Under A-Zhi's hospitality, Stelle and Yan'er had a simple breakfast, then packed up, and together they headed west of Qingce Village.
To the west, there was a not-so-tall mountain peak that Stelle and Yan'er had seen when they arrived, but they had never gone that way.
A-Zhi, however, was very familiar with the place because she had gone there more than once to collect herbs.
She just hadn't gone to the very top much.
So she walked in front, leading the way for the two of them.
The whole journey was normal, but for some reason, Stelle always felt the atmosphere was a bit dull.
Neither of them actively spoke much, just silently walked with their heads down, which made Stelle very confused.
"I say, what's wrong with you two? Why are you both so gloomy?"
Stelle finally couldn't hold back and asked them during a rest.
"Ah? Is, is there? I don't feel it."
Yan'er glanced at Stelle, then quickly shifted his gaze away.
He looked a bit guilty, which made Stelle even more puzzled.
She then turned her head to look at A-Zhi.
"Uh, I, I'm not good at chatting with people..."
A-Zhi rubbed her head and, like Yan'er, shifted her gaze away.
...
Stelle's mouth twitched; she didn't believe A-Zhi's words at all.
Besides, wasn't it A-Zhi who initiated the conversation with her yesterday?
If she wasn't good at chatting with people, how could they have chatted for so long yesterday?
Stelle felt that these two were probably hiding something from her.
But what could they not let her know... Wait a minute?
Stelle slowly reached out and touched her lips.
Recalling the strange dream she had yesterday, and then the sweetness in her mouth this morning.
Could they have done something strange to her last night?
Stelle's expression suddenly became complicated.
She had been so careful yesterday, staying up very late.
And yet, they still managed to get to her?
Stelle silently thought back, and she also stopped talking, making the atmosphere even more somber.
After an unknown amount of time, they finally ended this strange atmosphere and got up to continue walking towards the mountaintop.
There was a house on this mountaintop, and there was also a small path leading to it, plus the mountain itself wasn't very high, so the journey was very easy for the three of them.
"Is someone living here?"
Stelle looked at the building not far ahead and asked A-Zhi curiously.
"No, these buildings are very old, and I don't know when they were built."
A-Zhi shook her head, "It seems something was worshipped here before; for specifics, you might need to ask Grandma Ruoxin."
"I see."
Stelle nodded.
Soon, the few of them arrived at the mountaintop.
And just as Grandma Ruoxin had said before, there were many suppression stones here, also known as the 'rock statue.'
Moreover, there was a circular protrusion on the ground in the middle, emitting a white light, exactly like what Stelle and Yan'er had seen in the ruins before.
The placement of these rock statues seemed very specific; it looked like this place, unlike the ruins, definitely had someone specially placing the rock statues here.
"It seems we didn't come to the wrong place... Alright, let's get to work!"
Yan'er said somewhat excitedly, then quickly went to the rock statue, intending to light them one by one.
However, just after lighting two, when he was about to light the third, all the rock statues suddenly went out.
"Eh? What's going on??"
Yan'er looked back in surprise.
"Don't worry, maybe there's a specific order to lighting these stones."
Stelle stepped forward and looked carefully.
She couldn't say she had much experience in this, but she had heard Lumine talk about some of their previous adventure experiences.
This kind of mechanism puzzle was very common.
There should be some hints nearby.
Thinking this, Stelle carefully surveyed her surroundings.
After much thought, Stelle finally focused her gaze on the circular stone on the ground.
"Are there words on this?"
A-Zhi also walked over and said, looking at the stone on the ground.
She only knew that there were rock statues and some buildings here, but she had never really come here.
So, facing these, she was also very curious.
"Yan'er, can you tell what's written on this?"
Stelle couldn't help but ask Yan'er.
"Let me see, let me see... Hmm, 'The Emperor subdued Chi, but his body was not completely dead, so he was gradually suppressed, his spirit bound to the north, his bones nailed to the southeast, his body locked to the northwest, his soul tied to the northeast, and his form pressed to the southwest...'"
"Oh? North, southeast, northwest, northeast, southwest... This should be the order, right?"
Upon hearing this, Stelle immediately grasped the key points.
Yan'er, hearing Stelle say this, quickly lit the rock statues one by one according to the order.
Sure enough, a treasure chest suddenly appeared on a platform not far away.
"It's a treasure chest!"
Yan'er immediately became happy and ran over impatiently.
Unfortunately, there were still no treasures inside, but a stone piece of the same shape as the one obtained in the ruins before.
"Is this another fragment?"
Stelle and A-Zhi also walked over and asked, seeing what was in Yan'er's hand.
"It seems we still need to go to the next location."
Yan'er sighed helplessly.
It seemed that getting the treasure wasn't so easy.
"But where is the next location?"
"Didn't Grandma Ruoxin say before that we should look in a high place?"
Stelle recalled the hint Grandma Ruoxin had given yesterday.
"High place..."
A-Zhi also began to ponder; as a local who was very familiar with the nearby mountains, her advice was undoubtedly the most useful.
"Speaking of high places, look over there."
After a long time, A-Zhi finally had some thoughts.
She pointed to the south, and Stelle and Yan'er both looked over.
There, a towering mountain peak pierced straight into the clouds.
"The highest place near Qingce Village should be there."
"This is too high..."
Stelle couldn't help but complain; climbing this place would be exhausting.
It was more than just a little higher than this small mountain.
"It looks high, but it's not short at all."
A-Zhi nodded and said a meaningless sentence.
"However, I know a shortcut. If we set off now, we should still be able to reach the summit during the day and return before nightfall."
After all, their current location was relatively close to there.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"
Yan'er said impatiently, then took the lead and walked out.
Stelle and A-Zhi exchanged glances and could only helplessly quicken their pace to follow.
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