Leaving Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, Lumine and Paimon headed toward South Gate of Heaven.
Passing the Fulong Tree, a petite blue-haired figure caught their attention.
The little girl with two buns on her head stood by the Fulong Tree, staring blankly at the tree roots.
"The moon... is calling... The Usurper, seizing the throne... a terrifying black hole... cannot get close... must find a way to get humans to dig a hole..."
Lumine and Paimon exchanged glances and decided to go over and take a look.
As they approached Azhdahas Avatar, Paimon asked, "Hello, what are you doing here all by yourself?"
"Oh?" Azhdahas Avatar suddenly turned her head. "Are you here to witness the awakening of 'The One' who is the most ancient in Liyue?"
Lumine scratched her head. "Are you talking about Rex Lapis? But he's already dead."
Azhdahas Avatar's expression froze, then she suddenly looked up and laughed loudly. "Hahahaha! That damned Usurper, did he actually commit suicide before the wrath of the rock descended? Hahahaha! What a coward indeed!!!"
Lumine:...
Paimon:...
This must be a chuunibyou, just like Fischl.
The two exchanged glances, thinking it might be a child from a nearby family who ran out to play, so they shrugged and walked away.
Behind them, that Azhdahas Avatar still stood in place, wearing an arrogant expression and shouting incessantly:
"So history in the eyes of humans really only begins from the moment humans were born!"
"Is this how you seal away those dark crimes in the old world and live in peace!"
"Fine, since you prefer to indulge in hypocritical prosperity, then drown in it slowly!"
Paimon wiped the sweat from her head. "This Liyue chuunibyou is truly unique..."
"Yeah..."
However, neither of them realized that the black-energy monsters that had been breeding near the Fulong Tree when Shenhe returned to her hometown a while ago were now all gone, along with that eerie black energy.
It was as if... they had all been absorbed by some even more powerful existence.
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"Hey! How was it? How did your trip to Jueyun Karst turn out?"
As soon as she returned to Liyue, this guy Childe was already waiting for Lumine and Paimon.
Lumine told him straight out that she had notified a few adepti and that they had gone to a meeting, but she kept the information about the adepti's attitude, as well as the matters concerning Columbina and Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, hidden.
Subsequently, Childe began his classic mud-stirring, hate-shifting tactic: "In exchange for your hard work, and even meeting a few adepti that even the Fatui's intelligence center had never heard of, I have a piece of information to share with you."
"After the Rite of Descension, the Seven Stars of Liyue hid the Exuvia of Rex Lapis, and its whereabouts remain unknown to this day!"
"And they publicly claimed that they hadn't found the culprit yet, forbidding anyone from paying respects to the Exuvia, and even wanting to completely seal off the news!"
"It's just a pity that there were many tourists at the Rite of Descension, so even the Seven Stars couldn't completely stop the rumors from spreading. Heh, this reaction is truly intriguing."
Then followed some talk about how "Liyue was also built by the adepti," "Rex Lapis is the god of contracts, who made a contract with the Three-Eyed Five-Shaped Adepti to protect Liyue," and "the adepti have the qualification and responsibility to ask," which left Lumine and Paimon dumbfounded.
Soon, the two began to feel that the conflict between the adepti and humans was quite significant, right? And why did the Seven Stars seem so evil?
At this moment, the earring suddenly flickered with a faint light, and Skirk's ice-cold voice came through: "Shifting contradictions, what does Liyue's internal affairs have to do with him? Just listen to this and take it with a grain of salt."
Lumine, Paimon:...
The more Childe spoke, the more he felt something was wrong. Why did he feel like these two didn't believe him, despite all the rhetoric he had prepared for so long?
Oh no, loose lips sink ships! Childe immediately changed the subject: "Ahem! That, since you are so tired, why don't you find a place to rest first? I also need some time to prepare on my end."
Lumine looked at Childe, half-believing. "What are you preparing?"
Childe smiled upon hearing this: "Preparing to find someone!"
"Find someone who can break the deadlock and take you to see the true form of the Seven Archons!"
After the two groups parted ways, Lumine walked down the street with Paimon, both of them a bit dazed.
"Paimon, with no home to return to, where should we go to rest?"
"I don't know, how about we go to Wanmin Restaurant to get something to eat?"
"You say that, but we don't have any Mora left on us. How about we find a bridge arch to make do..."
It was at this moment that Skirk's voice, sounding like heavenly music, came through again: "The Miliastra Wonderland is fixed, you can come in now."
Lumine and Paimon's movements froze simultaneously. Their eyes widened, their pupils shrank, and they exchanged glances in disbelief, instantly tearing up.
The two quickly arrived at a small alley, and with a flash of light, they opened their eyes to find they had returned to the Miliastra Wonderland.
The two raised their hands high, looking like they had suddenly turned into a One Piece art style: "Finally home!"
"Welcome back, you look very tired. Let me help you heal!" A voice as gentle as a warm breeze came, and Hyacine walked up to the two, smiling.
Lumine and Paimon rubbed their tears excitedly, sitting on stools to accept everyone's concern, feeding, and water.
Children, home is still the most comfortable place after all!!!
When their physical strength recovered and their spirits were no longer weary, Lumine finally looked at Hyacine on the side.
"Eh? Barbara, why did you dye your hair?"
Hyacine: (╬ ^ _ ^) ｺ ﾞ
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Deep in the desert, Miss Jahoda, whose throat was dry and who had lost her way, was rolling her eyes and walking with difficulty under the sun.
"Not good... fell into a hallucination... seems to have heard other people's voices..."
"Something like 'I say life is fragile as a spider's thread, Nilou?'"
"And something like 'What are you mumbling about, go talk to my fully charged six-beans'..."
"What does all this mean?"
Jahoda felt that if nothing unexpected happened, she was probably going to have an accident.
She was currently standing on a relatively high small sand dune, and the surrounding scenery, how should I put it, except for the Mausoleum of King Deshret that felt the same size no matter how far she walked, the rest of the place was like: Kaiya looking through a telescope — seeing a thousand miles.
All sand, not a single other thing.
Look at herself again? Look at her water bag, it can be said to be: Kaiya looking down — seeing the bottom at a glance.
However, just at this moment, in a trance, she actually saw a purple figure setting up a stall to sell things next to some ruins in the distance!
Jahoda walked over with the idea that even if it were a mirage, she could rest in the shade for a while, not expecting that someone was really setting up a stall!
And the person setting up the stall was not simple. Since she dared to sell things in the desert, it was naturally like: Kaiya learning knowledge — having a discerning eye. She could see exactly what the blonde girl in front of her was missing and what she needed, it could be said to be: Kaiya looking at the answer — seeing it at a glance!
"Oh my, oh my~ Is this a traveler lost in the desert? Why not take a look at Lord Sangemah Bay's stall? There are route maps to get out of the desert, compasses, and treasure-seeking compasses here, oh?"
"Eh, guess what? If you buy all three together, not only can you get a 10% discount, but you can also get a free bottle of water, oh!"
Jahoda's face gradually turned from pale to rosy, and finally, she was flushed with excitement!
"I'll buy it!"
Time approached night, and although Jahoda had finished the water, she successfully found an oasis with the map, got new water there, and found some dates to eat.
Thinking of Lord Sangemah Bay she met in the morning, although her three-piece set was more than dozens of times more expensive than the market price, consuming two-thirds of her savings in one go, it had truly saved her life.
Jahoda put away the water and food, crawled into the tent, and closed her eyes, with hot tears streaming down the corners of her eyes.
"There are still many good people in the world!"
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