• 101 •
After assuring them that she would do her best, Lumine and Paimon arrived at the Chasm entrance.
More Millelith were stationed here. The commander, knowing their purpose, wanted Lumine and Paimon to wait above.
Lumine did as told, but after waiting for a long time, Yelan did not appear. When she asked the commander, he said he also did not know.
Lumine stopped waiting and decided to go down alone to investigate and search.
The commander couldn't stop her, so he had someone escort her and Lumine down.
---
The Chasm below was vast, almost half the size of Liyue on an old map.
It was not easy for Lumine and Paimon to find Yelan and Xiao after descending.
Fortunately, when they descended, the Millelith commander handed Lumine a map, with Qingge's missing location marked, so Lumine wouldn't wander aimlessly in the dark.
Although the place where Qingge disappeared had likely been searched several times, Lumine still decided to go and see.
Following the marks on the map, Lumine and Paimon advanced with the Lumenstone.
"Is this where Qingge disappeared? There doesn't seem to be anyone here. Did Yelan and the others go somewhere else?"
As Paimon was speaking, she noticed Lumine wasn't responding, so she looked over at Lumine.
"Traveler, what are you looking at..."
"Huh? Why is the ruin here upside down?"
Lumine and Paimon were in the middle of the rugged stone hall, from where they could clearly see the inverted nameless ruin.
"Lumine, did you think of something?"
"The inverted Statue of The Seven..."
Paimon nodded vigorously: "Right, right! That's it, it's weird, it's upside down, and it feels a bit shocking. So, this place is also related to the Abyss Order, it's not surprising that that hateful guy set his sights on here."
Back in the ruin, that Abyss Monster absorbed the energy of the inverted statue before attacking Mondstadt.
Thinking of this, Paimon couldn't help but worry: "That evil creature is likely plotting something, just like in Mondstadt. Qingge must be in great danger now, Lumine, we must find Qingge quickly!"
Lumine and Paimon had the same idea. As she was looking for a way down, an abyss portal suddenly opened behind her, and a familiar figure emerged from it.
"Dainsleif?"
Dain: "..."
"Why are you here?"
Dain was also puzzled: "I didn't expect to meet you here either."
Paimon: "Long time no see, Dain. No, why are you in the Chasm?"
"The Chasm? Is this the Chasm? It's a place I've never set foot in."
Lumine and Paimon approached Dain and said, "I have many questions for you."
Dain nodded: "My appearance here in this manner certainly warrants an explanation."
"Not long ago, I tracked down another Abyss Herald. When I cornered him, he resorted to his old trick again. I followed him, and sure enough, I lost him again."
Lumine caught another meaning in Dain's words: "You mean, last time in that Domain, you also couldn't catch up to my brother?"
Dain: "Yes, from this, I deduce that the Abyss Order's teleportation technology is not merely simple point-to-point, but a more complex network structure, and the points for inter-teleportation are in their own hands."
Lumine looked at Dain: "Please reintroduce yourself. 'Twilight Sword'."
Dain crossed his arms and tilted his head slightly: "You remember that name? It's not that I deliberately concealed it. This title once bathed in Khaenri'ah's glory, but now... it's more like a mockery, a curse."
"As the captain of the royal guard who witnessed the downfall of his own nation, I think I have reason to not want to mention this title again."
Dain's words undoubtedly proved that everything Aether had said was true.
Lumine continued to ask: "You seem to know a lot about my brother. What did you two experience together?"
Dain: "We were companions."
"It was a journey filled with pain, constantly pursuing destiny, but... we couldn't reach the end together."
"The end of the journey..." Lumine fell into thought; this wasn't the first time she had heard this phrase.
What would be the end of the journey?
"By the way, why are you two here?"
Speaking of this, a worried expression appeared on Paimon's small face. She told Dain the whole story.
"One of the Liyue Qixing going missing, with no clues found after several days of searching, is indeed a major event."
"As for the abyss monster you mentioned, I regret to say I haven't encountered it during this time. However, its appearance in Liyue makes me highly suspect it's about to make a major move. I hope you two will remind Liyue's high-ranking officials as soon as possible, to prevent ordinary people from suffering further disaster."
Lumine nodded in agreement.
