Yan'er's thoughts didn't escape Stelle's notice, or rather, Stelle had been wary of her from the very beginning.
Even Precious Baby had tried to ambush her when she wasn't paying attention, let alone the true "Nan Changjie" Yan'er.
The Treasure Hoarders were ruthless, and a figure like Yan'er, their Da Jie Tou, was probably even more so.
Even if she wouldn't strike hard due to her own constitution, it was highly possible she would capture her and make her a Star-level laborer.
So, seeing Yan'er's thoughtful expression, Stelle secretly raised her guard.
Later, it was still uncertain who would become whose Star-level laborer.
"Let's go take a look quickly, didn't you say there were clues there?" Stelle retracted her thoughts, then smiled and said to Yan'er.
"Mhm, mhm, let's go." Yan'er also nodded, completely unaware that Stelle had already guessed about seventy to eighty percent of what she was thinking.
The two walked together to the spot where the Ruin Hunter had been guarding. There was a strange protrusion there, covered with complex patterns, and emitting a white light.
"What is this thing?" Stelle curiously looked at the glowing stone beneath her feet; it seemed to vaguely reveal some text.
"Let me see..." Yan'er was not a real scholar after all, so of course she didn't know the specific name of this thing.
But she could vaguely make out the characters written on it.
"It says: 'Qingce is now without Chi, and the wondrous method of binding dragons is also useless... However, the Chi's body is not dead, its blood congeals into the earth, forming stones, polluting the world, thus it is suppressed by statues, with a count of three.'" Precious Baby softly read out the three sentences; the meaning of these words was still a bit difficult to understand.
"Liyue's legends are truly obscure," Stelle couldn't help but say.
"It says 'its blood congeals into the earth, forming stones... thus it is suppressed by statues, with a count of three'. Could this be referring to some strange stones?" Yan'er slowly stood up and looked around.
"You come and help me look too, maybe we can find some clues."
"Uh..." Stelle was slightly stunned at her words, deliberated for a moment, and finally nodded.
Originally, she should have just captured Yan'er and been done with it. After the recent encounter, she had confirmed that Yan'er hadn't yet obtained any artifacts, and there seemed to be no other Treasure Hoarders nearby.
Given that, she could just take Yan'er back to the Serenitea Pot and throw her into that small dark room.
But, after looking at the words on the ground, Stelle also became somewhat interested in this 'Chi' corpse.
Might as well help her look. Yan'er was right beside her anyway; she could capture her whenever she wanted.
Subsequently, Stelle and Yan'er separated, searching everywhere to see if they could find the stones described in the text.
Although the location of the stones was not specified, after a careful search by both of them, they quickly made a discovery.
"Could this be the suppression stone mentioned in that text just now?" Stelle asked, looking at the small stone statue that resembled a dragon's head.
"I found two others just now; this should be the last one," Yan'er said as she walked towards the stone statue.
She reached out and touched the top of the statue, and the statue immediately lit up.
Its eyes and the horns on its head emitted a yellow light.
It was at the moment the statue lit up that a large number of Slimes appeared around them, seemingly out of nowhere, surrounding the two of them.
"This is truly..." Stelle pulled out her baseball bat, looking at the Slimes in front of her, feeling slightly strange.
If they were meant to protect this suppression stone, Slimes seemed a bit too weak, didn't they?
A moment later, the Slimes were cleared, and Stelle and Yan'er returned to the bottom of the ruins together.
A treasure chest had appeared there at some point.
"It seems this is the treasure we received for activating those rock statues."
A wide smile appeared on Yan'er's face as he quickly walked towards the treasure chest.
Stelle also quickly followed.
This suddenly appearing treasure chest was a bit strange, but Stelle didn't think too much about it.
She wondered what was inside; if it was some ancient artifact, Stelle would have to remember it well, so that when Yan'er was caught, it could be returned to the Liyue authorities.
Yan'er excitedly opened the treasure chest, but the contents were not quite what he had imagined.
His expression immediately turned peculiar.
"What is this thing?"
Stelle curiously looked at the crescent-shaped, fragment-like object in Yan'er's hand.
There seemed to be some drawings on it.
"I don't know either..."
Yan'er looked at the object in his hand, puzzled.
Was this a drawing, text, or some kind of inscription?
He was not a true scholar, after all, and had no understanding of this item.
However, since it was found in the ruins, it should at least fetch a good price.
But judging by the shape of this thing, there should be at least two more corresponding pieces.
He couldn't rush to sell it, and besides, his true goal had not yet been achieved.
"I think the locals might know something; this legend, after all, originated from here."
Yan'er put the item away and said to Stelle.
"So I plan to go to Qingce Village, and you should come with me."
"We agreed before, once we find the corpse of the [Chi], I'll split the bounty with you."
Yan'er continued to paint a grand picture for Stelle, but even without this incentive, Stelle would continue to follow him.
After all, Stelle didn't care about the corpse of the [Chi]; she cared more about Yan'er's body...
"Do you think this thing is related to the [Chi] you're looking for?"
Stelle decided to play hard to get; after all, agreeing too readily might make Yan'er suspicious.
"Of course it's related! Didn't you see the text just now? The [Chi] was mentioned at the top."
Yan'er quickly said.
"Hmm... I'll think about it."
Stelle pondered for a moment, then said.
"What more is there to consider? I've already promised to help you get revenge. As an Adventurer, aren't you interested in this matter?"
Yan'er quickly asked.
"But my time is also very precious..."
Stelle feigned a troubled expression.
Seeing this, Yan'er frowned slightly, considering how to persuade Stelle.
On one hand, he was very interested in Stelle, and on the other hand, she was skilled in combat and could protect him during this investigation.
Most importantly, Stelle had seen his face. Although her identity was currently unknown, she was an outsider, and Stelle could not be allowed to leave so easily.
Even if he didn't kill her, he should at least tie her up and bring her to the Treasure Hoarders to be his slave...
"Forget it, I'm not at ease letting you go alone, so I'll accompany you."
Stelle "thought" for a long time, finally saying with reluctance.
Yan'er also breathed a sigh of relief, a happy smile appearing on his face.
The two then packed up their things and headed towards Qingce Village.
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