"About the payment," Lumine began, "I received the commission to explore the Chasm from Sister Lan, but she said the payment should be discussed directly with you."
Muning widened his eyes. "I am an official representative acting on behalf of the General Affairs Bureau! The commissions from the Adventurers' Guild hold no authority over the Bureau. So, you—uh—don't even think about using her to pressure me. It's useless…"
"You just said you'd answer all questions truthfully."
"Cough!" Muning turned his head away, deliberately changing the subject as he walked out of the camp toward the inner layers of the Chasm. "If you don't plan on leaving the Chasm, then feel free to look around—but there are some places I strongly advise you not to approach. For instance, the large mining pit in the center of the Chasm that's sealed by the 'Seven Star Formation.'"
He jerked his chin toward the distant landscape, gesturing for Lumine to follow his gaze. "As the name implies, the Seven Star Formation is an array laid down by the Liyue Qixing themselves. If you follow those seven distinct golden light streams, you can trace their origin and connections. The weak points—uh, nodes—of the array are the 'Bedrock Keys' surrounding it."
"But—"
Muning shot Paimon a glance. "Don't interrupt me yet… Those Bedrock Keys were personally placed by the Qixing. They link together and stabilize the energy flowing within the formation. However, recently the Geo elemental aggregates near them have been abnormally increasing—as if something beneath is eager to burst out."
"But—"
Muning gave Lumine a quick glance. "You too—don't interrupt me… In short, the Bedrock Keys themselves haven't decayed or been weakened by the anomaly, nor do they react oddly with the nearby Geo aggregates. So don't waste time fiddling with those rocks, and absolutely, absolutely don't go near the Seven Star Formation."
Seeing both Lumine and Paimon glaring at him with clear irritation, Muning suddenly sensed the danger of being punched and hurriedly stopped himself from continuing. "Alright, alright. What did you two want to say?"
Lumine let out a long sigh, loosening her clenched fists. "But there aren't even seven light streams anymore. Why don't you take another look?"
"Huh? There's one, two, three, four, five—five light streams… Five?!" Muning's soul almost jumped out of his body. He rubbed his eyes and counted again with his fingers. "One, two, three, four, five… Where's the fifth?! Where did it go?!"
Paimon said with gleeful mischief, "While you were counting the fifth one the first time, it quietly slipped right under your nose."
"How could that be? Calm down… Muning, you must stay calm… You've been stationed here for so long, think, what's changed recently? Calm down… Hoo… Could it be… that person?"
"Your face looks awful," Lumine observed.
"It's fine… Anyway, those Bedrock Keys have already been reported as damaged. What matters now is to find out who's destroying them. Please—no, wait…"
Muning looked toward Lumine, then shut his eyes and shook his head, changing his tone completely. "About the payment you asked earlier—hmph! There are no rare treasures, no prehistoric fossils, and no ancient ruins beneath the Chasm! If you want a reward, go wherever you can find one yourself! I'm certainly not paying the Adventurers' Guild on their behalf!"
"Fine, no need to get so mad about it!" Paimon pouted. "Lumine, I think we should just give up this commission. There's clearly no payment—"
"Ahem! Cough, cough!"
"Yah! Why are you coughing all of a sudden? You scared me!"
"Cough, cough!Cough cough cough!Cough cough cough cough!"
"You're coughing that badly… You must be sick. No wonder you've been so irritable! You should really go to Bubu Pharmacy and get some medicine."
Muning nearly spat blood from Paimon's oblivious concern, but thankfully, Lumine understood his hidden message.
"Is there anything else we should know?" Lumine asked.
"Cough. Nothing much. But before you start wandering around, you should go find Zhiqiong. She's an adventurer employed by the General Affairs Bureau. Used to work as a miner here—knows the terrain of the Chasm very well. I'll give you a note of introduction; once she sees it, she'll know you're trustworthy."
After writing a small note, Muning suddenly added, "But I'll warn you first—Zhiqiong isn't the type to run around all day, nor is she restless or reckless. She definitely hasn't thought of breaking the Seven Star Formation to dive underground, and she certainly wouldn't rally a group of idle adventurers to charge into danger as if no one's watching. So don't expect her to help you get into the main mining pit!"
Lumine nodded. "I understand."
"You… really understand? If you truly understood, then don't wander around here anymore. Otherwise…"
"Otherwise?"
"Ah, nothing much. The most I can do is write weekly reports. I have to record your presence here anyway. But since I just submitted one yesterday… it'll take a few days before the next report reaches the General Affairs Bureau. By then, someone might come to forcibly escort you out. So, before that happens, ahem…"
Muning coughed one last time. The appearance of this great hero of Liyue had already been reported internally, but he hadn't expected her to arrive without any official permission. This awkward exchange was the only way he could give her a discreet warning.
As for the anomaly in the Seven Star Formation—he could only hope nothing would go wrong…
He glanced up again—just in time to see another golden light stream fade away. That meant the Seven Star Formation had now become a Three Star Formation.
"In just a few minutes of talking, it's already—! Hurry, hurry! If you understand, then get moving!"
"Let's go," Lumine said.
She waved her hand and left with Paimon, heading straight for Zhiqiong's location.
But when they arrived, the atmosphere felt strangely uneasy… Everyone looked a bit tense—except for one adventurous girl.
"Lumine! Is that really Lumine the Senior Adventurer?!"
"You must be Zhiqiong?" Lumine thought for a moment and pulled out the note Muning had given her, though Zhiqiong barely glanced at it.
"Forget the note! Muning loves acting all high and mighty with those things. I don't care about that. After all, the name of Lumine the Hero has long spread throughout the Adventurers' Guild! The tales of you braving Dragonspine, battling sea monsters atop the Jade Chamber, and lifting the Vision Hunt Decree in front of Tenshukaku—those are the deeds of a true adventurer, a real hero!"
"Ahem. Actually, Muning told us to look around quickly. Do you know about the Seven Star Formation and the Bedrock Keys? He seemed quite frightened by the disappearing light streams."
"Ah… sorry, I got a little excited!" Zhiqiong took a few deep breaths to calm herself before speaking seriously again. "Since you already mentioned the Bedrock Keys, I don't need to explain too much. In truth, we need to break the Seven Star Formation to enter the depths of the Chasm."
"But… before you arrived, another adventurer insisted on taking the initiative to strike first, and… well, now the Seven Star Formation has become a Two Star Formation."
"So, the disappearance of the light streams," Lumine reasoned, "was caused by our own people?"
"Exactly. But his efficiency is a little too high—it's… honestly kind of scary…"