Subsequently, Dain joined Lumine and Paimon's search and rescue team.
During the search, the group discussed the curse suffered by the people of Khaenri'ah; today's Hilichurl monsters are precisely what the people of Khaenri'ah looked like after being cursed.
After walking for a while, the group encountered several Black Serpent Knights. These Black Serpent Knights attacked the group without a word.
After the battle, seeing the scene behind the Black Serpent Knights, Paimon exclaimed:
"These knights, are they protecting the Hilichurls?"
Dain's pupils trembled slightly: "Even at this point, they are still protecting the citizens of Khaenri'ah?"
These Black Serpent Knights were once part of Khaenri'ah's royal guard, meaning they were all Dain's subordinates.
In the darkness, Dain noticed a special knight. Even after so many years, Dain recognized him at a glance.
"Halfdan..."
In the subsequent journey, the group discovered the source that could temporarily restore a shred of sanity to these knights: an inverted ancient pool that could suppress the curse.
Paimon: "Is this what suppresses the curse? If there were more, would it..."
"It's not that simple."
Dain explained: "The power of the curse is terrifying. After such a long time, the curse has merged with the cursed. Purifying the curse is merely forcibly ending the cursed's life. Moreover, this will be an extremely painful process."
Subsequently, under Halfdan's guidance, Lumine saw the Inteyvat flower that connected the two siblings.
They finally understood the Abyss Order's objective.
The Abyss Order, following the Prince's will, decided to use a device to amplify the purifying ability of the pool water, to make the "citizens" reappear and make Khaenri'ah's glory shine again.
Dain, however, did not think so. He believed that purification would only bring deeper pain and was a disaster imposed upon the remnants of Khaenri'ah.
At this very moment, the Abyss device activated. As the group went to stop it, they were obstructed by an Abyss Herald.
After finally dealing with the Abyss Herald, time had run out, and the device had already begun to take effect.
At a critical moment, Halfdan, with his extraordinary willpower, used his own body to impede the device's operation.
The Traveler also took the opportunity to defeat the manipulator — the Abyss Lector.
In the final moment, Halfdan's soul appeared, bowing to his former captain, Dain:
"Khaenri'ah hasn't fallen, right? After all, you are still standing here."
After seeing Dain nod, Halfdan, with a smile, transformed into a stream of light.
Thus, the 'Requiem of the Echoing Depths' concluded.
---
Livestream room.
: "Big sigh of relief, good thing it's not about Qingge!"
: "Where's my Qingge then?"
: "Weren't we here to find Qingge? How did we inexplicably end up dealing with this matter with Dain?"
Chen Xiyao was also puzzled, but she quickly understood.
Because next was another Archon quest — Perilous Trail.
===
• 102 •
At the very bottom of the Chasm.
Mu Qingge had been trapped here for over ten days.
After separating from Yelan to explore that day, she was attacked by Malice.
With familiar attack methods and a familiar appearance, Mu Qingge quickly recognized the culprit who attacked her.
Fortunately, she had a treasure gifted by the Archon, which blocked many of the assailant's attacks.
Mu Qingge wanted to avenge Ruola and immediately fought back.
But the monster was very cunning; if one attack failed, it would hide, and no matter how Qingge searched, it was useless.
Even a god could not see through its disguise, so of course, she couldn't either.
The two sides were in a stalemate for a while, and somehow, Mu Qingge just fell down, looking perfectly fine.
It was only at the moment of falling that she realized this damned bastard had planned it all along!
The very bottom of the Chasm was a strange space; here, Mu Qingge didn't feel hungry, only very tired, but not sleepy.
The longer she stayed down there, the more anxious she became; she could feel that her condition was very wrong, but she didn't know how to fix it.
She had explored almost everywhere nearby, even chiseling open several rocks, but there was nowhere worth noting.
In the small space where Jiang Mumu's main consciousness resided.
She had almost forgotten the original plot; if she wanted to re-read it, she would have to wait for the plot to advance to this point.
To be honest, Jiang Mumu (Mu Qingge) at this time somewhat regretted arriving too early; she hadn't expected it to be so difficult to endure down there.
The feeling of time passing slowly made her irritable, but since it was like this, she could only patiently wait for the plot.
