"It's yours to handle. I have other matters to attend to, so I'll leave the cleanup to you."
With that, Xiao transformed into specks of green light and vanished from the scene. It seemed he wasn't particularly interested in these two, and his prior actions were merely to ascertain if they posed a threat to Liyue.
Gazing at the Abyss Mage on the ground, Lu Ze slowly approached. He grasped its neck with his right hand, lifting the entire being from the floor.
"Speak, who sent you? If you refuse, your life might end here today, or worse, you might die in countless torments."
The surrounding soldiers dared not relax their vigilance, quickly attending to the wounded. Thus, no one interrupted this interrogation. Bronya watched it all silently.
"I will never betray the Highness! You scoundrel, you'll never get a single piece of information from me! We Abyss Mages would rather die than surrender!"
Though the words were spoken heroically, its entire body began to tremble, swaying precariously, as if on the verge of death.
"You refuse the offered kindness and choose the harsher path. Judging by your appearance, you are an Abyss Mage wielding Pyro. I wonder if your flesh can withstand the flames of my Heavenly Fire Judgment?"
Casually tossing it to the ground, the Pyro Abyss Mage crashed heavily. Before it could react, an intensely ferocious blaze erupted. Half a minute later, its fiery red hair had all turned black.
"Stop burning... I'm cooking... I'll talk, I'll talk, alright?"
Perhaps if a little seasoning were added, the Abyss Mage before him could be transformed into a rich dish, though likely no one would dare to eat it.
Grabbing a nearby bucket, Lu Ze doused it. Due to thermal expansion and contraction, its now bloated skin suddenly retracted, doubling the pain.
"Speak, who sent you? Is your so-called Highness male or female?"
The Abyss Mage struggled to lift its head, appearing as if it were about to perish. It spoke intermittently:
"It was our Highness who ordered us to obstruct here, to prevent you from disrupting its plans. As for whether it's male or female... at my level, I would never get to see them. How would I know?"
Plans? Disrupting its plans? What plans could it have? Logically, the greatest crises the Traveler encountered in Liyue were the Vortex God Osial and the Eleventh Harbinger of the Fatui, Tartaglia. There was no sign of the Abyss. What plans could it possibly have?
"Is that so? Then you have no further value. Die in endless flames and pain. Did you truly believe I would let you go? The information you provided is not worth your life."
He raised his Heavenly Fire Judgment slightly, pulled the trigger, and roaring flames engulfed it. This Pyro Abyss Mage ultimately perished under the Pyro element.
"Let's go, back to sleep. It's late, and all this has made me quite sleepy."
Stretching a little, the Heavenly Fire Judgment in his hand vanished. Bronya chuckled helplessly, her mind still wondering about the origin of that hot water. The technology of this world was truly difficult to comprehend.
Returning to the room, Bronya entered the bathroom first. After all, they had fought, and she hadn't bathed all day. A good bath was certainly in order, but there was a man present.
"No, is this something I should see? Is this something I should hear? Perhaps I should wait outside."
Seeing the silhouette from within and hearing the sound of flowing water made his heart race, creating a false impression. This was not good! How could they be engrossed in the allure of a woman?
Unable to bear it any longer, and not wanting to disturb others by going outside, Lu Ze could only silently open the window, deciding that what he couldn't hear, he wouldn't overthink. He gazed into the distance to calm his mind.
Completely unaware, the bathroom light extinguished, and a figure wrapped in a bath towel emerged. She moved silently, as if about to do something.
Step by step, she approached Lu Ze and then... suddenly hugged him from behind.
"Ah! What are you doing? You scared me."
His first reaction was a startle, followed by the warmth against his back. What was happening? Could someone tell him what was going on?
"Is the moonlight beautiful tonight, or am I?"
Bronya asked impulsively, her hands resting on his shoulders. She moved her head closer, exhaling a warm breath into his ear.
"You, you, you, you, don't do this... Be normal. My Bronya wouldn't act like this."
"Ahahaha, just kidding. Go take a bath. Sleep early tonight; we have to travel tomorrow."
As if tired of playing, Bronya released him. She pounced onto the bed. Perhaps the bath towel wasn't of good quality, as for a fleeting moment, a glimpse of pale skin was visible.
"Ahem, you should put on some clothes. I'm going to take a bath."
Lu Ze fled to the bathroom, needing to calm himself down, lest things get difficult tonight if he wasn't careful.
"Heh, why is he still like a little boy? Has our Captain not grown up?"
The next morning, Lu Ze slowly woke up. The first thing he saw was Bronya, who was lying on top of him, her large eyes gazing at him.
"Mmm...? Good morning, Bronya... Don't mess around, let me sleep a little longer... Mmm! Wait, why are you on top of me!"
Instantly, he was wide awake, staring at the person before him in shock.
"It's just that someone is too handsome, so I couldn't help but look a few more times. I also stamped a few seals, I assume you don't mind. Alright, hurry up and get up, the sun is already high in the sky."
Such casual words, how could they come from your mouth? I can only say, as expected of you, Big Seele.
After a simple wash, they went to the front desk to check out. Descending downstairs again, they saw the busy staff. They were up early, it seemed workers had no rest.
"Good morning, Mr. Lu Ze. It seems you showed your prowess last night, saving us from a dire situation. Without you, we might have all perished here."
Hearing this, Lu Ze was a bit confused. What did he mean by showing his prowess? The one who showed prowess last night was Xiao, that young man sitting over there eating almond tofu.
Wait, Xiao was already eating almond tofu this early? Did he like almond tofu that much? As expected of him.