“Who wants to join in this ridiculous dance?! Luo Qing, let them go right now!”
Paimon shouted, hands on her hips, her little face flushed with frustration.
But Luo Qing remained lounging in his chair, slipping his sunglasses back on without so much as a glance her way.
“Relax, I’ll send them back in a few days. But for now, they’re still useful to me.”
“Useful? You mean making them dance here is useful?”
Lumine asked, confused. “Is this another one of your Fatui schemes?”
“Don’t jump to conclusions.”
Luo Qing raised his head and pulled out a sealed document from his pocket, speaking with an air of authority.
“I’m now officially a Shogunate General of Surveillance. I represent none other than the great Raiden Shogun herself! These are my prisoners of war, and I haven’t done anything cruel to them. Just making them dance a little—what’s the problem?”
“Shogunate General of Surveillance?!”
Lumine and Paimon exclaimed in unison, clearly struggling to believe his claim.
“Surprised?”
Luo Qing replied with a righteous tone. “The Shogun and I, well, we hit it off. It’s perfectly reasonable for me to oversee the frontlines on her behalf, wouldn’t you say?”
“…”
Lumine was speechless for a moment.
She had no idea which parts of Luo Qing’s story to believe anymore.
“If you’re just here to convince me to release them, then you can go back,”
he continued, waving them off. “I’ve already said it: I’ll let them go in a few days.”
“But what do you gain from this?”
Lumine pressed.
“I already told you, it’s because of my deep bond with the Shogun. Or… what, are the two of you thinking of making a move against me?”
“…”
“This… what should we do?”
Paimon fretted, caught in a moral dilemma.
If Luo Qing hadn’t intervened back then, Lumine might have ended up sealed in a statue, and she never would’ve met Gorou. They owed him a huge debt. Attacking Luo Qing over this seemed wrong.
“Ugh…”
Lumine was equally torn. She glanced back at Gorou and his men, who were all staring at her while still moving to the maddening beat. Even she was struggling to keep a straight face in the face of such an absurd scene.
If she decided to rescue them, she’d have to fight Luo Qing. Whether she could even win was uncertain, and there was also the uncomfortable fact that he had once saved her life.
But if she left them here… she would be breaking her promise to the resistance camp.
“So, what’s it going to be? Planning to take me on?”
Luo Qing asked lazily, still sipping his fruit juice.
If Lumine made a move, he wouldn’t mind stepping in to make her part of the dance troupe as well.
“Will you really let them go?”
Lumine asked softly, after careful consideration, unable to raise her sword against him.
“Do I look like someone who breaks his word?”
“…”
“I’ll go back to the camp and tell them you’ll release Gorou and the others in a few days…”
Lumine said, her voice low. “I hope you keep your promise…”
“Of course.”
Luo Qing smiled, adding, “Oh, and while you’re at it, let them know that if anyone else wants to join in, they’re more than welcome~”
“…”
Lumine was at a loss for words.
She had witnessed Luo Qing’s power firsthand—how he defeated both Osial and Beisht single-handedly. No one in the resistance could hope to stand against him.
In all of Watatsumi Island, only the late serpent god Orobashi could have matched him.
“Let’s go, Paimon. We’re heading back.”
Lumine shook her head, casting a glance at Gorou before turning and walking back towards the resistance camp.
Luo Qing joining the Shogunate and appearing on the frontlines was a serious problem for the resistance.
Not long after, Lumine returned to the camp, only to be swarmed by a group of furious men.
“Traveler, what happened to Lord Gorou?!” “Are they torturing our comrades on purpose?!”
“Traveler, are you friends with that man?!”
“Calm down, everyone…”
Lumine’s face was clouded with mixed emotions as she spoke.
“Luo Qing… the man lying in the chair… he said he would release Gorou and the others in a few days.”
“What?! Does that mean Lord Gorou and the others are going to be humiliated like this for several days? They’re only two people—how can they act so high and mighty?! No way, I’m going to rescue Lord Gorou right now!”
A hot-headed soldier grabbed his spear, ready to rush out, but Lumine stopped him.
“No! Luo Qing is incredibly strong. If you go, you’ll only end up like Gorou and the rest.”
“How strong could he be? We have so many people. There’s no way he can handle all of us at once!”
“Ugh… he’s… probably on the same level as your serpent god.”
Lumine said awkwardly, after a moment of thought.
“…”
Her words struck the resistance soldiers like a bucket of cold water, and they all fell silent.
The resistance had always been outmatched in terms of strength compared to the Shogunate. They relied on Lady Sangonomiya’s brilliant strategies and Lord Gorou’s battlefield command to stay in the fight.
Now, with someone as powerful as a god on the enemy’s side, they felt a wave of despair.
“Then… Traveler, can you…?”
Someone ventured timidly, their last hope pinned on Lumine.
“It was Luo Qing who saved me from the Raiden Shogun. That’s why I was able to escape and come here… Besides…”
Lumine admitted, “I can’t beat him…”
With those words, the spirits of the resistance sank even lower.
“Are we just going to stand by and watch?!”
Someone muttered angrily. “What if that Luo Qing guy never lets them go?!”
“…”
Lumine had no answer.
All she could do was try to reassure the soldiers, urging them to trust Luo Qing and wait for Gorou’s return.
The next day—
Gorou and his eighty men danced together in the morning, then rotated in shifts for the afternoon sessions. The bizarre music filled the air over Nazuchi Beach from dawn till dusk.
Even the nearby pirates couldn’t help but grumble, saying this was a war—what’s with the psychological warfare?
By nightfall, the exhausted resistance soldiers lay sprawled on the ground, too drained to move.
After the first two failed escape attempts, none of them dared to try again, even without being bound. Luo Qing seemed to have an omnipresent gaze—whenever they showed the slightest intention to flee, a rock pillar would fall from the sky, blocking their path.
Days turned into a week—
Every morning, Gorou and the captured soldiers would dance on Nazuchi Beach, stopping only at dusk. By now, they were so conditioned that their bodies would involuntarily start moving whenever they heard the music’s rhythm—like they had developed a compulsion.
Thankfully, Luo Qing, despite his odd preferences, wasn’t cruel. Aside from the mandatory dance sessions, he treated them fairly, even feeding them the same rations as the Shogunate troops.
In fact, over time, the captured resistance soldiers seemed healthier than they had been before their capture.
This led them to wonder… Was Luo Qing training them for some greater purpose?
Perhaps… preparing them to be sold as male entertainers…
For a good price?
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