After walking for quite a while, the four of them arrived at a hillside.
Below the slope stood a large courtyard surrounded by a broken wooden fence.
An abandoned well, a yard overgrown with weeds, and collapsed houses.
Looking at the clearly deserted place below, Qiu Nian slightly frowned.
"Miss Qinglan, is this the home of the childhood friend you mentioned?"
Qiu Nian asked.
At this moment, Lumine and Paimon had also caught up to him.
Qinglan nodded.
But in her eyes, the place below was clearly not a ruined courtyard.
Instead, it was a newly built and spacious residence—no weeds, everything clean and orderly.
There were even two bodyguards, a man and a woman, standing in front of the gate.
Hearing this, Lumine and Paimon felt something was very strange.
"In a moment, Miss Qinglan and I will walk to the gate."
"You two take the chance to investigate this abandoned courtyard."
"I'll temporarily make your perception the same as Miss Qinglan's."
At that moment, Qiu Nian's voice sounded inside their minds.
Lumine and Paimon were stunned.
A flash of light passed before their eyes, and the scene below suddenly changed.
The abandoned courtyard and collapsed houses restored themselves.
The weeds disappeared.
Even two guards appeared standing watch at the entrance.
Looking at the newly restored courtyard, Lumine and Paimon were shocked.
But remembering that Qiu Nian was a god, they quickly accepted it.
"So this is what Qinglan sees?"
"That's honestly terrifying!"
Xuehua was stunned by the unbelievable sight.
"Miss Qinglan, shall we walk toward the gate?"
Qiu Nian suggested while looking at the "gate" that no longer truly existed.
Qinglan nodded and walked down the slope with him.
Watching their backs disappear into the distance—
Lumine jumped down the hillside and landed behind the abandoned courtyard.
Paimon quickly followed.
After sneaking into the house, they discovered something surprising.
There was nothing inside.
Nothing at all.
The place was literally an empty house.
After confirming this, they climbed back out and followed behind Qinglan and Qiu Nian.
Meanwhile, Qiu Nian and Qinglan casually walked past the gate as if they were merely passing by.
But suddenly, Qinglan stopped.
"This is my own matter."
"I should decide it myself."
She frowned at the empty space before her.
At that moment, Qiu Nian closed his eyes briefly.
When he opened them again—
he saw the male and female bodyguards standing at the gate, staring at Qinglan.
"Decide for yourself?"
"Qinglan, what do you mean by that?"
The female guard asked coldly.
"The marriage is already arranged by your parents."
"The wedding will take place in half a month."
"And yet you're running around with some pretty-boy?"
"What do you expect the young master to think?"
"Then why can't I meet this childhood friend first?"
"We haven't seen each other for more than ten years!"
"Shouldn't I at least know what kind of person he has become?"
Qinglan asked, confused.
"If I can only meet him on the wedding day…"
"I'm sorry, but I cannot accept that."
She placed one hand over her chest, her tone firm.
"What do you mean you cannot accept it?"
At that moment, a middle-aged man dressed in Liyue clothing walked over.
"F… Father…"
Qinglan whispered in shock.
"Sigh… stop making trouble, daughter."
"You can decide everything else in life yourself."
"But not this matter."
"The husband I've chosen for you will definitely be better than that pretty-boy beside you."
"Come home with me."
The middle-aged man looked down at Qinglan with clear disdain toward Qiu Nian.
Of course, this so-called father didn't exist in the eyes of normal people either.
"Why…"
"Father, how can you feel comfortable marrying me to someone I haven't seen for more than ten years?"
"You may have seen him—but I haven't."
"This is my lifelong happiness!"
Tears shimmered in Qinglan's eyes.
She truly couldn't understand.
Why?
"Take her back with me."
The man closed his eyes and ordered the guards.
The two bodyguards stepped forward to forcibly drag Qinglan away.
Seeing this, Lumine frowned and immediately took a fighting stance.
"How can you treat Qinglan like this?!"
Paimon stomped angrily as she watched Qinglan on the verge of tears.
Qiu Nian, however, found the situation somewhat strange.
Even in ancient Liyue, such outdated thinking had never been this extreme.
Just what kind of being had created such a story in Qinglan's mind?
"It's melodramatic, but I'm starting to get angry!"
Xuehua said angrily while watching the scene.
[Marrying someone you haven't seen in ten years? I couldn't accept that either]
[Exactly, after ten years who knows what kind of person they became]
[And Qinglan is only twenty-two. Not even allowed to meet before marriage?]
"Qiu Nian…"
"There was nothing inside the house."
"It's completely empty."
Lumine said while maintaining her fighting stance.
"I see…"
Qiu Nian nodded and turned toward Qinglan.
He flicked a finger lightly, sending a strand of light into her mind.
The next moment, Qinglan's eyes slowly closed.
Tears slipped down the corners of her eyes.
Her body swayed and she collapsed backward.
Lumine quickly caught her.
At the same time, a cutscene appeared before Xuehua.
"Enough. Stop tormenting this poor girl."
"Your real target should be me, right?"
Qiu Nian looked calmly at the middle-aged man and the two bodyguards.
Suddenly—
everything changed.
The altered cognition vanished.
The guards and the man slowly disappeared.
Even the newly restored courtyard reverted to its broken and abandoned state.
At that exact moment—
a massive dark-green beam shot forward at incredible speed.
The terrifying energy dyed the entire area green.
Qiu Nian calmly raised one hand.
White energy mixed with faint crimson surged from his palm and blocked the attack.
"The graveyard of gods… Guyun Stone Forest."
"I didn't expect that besides Osial, another god still survived there…"
Qiu Nian muttered while resisting the relentless blast.
Even he and Morax hadn't noticed.
A feigned death?
It had only been half a month since he released the seal beneath Guyun.
Yet Yue Shu had said Qinglan's abnormal behavior began three months ago.
Which meant Yue Shu's cognition had been altered too.
This god had been scheming step by step.
All just to lure him here?
Now he finally understood why the story inside Qinglan's mind was so absurdly melodramatic.
It was the creation of an ancient god, just like Osial.
"Looks like when this god's people married…"
"Their customs were extremely conservative."
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