Su Yuan couldn't figure it out—what exactly had triggered just now that caused Ningguang to be corrupted by the eerie?
Or... had she been under the eerie's control from the very beginning, rely pretending all along?
It made sense.
Ningguang was soone with a deep, calculating mind.
If she wanted to hide sothing, it would be difficult for anyone to detect.
A terrifying thought suddenly crossed Su Yuan's mind—could it be that the majority of people in Liyue had already been taken over by the eerie?
They were just pretending... hiding it all this ti...
"Ningguang" leaned in close and gently stroked Su Yuan's cheek.
"Su Yuan, did you know?"
"After obtaining wealth and fa, I developed a fondness for collecting all kinds of antiques and curios..."
"But just as I said before—no matter how priceless they are, the joy they bring only lasts for that brief mont of first possession."
"Because they're lifeless objects. Even if they carry countless stories, they have no way to speak."
"But you're different, Su Yuan..."
"You may look young, but I can feel it—there's a long, ancient presence inside you..."
"You're a living antique. So please, do tell ... all about your story."
Su Yuan couldn't make sense of it—what nonsense was "Ningguang" even talking about?
He was only twenty, alright? How was he suddenly so ancient relic?
If anyone fit the definition of a living antique, it'd be soone like Zhongli—he'd lived for several thousand years!
Whatever. No use overthinking it.
He'd already gathered enough valuable information from this round...
The true condition for Yelan's eerie transformation... and that Ningguang had also succumbed to the eerie...
"What's wrong, Su Yuan? Don't want to speak?"
"Ningguang" looked at the silent Su Yuan with a sorrowful expression.
"Ningguang... let's settle this properly—one good fight!"
As Su Yuan spoke, bursts of Cryo and Hydro elental energy exploded from his body and surged toward "Ningguang"!
But in the very next mont, before he could even react, he felt sothing pierce straight through his skull...
"I don't need a disobedient collectible like you..."
"Ningguang" toyed with the gem laced with eerie energy in her hand, her voice cold as ice.
"If I put you together with the rest of my collection, and you ended up destroying them all—what then?"
In the final monts of his life, Su Yuan thought to himself:
The gap between him and this eerie power... was still far too vast.
He was still... far too weak...
.............
Su Yuan suddenly opened his eyes wide — that sa familiar and heart-wrenching feeling struck him again...
Feeling the sharp pain in the palm of his left hand, Su Yuan knew:
He had died once more.
He raised his left hand and looked at his palm:
[Unfortunately, this is your second death today...]
[Avoid heading to the Jade Chamber for now...]
[It seems Ningguang has also been corrupted by the Eerie...]
[Additionally, Ningguang appears to have a particular obsession with "antiques and curios" — this might be related to her conditions for Eerie transformation...]
[Also, Yelan's condition for corruption...]
[Might involve a conflict between her old intel and newly acquired information...]
Staring at the intel written in his palm, Su Yuan didn't know what to say anymore...
Seriously? Even Ningguang has been taken over by the Eerie?
This Liyue instance's difficulty... is absolutely off the charts!
"Yelan, hold on a second..."
Su Yuan called out to Yelan, who was leading the way ahead:
"Before you listen to anything I say, I want you to completely discard all the intel in your mind. Start from zero — don't trust any of it."
"Alright."
Though Yelan didn't understand why Su Yuan was making such a request, she still nodded.
"Okay, Su Yuan. I've done what you asked."
Then, Su Yuan began explaining the newly acquired intel to both Yelan and Chongyun.
"So Ningguang has been taken over by the Eerie too?"
"Didn't notice a thing..."
Yelan furrowed her brows slightly as she listened to Su Yuan's explanation.
"Then again, if soone like her let you see through her thoughts, that would be the strange part..."
"As for antiques and curios — I think a few days ago, while cleaning the Jade Chamber, soone accidentally broke a precious artifact..."
"Could it be that Ningguang was already corrupted by the Eerie starting from that mont?"
"Now the Jade Chamber is off-limits, and the Adepti have lost both their mories and their powers. What should we do next?"
Chongyun looked toward the distant mountains and spoke:
"Do we really have to search mountain by mountain, just to find where Aunt Shenhe is?"
"Though chances are, she's most likely sowhere around Mount Aozang..."
"But Mount Aozang is already near the Chenyu Vale region—it's quite a long distance from here..."
Su Yuan was a little speechless as well.
If he had known they'd need to find Shenhe, he should've gone straight to Mount Aozang when they were coming from Chenyu Vale...
Now that they had finally made it to Liyue Harbor, did they really have to head back again?
And even though the chances were high, what if they didn't find her?
Wouldn't that just waste a lot of precious ti?
"Yelan, where are Ganyu and Keqing right now?"
Su Yuan turned to Yelan and asked.
Right now, he had to find as many people as possible who hadn't been corrupted by the Eerie influence—to make them his allies.
"Trying to seek help from more people?" Yelan murmured thoughtfully at his question.
"As for Ganyu, she's always working at the Yuehai Pavilion—you can find her there anyti."
"As for Keqing..." Yelan frowned slightly.
"She seems to have caught a cold and has been resting at ho these past few days..."
"I haven't seen her around the Yuehai Pavilion or anywhere in Liyue Harbor lately."
Hearing that, Su Yuan imdiately felt sothing was off...
Everyone knew Keqing's personality—she was ticulous and decisive, always swift in action.
She wasn't the type to slack off—in a way, she was sothing of a workaholic...
She had even proposed in Liyue, "working an extra hour every day," a suggestion that, unsurprisingly, t with a lot of resistance...
Soone like Keqing—how could she possibly stay ho for several days just because of a minor cold?
With her personality, she'd most likely rest for a short while, then push through the illness and get back to work.
"Su Yuan, are you suspecting... that Keqing might've been corrupted by the Eerie as well?"
Chongyun looked at Su Yuan and asked.
"No... I think there's sothing wrong with Bubu Pharmacy..."
Yelan spoke up after a mont of thought.
"After catching the cold, Keqing went to Bubu Pharmacy and had Doctor Baizhu prescribe her a few redies..."
"Given how skilled Doctor Baizhu is, a minor cold should've been easily cured. There's no way she should be bedridden for several days without recovering..."
Yelan's words sent a chill down Su Yuan's spine... as a terrifying thought crept into his mind.
After all, Baizhu originally had a thod of treating patients that involved his white snake, Changsheng, using a secret technique known as the "Serpent-Dragon Vitality Transfer."
This thod could channel Baizhu's own vitality into the patient, and also draw out toxins or illnesses from the patient into himself...
But if Baizhu has already been corrupted by the Eerie, then it's entirely possible he's been doing the opposite—transferring the patient's vitality into himself, and shifting his own diseases and afflictions into the patient...
Or perhaps it's not Baizhu, but Changsheng who's been corrupted?
Or even worse... what if both of them have already been corrupted by the Eerie?
Could a simple cold really leave Keqing bedridden for several days, completely out of sight?
Could it be that Keqing is now overwheld by illness, her vitality completely drained?
Just what kind of condition... is Keqing in now?
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