After Yanfei finished speaking, she earnestly thanked Arataki Itto.
She felt a bit embarrassed, as the two had ended up in the Chasm because they were chasing her.
Arataki Itto, of course, didn't blame his great benefactor.
"If it weren't for you, we'd still be rotting in Liyue's jail."
Kuki Shinobu promptly reminded him that it was just him in jail, not both of them.
Watching the scene, Yanfei smiled with relief.
"Let's call it making new friends. To celebrate, how about I take you to Liyue Harbor for sightseeing and food?"
"That's awesome, awesome! Now that you mention it, ugh… my stomach's growling. I can barely walk…"
"I'm starving too, Senior. Why don't we head out now?"
At the mention of food, Paimon couldn't hold back any longer.
"I'm going too, I'm going too!"
Lumine reached out and grabbed the scruff of fate's neck.
"You guys go ahead. Paimon and I have some things to take care of."
"Huh? What things?" Paimon herself had no idea what Lumine was talking about.
At that moment, her mind was already filled with visions of Liyue Harbor's delicacies.
Yanfei nodded understandingly.
"Alright then, I'll take care of these two Inazuman friends. You two come back and rest soon. This was a tough one."
Lumine nodded, "Have fun."
As they parted, Ushi went "moo, moo, moo" for a while.
Arataki Itto served as the translator.
The players' perspective didn't show the details, but that didn't stop them from chiming in.
[Ushi's got a point!]
[Moo moo?]
[Lulu!]
[So what did it say? How does everyone get it?]
[Riddle Cow, get out of Liyue Harbor!]
After the group left, Yelan returned from her inspection.
"Still here." (Yelan: Cheesy Snow Leopard)
She approached slowly, "I saw those two Inazumans leave with Yanfei, heading to Liyue Harbor, right? You're not joining them?"
"We have some things to discuss with Xiao."
Yelan nodded, "I figured as much."
"I've checked the surroundings. No anomalies elsewhere for now. This matter's wrapped up for the moment."
"The next step is probably confidentiality, right?"
Yelan smiled with a hint of mischief, "Heh, I hope those two foreign guests keep this incident under wraps."
Paimon was spooked by her aura,
thinking she might actually go after Arataki Itto and Kuki Shinobu.
Lumine knew Yelan was just joking.
Though she wasn't too familiar with Yelan,
their time together showed her that with Arataki Itto's carefree personality, he'd probably already forgotten everything.
Liyue's forbidden zone? Food's more important when you're hungry.
As for Kuki Shinobu, she was Itto's other half.
She was sharp and knew what could and couldn't be said.
She'd never touch taboo topics.
With her keeping Itto in check, there was no need to worry.
Lumine teased, "Didn't expect Yelan to be so mischievous."
Caught out, Yelan wasn't upset.
She put her hands on her hips, smiling happily.
After all, everyone had survived this time, and she was in a good mood.
"You got me, haha. Joke's over."
"Thanks to everyone's help, I'll keep this in my heart."
The group then discussed the Chasm's mysterious space.
How was that eerie underground space created?
And why had it existed silently for so many years?
The reasons behind it required further investigation.
Yelan suddenly remembered something.
"By the way, it seems someone stepped in at the last moment to help… It's a good thing, but I couldn't sense their identity. Must be a master."
[Not a master, just an ordinary unemployed guy.]
[Idling all day, how great could he be? (doge)]
[Good Citizen Zhongli.]
Xiao and Lumine said nothing,
remaining silent…
When it came to key information, Paimon wisely kept her mouth shut.
Or maybe she hadn't noticed Zhongli at all.
The raven couldn't speak and wasn't close to Yelan.
Only Mu Yang, hidden in the shadows, was thinking about how to tease Yelan with this…
From their expressions, Yelan guessed the rescuer's identity wasn't simple and didn't press further.
"Don't worry, now's not the time to dig into that."
"I've got follow-up reports to handle, so I'll head back to Liyue Harbor. Farewell for now."
Once Yelan was out of sight, Xiao spoke.
"I want to visit a place. If you have time, come along."
"What place is it?" Paimon asked curiously.
"A place related to the Yaksha."
— — — — — —
Guinaifen's Perspective
Aside from unlocking the achievement [Layers of Terror],
she noticed she'd lost a backpack item.
It was the [???] picked up in the Snowy Mountains.
That 200 Primogem achievement was indeed tied to Mu Yang.
And at the critical moment, it saved his life.
"Whoa, that's so detailed!"
Amazed, Guinaifen thought of a question.
"What if someone didn't find that item and didn't pick it up?"
That's when the barrage came in handy.
Viewers explained to Guinaifen:
If a player goes through this plot without that item in their backpack,
when Mu Yang's final strike creates a small crack, a faint light will fly in.
It then takes the shape of a raven, and the plot proceeds the same way.
But afterward, instead of losing a backpack item,
the player completes the achievement [I Know What I'm Doing].
It's also worth 200 Primogems.
However, the glowing point in the Snowy Mountains becomes uninteractable.
"So, you can only pick one of these two achievements, right?"
Guinaifen pretended to ponder, "As expected of my husband, even his achievements are so special! Love it, love it!"
[You can love that?]
[Keep praising him. No one hypes like you do!]
After hearing the barrage, Guinaifen moved her character to the quest location.
— — — — — —
Xiao stood halfway up the mountain. "Up ahead is the temple built for Pervases."
The near-death experience had given him some insights, prompting this visit.
"What are you thinking about?"
"It's hard to put into words. Seeing Bosacius gave me the illusion of returning to the past."
Xiao gazed at the temple, recounting the secrets of the Yaksha.
A Yaksha's life, to put it nicely, is one of valor and combat prowess.
To put it bluntly, it's just endless killing.
"To die in the height of battle might not have been a bad thing for Bosacius."
"I feel the same. I've lived a long time… If I could die saving others, it wouldn't be too bad."
As soon as Xiao finished, the raven on Lumine's shoulder couldn't sit still.
She struggled, scattering black feathers around, only to be caught by a white mist tinged with cold.
A voice came from the mist.
"You should already know that's not the truth."
The voice sounded like two people speaking at once.
As the mist cleared, the young man reappeared, still with his striking features.
But a streak of black now ran through his silver hair.
His outfit had changed too.
Though still black and white, black was noticeably more prominent.
The patterns had shifted to feather motifs.
And those eyes—weren't they heterochromatic before?
Lumine looked at the young man with a hint of roguish charm and spoke tentatively.
"…Mu Yang?"
— — — — — —
Drop some lore experts to explain the Pyro Archon's plan. Did she travel 500 years into the future and consolidate all the knowledge and power of the Pyro Archons in that time?
Feel free to share your dragon name here.