It just felt a bit off; didn't Malice see that Xiao had already arrived?
Where did that guy go?
Waiting and waiting, with nothing to do, Jiang Mumu simply recalled Mu Qingge's partial consciousness, letting Mu Qingge lie in a corner and idle.
She would let General Mu Qingge's consciousness return when the plot here began.
Anyway, this place below was so strange; wouldn't it be normal to pass out?
There was no need to worry about any strange things attacking Mu Qingge during this time; the Xuanji Shield was still there.
Even if there were, Jiang Mumu would be able to sense it.
---
The Chasm.
After parting ways with Dain, Lumine and Paimon, while searching for Qingge, encountered Yelan and some Millelith who had the same goal.
They must have agreed to meet here, as many people were sitting and resting.
Many of these Millelith had bloodshot eyes, and some even had red-rimmed eyes.
Yelan also looked very tired; she had barely rested during this time, and the high-intensity work had significantly reduced her concentration.
For an intelligence worker like Yelan, such a state would be absolutely unacceptable normally!
But now...
Every time she wanted to rest, Mu Qingge would appear in Yelan's mind.
As long as Mu Qingge wasn't found, her heart would remain anxious.
"It's you?"
Yelan hadn't expected to see Lumine and Paimon in this place: "Are you also here to find Qingge?"
"We learned about Qingge's disappearance from Keqing and rushed over immediately. Yelan, have you found anything?"
Yelan sighed and shook her head.
Including today, it had been thirteen days, and Yelan actually already had a very bad suspicion in her heart.
But she didn't dare to think about it; they hadn't found any traces of Mu Qingge, so perhaps she was currently trapped in some corner?
If that were true, then every minute and second they wasted now could very likely make them miss the best opportunity to save Mu Qingge.
After a brief exchange, the group re-divided their directions and positions and went to search.
Lumine and Paimon headed deeper:
"Lumine, it's been many days, and there's no food down here. Do you think Qingge might..."
Lumine immediately covered Paimon's small mouth: "Paimon, don't talk nonsense."
Paimon immediately covered her own small mouth and nodded.
---
Outside the Chasm.
"Millelith brothers, please help me, I really have something very important to go in for!"
Yanfei was stopped on the road leading to the Chasm, with two little tails following behind the rocks.
The Millelith guarding the path sternly said:
"No means no. The Chasm has been taken over by the Qixing. No one is allowed near during this period!"
Yanfei's face fell: "Sigh, alright..."
It seemed that the matter of the will would have to wait for another time.
Behind a rock behind Yanfei.
"Shinobu, look, isn't our benefactor in trouble right now? Let's go up..."
Kuki Shinobu sighed, pressing a hand to her forehead: "Boss, do you want to hear what you're saying? Those are all Millelith; if we go up, we'll only cause more trouble."
Itto: "Oh, right. So what do we do?"
"This place is blockaded by Liyue's higher-ups. We can't get in. It seems we'll have to give up on what you need to do."
Nearby, Malice (Jiang Mumu), who had been lurking here, couldn't sit still.
No, don't go. If you leave, who will openly bring Mu Qingge out?
It wasn't time for her to go offline yet!
Malice was about to jump out and cause trouble when suddenly, that feeling, which she once had when she wanted to show off in front of Diluc under the gaze of the Anemo Archon, reappeared.
Malice immediately hid.
Holy crap!
Morax, that old geezer!
He was here all along?
Malice felt a chill of fear in her heart. Good, good, it was a good thing she added such a setting when she created this clone, otherwise she would have died many times already!
Thinking of this, Malice left immediately. Who cared about the mission? If it was gone, it was gone...
---
Just as Yanfei was about to leave, one of the Millelith called out to her.
"Wait, are you Miss Yanfei?"
Yanfei looked at the speaking Millelith soldier, realizing it was someone she didn't know, and nodded in confusion.
The Millelith said something to his captain, and after listening, the captain said to Yanfei: "My apologies, you may enter."
Yanfei: "???"
Although she was very confused, it was good to be able to enter.
Itto saw Yanfei enter and immediately jumped out, but was stopped by the Millelith.
Itto: "We're with that Miss Yanfei!"
The Millelith looked back at Yanfei, who looked at Itto in surprise. How did he even follow her here?
