Chapter 727: Spirit Shadow
A month later, the weather was sunny and windy.
Weekends are always a relaxing and enjoyable time, and Clorinde is no exception.
She took advantage of the holiday and came to the suburban house where Shao Yun currently lived.
There are two sun chairs in the yard of the house.
Shao Yun was lying leisurely on one of the sun loungers, wearing the sunglasses prepared for him by Yuanshang, and enjoying the warm sunshine.
On another sun lounger sat Clorinde, who was looking at Shao Yun quietly with a hint of curiosity in her eyes.
Clorinde finally couldn't help but ask, "So, Master, have you been basking in the sun every day for this month?"
Shao Yun's gaze fell on Clorinde through his sunglasses.
His expression remained calm as he slowly replied, "Yes, what else? Why, do you want to practice your marksmanship?"
Clorinde shook her head quickly and declined with a smile, "No, Master. I feel like I've reached my limit and it's hard to improve my marksmanship."
Seeing this, Shao Yun comforted her, "In fact, you are already very strong, Clorinde. Don't worry too much, your swordsmanship is still excellent."
After listening to Shao Yun's consolation, Clorinde's anxiety was slightly relieved. She smiled and replied, "Thank you for your comfort, Master."
After that, the two began to chat casually.
Suddenly, Shao Yun seemed to remember something and sat up from the sun lounger.
He took off his sunglasses and his eyes fell on Clorinde.
"How have you been lately?" Shao Yun asked. "I heard that you were really scared when Funina collided with your sword."
Clorinde obviously did not expect Shao Yun to suddenly ask about this. She was slightly startled, then pursed her lips, as if she found it difficult to speak.
After a while, she slowly said: "In a duel, there is only a winner and a loser, but I was indeed... scared by Funina."
Shao Yun noticed that Clorinde's expression was a little unnatural. He smiled and said in a relaxed tone, "Don't feel any psychological burden. After all, Funina survived in the end."
Clorinde nodded, looked at Shao Yun gratefully, and said, "Thank you for your comfort, Master. I know."
Shao Yun waved his hand casually and said with a smile: "No need to be so polite..."
However, just as the two were talking, two figures, one big and one small, slowly approached.
That was Ying who had been walking outside for the whole morning, with Paimon following closely beside her.
At this time, Ying was wearing a loose white maternity pleated skirt with a belly support belt tied around her waist.
Ying looked at Shao Yun and Clorinde sitting on the sun loungers and greeted them, "Hubby, Clorinde, we're back!"
As soon as Shao Yun saw Ying finally came back, he immediately jumped up from his seat, walked forward with a smile on his face, and muttered something.
"Wow, you're finally back! I, your real husband, woke up early in the morning and found that you and Paimon had suddenly disappeared. I was so worried!"
"If our housekeeper hadn't told me that he would be watching you in secret, I would have been so worried that I couldn't eat or sleep!"
Seeing this, Ying stuck out her tongue playfully and explained with a smile: "Oh, don't worry, I just went out for a stroll, it's nothing serious."
As she spoke, she straightened her slightly bulging belly and then greeted Clorinde who was standing beside her in a friendly manner.
"Hello, Clorinde."
Clorinde nodded but said nothing.
After saying hello, Ying turned to look at Shao Yun and asked curiously, "By the way, what have you been busy with this morning?"
Hearing this, Shao Yun pointed to a sun lounger not far behind him and replied, "Well, I'll just bask in the sun there and chat with Clorinde who is visiting my home, and enjoy this peaceful and beautiful time."
Ying looked in the direction of Shao Yun's finger and couldn't help but feel at a loss whether to laugh or cry.
She shook her head helplessly and said to Shao Yun, "You are really calm! I see that since you moved here, you have nothing to do during the day just basking in the sun. Don't you feel bored?"
After hearing this, Shao Yun just smiled disapprovingly, then stretched lazily as if nothing had happened.
"Everything is managed by our good steward, and I can spend my time well."
