Chapter 183 A Promise in the Wind, An Unwavering Heart Seeks…

“Trafficking, imprisonment, torture, and now human experimentation.” Leosley looked at the unconscious Mainkun and felt a bitter taste in his mouth.

"How did you manage to live this long, little Maine?"

Xiao Mei knew nothing. She didn't know she had killed someone again, didn't know why the young doctor was so furious, and didn't know that her brother would feel heartache for her many years later. She only knew one thing.

"Found you, Buck!"

Buck, inside the cell, stared incredulously at the child who had been thrown into the cell next to him.

"Why are you here... Why are you here?!"

"Because you were kidnapped by bad guys, and I'm the leader, of course I have to chase after them."

Mainkuhn answered matter-of-factly, flicking his blood-soaked tail and flashing a bright, crimson smile at his companion.

"I will never forget anyone!"

Minced flesh fell from his hair. The child had sharp teeth and beastly eyes, his appearance was as strange as a demon, and he never felt the slightest remorse for the killing he had committed.

But why would such a little monster, an obvious anomaly, deceive human children into trembling and reaching out their hands to him, trying to grasp his claws through the cage wall?

"You, you idiot!"

Little Buck cried and cursed him, tears streaming down his face, but he held onto him tightly, saying, "You had no reason to save a damned sinner like me!"

"What is a sinner?" The cat let the tears wash away the scabs between his fingers.

The child's voice instantly became subdued, then burst forth with pent-up guilt, "I'm the one who made the mistake! I severed my sister's tendons, causing her death... This is a grave crime, I should be judged..."

What is a trial?

"Idiot! Aren't you from Fontainebleau? How can you not even know this! Judgment is justice, judgment is righteousness, judgment is the verdict against evil! And I am—"

"Don't you understand, me? Do you want to go somewhere else?"

Xiao Mei gently gathered the sharp nail into her palm and used her blunt knuckles to wipe away the tears from the corner of his eyes.

"But I still want to play hopscotch with you, Buck!"

...

Upon hearing this, Buck was stunned.

The audience was stunned.

"What...it took so long..."

After a long silence, the human child reached out and gently covered the blood-stained gray hair between the cat's ears, rubbing it.

"So you're the one among us who needs the most protection, boss."

Mainkuhn squinted as he was touched twice, then slapped his hand away.

"They've rebelled!"

He yelled that, then forcibly ruffled the boy's black hair with his claws.

"That's right!"

"Ah, children..."

The two little creatures briefly wrestled across the cage net, and smiles began to appear on Buck's usually gloomy face.

"They're just children..."

He murmured and repeated this fact over and over again, but Paimon just couldn't understand it.

"I just don't understand, I just don't understand why anyone would be so heartless as to harm them..."

"Boss Maine."

Buck suddenly remembered something and his expression turned serious. "I estimate that your mother—no, Kujavina—will be coming to pick you up soon, because you are very precious."

"Um."

Although he didn't think he was particularly valuable, Mainkuhn didn't argue with him because he was trying to sharpen his teeth by embedding them in the diamond-shaped cage net.

"And then you may never see me again."

"Huh?!"

"Don't look at me with such worry. I'm not dead, nor am I being imprisoned. I'm just..."

Buck scratched his head, struggling to come up with a lie.

"I was just picked up by Barbatos to go drinking with him."

Mainkun spat out the iron netting. "What is Barbatos? What is drinking? Why should we accompany him?"

“Barbatos is the best god; he guides all wandering souls with the wind,” Buck explained patiently, his face more serene than ever before. “And wine is the treasure of Mondstadt; for us Mondstadt people, there is nothing more honorable than drinking with Barbatos.”

"So there's no need to come looking for me, Mainkuhn."

"?"

Maine couldn't understand a single word he was saying, and his intuition made him somewhat anxious.

"I don't."

He began to claw and bite fiercely, and the white iron restraints began to creak under the strain.

Snap! The cat bit off one, then quickly grabbed the next one.

“You can drink with me, no need to look for Barbatos.”

"With such a sensitive sense of taste, you can't even swallow a sip of orange juice, so how can you drink alcohol?"

Buck watched quietly as he bit away, gradually dismantling the barrier between them, blood beginning to trickle from the wire at the corner of his mouth.

"...If I could, I would really like to introduce you to my parents and Lord Barbatos."

“I would never drink weird stuff with him.”

Finally, Mainkuen wiped his mouth, covered in blood, and put his arm around Buck's shoulder. "Once I bite open the lock, we'll sneak back. I can secretly keep you on the balcony. Everyone will help, and I guarantee Mother won't find you!"

“...You’re so kind, Mr. Maine.”

"Of course!"

Mainkun continued dismantling, using his monstrous teeth and claws to try and break open a door to survival for his companions.

Mainkuhn.

Mother came before salvation.

"Kujavina?"

"You idiot!!"

She first poured a full bucket of disinfectant over the cage, then grabbed his barely cleaned cat ears and yanked him out.

"You reckless idiot, you moron! You beast among beasts! Do you even know where you are?!"

Mainkuhn didn't know that the disinfectant had soaked through the bandages, making the wound very painful, and that Buck hadn't been rescued yet, so he couldn't leave.

"Wait, wait—no—run!!"

