• 106 •
Qingge and Yelan continued to investigate the surroundings, while Lumine, Paimon, and the others grouped together.
After some time, everyone gathered.
Yelan: "We couldn't find anything on our side, what about you?"
Itto: "This damned place is really strange; we can't even find a single abnormal spot."
Yanfei: "Sorry, we didn't find anything on our side either."
Everyone fell silent.
Yelan: "I regret to inform everyone of some bad news. It's very likely that we will be stuck here for a long time, until we find an exit."
"Qingge, you should rest well; you don't need to follow me."
After speaking, Yelan left on her own, continuing to search for clues elsewhere.
Mu Qingge found a spot and sat down.
Kuki Shinobu gathered a pile of branches, started a fire in the corner, and took out a few Lavender Melons she had brought with her.
Lumine approached: "Shinobu, are you roasting Lavender Melon?"
"Mm, roasted Lavender Melon is delicious, you should try it too. Although it's not as good as my sister's cooking, it's still quite good."
Paimon also gathered around, and seeing food, she immediately said to Lumine:
"Lumine, where's the delicious food we brought for Qingge? Now's a good time to roast it; it tastes better when it's hot!"
Lumine took out a meat pie; the meat pie was indeed a bit cold.
Lumine used a branch to prop the meat pie near the fire to heat it, while Paimon waved her small hands and shouted towards Mu Qingge:
"Qingge, come quickly, over here!"
Qingge opened her eyes and came to the fire.
Paimon excitedly pointed at the meat pie she had been craving for a long time: "Look, this is a delicacy Lumine and I brought for you from Inazuma; it's incredibly delicious!"
Lumine: "That's right, if I hadn't been watching, a certain someone would have secretly eaten it long ago; there's no way it would have lasted until now."
Paimon was embarrassed.
"No way..."
After speaking, Paimon glared at Lumine indignantly.
Lumine smiled; teasing Paimon when bored to lighten the mood was quite nice.
Itto also looked at the pie, not because he was craving it, but because when they arrived, Yunling had also prepared a lot for him and Shinobu.
Although they were all the same kind of pie he had eaten them for several days, he didn't get tired of them at all.
However, their portion had already been eaten on the ship.
He missed Yunling so much, he wanted to leave this damned place!
Qingge looked at little Paimon in surprise:
"Is this for me?"
"Uh-huh, this is made by the most famous chef in Inazuma, Kuki Yunling, who is Shinobu's biological sister. It's super delicious~"
Qingge took the meat pie Lumine handed her and took a bite.
"How is it?"
Paimon had been paying attention to Qingge's expression.
"Mm, very good!"
Qingge's face showed satisfaction, and Paimon also smiled. When a delicacy she approved of received affirmation from others, she was also very excited.
This pie was not small, so Qingge tore it apart and shared it with everyone.
Kuki Shinobu: "My boss and I have eaten a lot; we'll eat roasted Lavender Melon later, so you don't need to share with us."
Itto: "Shinobu is right."
Lumine also refused; she and Itto would eat roasted Lavender Melons together.
This pie was ultimately only shared with Yanfei, Paimon, and the absent Yelan.
"Wow, it's so delicious!"
Yanfei hadn't expected such an ordinary pie to be so tasty.
"Paimon, this is for you too."
Qingge gave Paimon some more. In the later part of the story where she (Paimon) loses her perception of time, only she felt several months pass, while others only felt at most a week; she was truly pitiful.
After the few rested, Qingge went to find Yelan.
"Didn't I tell you to rest well?"
"I rested. I'm just here to bring you food."
Handing the pie to Yelan, Qingge continued: "Try it, it's very delicious."
Yelan took the pie and went elsewhere: "Listen to me, go back and rest; leave the clue-finding to me."
Shaking her head helplessly, Qingge ultimately went back to rest.
---
After an unknown amount of time.
Paimon was spinning in circles, occasionally coming over to look at Lumine, then going back to spin in circles.
Soon, led by Paimon, everyone seemed to discover the strange phenomenon of different perceptions of time, and ever since eating that pie, no one had felt hungry, not even Paimon, who was usually very gluttonous, had said she was hungry.
Moreover, Paimon had felt a full several months pass.
The extremely realistic graphics and the atmosphere created also made the players experiencing this segment of the story feel a chill down their spines again.
Many even began to think that having too good game graphics wasn't entirely a good thing.
---
When everyone was at a loss, good news came from Yelan's side.
