"Mada Ping" stared intently at Su Yuan, her eyes locked onto him with a contemplative expression, as if carefully weighing whether his words were trustworthy and feasible...
After a while, "Mada Ping" finally released her eerie suppression over everyone and slowly spoke:
"Su Yuan, I’m willing to choose to trust you—for now. But to prevent you from deceiving or manipulating , I have a few conditions..."
Hearing her say that, Su Yuan felt a wave of relief wash over him...
So even in her eerie state, "Mada Ping" was still soone that could be reasoned with—not completely irrational after all.
"Mada Ping, go ahead and say it. As long as it’s sothing I’m capable of doing, I’ll agree to it," Su Yuan responded.
"First," Mada Ping said seriously, "to prevent you from running away, I want a hostage on my side."
"If I sense even the slightest sign of betrayal from you, I won’t hesitate to kill the hostage—and our cooperation ends right then and there."
"Also, you don’t get to choose who the hostage is. That right belongs to ."
As she said this, Mada Ping turned her gaze toward Furina, and pointed directly at her.
"She’ll do... Su Yuan, I imagine Furina must be quite important to you, right?"
"No way—can’t we pick soone else?"
Su Yuan and Neuvillette spoke almost in unison.
"I already said—the hostage must be chosen by . You have no say in the matter. Otherwise, our cooperation is off."
Mada Ping spoke slowly and calmly, but with a chilling smile on her face:
"And judging by your reactions... I can tell I chose the perfect hostage."
"So if you don’t want anything to happen to her, don’t even think about trying to pull any tricks."
"But..." Su Yuan and Neuvillette were just about to protest when Furina suddenly stepped forward on her own.
"All right, all right—Neuvillette, Su Yuan, you don’t need to overthink this anymore..."
Furina smiled and spoke resolutely:
"Just let be the hostage."
"By doing this, I’m also doing my part to help in the fight against the eerie forces!"
"And besides, I believe in you two—you’ll definitely fulfill Mada Ping’s conditions and bring back safely!"
Furina spoke with determination, then, without the slightest hesitation, walked over to Mada Ping’s side.
Imdiately after, Mada Ping gripped the back of Furina’s neck and continued:
"Actually, Su Yuan, there were so things you said earlier that weren’t entirely correct..."
"The reason I chose to work with Dottore wasn’t just because he could provide with materials to make a new Serenitea Pot..."
"More importantly, his segnts are spread all across Teyvat. He promised he would track down the Traveler’s whereabouts—and bring him back to Liyue."
"The Traveler?" Su Yuan looked puzzled.
"Mada Ping, why are you looking for the Traveler?"
"That brings to my second condition," Mada Ping said, her voice suddenly rising with emotion, her expression contorting into sothing fierce, terrifying, and furious:
"The Serenitea Pot is a precious treasure, nearly extinct in this world! Back then, I entrusted one to the Traveler for two reasons. First, because he was constantly traveling, enduring wind and rain without a place to rest—so I gave him the teapot, to offer him a safe haven."
"Second, because I thought the Traveler was a decent person—I trusted his character. I believed he would cherish the Serenitea Pot and protect it."
"But now... he’s betrayed that trust! He failed to protect it—and let the teapot be destroyed!!"
"That’s why—I must make him pay the price. I want him to kneel before and apologize!!!"
"That’s my second condition. Su Yuan, can you do that for ???"
Although Su Yuan knew all too well that the Traveler—Aether—was elusive and hard to track down, and now that he was off wandering with Dainsleif, finding any trace of him would be next to impossible...
Su Yuan really wanted to complain: Furina, why did you have to rush over to be a hostage so soon?
Couldn’t she have waited until Mada Ping finished listing all her demands?
And now look—this second condition was nearly impossible to fulfill, yet Furina was already in Mada Ping’s hands as a hostage, leaving him no choice but to accept it...
"...Fine! Don’t worry, Mada Ping. I swear I’ll find the Traveler and bring him to you—to apologize, right in front of you!"
"Very good..."
Mada Ping nodded in satisfaction and spoke coldly:
"Su Yuan, I’m giving you three days."
"If you haven’t fulfilled my demands within three days... then get ready to collect Furina’s corpse."
"Of course, if you manage to fulfill the agreent ahead of ti, just co find directly at Yujing Terrace."
"Morax... I don’t know exactly where you’re hiding, but I’m sure you’ve been watching everything from nearby, haven’t you?"
"I hope, as you yourself once said: ’Once a contract is made, those who break it shall face the Warth of the Rock.’"
With those words, "Mada Ping" activated an adeptal art, transforming into a streak of light.
Carrying Furina with her, she left the mountaintop of Mt. Aocang...
At that mont, Su Yuan suddenly ca to a realization—
That’s right!
Even though Zhongli hadn’t shown himself, he must’ve been watching everything unfold from the shadows.
Otherwise, how could he have retracted the Serenitea Pot’s authority the mont Mada Ping attempted to use it?
Which ant... the contract that had just been made between him and "Mada Ping" was witnessed by Zhongli too?
In other words, if Zhongli is present when the contract concludes...
Then if he fails to fulfill his part, Su Yuan will suffer Morax’s judgnt—the Warth of the Rock..
And likewise, if Mada Ping fails to return Furina safely after the contract is fulfilled, she too will be subject to that sa punishnt.
"Neuvillette... could I ask you to leave here for a while?" Su Yuan turned to him and said,
"Please do whatever you can to help find any trace of the Traveler."
Su Yuan knew full well—if Neuvillette didn’t leave, then Zhongli likely wouldn’t show himself.
And right now, when it ca to the materials needed to craft a Teapot of Serenity, Su Yuan was completely at a loss...
But surely, Zhongli would know the answers to these questions.
Neuvillette gave a silent nod and left the area.
Soon after, Zhongli stepped out from the bushes nearby.
"Zhongli, do you really dislike seeing Neuvillette that much?" Su Yuan asked, not knowing whether to laugh or sigh.
"It is not yet the ti for us to et," Zhongli replied calmly.
"Su Yuan, I already know what you want to ask..."
"The two most important—and rare—materials required to create a Serenitea Pot are:
The Shimrsoil beneath the riverbanks of Dihua Marsh, and Smaragdus Jadeite excavated from the Chasm."
"We can ask Xiao to search for the Shimrsoil, and while Smaragdus Jadeite hasn’t been mined from the Chasm in ages, I’m certain many gem collectors still possess so in their collections."
"As for how to locate the Traveler... I’m afraid that is beyond my capabilities."
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