He desperately turned around and saw Buck standing by the open cage, quietly watching him.

"Buck!!"

'goodbye. '

When Buck saw him turn around, he smiled and waved.

"No!! What Barbatos! No way!!"

Xiaomei began to struggle desperately, while her mother was having a fierce argument with the young doctor.

"You couldn't possibly not know that this is a promising talent I've been eyeing! How dare you lay a hand on him!"

"He came here on his own, how can you blame me? Fourth Seat, be mindful of your status."

"You're just one of the weaker ones among his fragments! What are you talking big to me about!"

"You're all bad guys!"

Xiaomei used the momentum from the tail swing to lift her body and fiercely grab her mother's arm, scratching it.

"Go to hell!"

Spots of blood stained the executor's sleeve. Kujavina winced in pain and immediately raised her hand.

"Smack!!"

The child tilted his head back, and red marks immediately appeared on his face.

"Hello!!"

The young professor screamed and grabbed her hand, "Don't hit him! What if you hurt him! Do you know how unique and researchable his reaction to the remnants of the demon god is?"

He was screaming when he saw Mainkuen lower his head and pout.

"Pooh."

A small, sharp, curved tooth was spat onto the ground, mixed with blood and foam.

hiss--

"You broke him!"

The doctor roared, "Damaged teeth can affect nutrient intake, don't you know that?!"

"What's there to be afraid of?"

Kujavina glanced down coldly, but didn't stop walking.

"It's just a baby tooth."

"What...what is it!?!"

Furina wanted to scream, but she was a goddess and couldn't do something so undignified, so she quickly went to pat Clorind, "You, you go and see!"

Clarin turned her head and saw that Leosley was already prying open the cat's mouth for Siegwen to examine.

“There are no obvious gaps, the tooth shows no signs of shifting, and it doesn’t match the size I remember,” the head nurse concluded. “It is indeed a baby tooth. Mr. Mainkuen’s teeth are a bit unusual, but they are very healthy.”

"Should I say it's too good? I can't say it." Paimon breathed a sigh of relief, but his heart was still very heavy.

"Of course it's not good!! Although I haven't experienced losing my baby teeth, I've seen similar scenes in movies!" Funina couldn't hide her excitement. "With the encouragement of their parents, they get through the initial panic, and then immerse themselves in the joy of growing up, giving their lost teeth to the Tooth Fairy or keeping them as souvenirs... There aren't any here!"

The knocked-out baby tooth was sucked away by the rotating cleaning robot, sprayed with disinfectant, and left without a trace.

"It shouldn't be like this..."

Wendy sighed, and melancholy music drifted on the wind.

"So, did that child's soul go home?" Diluc asked amidst the music.

"Of course, the wind has never forgotten every wanderer who has left his hometown; he has already reunited with his parents in the earth's veins."

He received the expected answer, but Diluc was not pleased. "He's clearly not old enough to drink."

“Yes, it’s a real shame that a Mondstadt person died without ever having a sip of wine…” Kaeya also looked gloomy.

“Mainkuhn has already drunk for him.” Wendy closed her eyes sadly. “He will rest in glory.”

"May the soul of an innocent man find eternal peace." The water dragon mourned for him, and then saw Nasita raise her hand to him, requesting to speed up.

The reason for the acceleration is that "playing too many repetitive segments interferes with the efficiency of human information absorption."

"Understood."

Leosley, with a stern face, summarized briefly, "My brother has been getting beaten up the whole time."

"..."

Nasida turned her face away and didn't reply.

“Keep releasing it, Ms. Nasita.”

Nasita's hand trembled, and the fools on duty changed their faces, but their positions remained the same.

"The incident also happened in the lab." Leosley rubbed his forehead. "...I'm not surprised at all."

He watched as his younger brother sneaked in again, his hands and legs bearing many more scars, but his movements remained nimble and agile.

"Buck?"

He couldn't find Buck, and the young doctor came to arrest him, but failed. He then got into an argument with Kujavina, who arrived at the scene. Kujavina picked up Maine, and the rest of his memories were skipped by the Grass God.

"It's so bizarre to see Kujavina protecting Maine, really," Paimon couldn't stand it.

"It's better than not protecting them at all." The traveler was already numb.

Naxi Da silently accelerated her memory.

Where is Buck?

This time, May went directly to the doctor. The rest of the plot was similar: the two officers argued, blaming each other for not keeping a close watch on the cat, and it was all a mess. Nobody told the cat where Buck was.

"Isn't this part just repetitive content?"

Navilette raised objections.

“No, it is precisely these futile efforts that will lead to the qualitative change in the future,” Nasita replied.

"Where's Buck?!"

This time, Mei held a knife to the neck of the doctor's new assistant, threatening and forcing a confession.

It was no use; he was dragged away by Kujavina before being tied to the operating table, and the second executive officer almost attacked him.

"You fucking hit him again!"

"You want to use him for experiments again!"

“Hoo…” Leosley took a deep breath. “Sometimes I really wish Maine had been born more ordinary.”

After repeated fruitless attempts, Mainkun seemed to have gained nothing but more and more scars.

"Give me back Buck..."

"Fine, you troublemaker."

Finally, the young doctor replied impatiently, "I'll let you meet him next time you come."

"!"

Mainkun was carried away with his tail between his legs.