After eating roasted Sunsetti and analyzing the situation,
everyone finds their own spot and quiets down.
Each person is lost in their own thoughts.
Mu Yang observes their expressions, noting that even someone like Itto looks worried.
The lack of progress in their exploration has left everyone feeling at a loss.
After a long rest,
Lumine stares at the fire used to roast the Sunsetti, seemingly deep in thought.
"Ugh, sitting here with nothing to do is so boring…"
"I just want to run free in the outside world!"
Paimon's listless voice pulls Lumine back from her thoughts.
Lumine plays along. "Aren't you always flying?"
"Then I want to fly freely! Anyway, I just want to get out!"
Lumine understands Paimon's mood.
"Before we knew it, a whole day has passed."
Paimon shakes her head with difficulty. "A whole day? It's been months, hasn't it?"
"Even if it's not months, it's got to be over 20 days, right?"
Lumine doesn't dwell on Paimon's statement,
assuming it's just Paimon exaggerating as usual.
[That's how I feel in class too.]
[Math class is really only 40 minutes?]
[I think literature class feels the longest…]
Hearing Paimon's complaints, Itto joins in.
"Argh—! I wanna get out, roll around in the streets, and fight some bugs!"
Kuki Shinobu sighs helplessly. "Boss, mind your image."
Itto, crouching in a corner, has no image left to mind.
"Going in circles in this lousy place every day—it's so empty! If we were outside, I could eat ramen and admire flowers. How nice would that be…"
At the mention of "ramen," Yanfei seems to think of something.
"Everyone, do you feel hungry right now?"
They all shake their heads, saying they don't.
They're not sure why Yanfei is asking.
Yanfei continues, "I'm not hungry either… Let me rephrase. Who's the biggest glutton among us?"
Kuki Shinobu glances at her boss. "Definitely not me."
"Why're you looking at me? It's definitely not me either. It's gotta be her." Itto points directly at Paimon.
"Huh? W-Why're you all staring at me?" Paimon is caught off guard, flustered.
[Because we need emergency food now!]
[She's eaten so much, she must be fattened up by now.]
[Raise Paimon for a thousand days, use her in a pinch.]
[Why do I feel like the comment above is up to no good?]
"Paimon, are you hungry?"
"Huh? Not hungry. What's up?"
Paimon still doesn't get why everyone's looking at her.
Kuki Shinobu, however, has caught on.
Paimon, a vacuum cleaner who eats three meals a day plus late-night snacks and desserts,
after saying she feels like 20 days have passed,
her first reaction is boredom and wanting to go play—
not wanting to eat.
Lumine finds it unbelievable and asks Paimon again.
"Were you exaggerating about the 20 days?"
"Nope." Paimon finds it odd. Don't they all feel the same?
Lumine addresses the group. "I only feel like a day has passed. What about you?"
Itto thinks for a moment. "Now that you mention it, I feel like three or four days have passed, but I haven't felt thirsty or hungry."
Kuki Shinobu's sense is similar to Itto's.
Roasting the Sunsetti earlier was to lift the mood, not just to fill their stomachs.
"Not only am I not hungry, I don't feel noticeably tired either… Sleeping or not doesn't seem to make a difference."
Yanfei chimes in. "I feel the same. Resting doesn't improve my condition, and existing fatigue doesn't increase either."
"It's incredibly strange, like our physical states are frozen."
She looks at Mu Yang, and everyone's gaze shifts to him.
So far, he and Paimon seem to be the most unusual.
Mu Yang speaks up. "I feel like only a day has passed, but in this place, every sword swing consumes far more energy than outside."
"My power comes from a certain place in Chenyu Vale. After you entered the so-called 'secret domain entrance,'"
"my connection to it grew weaker and weaker until now—it's completely cut off."
Mu Yang gestures for everyone to look up.
They're all stunned.
At some point, unnoticed, the hole above their heads has been filled in.
It's now a ceiling flush with the surrounding walls…
Mu Yang sometimes tells the truth, but never the whole truth.
Everyone has secrets, and holding back a little is understandable.
His connection to his source is indeed severed.
But his current power reserves are still vast. Even without Zhongli,
he could keep everyone safe.
However, for the sake of popularity points and plot integrity, he has to play the weak card.
I could flex and bulldoze through, but for the sake of Guinaifen and the plot experience, I have no choice but to lie low and slack off.
Sigh, I tried, I tried.
This is the first time Lumine has heard Mu Yang talk about his power like this.
She speculates it might be related to what he said before the Lantern Rite about returning to Chenyu Vale to recuperate.
Now it clicks—she's learned a bit more about Mu Yang.
But right now, that's not the priority.
If Mu Yang's connection to that place is cut off, can his power still recover?
Mu Yang gently shakes his head. No, it can't.
[We're done for. He can't hold the line. What now?]
[The plot nerf is brutal.]
[Gojo Satoru: I get it. If the author doesn't nerf me, I can't flex either.]
[That place Mu Yang mentioned—could it be that snowy mountain?]
[Definitely. He was waiting there to recover his severed hand. How could it not be?]
Hearing Mu Yang's response, everyone's expressions darken.
Up until now, they could comfort themselves that once Mu Yang recovered,
they'd find a way out, and he could slice open space to escape.
But now, that plan seems impossible.
Mu Yang says, "Slicing open space takes a lot of energy. In my current state, I can manage at most three swings."
According to Mu Yang, he doesn't even know how many times he used Sword Traverses Mountains and Rivers to get here,
or how many monsters he cut down.
Three swings are far too limited.
The trouble in this underground place is far greater than they imagined.
Just as the group is at a loss,
Yelan returns.
"Everyone, I found something."
She points in the direction she came from. "I discovered a new path over there. It seems to lead to an unknown area."
As the leader, Lumine says, "Let's check it out."
She looks at Mu Yang. "Try not to act. Save your strength."
Mu Yang stays by her side. "I'll follow your lead."
On the way, Yelan learns about Mu Yang's situation.
She's not too shocked, having already prepared for the worst.
Besides, she's always relied more on her own abilities.
The team reaches a stone wall.
"When I was inspecting it earlier, I noticed something unusual about these stones."
Yelan raises her hand, casting a spell.
"They're likely an illusion, hiding a passage behind them."
Her spell works, and the stone vanishes.
"Is it a way out? That's great!"
"An exit, an exit! Have we finally found an exit?"
The two kids cheer excitedly.
Shinobu, as always, remains calm.
"I have a feeling it won't be that simple. Everyone, be mentally prepared."
The group heads into the passage…