Chapter 125: The Tiger Talisman Split in Two
"March!" Stelle's voice was sharp with panic. She scrambled to her feet, a clumsy tangle of limbs, and was the first to rush to March 7th's side.
Dan Heng was just as fast. With a flicker of movement, he was already kneeling beside March, his usually placid face drawn taut. He took a sharp, steadying breath, forcing the cold calm of a warrior to settle over him.
Sunday followed closely behind, maintaining a careful distance. His gaze swept the surroundings, sharp and alert, as he fell back into his role as a vigilant guardian.
"Dan Heng! March, she…" Stelle stared at March 7th's tightly shut eyes, her voice trembling. She instinctively reached out to shake her friend, but Dan Heng's hand shot out, stopping her.
"Don't move her!" His voice was low but carried an authority that cut through the chaos.
Though the most refined medical arts of the Vidyadhara legacy were concentrated within Bailu, Dan Heng's long life and vast experiences had left him with more than a passing knowledge of medicine. He extended three fingers, placing them gently on March 7th's wrist, and closed his eyes, concentrating on the subtle rhythm of her pulse.
At the same time, he issued a rapid series of commands. "Stelle, contact Pom-Pom immediately. Report the situation and request a complete scan of the Astral Express, inside and out. Confirm if the threat has been eliminated! Notify Welt and Himeko! Sunday, continue to watch our perimeter. Prevent a second attack!"
"Got it!" Stelle immediately pulled out her phone. Her fingers trembled as she handled the screen, her voice tight with urgency as she relayed the situation to Pom-Pom, Welt, and Himeko.
"Understood," Sunday affirmed with a slight nod, his posture unwavering.
Fortunately, the second wave of attack they braced for never came.
The carriage fell into a tense silence, broken only by Stelle's anxious voice on the phone, the crackle of Pom-Pom's nervous reply over the intercom, and the faint, hurried footsteps of Himeko and Welt approaching from the distance.
Dan Heng's brow was furrowed in concentration, but the steady, if weak, pulse beneath his fingertips eased some of the crushing pressure in his chest. The rhythm indicated that her physical body was unharmed. Though her life force felt faint and disordered, her foundation was stable, and the circulation of her qi and blood showed no fatal obstructions. It was more like a protective coma, triggered by a severe shock to her mind or spirit.
"How is she?" Welt and Himeko arrived almost at the same moment. Welt's cane tapped against the floor, clearing away scattered debris, as Himeko hurried forward, her expression etched with worry.
Dan Heng withdrew his hand. "Her pulse indicates that her body is fine," he said in a deep, measured tone. "It seems to be a temporary syncope caused by an intense mental shock." He added a cautious amendment, "But the specific cause is unknown. We'll need to observe her."
Hearing Dan Heng's diagnosis, the taut nerves of everyone present relaxed a fraction.
Stelle let out a long, shuddering breath, patting her chest as the feeling of helpless panic finally began to recede. "You scared me to death… It's good that she's okay, it's good that she's okay…"
Just then, however, her gaze fell upon March 7th's tightly clenched left hand. It was balled into such a tight fist that her knuckles had gone white with the effort, as if she were desperately clutching something in her palm.
"Huh? What's March holding?" Stelle asked, her curiosity piqued. She crouched down and gently, carefully pried open March's fingers. A small talisman lay in her palm.
It was the very Tiger Talisman they had borrowed from Zhongli.
But now, the ancient artifact, which had once flowed with a harmonious blend of black and white energy, was broken clean in half, snapped directly through its center. It was no longer a single, unified whole, but two distinct pieces—one pure black, one stark white, each radiating a completely opposite aura. The break was flawlessly smooth, as if severed by some absolute, unseen force.
"Ah?!" Stelle's eyes widened in astonishment. She picked up the two halves of the talisman, her face a mask of disbelief.
"This… isn't this the Tiger Talisman Mr. Zhongli lent March? How… how did it split in two?" She turned the pieces over and over in her hands, trying to fit them back together, but they refused to join.
An absurd thought popped into her head. 'Is March that strong? Did she just break a talisman from the chat group? Or… is the group shop selling fakes?'