Yanfei was a bit overwhelmed by Itto's enthusiasm. Perhaps she should just find some random task for him to help with. To chase her from Liyue Harbor all the way here, she had to admit, his persistence was truly strong!
And he even made Kuki Shinobu run along with him, which made her feel quite bad.
"Yes, we're together."
The guarding Millelith allowed Itto and Kuki Shinobu to enter.
Malice, who hadn't gone far, was stunned.
That works too?
Is this the plot's convergence force?
After the group left, the Millelith captain asked the soldier who had spoken earlier:
"Is what you said true?"
"Yes, Captain, Miss Yanfei is a vision holder, very strong, and has a very good relationship with Lady Mu."
===
• 103 •
It was night at the Chasm, in the camp at the entrance.
Lumine and Paimon, having found nothing, returned here; after all, there were many monsters below, making it difficult to rest properly down there.
Everyone was in low spirits, especially Yelan.
She sat alone to the side, silent, lost in thought.
Lumine and Paimon walked over, wanting to comfort her but not knowing what to say, finally just stating:
"Yelan, get some good rest. Only with proper rest will you have the energy to find Qingge!"
Yelan looked up slightly: "Thank you. You should go rest."
Paimon urged from the side:
"That's right, Yelan. They said you haven't had a good rest in days. If this continues, your body won't be able to take it!"
Rubbing her eyelids with her right hand, Yelan felt her body was also nearing its limit.
The Conqueror of Demons had also gone down, and similarly, he had also disappeared.
Yelan now only hoped that the Conqueror of Demons could find Qingge and bring her back safely.
"I'll go rest immediately. You two should also rest early."
After Yelan finished speaking, she walked towards a temporary camp nearby.
"Traveler, let's go rest too."
Lumine looked at the entrance to the Chasm. In truth, she still wanted to go down and search, along with the Millelith soldiers who went down at night.
It's just that…
Seeing Paimon yawning, she didn't voice her thoughts.
Paimon: "Strange, am I too tired? Why do I hear the big idiot's voice?"
Lumine also stopped. She seemed to have heard it too.
"Paimon, it's not a hallucination. It really sounds like Itto."
Paimon's sleepiness instantly vanished by half: "Huh? Why are Itto and his friends here?"
Lumine and Paimon walked towards the source of the sound, and Itto's loud voice became clearer.
Soon, the two saw Itto, Kuki Shinobu, and Yanfei, who seemed to be conversing about something.
A strange combination.
Paimon stepped forward: "Kuki Shinobu, and the big idiot, why are you here? And how do you know Yanfei?"
Itto: "Bestfriend! And the flying midget!"
Kuki Shinobu: "Hello, Traveler."
Yanfei: "It's the Traveler and Paimon! I didn't expect to meet you here!"
Yanfei continued, answering Paimon's previous question:
"I came here because of a will. I found a will in an ancient book, presumably left by a former master. He had a lost magical artifact and wanted it recovered."
Paimon: "Even this kind of work requires a legal consultant? That's so tough!"
Yanfei: "Executing a will on behalf of someone is also part of a legal consultant's work, but such situations are indeed rare, and besides, the Chasm isn't somewhere you can just come to whenever you want."
Kuki Shinobu also explained: "I studied law at the Liyue Academy of Literature, but unfortunately, just before graduation, I went home to visit family and happened to encounter the Sakoku Decree… It took several years to get this diploma."
"After Inazuma's Sakoku Decree was lifted, I wanted to come to Liyue to get my diploma. My boss wasn't comfortable with me coming alone, so he came along."
"In Liyue Harbor, my boss got into a conflict with someone over a party. If it weren't for my senior sister, my boss might have already been thrown into jail. My boss is straightforward. He wanted to repay my senior sister, so he followed her all the way here."
After confirming that Yunling was not present, Paimon asked again: "Where's Yunling? Didn't she come along? I remember she was very eager to see the world outside of Inazuma!"
Kuki Shinobu: "Yunling… is a bit busy in Inazuma and can't get away."
"By the way, we just heard that Qingge disappeared in the Chasm?!"
Only a very small number of people knew about Mu Qingge's disappearance, and coincidentally, Yanfei was not among them.
