Chapter 101 - 95 - Little Bailu

As the Express crew arrived at the Changle plaza, a sudden commotion erupted within. "Aah! It's the Mara-Struck! Everyone, get back!" "Where are the Cloud Knights?! Where have all the nearby Cloud Knights gone!" "Everyone, don't panic, don't—aaahhh!" Seeing the crowd fleeing the plaza in terror, the Express crew immediately realized danger had broken out. They drew their weapons and charged against the human tide toward the center of the square. "ROAR!!!" An abomination, having succumbed to the Mara, roared as it swung a butcher's knife at the nearby Xianzhou civilians. "March! Shield!" Seeing the civilian about to be struck by the blade, Welt decisively ordered March, who was beside him. "Got it!" A Six-Phased Ice shield materialized just in time to block the blade, sending shards of ice flying. "Ah... ah... AAAAAHHH!!!" The Xianzhou civilian behind the shield stared, dumbfounded, at the blade inches from their face. They let out a panicked scream and scrambled away on all fours. "Whoa-oa-oa! How could someone beat me to the rescue!" Just as Wende was about to step forward and take down the person deep in the throes of Mara, a childish shout suddenly came from behind him. Turning his head, he saw a "little dragon person" barrelling towards him, unable to brake. "I'm gonna crash!!!" Bailu, unable to control her short little legs, could only squeeze her eyes shut in resignation. I hope this doesn't hurt too much... "..." "Poof..." "Huh? Why doesn't it hurt? And it's... warm..." Bailu opened her eyes in a daze, only to see the purple-eyed Wende smiling gently at her. Wende had caught her in the nick of time, even spinning in the air to cushion the impact. He was truly surprised; such a small body held so much force. If he got whipped by that big tail of hers... Tsk tsk, he'd probably get a concussion, wouldn't he? "W-Wha! Who are you! Put me down!" Seeing Wende's face, Bailu suddenly realized she was being held in his arms. She began to struggle... like a big, wriggling fish. "Alright, alright, I'll put you down. Just be good." Wende quickly soothed the little dragon-fish in his arms, then bent down and gently placed her on the ground. "Hmph..." Seeing Wende treating her like a child, Bailu puffed up her cheeks like a little pufferfish. She might be a child, but she was no ordinary child! "ROAR!!!" The Abominations of Abundance swarmed them again. Wende frowned slightly, taking a single step to place himself in front of Bailu, shielding her small frame. "Condense!" Dozens of lightning needles materialized from thin air. "Go!" At Wende's command, the needles, imbued with the power of Abundance, instantly shot into the bodies of the abominations. "Urk... AAAAAHHHH!!!" The creatures, struck in their acupoints by the lightning needles, howled in agony and collapsed. Then, before Bailu's astonished eyes, the vines covering the bodies of these Mara-Struck beings began to recede. Under the effect of Wende's lightning needles, their Mara-struck state was temporarily suppressed. But as a price, wrinkles appeared on their faces, and strands of white grew amidst their hair. "This... This is..." Little Bailu ran out from behind Wende. She looked at the people who had fallen unconscious but were now restored to normal, then at Wende's kind expression, and for a moment, she was utterly speechless. "Huh? Where did this little kid come from?" March's eyes were full of curiosity as she looked at Bailu, with her horns and tail. Stelle, looking at the cute, confused, and flustered Bailu, tilted her head instinctively. Why... did she feel a strange sense of danger? "I... I... You..." Bailu pointed at herself, then looked at Wende, stammering, unable to form a sentence. "Ah? Were you scared by that mob of monsters? You poor thing... Where are your mommy and daddy?" Seeing Bailu's anxious expression, March's face softened, and she spoke to her with great affection. "I... I don't have a mommy," Bailu said, shaking her head. "Then... what about your daddy?" Bailu tilted her head, her gaze unconsciously drifting towards Wende. "I don't have a daddy either..." "Err..." March subconsciously touched the long hair at the back of her head, her expression turning even more pitiful as she looked at Bailu. .................. [March: I'm such a horrible person!] [Flawless response.] [This kid is like Garen buying a Last Whisper: a silence and an armor break! (A devastatingly innocent comeback)] [But that moment she crashed right into Wende's arms was just too cute!] [Wende: Daughter +1.] [Good grief, other guys get a harem, but you're out here adopting kids everywhere, huh?] [What do you mean, he's the Whitebeard of Honkai: Star Rail? (] [But don't you guys feel it? Bailu and Wende really have a father-daughter vibe.] [Yeah, and they're both Lightning element...] [And both are healers...] [And both are from the Xianzhou??] [Wait a minute...] [And both are proficient in traditional Xianzhou arts, like acupuncture, massage, and tuina...] [Hiss...] [Could it be!] [Case closed! Wende is definitely Bailu's real dad (not really).] .................. "Hey, hey, hey! What are you thinking! We Vidyadhara are self-sufficient through our reincarnation cycle; we don't need parents. Besides, you short-life species kids might not even be as old as me!" Bailu placed her small, chubby hands on her hips, speaking to March with great bravado. But then she glanced at Wende, and her imposing manner involuntarily softened. "May I ask for this young man's esteemed name? Thank you for your help just now. Otherwise, I would have surely suffered some broken bones..." "My name is Wende. I'm the medic and logistics specialist for the Astral Express," Wende introduced himself, a smile in his eyes. For some reason, from the moment he first saw this child, he felt a spiritual connection, a strange sense of intimacy welling up from the depths of his consciousness. And this feeling... was identical to the one he had when he first met Dan Heng. "Wende... I'll remember it. Seeing your methods, they must be a form of Xianzhou medicine, right? May I ask which school you hail from, young man?" Bailu asked Wende. "School... lineage..." Wende's gaze lowered. He unconsciously pinched his chin, murmuring those two words as memories began to sharpen in his mind. "That's right, your master's lineage. Which medical sage was your master? To have mastered Xianzhou medical arts to such a degree, they must have been a grandmaster of medicine, a Medical Saint, I presume," Bailu said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.