly clamored to go with him to see Ellin.
However, a Damselette's patience is always limited. After watching Yu Jin guide Ellin in sword practice for a while, they became bored and sat on the steps, studying on their own.
"Alright, time to eat!" Yu Jin saw the sun high in the sky, estimating it was already noon, so he started calling the Damselettes for lunch.
Yu Jin pulled out a table from who-knows-where, set it up, and then placed four chairs around it. Garura then cooperated by neatly arranging the pre-prepared dishes.
In just a few minutes, a sumptuous lunch appeared neatly before Ellin. Well, perhaps not *that* sumptuous, as some of the pre-prepared food had already gotten cold.
"Why are you all so skilled at this?!" Ellin suppressed the urge to complain in her heart and sat down at Yu Jin's invitation.
"Come, come, try Collei's cooking and tell me what you think." What Ellin didn't notice was that Yu Jin was constantly drinking water, barely touching the food.
"Hmm, Collei's cooking is pretty good." Ellin was just the child of a retired Adventurer, so she couldn't offer much in the way of detailed criticism.
But Yu Jin didn't expect Ellin to say much; he was just happy as long as someone praised Collei.
"Ha!" Yu Jin slurped a mouthful of hot water like an old man. What a wonderful time this was.
However, just as Yu Jin was about to continue drinking, he noticed that the water in his teacup had somehow frozen.
Well, good times are always short-lived.
Yu Jin looked up and saw an overbearing figure walking towards him—it was the Damselette he had messed with early yesterday morning.
"That's not right, is it? I shouldn't have left any evidence." Yu Jin carefully recalled his flawless plan from yesterday and confidently made his judgment.
The Damselette looked at Yu Jin, who was wearing full knight's armor, and frowned slightly. Yu Jin at this moment hardly exuded the demeanor of an expert.
His armor was covered in various scratches, big and small, with some areas even showing signs of rust. The coarse Fabric occasionally peeking out between the armor plates was frayed, looking as if he had just casually stuffed a piece of Fabric in.
"Isn't this the strange person who was leaping around on the rooftop the day before yesterday? Why would the clues point to him?" The Damselette pondered to herself.
The flame in her eyes was too dim, its trembling flicker seeming to warn her that she had found the wrong person.
But the Damselette wouldn't give up so easily. To resolve the doubts in her heart, she had abandoned her duties as a Harbinger and specifically pursued this lead.
"Oh? Has this elder sister eaten yet? If not, come sit." Yu Jin enthusiastically pulled out another chair, inviting the Damselette to sit down, as if nothing had happened yesterday.
"Master..." Ellin tugged at the coarse cloth peeking out from Yu Jin's armor. Although she hadn't seen the Damselette the day before yesterday, from her attire and aura, she was clearly a very important person.
"Eat, eat." Yu Jin was not affected by the Damselette's aura at all; he remained his usual cheerful self.
Collei and Garura, however, continued to eat without a care. Although they didn't know this was the Damselette, the longer they spent with Yu Jin, the less they understood his limits.
Yu Jin would take care of everything.
So why worry? Time to eat!
The Damselette heard Yu Jin call her "elder sister" and saw Garura and Collei acting as if no one else was there. How could she ever have been treated with such disrespect?
"Click!" The surrounding air instantly turned cold, and the dishes on the table crystallized with ice.
"Snap!" Yu Jin casually snapped his fingers, and everything returned to normal, as if nothing had happened.
The Damselette was clearly stunned by Yu Jin's move; she had never seen such a technique before.
"Then, elder sister, perhaps we can sit down and talk properly?" Yu Jin's attitude also cooled slightly.
"Hmph!" The Damselette thought about Yu Jin's earlier display and, somewhat reluctantly, sat down.
"That's better. Come, try the food, what do you think?" Yu Jin brightened up again. It was good that they could talk; he was afraid of people who just started fighting right away.
Because he was afraid he wouldn't be able to hold back and might kill someone.
"Crude fare, merely." The Damselette didn't even look, stating flatly.
This immediately stumped Yu Jin, but he couldn't say the Damselette was wrong. Collei had only started cooking a few days ago.
Her food, to someone like the Damselette who was used to delicacies, was indeed crude fare.
"Fine, you're rich. So what if you're rich?" Yu Jin stewed for a long time before finally spitting out this sentence.
The Damselette's lips curved slightly, but she quickly suppressed it. She had been on the losing end, but finally, she had won a point.
"So, this wealthy elder sister, may I ask what business you have with us common folk?" Yu Jin asked with a hint of sarcasm.
"Fight me." The Damselette's eyes narrowed slightly. Both for public and private reasons, she had cause to test Yu Jin, this unknown powerful individual.
Moreover, she was quite confident in her own strength. The renown of the "Damselette" was not something that came easily.
"Oh, so there are people who specifically come looking for a beating these days, what a rare request." Yu Jin chuckled, then said to Ellin:
"Eat quickly, I'll show you your master's prowess later!"
"I hope you'll be as relaxed as you say then." The Damselette was unaffected by Yu Jin's words and stood up, saying:
"Whispering Woods, before sunset."
Afterward, she vanished from their sight.
"Tsk!" Yu Jin watched the Damselette's arrogant figure. He was already contemplating how to teach her a lasting lesson.
"Brother Yu Jin (Master), who was that person?" Seeing the Damselette leave, the three Damselettes eagerly began asking questions.
"She seems to be a Harbinger of the Fatui, called something like the Damselette." Yu Jin scratched his head; that should be her name.
"What?!" All three exclaimed in shock.
"Then how did she find Master, and why does she want to duel Master?" Ellin was a bit anxious. In her mind, a Fatui Harbinger was someone who could rival Acting Grand Master Jean.
"Hehe, why are you so flustered? It's time to show you how formidable your master is!" Yu Jin waved his hand, looking utterly confident of victory.
Then he looked at Garura and Collei, whose expressions were a bit grim, and said to them:
"You two come along too, and watch how I teach that Fatui Harbinger a lesson!"
With Yu Jin's words, half amusing and half comforting, the three Damselettes' moods finally calmed down.
"Let's go, we'll go meet that so-called elder sister Damselette." Seeing that no one had any appetite left, Yu Jin put away the miscellaneous items and took the three of them out of Mondstadt.
The Whispering Woods was still as vibrant as ever. The Damselette hadn't specified her location, likely another test of Yu Jin's depth.
But this minor trouble couldn't stump Yu Jin. With a slight sensation, he knew the Damselette's whereabouts.
Walking purposefully in the direction of the Damselette, Yu Jin's vision suddenly opened up, and a wide clearing appeared before his eyes.
And the Damselette stood in the center of the clearing.
"You really brought these burdens with you." The Damselette saw Ellin, Garura, and Collei behind Yu Jin, and mockingly commented.
Yu Jin stopped Garura, who was about to argue. He took a step forward and said:
"Because I am confident that I can beat you to a pulp while protecting them."
Yu Jin paused, then continued:
"Also, the first time I saw you, I wanted to say it: you are truly very impolite."
After Yu Jin spoke, the atmosphere suddenly grew tense.