Upon hearing this, Paimon's expression immediately turned sad.
"Today is already the thirteenth day…"
Yanfei: "No, that can't be. Qingge is blessed with good fortune; she'll definitely be fine. Traveler, let us join the search too. An extra person means extra strength!"
Seeing his benefactor like this, Itto quickly declared: "Finding people is something this great me is best at!"
Itto was right; an Oni's sense of smell is naturally superior to ordinary people, and he also had Ushi.
Lumine immediately nodded in agreement. At this moment, indeed, an extra person meant extra strength.
"Let's rest today. Tomorrow morning, everyone will go down and search together!"
After agreeing on the meeting time for tomorrow, Lumine and Paimon also returned to rest.
---
Early the next morning.
Everyone was ready early. Lumine introduced Itto and Kuki Shinobu to Yelan.
Yelan thanked the two. She seemed to have recovered much of her energy, indicating she had indeed rested well yesterday.
Once ready, Lumine, Paimon, Yanfei, Kuki Shinobu, Arataki Itto, and Yelan formed a small team of six and once again headed to the Chasm to search.
This time, the target would be the innermost part of the Chasm.
The remaining Millelith, led by a Millelith captain, continued to search nearby below.
Upon entering the Chasm: "Come out, Ushi!"
Paimon examined Ushi, stroking her chin:
"Why do I feel like Ushi has gotten a bit bigger?"
Itto released a small, rather cute — cow?
"Don't let Ushi's size fool you; his abilities are great."
Moo~ Moo~
Ushi, having emerged, stared eye-to-eye with Itto.
After a while, Itto finally understood, and he slapped his thigh: "I almost forgot! Does anyone have a personal item of the person we're looking for? Just something with her scent will do."
Yelan took out a brush: "This is the brush Qingge always used. A lot of time has passed, I don't know if it still has her scent."
Itto held the brush to Ushi's nose. Ushi shook his head, and Itto nodded.
"That's enough! Let's go, Ushi!"
Ushi mooed twice, took a few steps forward, then a few steps back, and then started circling in place.
Itto immediately picked Ushi up: "Ahem, well, Ushi says he hasn't smelled any familiar scent in this area yet."
Paimon stomped her foot: "What? Not reliable at all!"
Yelan understood. She took the lead and went deeper.
Along the way, the group encountered many monsters. Fortunately, they were all Vision holders, and everyone— except Paimon —was very strong in combat.
As they walked, no one found anything, including Ushi, who had been lying in Itto's arms the whole time.
Until… everyone arrived at the innermost part of the Chasm.
Beneath the Celestial Nail.
Yelan: "This area is considered a restricted zone of the Chasm; outsiders should not come here. But the situation is special this time. Aside from this place, we have thoroughly searched all other areas. Only here remains…"
"Moo~ Moo~"
As soon as Yelan finished speaking, Ushi immediately let out a few moos.
"What?!"
Yelan was startled at first, then her face immediately lit up with joy: "Where?!"
Itto put Ushi down, and everyone followed behind him.
Ushi stopped directly beneath the Celestial Nail and started mooing again.
===
• 104 •
Itto continued to act as the translator.
"Ushi said he's down below!"
Down below?
Yelan looked at Itto in confusion, and Itto said impatiently:
"What are you looking at me for? Ushi said it himself."
Lumine: "Even though Itto is usually careless, he wouldn't lie at a time like this."
Kuki Shinobu also said: "I believe in my boss!"
Yelan bent down and carefully examined the spot they were standing on.
Suddenly, her eyes lit up!
It seemed to be hollow underneath!
"Everyone, please step back."
Yelan signaled for everyone to move away, then she took out her longbow, charged an arrow, and shot it at the spot they had just been standing.
Rumble~
Yanfei: "The ground is shaking!"
Following Yanfei's words, all the rocks fell down.
In just a moment, the place where everyone had just been standing turned into a bottomless pit.
Itto swallowed.
They had just been standing there?
"Moo~ Moo~"
Ushi's cries grew louder.
Yelan glanced at everyone and immediately jumped down.
Everyone: "…"
Paimon: "Yelan just jumped down like that?"
Lumine hugged Paimon and leaped down, and Paimon's shrill scream came from the pit.