"Everyone, I just discovered a new path over there; it seems to connect to an unknown area."
"A new path?"
Itto: "Is it an exit? That's great!"
Paimon was very excited: "An exit, an exit, have we finally found an exit?"
Kuki Shinobu: "I have a feeling it's not that simple; it's better if we're all careful."
Mu Qingge roughly knew the subsequent plot, but she wasn't too clear. Her main consciousness was still stuck in the Domain, so it couldn't give her too many hints.
Yelan broke through the stone wall formed by the illusion, immediately revealing a new path before everyone.
Everyone cautiously moved forward and discovered another Domain at the very end.
There was no second choice; everyone entered together.
The Domain was slightly complex, but it was no problem at all for Mu Qingge.
Not to mention she was already proficient in various types of knowledge, the experience from her main consciousness's numerous trial-and-error attempts was enough for her to use.
"Wow, Qingge, you're so amazing! I thought Lumine was already first in terms of puzzle-solving, but I didn't expect her to still fall short compared to you!"
Lumine: "Paimon, you can praise her all you want, but why do you have to put me down at the same time?"
"Hehe, aren't I praising you too..."
Qingge seemed to have discovered something here; listening closely, it sounded like fighting.
"Xiao?"
Lumine was the first to recognize Xiao's voice.
Yelan: "Conqueror of Demons? So he's here!"
Qingge: "This seems to be just a projection. It appears he must have encountered trouble."
Xiao still hadn't appeared before them, and he didn't even know they were here. Mu Qingge had a guess in her heart.
It was probably a significant matter caused by the malicious entity here, which might have indirectly intensified Xiao's difficulties, preventing him from having time to spare.
Tsk, it's all that Malice's fault!
Just then, a spatial rift appeared on the platform, and Xiao's figure emerged from it.
"Xiao!"
"Conqueror of Demons!"
Paimon wanted to touch him but found that it was just a shadow.
Xiao also seemed to sense the commotion here: "You are..."
Lumine: "We have Yelan, Yanfei, Qingge, and two friends from Inazuma here. We came to rescue Qingge, but we got trapped here. Xiao, how are you? You seem to be injured!"
Xiao's voice was a bit weak: "Qingge, is she okay? That's great. Sorry, I here... failed to live up to the Geo Archon's trust..."
The voice from his side was intermittent, making the people on this side very anxious.
"You, leave quickly, this space, something's wrong... It seems to be..."
Xiao's words were cut short as the spatial rift abruptly closed.
===
• 107 •
"Xiao, you're still injured!"
Lumine's words went unanswered, as the connection with Xiao had already been severed.
Itto suddenly exclaimed, "He's so seriously injured himself, yet he's still worried about our safety. This guy is good, he's a match for me."
"Hmph, you cattle herder, how can you be so thick-skinned!"
"Hey, you shorty, I told you... uh, never mind. You can just call me cattle herder instead of big oaf."
Itto, for once, didn't retort.
Qingge looked at the large pit below the platform. "We have to jump down from here."
Itto: "Jump again!?"
After jumping down from such a height before, Itto had developed a phobia, even though he hadn't been injured.
"Boss, if you don't want to jump, then you'll have to stay here alone."
"Hey, hey, hey, I'll jump, alright."
After jumping down from the platform, Itto clutched his backside, wanting to yell but too embarrassed.
Little Paimon giggled beside him, her infectious laughter even making Qingge want to smile.
After their laughter subsided, everyone's attention shifted to the space around them.
"Xiao doesn't seem to be here. Instead..."
Paimon: "There's a door in a place like this?"
"It's that kind of, that kind of small wooden house, right? I read in a picture book that kind people build small houses in dangerous places, so people in trouble can rest inside."
Qingge and Yelan exchanged glances. Although this place couldn't possibly be as Itto described, the fact that he could think of such a thing showed he wasn't ill-intentioned.
"The guy must be inside, don't you think?"
Itto turned to ask for everyone's opinion, but only Little Paimon chimed in, "That's right!"
Kuki Shinobu: "No, anyone with a sense of danger wouldn't be so optimistic."
Paimon: "Cattle herder, your subordinate is scolding you."
Itto: "She's scolding you too, what are you so happy about?"
After speaking, Itto turned to Kuki Shinobu again and said, "Ah, Shinobu, this is where you're not as good as this great boss, understand? Everyone's afraid to open it, so I'll do it!"