Dan Heng's gaze was also fixed on the two halves of the talisman, his brows knitting together once more. This wasn't damage from external pressure, nor could it be a shoddy product. They had all personally experienced the deep efficacy of items from the chat group's store.
The break itself was deeply strange. A blurry but astonishing guess was beginning to form in his mind, but he needed verification.
"This is peculiar. It's likely related to the talisman's inherent properties," Dan Heng decided, his voice firm. He decisively pulled up the chat group interface, found Zhongli's avatar, and began to type.
[The Stellaron Hunters · Dan Heng]: @Genshin Impact · Zhongli Mr. Zhongli, my apologies for the intrusion. The Tiger Talisman that March 7th borrowed from you… after we encountered an unknown attack just now, we found that the talisman has broken in half. March 7th has also fallen into a coma, though her body appears unharmed.
[The Stellaron Hunters · Dan Heng]: May I ask if this talisman has any other crucial functions besides balancing mixed energies? Does its breakage signify some kind of anomaly? The situation is urgent; your clarification would be greatly appreciated.
As the message sent, the carriage fell silent again. Everyone held their breath, waiting. Stelle stared nervously at the two halves of the talisman, Welt pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose with a heavy gaze, and Himeko gently took March 7th's other hand in her own.
Almost the instant Dan Heng's message appeared, Zhongli's reply materialized in the chat. The speed of his response made it clear that he, too, understood the gravity of the situation.
[Genshin Impact · Zhongli]: @The Stellaron Hunters · Dan Heng The core function of the Tiger Talisman is indeed "harmony," to sort heterogeneous energies and bring them into balance. However, the chat group once included an additional prompt: This talisman contains the wondrous ability to "distinguish Yin and Yang."
[Genshin Impact · Zhongli]: All things in existence have two sides, Yin and Yang. Humans are no exception. If the wielder of the talisman is impacted by a specific external force, it is possible to temporarily separate the "Yang aspect" and "Yin aspect" of that person. To reunite them, the two separated parts of the individual must each hold their respective half of the broken talisman—the Yin and the Yang—and join their palms together.
Zhongli's reply landed with the force of a revelation, instantly dispelling the fog in Dan Heng's mind.
"So that's it!" Dan Heng looked up abruptly, a flash of understanding in his eyes that was quickly overshadowed by a heavy solemnity.
His voice carried an unmatched seriousness. "What Mr. Zhongli said confirms my speculation. The target of that mysterious force was March! When the attack hit, she was holding this Tiger Talisman. The impact of that power, combined with the talisman's unique properties, forcibly separated March… into two parts! What we see before us is only one of them!"
"Separated… into two parts?!" Stelle exclaimed, looking from the unconscious March 7th to the broken talisman in her hand, her brain struggling to keep up. "Like… like a clone technique from the Xianzhou legends? Or multiple personality disorder?"
"The nature might be similar, but the situation was likely far more dangerous," Dan Heng said grimly. "The Tiger Talisman separated the very Yin and Yang aspects that constitute a person's existence. It's a separation on a fundamental level. If March hadn't been holding this talisman at that exact moment, that force wouldn't have just separated her. It would have directly… taken her away!"
The chilling implication in his tone sent a shiver through the room. They had only just arrived in the Amphoreus star system, not even having set foot on a planet, and the Astral Express crew had nearly lost a member.
Welt's cane struck the ground with a heavy, dull thud. His gaze, from behind his lenses, was as sharp as a blade. "So, you're saying March 7th's other half was likely taken by that force?"
"Highly likely," Dan Heng affirmed. "That power retreated the instant it tore through our shield. Its target was clear, its actions swift. It was clearly premeditated. Taking the other half of March was its objective!"
Himeko took a deep breath. She crouched down, gently brushing a stray strand of pink hair from March 7th's forehead. Then she stood, her gaze sweeping over everyone, her voice ringing with resolve.
"Amphoreus is right there. The trailblazing mission can wait. Finding March's missing half is now our top priority! She is our companion, and we will not lose her!"
Stelle nodded vigorously, clenching her fists. The excitement she'd felt for exploring an unknown world had been completely replaced by fierce worry for her friend. "Right! We save March first! Finding her other half is the most important thing!"
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