Soon, the group walked up the stairs to the mountaintop.
“Wow?!”
The moment Ying looked up, she saw the magnificent buildings in the distance, and the countless people in front of them who had come to draw lots and seek advice.
“Goodness, Yae Miko is that famous…”
Childe chimed in with a smile.
“Hahaha~ That’s true. And if I recall correctly, the fortunes told here are quite accurate. Even the Fatui sometimes come here to draw lots, to see if today is a good day for them to act.”
“Uh-huh…”
Ying nodded thoughtfully, looking around, trying to find Lumine.
Paimon, on the other hand, was intrigued by Childe’s words and tugged on Ying’s sleeve.
“Ying, that sounds amazing! Let’s draw a lot too! Maybe Yae Miko is the one in charge of drawing lots!”
“Ugh…”
“It’s unlikely someone that famous is just an employee in charge of drawing lots, no matter how you think about it…”
Knowing that Paimon’s curiosity was piqued by Childe, Ying shook her head helplessly and pinched Childe’s side, causing him to flinch away in pain.
“Ouch?! That hurts!”
“Hmph~ Serves you right for blabbing. Since you’ve stirred up Paimon’s interest, you can take her to get her fortune told~”
With that, Ying turned and left, giving Childe no chance to react.
Childe was indeed stunned by Ying’s actions and only came to his senses after some time, then shouted loudly.
“Hey? Wait! You’re just handing your friend over to me like that?!”
Her response was a statement delivered from a moral high ground.
“I believe in your character and that you won’t do anything untoward, so please don’t disappoint me~”
“You…”
Childe opened his mouth but didn’t know what to say. He could only sigh, turn to Paimon, and find her already staring at him with expectant eyes. He said helplessly.
“Fine, fine, I’ll take you, okay? Stop looking at me like that.”
“Yay~”
Paimon happily twirled in the air and quickly flew towards the fortune-telling stalls.
Childe ruffled his hair and quietly followed.
“Sigh… I’ll never speak carelessly again next time…”
Meanwhile, Ying casually took a hat from her inventory to disguise her identity and then walked slowly among the crowd, hoping to ask the staff for information about Yae Miko.
Of course, her plan was good, but the result was as expected. After searching for a long, long time, Ying not only failed to get any information, but couldn’t even accomplish the basic task of finding a staff member.
For some reason, even though she would push her way through whenever she saw someone in shrine maiden attire, after advancing a few dozen meters, she would be surprised to find that they were either farther away or had disappeared from where they were.
Ying, refusing to believe it, immediately felt a surge of determination. Damn it, even a coin flip wouldn’t always land on the same side, so she wouldn’t believe she’d be unlucky today!
The result………
Once, twice, four times, eight times. Every attempt by Ying ended in failure. The immense sense of defeat made her reluctantly retreat from the crowd and find a less crowded spot to recover her fragile heart.
“Boo… why do I feel like they’re deliberately avoiding me? Failing over a dozen times is just too ridiculous…”
*Host, don’t you have elemental power?*
Ying casually sat on a rock, propping her chin with her hands.
“You think I don’t want to? But there are too many people here. Using elemental power might attract attention. I’m quite valuable right now, and if they recognize me, it would be bad if someone secretly reported me.”
*And there might even be Shogunate soldiers mixed in…*
Thinking of this, Ying couldn’t help but sigh.
“Sigh… Yae Miko, Yae Miko… With so many people here, how could I possibly find her? I haven’t even seen her face…”
As Ying was talking to herself, a figure appeared behind her at some unknown time. After observing her for a moment and confirming her identity, a smile crept onto their lips.
*It must be her…*
With that thought, the figure stepped forward, covered Ying’s eyes with one hand, and whispered into her ear.
“Guess who I am~”
“Wha-what?!”
Ying was startled by the sudden voice. Although she hadn’t been paying attention, she wouldn’t have allowed a random passerby to get behind her without noticing.
*A master?! Have I been discovered by the Shogunate?*
This was Ying’s first reaction.
However, the latter thought was dismissed in the next second. After all, if it were truly someone from the Shogunate, they could have simply knocked her unconscious instead of doing something so meaningless.
Thinking this, Ying breathed a sigh of relief. “Who are you? Do we know each other… Ah?!”
Before she could finish speaking, Ying suddenly felt a soft touch behind her, and then, she was hugged tightly by the person behind her.
Seeing that Ying hadn’t yet recovered from her actions, the person smiled slightly, rested their head on Ying’s shoulder, and whispered into her ear with their enchanting voice.
“Hehehe~ We don’t know each other, but your sister and I are very good friends~”
The tingling sensation by her ear made Ying’s body tremble involuntarily, her cheeks instantly turning red, and she couldn’t help but let out a sound.
“Ngh~~”
“Wait! Don’t talk in my ear, let me go… let go… (≧﹏≦)”
Ying struggled, trying to break free from the person’s grasp, but without using elemental power, her strength wasn’t great. She could only make the person’s arms sway a little.
*Damn it… don’t force me to act!*
Just as Ying made up her mind to use elemental power, a playful voice interrupted her.
“Hehehe… you’re certainly more interesting than your sister. However… I’d advise you not to use your elemental power. If you hurt me… you might not see your sister again~”
“Wha-what?!”
“Lumine is in your hands?! What did you do to her?!”
Ying asked anxiously, temporarily putting aside the thought of using elemental power to blast the person away.
Seeing Ying calm down, the person behind her nodded with satisfaction.
“Hehehe~ Don’t worry, your sister is safe and sound. I’m taking great care of her, so she hasn’t lost any weight.”
“You said I’ve put in so much effort for your sister, taking care of your family for so long. Shouldn’t you show me some appreciation~”