Seeing Shao Yun so leisurely, Ying couldn't help but feel moved, so she asked, "Do you know what day it is today?"
When Shao Yun heard this, he thought to himself that this woman's sudden question must not be a casual one, and there must be a deeper meaning behind it.
However, he really couldn't think of anything special about today, so he could only bite the bullet and make a random guess: "Is it the anniversary of your five-month pregnancy?"
When Ying heard this, his face suddenly turned black and the corners of his mouth twitched in embarrassment.
"What kind of anniversary is this? Husband, haven't you heard that Fontaine is going to hold the Thousand Spirits Festival?"
Shao Yun was unable to react for a moment after hearing this, and asked blankly, "What festival?"
Seeing this, Clorinde thought Shao Yun knew nothing about this festival, and hurriedly explained:
"The Thousand Spirits Festival is a festival established to commemorate the Pure Water Knight who searched for the Pure Water Spirit and brought back the Water Goddess 'Egolia' in the legend.
In order to commemorate the Pure Water Knights, people would imitate them, wear special clothes, hold golden cups in their hands, and go door to door to ask for pure water.
"However, a few years ago, Lady Funina felt that this was too boring, so she changed 'asking for pure water' to 'asking for dessert'."
After listening to Clorinde's description of the Thousand Spirits Festival, Shao Yun casually responded: "Oh, it's like a carnival..."
Clorinde nodded, agreeing with Shao Yun's statement.
Then she continued, "Indeed, the Thousand Spirits Festival now is different from the traditional festival. It is more like a carnival."
"The children of Fontaine especially love this festival. Every year you can hear them happily say to you 'Trick or Judgement'!"
At this time, Paimon suddenly interrupted and said excitedly: "Not only candy, I also heard that there will be a 'Thousand Spirits Shadow Festival'!"
Upon hearing the term "Thousand Spirits Shadow Festival", Clorinde added, "I heard Charlotte mention this. It's an event proposed by the Fontaine Shadow Association this year."
"Yes, with the continuous development and maturity of projection technology, it is time for this art to gain more attention and appreciation."
Clorinde paused for a moment and then went on to explain in detail: "During this period, the association will publicly collect the filmed images and then select them for evaluation."
"Finally, the film with the highest score will receive the 'Funina' award from the association."
After Shao Yun finished listening, his expression did not change much. He just said in a flat tone: "Oh, it's just a movie selection..."
After listening to Clorinde's explanation, Shao Yun turned his gaze to Ying and asked curiously, "Ying, do you want me to invite you to the movies?"
"But, as far as I know, there doesn't seem to be a cinema in Fontaine. Will the opera house show movies? I haven't heard of it..."
Ying waved her hands quickly and said with a smile: "Looking at Yingying or something is not the point, Shao Yun. Guess who I met today?"
As he had just been exposed to the sun, Shao Yun's brain was a little slow to react, and he was unable to understand what Ying meant for a moment, so he asked casually, "Who is it?"
Seeing this, Ying said excitedly, "It's Xavier! I should have mentioned to you before that I was responsible for repairing Inazuma's Mikage furnace core, and he was the person in charge of that project."
As soon as Shao Yun heard the name Xavier, related memories immediately emerged in his mind.
"Oh, I remember now!" he said with sudden enlightenment.
Seeing this, Ying took the opportunity to continue, "So, should we go meet him? You don't have anything else to do anyway, so just think of it as going for a walk with me."
Shao Yun thought that he had been too free recently, so it might be a good idea to go out for a walk.
"All right……"
Before he finished speaking, Shao Yun suddenly turned around, looked at Clorinde, and asked, "Claurinde, do you want to go with us?"
Clorinde didn't want to be a light bulb when facing Shao Yun's invitation. She waved her hand and declined politely, "No, thank you for your kindness. I have other things to deal with. I'll visit you next time when I have the chance."
Shao Yun saw this and did not force it. He waved his hand and said goodbye: "Okay then... But don't forget what I told you before, eating the grass north of Fontaine can heal your wounds. Don't take it seriously!"