Yanfei was a little scared, but she still closed her eyes and jumped down.
Itto: "Hehe, my benefactor and my best friend have gone down, so of course I can't fall behind."
Itto's legs trembled a little, but he still gritted his teeth and moved to the edge of the pit, then jumped down.
Kuki Shinobu didn't even blink and followed closely behind.
---
Player World.
: "It's pitch black, and they still dared to jump?"
: "Itto made a huge contribution this time. I didn't expect the inconspicuous Ushi to be so amazing!"
: "Yelan is really worried about Qingge; she jumped down without any hesitation."
: "Qingge, oh Qingge, please don't let anything happen to you!"
: "Haha, when Lumine jumped, she actually grabbed little Paimon in her arms. Was she trying to slow down the descent?"
: "Paimon: I finally see who you really are!"
---
"Ouch, ouch, ouch!"
Paimon covered her little head and looked at Lumine angrily: "Traveler, I wasn't even ready yet!"
Lumine: "You were in my arms the whole time, where did it hurt?"
Yanfei slowly got up, rubbing her butt: "Even with books padded underneath, it doesn't cushion the fall."
Itto seemed to be fine:
"Shinobu, my best friend, my benefactor, how are you all doing?"
Kuki Shinobu: "I'm fine."
Paimon: "Hey, big oaf, where's your ox?"
"Who are you calling an 'oaf', you flying dwarf radish? You're the oaf!"
Itto snorted. Ushi had already been recalled by him, and he had now released him again.
After coming out, Ushi wobbled forward, and Itto immediately shouted to everyone:
"Don't fall behind, hurry and keep up!"
The space below was very large, and Ushi's speed was a bit slow, so Itto simply carried him directly.
"Suddenly, I feel like 'big oaf' isn't quite as suitable for you anymore. How about I call you 'cowherd' from now on?"
"Hey, hey, hey, if you keep badmouthing me, you'll meet my iron fist!"
Paimon immediately hid behind Lumine. Although Itto was clumsy, his strength was still very strong.
Such a small Paimon, if she were hit by a punch, she would definitely cry for a long time.
Under the guidance of Itto and Ushi, everyone arrived at a corner of the wall.
"Here…"
Yelan tapped the stone wall, and the sound confirmed it was not solid.
Yanfei looked at Ushi in disbelief: "Is this little cow really that amazing? He could accurately find Qingge's location from so far away?"
"Hmph, of course, you don't even look at whose pet he is." Itto said proudly.
"But how do we get through?"
Paimon didn't bicker with Itto at this moment; finding Qingge was clearly the most important thing now.
Lumine: "I'll do it."
Lumine told everyone to step back, gathered a large amount of geo elemental power, stomped her right foot fiercely, and countless geo crystals surged from the ground, attacking the wall.
Boom—
After a loud bang, a large pit appeared on the wall, but the wall did not completely break, and Lumine was a little out of breath from the attack.
Yelan supported Lumine: "Are you alright?"
Lumine shook her head slightly and looked at Itto: "Itto, let's do it together."
To break this wall, they certainly needed Geo element. Among those present, only Itto and her were Geo elemental users.
"A mere small wall, this great lord can handle it alone."
"Boss!"
"Uh, ahem, best friend, come, let's do it together."
Lumine rested for a moment, then charged again, and the Geo crystals attacked the stone wall once more.
Itto steadily took a horse stance, unleashing a charged punch that struck the stone wall along with Lumine's attack.
A louder sound came, and the stone wall shattered in response.
Ushi wobbled in, and everyone quickly followed behind.
"Ushi says she's right ahead!"
"Is Qingge in here? How strange, how did she fall down?"
No one answered Paimon's question.
Yelan's heart was pounding very fast at this moment, and fine sweat appeared on her cold, beautiful face.
With only one step left, she became even more worried, fearing that she would rush in only to see Qingge's corpse.
After all, it had been more than ten days in this place. Although she was Mu Qingge, her chances of survival are probably slim!
Turning a corner, Yelan, who was walking at the front, immediately saw that familiar figure, the figure that had been lingering in her heart for the past ten days.
At this moment, Mu Qingge was lying quietly in a corner, her face pale.