As he walked towards the door, Itto thought to himself: if Yunling were here, she would surely open it earlier than he would; that girl is incredibly brave.
Itto first punched the door, causing the ground to shake instantly, but the door remained firm.
It was then that he noticed the mechanism beside it, and he nonchalantly placed his hand on it.
With a grinding sound, the door slowly opened.
Mu Qingge clearly saw that behind the door was the interior of an ordinary Inazuman house, with only a table in the center of the room. On the table were two plates filled with beans.
The moment he saw the beans, Itto's pupils contracted sharply.
He cautiously walked through the door. As Itto looked around, a person suddenly appeared behind him, shouting, "Evil spirits begone, evil spirits begone."
Itto screamed and ran out.
Yanfei: "Am I seeing things? Was there someone inside the door?"
Itto: "No way, d-did you see wrong?"
Paimon suggested opening it again. Although Itto was scared, for the sake of his dignity, he steeled himself and went in.
This time, everyone saw clearly that there were indeed people inside the door, all holding bowls filled with beans.
Kuki Shinobu explained:
"People throw beans to drive out oni. Boss is an oni, so they throw beans at him to get rid of him."
By this time, Itto had already run out screaming.
"That's too terrifying! How can there be Inazumans in a place like this?"
Yanfei asked in confusion, "Calm down, aren't you an Inazuman too?"
Itto: "I'm an Inazuman oni, not a human!"
Kuki Shinobu: "The question is, how can there be Inazumans here? Does this place lead to Inazuma?"
Qingge: "I have a theory, but at least one more person needs to go in and try."
Itto first stated that he had already been in, then scanned the crowd, finally stopping his gaze on Paimon.
"Flying shorty, you go!"
"No, I don't want to, I won't go, I, I'm scared!"
Paimon hid behind Lumine.
"I'll go."
Kuki Shinobu volunteered.
When she opened the door, a green-haired woman appeared, who was Kuki Shinobu's mother.
"Shinobu, I found you a job as a Shrine Maiden. You must go, it's much better than..."
Kuki Shinobu: "..."
She quickly retreated, feeling a headache coming on.
"Who was inside?"
"It was my mother's voice. She always wanted me to be a Shrine Maiden at Grand Narukami Shrine, which is why I ran off to Liyue to study."
Lumine and Paimon nodded slightly. They knew from their time in Inazuma that both Kuki Shinobu and Kuki Yunling disliked being Shrine Maidens.
Qingge: "Everyone, I think I understand. No matter who enters this door, what appears behind it will be what that person fears."
"What they fear?"
Qingge: "Yes, that should be it. Does anyone else want to try?"
This time, Yanfei went. Inside the door, she encountered trivial matters and neighborhood disputes, which, for her, were extremely vexing.
Lumine also tried. She saw a pitch-black abyss, the abyss that took away her brother and her best friend!
Finally, Lumine emerged from behind the others, gritting her teeth when talking about what she encountered behind the door.
Lumine utterly hated the Abyss!
There was no way Yelan would go; her job was too specialized. Qingge, however, was different.
"You're going in?"
Noticing Mu Qingge's movement, Yelan frowned.
"I also want to know what I truly fear."
Yelan wanted to say that her status was not suitable, but remembering her trust in those around her and her own strong will, she let go of Qingge and no longer interfered.
Qingge slowly approached the door.
Not only the people present, but the players were also watching all of this.
Everyone was curious about what the famous Kaiyang Star truly feared.
When the door opened, it wasn't a single place inside, but various places rapidly changing.
It was like a movie flashing frame by frame.
The flashing images showed battlefields shrouded in smoke, and upon closer inspection, every scene was clearly Liyue.
Liyue Harbor, Dihua Marsh, The Chasm... every battlefield was incredibly brutal, with the Millelith fighting countless Abyss monsters, constantly retreating.
Especially Liyue Harbor, where countless Liyue citizens were massacred. This was clearly a scene after Liyue had fallen.
Seeing all this, Qingge, despite knowing it was fake, clenched her hands tightly, her knuckles turning white.
Outside, Yanfei and Yelan were the most empathetic. Yelan even saw people she knew among the dead.
"No, quickly pull her out!"
Yelan noticed that Qingge's state was very wrong and immediately rushed forward to pull her out.
"Are you alright?"
Qingge: "...No..."
"How could this happen? It's too terrifying!"
Paimon's little face was pale with fright from the scene she had just witnessed.
===
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