Travel through Teyvat and spend your life with Linghua

Ayato took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. Then he bowed solemnly to the Son of God and expressed his gratitude. "Thank you, Lord Palace Administrator, for your generous assistance this time. However, there is one thing I still do not understand."

Seeing this, the Son of God's expression became extremely serious. "Oh? I guess you want to know what exactly happened?"

Ayato nodded slightly, his right hand subconsciously stroking his chin as he calmly analyzed, "Indeed, this trip to the island was a joint invitation from the Tenryo Bugyo and Kanjo Bugyo, which is inherently suspicious. However, I had already dispatched a large number of guards to ensure her safety. Only the two Bugyo could have injured her to such an extent. And if they had mobilized so many troops, how could the She Bugyo have been unaware? Therefore, I am certain that someone else is involved in this incident."

After hearing Ayato's analysis, Shenzi couldn't help but show admiration and gently clapped his hands. "You've been like this since you were little. Not only are you incredibly thoughtful and considerate, but you're also able to calmly and objectively see the essence of things. This attack on Ayahua was too sudden, so your inability to react in time is understandable. After all, no one would have thought someone would attack a public figure like Inazuma. But then again, from what I've seen, the perpetrators of this attack were primarily those wandering samurai, the Fatui, and even their executive officers."

At this point, Ayato's face turned grim. He clenched his fists tightly, his eyes flashing with anger as he said indignantly, "The Fatui! It's them again! The Kamisato family's decline is inextricably linked to these guys. Now they dare to attack Ayahua again. This is simply too much!"

At that moment, a shout erupted from the house. Ayato's heart tightened, and he took a few deep breaths, trying to calm his excitement, before rushing back inside. Kamiko sighed helplessly, turned around, and silently left Kamisato's residence.

As soon as they entered the room, a doctor came to them and reported Linghua's condition to them: "The young lady is no longer seriously ill, but she will need several months of rest and recuperation to fully recover." Lingren nodded slightly, indicating his understanding, and then quickly walked to Linghua's bedside. Linghua had already regained consciousness, but Xinyang held her hand tightly, refusing to let go. When Linghua saw Lingren enter the room, tears welled in her eyes, and she choked up, saying, "Brother, I..."

Lingren raised his hand to signal Linghua not to speak anymore, and comforted her softly: "I understand. It was my fault for not thinking this through. You just need to rest assured. Xinyang, let Linghua rest quietly for a while. Come out with me." Xinyang slowly let go of Linghua's hand, and obediently followed Lingren out of the room and into the courtyard. Thomas followed closely behind.

Ayato tried his best to remain calm and said to Thomas in the calmest tone possible, "Thoma, tell me the whole story of Ayahua's attack."

Thomas didn't dare delay and quickly replied, "Everything was normal when we left the island. They had indeed just held a simple birthday party. However, as we set out on our return journey and had just left Konda Village, the ninjas of the Final Ban immediately noticed something was amiss. Before we could react, a group of wandering samurai suddenly emerged from all directions. Faced with this sudden attack, the ninjas of the Final Ban stayed behind to protect the young lady, while I led the samurai of the Kamisato family and took the lead in engaging the enemy in a fierce battle.

During the exchange, I clearly sensed that nearly half of these wandering warriors possessed unique fighting styles, and their coordination was exceptional. Clearly, they were no ordinary wandering warriors. I secretly suspected that there must be other, unidentified individuals hidden among them.

"Even if the two elite warriors came, I'm afraid they wouldn't be able to hurt Linghua to this extent!" Xinyang's face was full of worry, and he couldn't wait to ask the reason.

Thomas's voice trembled as he spoke slowly, "If it were just them, they wouldn't have been able to harm the young lady. Initially, we fought side by side with the samurai who arrived to support us, confident of victory. But then, several advance guards of the Fatui suddenly emerged from the mountainside. Their clear target was clear, and they charged directly at the young lady. The ninjas of the Final Ban and the young lady put up a fierce resistance, but the Fatui's attack was overwhelming. Seeing the situation was dire, I quickly led the samurai back to protect the young lady, but the stray samurai held us tightly, preventing us from escaping. By the time I finally reached the young lady, a masked figure had already captured her without anyone noticing. I desperately tried to stop them, but I couldn't even get close. I could only watch helplessly as the young lady was murdered..." At this point, Thomas's anger filled him, and he couldn't help but look down at himself, blaming himself. "It's all my fault for my incompetence. I failed to protect the young lady."

"That man might be the Fatui's executive officer, so why is the chief priest involved?" Ayato was skeptical, but he still tried to comfort Thomas beside him. He asked softly, "Thoma, what exactly happened next?"

Thomas took a deep breath, trying to recall the scene, and slowly spoke, "The situation was extremely critical. I was surrounded by other Fatui soldiers. Seeing the young lady in danger, I was extremely anxious, but I was powerless to do anything. At this moment, the chief priest appeared in front of the young lady like a ghost, blocking the enemy. She spoke with the mysterious masked man for a moment, and it seemed that they had reached some kind of agreement. Then, the chief priest handed a purple chess piece to the masked man, and the man turned and left. Seeing this, the other Fatui soldiers and wandering samurai also retreated. Seeing that the young lady was seriously injured, we didn't dare to pursue her rashly, so we decisively decided to escort her back to Kamisato's residence."

Ayato frowned, lost in thought. He pondered, "Palace Master is always cautious, but he's risking his life by getting involved in this turmoil. There must be a reason. And that purple chess piece... could it be the key?"

Ayato didn't know what it was, but how could Xinyang not know? The only people she remembered of masked officers were clowns, captains, and doctors. The only possible Fatui officer who could appear in Inazuma was Doctor Dottore.