Yelan's heart sank, and her legs trembled slightly.
"Qingge!"
Lumine and the others, who were close behind, also saw Mu Qingge lying in the corner and quickly approached her.
---
Player's Perspective.
: "Holy crap, no, my Qingge! Wife!"
: "Please don't let anything happen, please!"
: "Pale face, caused by long-term lack of nutrition. She should be unconscious. MHY wouldn't just kill off such a popular character, right?"
: "Hehe, did the person upstairs forget Mondstadt's Ruola?"
---
"Qingge, how is she?"
Paimon asked worriedly.
Yelan frowned tightly and gently placed her hand on Qingge's neck.
Upon sensing that there was still warmth and a pulse, Yelan's hanging heart finally settled.
"She should be unconscious. Who brought water?"
Kuki Shinobu immediately took out the water she carried with her. Yelan took it and gently poured it into Mu Qingge's lips, again and again.
Lumine and Yanfei also cooperated to help Mu Qingge sit up so that she could swallow the water more smoothly.
A few minutes later, Mu Qingge finally slowly opened her eyes.
"Yelan… and, you all…"
Her voice was a little hoarse and very weak.
Yelan: "Don't speak yet, get some good rest."
Yelan took out the dry rations she carried with her and then looked at Mu Qingge's lips.
Mu Qingge: ...
Mu Qingge: "You... you're not thinking of chewing it up and feeding it to me, are you? Although my condition is very bad right now, I can still eat by myself."
Having searched here with Yelan for so long, a little joke is harmless.
Besides, looking at Yelan's gaze just now...
She seemed to be genuinely considering it.
Yelan was more relieved to see that Mu Qingge still had the mind to joke.
"Drink some water first, and then eat after you've recovered…"
===
• 105 •
Lumine and Yanfei helped Qingge lean against the wall and sit down.
"Thank you, Lumine, and Yanfei."
Paimon squeezed in front of Qingge, her hands on her hips.
"Thank you, Paimon, too."
"Hehe, that's more like it."
After looking at everyone, Mu Qingge fixed her gaze on Itto and Kuki Shinobu.
"These two are..."
Paimon: "These two are friends from Inazuma. This big oaf is Arataki Itto, and the one next to him is Kuki Shinobu. They helped a lot in finding you this time."
Mu Qingge struggled to her feet. Yelan wanted to stop her, but she waved her hand.
The weakness she had shown earlier was merely a brief delay, or rather, a brief period of adjustment, after her consciousness left and returned.
"Thank you both for your help. From now on, within Liyue, if you ever need assistance, just ask."
Fearing that Itto and his group might not understand the weight of Qingge's words, Yanfei explained:
"This is a promise from the General of the Millelith, one of the Liyue Qixing's Kaiyang, so almost all your troubles in Liyue can be resolved..."
In this situation, Kuki Shinobu stepped forward: "It's alright, when you're traveling, helping each other is just common sense."
After chatting with everyone for a while, Mu Qingge took the food from Yelan's hand and slowly began to eat.
Though she wasn't hungry, her body's energy was indeed depleted, and these supplements were very necessary.
Seeing that Qingge's condition had eased, Yelan asked the question that had been puzzling her:
"Why are you here? What exactly happened after we parted ways that day?"
The place they had explored was very far from here. Even if an emergency had occurred, she shouldn't have ended up this far away.
As soon as Yelan spoke, everyone looked at Mu Qingge.
Mu Qingge instinctively scanned her surroundings. Kuki Shinobu was pulling her boss away, but Itto didn't seem to understand Shinobu's intention.
"What's wrong, Shinobu? Don't you want to know?"
Kuki Shinobu: "..."
At this moment, Qingge spoke: "Excuse me, both of you, I didn't mean that. This isn't a secret, there's no need to intentionally avoid it."
Itto understood then, but since she said it was nothing, he simply sat down and waited to hear the news.
Seeing this, Kuki Shinobu also remained standing.
"Not long after I separated from you, I encountered that monster from the Abyss..."
Mu Qingge began to recount her experiences during that time: including her battle with Malice, its elusive stealth abilities, and how she was finally careless and led into a trap, falling down here.
Yelan's face grew colder: "It really was that monster!"