Clorinde couldn't help but laugh when she heard this. She knew Shao Yun was joking, so she followed his words and said:
"Master, of course I knew you were joking at that time. How could I really eat that kind of grass?"
……
At this time in Fontaine, as the Thousand Spirits Festival was approaching, the atmosphere of the festival was full of festivities.
The houses and shops on both sides of the street are hung with colorful lights and ribbons, and the whole city is decorated like a huge amusement park.
Children carried small baskets and walked happily on the streets, asking for candy from door to door.
It adds a bit more vitality and vigor to this already bustling city.
Shao Yun looked at the childlike scenes in front of him and couldn't help but sigh: "Wow, these streets and alleys are decorated with lights and colors. It really has a festive atmosphere!"
Seeing that Shao Yun was attracted by the lively street scene, Ying, who was standing by, took the opportunity to suggest, "Well, you shouldn't stay in the yard all day to bask in the sun. It would be great if you could walk around more and feel the lively festival atmosphere!"
At this moment, Shao Yun noticed the "three little ones" of the Fireplace House on the side of the road. Linny, Linnet, and Femini!
Shao Yun walked up to them and greeted them warmly.
"Wow, Linny, Linette, and Femini, what are you three doing here?"
Hearing the voice, Linni quickly turned around, waved his hand, and responded: "Shao Yun, Ying, and Paimeng, hello!
"It's almost the Thousand Spirits Festival, and Father asked us to buy some candies to distribute to everyone in the Bufadi Mansion. We are discussing what kind of candies to buy."
Shao Yun looked at the three children, nodded, and said casually: "Wow, this is a good idea."
As he spoke, Shao Yun opened his backpack, took out three beautifully wrapped chocolates, and handed them to the three little guys in front of him.
"Here, these three chocolates are for you. I wish you a happy Thousand Spirits Day!"
Linni took the chocolate handed over by Shao Yun and said happily: "Wow, thank you Mr. Shao Yun, happy Thousand Spirits Day!"
……
After separating from Linny and others, Shao Yun and his group were walking when they suddenly saw a familiar figure patrolling not far ahead. That person was Eula.
Seeing this, Shao Yun stepped forward and greeted her, "Eula, long time no see! What have you been busy with recently?"
Youla stopped, turned around, and when she saw Shao Yun, Ying and Paimeng, a faint smile appeared on her face.
She said in a normal tone, "Oh, it's Shao Yun. Isn't Fontaine going to hold the Thousand Spirits Shadow Festival? The security team has increased patrols to maintain order."
Speaking of this, Eula thought of Mondstadt's Windblume Festival, and a hint of nostalgia flashed in her eyes.
She went on to say, "This reminds me of the Wind Flower Festival in Mond. I have some experience in dealing with it, so this time I was promoted to the person in charge of security for the Vasali Corridor area during the festival, and my position was also promoted to senior police officer."
Upon hearing that Eula had been promoted, Shao Yun immediately congratulated her: "Wow, congratulations! You got promoted, this is a great thing!"
However, Eula smiled bitterly and shook her head, saying, "Stop teasing me. I'm dying of exhaustion. This Fontaine Festival is much more tiring than Mondstadt's Windflower Festival."
"I have to patrol for a long time every day and deal with various emergencies. It's really busy."
Shao Yun smiled awkwardly and asked casually, "By the way, where's Amber?"
When Youla saw Shao Yun talking about Amber, she smiled bitterly and said slowly, "She has returned to Mondstadt a long time ago. Time flies."
"I let her go back as soon as the Fontaine flood was over. Thinking about it now, it feels like it was just yesterday."
Shao Yun nodded, and then he chatted with Youla for a while.
But Eula has been very busy with work lately and has a lot of things to deal with.
Shao Yun felt that it was inconvenient to disturb her too much, so he said goodbye to Youla, "Okay, then you go ahead and do your thing. I won't waste your time."
Youla smiled and waved, saying, "Okay, let's talk again when we have the chance. Bye."