["While Belobog's children are still playing in the mud underground, the children here are already skilled at treating patients." Though she could understand, March 7th was still astonished.]
[Bailu pretended not to hear her: "Recently, the Luofu has been unstable. If you all…"]
["If nothing's wrong, don't run around everywhere, right?" March 7th predicted what she was about to say, spreading her hands helplessly: "What a pity, the Luofu's general has given us a task, so we'll have to run around east and west."]
["Then, if you uncles and sisters have any mishaps, bumps, or bruises… I can provide free consultations for you! Considering you saved me, I'll give you a 20% discount on medicine fees!" Bailu said with a beaming smile.]
[Then, she wholeheartedly devoted herself to treating the injuries of those Mara-struck soldiers.]
[Watching her serious treatment demeanor, Welt was quite curious: "I see, so this is the Vidyadhara? I've only seen records in texts. I heard they are a dragon-blooded lineage. Seeing this now, it seems quite fitting."]
[Stelle and the others also didn't want to disturb Bailu further, so they prepared to continue looking around, waiting to meet up with the person Fu Xuan had arranged.]
["Excuse me, little miss, please wait a moment." A man with a full beard walked over. "Fortunately, you intervened earlier, resolving the situation for the people of Changming Lane and that Dragon Lady."]
["Dragon Lady?" March 7th turned around in surprise, looking at the girl fully absorbed in treatment behind her: "That child, huh? From how she's addressed, she must be quite important."]
——
Teyvat, Sangonomiya Shrine.
"I infer... this little girl is likely a figure like the chieftain of the Vidyadhara people, very important in the current situation of the Xianzhou." Sangonomiya Kokomi said after a moment of contemplation.
"Ah...? Lady Sangonomiya, how did you guess that?" Gorou curiously looked at the young woman.
"Gorou, look, only three races have appeared on the Xianzhou so far: the Foxians, the Vidyadhara, and ordinary Xianzhou humans. But do you see any problem?"
"The Foxians have tails and ears, but otherwise... I can't tell."
"The problem lies precisely there. Ordinary Xianzhou humans and Vidyadhara people have no apparent difference in appearance. This at least indicates that Bailu's outward draconic features are extremely rare among the entire Vidyadhara race," Sangonomiya Kokomi speculated.
"I wouldn't dare assert she is the chieftain of the Vidyadhara, but she probably... has received secret arts passed down within her clan, hence her current form."
"Lady Sangonomiya, are you saying... this Miss Bailu might have more than just medical skills? Perhaps some hidden power unknown to others?" Prompted by Kokomi, Gorou suddenly became expectant.
"Hmm... I can't guess that." Kokomi looked up and smiled lightly. "But if this were a story written by those light novel authors from Yae Publishing House, they would surely 'give' Miss Bailu some special powers."
"After all, she is of the dragon race. Even in Teyvat, creatures related to 'dragons' are never not powerful, right?" Kokomi thought of the tough and combat-ready Bathysmal Vishaps in Enkanomiya. If not for the Traveler... she wouldn't have known how to handle them.
——
[The man was from the Divination Commission, named Dahao. He sought out Stelle because he heard they were the General's guests and highly capable, wanting to invite them to the Divination Commission for a discussion.]
[Although they guessed the ensuing matters might not be easy, since they were idle anyway, they followed Dahao.]
[At the Divination Commission, Dahao expressed his thanks again. Not wanting to waste their time, he got straight to the point about the current troubles plaguing the Xianzhou.]
["As you've seen, since the Stellaron crisis descended, the madness of the Mara-struck has spread." Dahao said with a grave expression. "Becoming Mara-struck is a fate the Xianzhou people have always avoided. Under the watch of the Ten-Lords Commission, it shouldn't have appeared so frequently."]
["But now, more and more people, especially Cloud Knights who bear pressure and risks, are falling into Mara."]
["Moreover, those people's appearances have become extremely terrifying, like monsters. This is different from my previous understanding of the Mara-struck…"]
["You think there's a conspiracy behind it?" Stelle grasped his meaning.]
["Exactly." Hearing that the group was entrusted by the General to investigate the Stellaron, Dahao proposed cooperation, hoping to share any clues they found with the Divination Commission. This way, the Commission could respond promptly, and they could also provide assistance in return.]
[At this point, Stelle suddenly remembered a letter that had dropped from a Mara-struck monster she defeated at the Returning Star Port, which she had picked up.]
[Dahao carefully read the letter Stelle handed over. After reading it twice with a solemn expression, he apologized to the group, sweating profusely, and hurriedly left.]
[After waiting about ten minutes, Dahao returned with a woman.]
["I read that letter… Frankly, I didn't know how to handle it, so I contacted the Seat of Divine Foresight, where the General resides. This is Lady Qingzu, General Jing Yuan's chief strategist."]
[Qingzu had been responsible for pursuing matters related to the Mara-struck. The letter Stelle provided happened to offer a crucial clue.]
[The letter appeared to be joyful news from home on the surface, but it actually violated the unpardonable taboo of seeking longevity or mutation under the guise of "healing."]
——
"It's strange, aren't the Xianzhou people already long-lived? Why seek longevity again?" Stark wondered. "Isn't that redundant?"
Frieren shook her head: "No, seeking longevity probably isn't aimed at the Xianzhou people, but at short-life species like Stelle who come from beyond the stars."
As a long-lived elf, Frieren understood well the allure of "long life" for ordinary humans. Over the millennia, many humans had hoped to develop longevity magic to overcome death... but without exception, they all failed.
"Yeah, if it were me, I'd also be curious about what experiencing long life is like."
"Actually, there's not much to experience." Frieren gently stroked the Staff Certification on her neck, saying faintly: "Probably... it feels like fifty years passing in the blink of an eye? Time becomes very fast."
"But Lady Frieren, why would Xianzhou people want mutation?" Fern couldn't quite understand the Xianzhou people's train of thought. "Risking violation of a ban, is it necessary?"
"Hmm... It's actually quite understandable. But before answering that, let me ask you, Fern." Frieren looked out the inn window at the bustling crowd. "Have you ever seen people born with disabilities?"
"No."
"...I almost forgot, you lived in the forest with Heiter since childhood." Frieren explained, holding her forehead. "Some humans are born disabled, for example, born blind, or with leg disabilities, unable to walk, and so on..."
"For these humans, life is a continuous process of suffering. But no matter how painful, it's only a few decades."
"...But now, when such misfortune befalls the Xianzhou people, life becomes a long punishment lasting hundreds, even thousands of years. Even I dare not say, I would have enough willpower to endure it."