Su Yuan stared in shock at the Dottore in front of him—who had now lost all hostility and was smiling kindly—unsure of what to say…
Had the boy really succeeded… in possessing one of Dottore's segments?
Was that the reason he had sought Su Yuan out in the first place—so he could anchor his soul to Su Yuan, and patiently wait for this exact moment?
The moment Dottore let his guard down… so he could steal his body?
"Hmm… after controlling your body, Big Brother Su Yuan, and then switching to this Dottore body, I have to say… there's a big difference," the boy said as he stretched his wrists and bounced on his feet a couple of times.
"Well, that makes sense," Su Yuan replied.
"No matter how much you hate Dottore… technically speaking, he is still you in a way."
"So of course, controlling your own body would feel the most natural."
"No no no, Big Brother Su Yuan, you misunderstood…"
The boy shook his head and waved his hand to explain:
"What I mean is—this Dottore body isn't as good as yours!"
"Uh… what?" Su Yuan was completely at a loss for words.
Is my body really that special? That adaptable? Even more so than my original self's…?
"Anyway, now's not the time for small talk…" the boy said.
"Let's head out and see what's going on outside!"
"But… we're inside Madame Ping's Serenitea Pot Realm. How exactly are we supposed to get out?"
Su Yuan said thoughtfully:
"Could it be that we need to break the barrier by force—just punch our way out of the Serenitea Pot with a powerful attack?"
"No need for that. Right now, Madame Ping doesn't know that I've already possessed one of Dottore's segments…"
The boy spoke up:
"As long as I inform her, she'll let us out."
"But Big Brother Su Yuan, you and Big Sister Furina will need to pretend that you've been captured by me, or that we've reached some kind of agreement—otherwise, they might notice something's wrong."
"Got it." Su Yuan nodded, then suddenly seemed to remember something and said,
"By the way, you still haven't told me your original name. I don't even know what to call you. I can't just keep calling you 'little boy' forever…"
"Well, now that I've taken over one of Dottore's segments, how about you call me Young-tore in private from now on…"
Su Yuan: …
Young-tore… Su Yuan didn't even know where to begin complaining about that name…
"All right, I've already contacted Madame Ping. We'll be able to leave in just a little while,"
the boy said.
Sure enough, not long after, Su Yuan felt the scenery around them begin to twist and shift—
and the next moment, they had all returned to Mt. Aocang…
But now, the sight before them at Mt. Aocang was… a blood-soaked ruin, devastation everywhere.
As expected, everyone outside… had perished in battle.
Baizhu, Qiqi, Gaming, Yanfei, Zhongli, Chongyun…
not a single body was left intact…
"Streetward Rambler… You've spent so many years in Liyue Harbor, it's been ages since you last visited my Mt. Aocang…"
Cloud Retainer turned to look at Madame Ping, licking her lips with pleasure as she spoke:
"Just in time—there's such an abundance of fresh ingredients here. I'll make full use of my newly developed Gastronomic Mechanism to cook up a grand feast in your honor!"
"How delightful. In that case, I shall graciously accept,"
Madame Ping also smiled and nodded, then turned to look to the side.
"Also, Cloud Retainer—thank you for modifying my disciple Xiangling into this new form…"
"I'm sure that now, when she encounters ill-intentioned scoundrels, she'll have at least some ability to defend herself."
"I have another little disciple named Yaoyao. When I return, I'll send her to Mt. Aocang as well. I'll trouble you to enhance her next."
"Hahahaha! We've been friends for thousands of years—this is just a small favor!"
Hearing Madame Ping acknowledge her mastery in mechanical modification, Cloud Retainer burst into hearty laughter.
"Speaking of which, what happened to Guoba, the Stove God—Marchosius—who's usually by Xiangling's side?"
Madame Ping asked.
"When I was about to modify Xiangling, that fool actually had the nerve to try and stop me…"
Cloud Retainer replied, "And what other outcome could there be? Of course, I killed him!"
"Those who bring misfortune upon themselves deserve no mercy! After all, anything that stands in our way… shall be destroyed!"
Seeing the ground soaked in blood and strewn with corpses, and listening to the boastful chatter between "Cloud Retainer" and "Madame Ping," Su Yuan felt deeply uneasy...
Now he finally understood why the intel on the palm of his right hand had warned him to be fully prepared before heading to Mt. Aocang...
Because the foes they had to face weren't just one Eerie Cloud Retainer, but also Dottore, and an Eerie Madame Ping...
From the information currently available, it seemed that Cloud Retainer was likely corrupted and controlled by the Eerie powers after her heart was shaken and her Dao fractured—possibly following a contest of mechanica with Dottore…
As for Madame Ping's descent into Eerie corruption, the reason remained completely unknown.
In fact, it was likely that Madame Ping had been corrupted long ago, and had simply been hiding it all this time…
"Dottore, since you had A-Ping release you from the Serenitea Pot, I assume your business has been taken care of?"
Cloud Retainer, who had just been chatting with Madame Ping, suddenly shifted her tone upon seeing Dottore walk out with Su Yuan and Furina, and asked:
"As per our agreement, our cooperation ends here…"
"Leave behind what you promised me—and get out of Mt. Aocang!"
Su Yuan glanced thoughtfully at the scene before him.
From the looks of it, Dottore must've made some kind of deal with the Eerie Cloud Retainer…
Well, that made sense—after all, the current "Cloud Retainer" wasn't corrupted and controlled by Dottore's external Eerie power, but had instead undergone internal Eerie transformation born from the darkness of her own heart…
"Big Brother Su Yuan, I don't think we'll be able to escape from here for now…"
The boy—Young-tore—suddenly whispered to Su Yuan:
"That guy Dottore is full of lies—all talk, no substance, making promises without lifting a finger…"
"Do you know what he promised Cloud Retainer?"
"Blueprints for a Time Mechanism!!!"
"A device that could distort time and space, and return to the past—do you seriously think something like that could actually exist???"
Hearing Young-tore's words, Su Yuan immediately recalled what Dottore had once said in Inazuma—about reviving the dead.
But in reality, all he did was create a new body, and then extract a fragment of memory from the ley lines to fake the illusion of resurrection…
That guy Dottore—he calls himself a scholar, always preaching about being rigorous and objective…
And yet he lies through his teeth without blinking—what a double-standard hypocrite!
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