Lumine and Paimon were silent at the side. Paimon was unusually quiet, unconsciously clenching her little fists.
Itto was still the same, not noticing the change in atmosphere.
"What monster? Is it very powerful?"
Inazuma had only recently lifted its Sakoku Decree, and only Kuki Shinobu knew some of what had happened in Mondstadt; she wasn't very clear on the details.
Yanfei explained to the two:
"It's a monster from the Abyss. He previously stirred up chaos in Mondstadt, resurrected an ancient dragon, attracted a large number of abyss monsters to attack Mondstadt, and even escaped when the Anemo Archon appeared. Now that guy is still the most wanted criminal on the bounty boards of Mondstadt and Liyue. Capturing it will earn you a very generous reward in both nations, regardless of whether it's dead or alive!"
Yanfei is an expert in law, so she was very clear about these matters.
"But don't think that just because the reward is high, that he is easy to deal with. It is powerful, its movements are mysterious, and it is very dangerous!"
Hiss~
Itto took a sharp breath.
"Then this 'Qingge' who can fight it for so long must also be very strong!"
Kuki Shinobu: "Boss, why are you asking that?"
Kuki Shinobu didn't understand her boss's thought process.
Qingge: "If not for the Xuanji Shield bestowed by the Geo Archon, I would probably be..."
Itto: "But the Geo Archon isn't..."
Kuki Shinobu clapped her hand over Itto's mouth and dragged him away: "Sorry, my boss and I have something we need to discuss privately."
"Mmmph, Shinobu, let go mmmph~"
Qingge gently patted Lumine's shoulder: "That monster won't escape. We'll avenge Ruola together."
Lumine looked up, her gaze firm on Qingge, then nodded vigorously.
When Kuki Shinobu and Arataki Itto returned, Itto was covering his ears, his face full of resentment.
The group chatted for a while longer, finally thinking about the problem of getting back.
Returning to the place where they had jumped down, Yanfei looked up and sighed:
"We're too far from the opening. It took us so long just to jump down; we can't see what's above at all."
Yelan also surveyed her surroundings and added: "At this distance, it seems we can't go up directly. We'll have to find another way out."
Yelan looked at the group, and just as she was about to say something, Qingge looked over and shook her head, so she said nothing more.
Qingge: "Let's split up and search first. I've already searched this space I was in, but it's possible I missed something."
Yelan: "A reminder, you can look for weak points in these rock walls. Perhaps another path can be found."
Everyone scattered to search for an exit, with Yelan and Qingge together.
After the two walked around the corner, Yelan asked:
"You seem to trust them a lot."
"You mean..."
"Those two Inazuma people."
Qingge was silent, then nodded.
"Why?"
"A hunch."
"As one of the Liyue Qixing, you still believe in such a thing?"
"My hunches have always been accurate. They've never been wrong."
"Alright..."
The group searched around and indeed found no exit in the space Qingge was in, but they did find a domain entrance in the place where Lumine and the others had fallen.
They all walked in together, and after navigating the maze inside, they emerged from the exit, only to be surprised to find themselves back where they started!
That is, the place where they had jumped down, but the large hole that should have been above them had disappeared, replaced by a solid wall.
Itto released Ushi again, asking it to find the location of an exit.
Due to Ushi's excellent performance before, everyone had high hopes for it.
But... after searching around, Ushi didn't find any exit either.
Yanfei: "How could this be?"
Kuki Shinobu: "It seems these underground structures are not as simple as we thought."
Paimon kept looking up, her voice trembling slightly: "It's all rock walls here. Could it be... could it be that we remembered wrong, and we didn't actually fall from here?"
Itto: "Hey, are you scared?"
Paimon: "I-I'm not that timid!"
"Moo~"
Itto: "Ushi also thinks you're scared. It's okay, if you're scared, just say it. We'll protect you."
Lumine walked to Paimon's side and comforted her: "Paimon, I'm here."
Qingge felt very uncomfortable: "I'm sorry, everyone. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have to be in such a dangerous place."
"What are you saying? This big guy wants to save people. Even if it's a mountain of swords or a sea of fire, I'll charge through it."
Yelan: "Don't blame yourself. For now, let's just search around here for an exit."
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