Chapter 387: Ch 387 : Could it be that Aether... is already dead?
After leaving the boundary between life and death, Su Yuan couldn’t stop thinking about one question...
If, back then, he had been ruthless enough to end "Yelan’s" life—would that have been the better choice?
Now, Madame Ping’s matter still remained unresolved, and "Yelan" had vanished without a trace, becoming a hidden threat lurking in the shadows...
Su Yuan suspected that deep in Yelan’s heart, there were still unresolved regrets—like that ancestral jade bracelet that had been taken from her by Pantalone.
As long as she hadn’t taken it back, she probably wouldn’t have been willing to die so easily...
Based on what he knew so far, a soul that carried longing or regrets would arrive at the boundary between life and death after physical death.
Once there, all corruption would be reset, and the soul would no longer be under the eerie influence—Hu Tao was the perfect example of that...
If he had chosen to kill "Yelan" back then, at the very least, she wouldn’t be suffering from the effects of that eerie corruption now.
She wouldn’t have become a lurking danger in the dark...
Even though his body could only carry three souls at a time, he could always rotate them occasionally, giving each a chance to come out and breathe the air...
But then, Su Yuan realized another problem...
He couldn’t stay in Liyue forever.
There were still many nations across the world of Teyvat that he had yet to explore...
If he left, the souls lingering at the boundary between life and death—without his help—would be trapped there indefinitely, wouldn’t they?
And when he did leave Liyue, with three available soul slots in his body... would he end up taking some of them with him?
But Su Yuan quickly shook his head.
Now wasn’t the time to think about all that.
The most urgent task at hand was still dealing with Madame Ping and Yelan’s situation...
And above all else—he needed to find the Traveler, Aether, and make sure he got down on his knees and properly apologized to Madame Ping.
Later on, with Xiangling in control of Su Yuan’s body, she wrote a letter to Master Mao, letting him know she was safe and asking him not to worry—saying she would return once she finished her training at Mt. Aocang.
Su Yuan then personally handed the letter to Master Mao, who, upon receiving it, was visibly moved to tears and said:
"Sigh... This is truly a relief..."
"Lately, there have been so many cases of people disappearing mysteriously in Liyue. At first, I feared that something had happened to Xiangling, and that you were all just telling me a kind lie to spare me the pain..."
"But now that I’ve seen this letter, and it’s undeniably her handwriting, I can finally rest easy..."
"In any case... thank you, Su Yuan..."
With Master Mao’s side of things temporarily settled, Su Yuan still couldn’t help but wonder how long this illusion could be maintained.
He turned to Xiangling and asked:
"Xiangling, do you really think this is okay? If Master Mao ever learns the truth, he’ll be devastated..."
"We’ll deal with that when the time comes," Xiangling replied, her voice a little heavy.
"After all, I haven’t completely died yet. My soul still exists in this world..."
"Besides, Su Yuan, when you were explaining everything earlier, didn’t you mention the Wanderer and the Irminsul?"
"If it really comes to it, you can try removing me from the Irminsul. That way, no one would remember me, and no one would be hurt by my death..."
Hearing Xiangling say that, Su Yuan found himself at a loss for words...
Irminsul could only alter the perceptions and memories of the people of Teyvat—it couldn’t change events that had already taken place.
And besides... Su Yuan had a lingering feeling that Irminsul wasn’t something that should be tampered with lightly.
Who knew what kind of unintended consequences might come from misusing it...
Speaking of Irminsul, Su Yuan suddenly thought of the Wanderer.
Ever since they parted ways in Inazuma, he hadn’t seen him again.
He wondered—what was the Wanderer doing now?
Time passed quickly, and after a full day of searching, night began to fall.
Yet there was still no sign of Aether the Traveler—neither from the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the Millelith, the Feiyun Commerce Guild, nor even the Hearth House.
Not a single clue.
It was as if Aether had completely vanished from the world of Teyvat—disappeared into thin air...
As that thought crossed Su Yuan’s mind, he couldn’t help but entertain a dark and terrifying suspicion...
Back on Watatsumi Island, the last message Aether left behind indicated that he had gone off with Dainsleif...
But what if—what if Dainsleif wasn’t who he said he was?
What if Dainsleif was actually the Wanderer in disguise?
What if he had tricked Aether into going with him, then killed him... and used his remains as materials to forge a new Vision or even a Gnosis?
If Aether was already dead... that would explain why, despite all their efforts and resources, no one could find even the slightest trace of him.
And the Wanderer, having achieved his goal, had simply vanished—never to appear again.
If that really was the case... then Su Yuan and the others were destined to fall out with "Madame Ping."
In the worst-case scenario, the only option might be to kill "Madame Ping" in order to break the effects of her eerie corruption...
As the sky gradually darkened, Su Yuan prepared to use the rules tied to Furina’s eerie state to bring her back from Madame Ping’s side...
And since this act would involve deliberately violating the contract between him and Madame Ping, Zhongli had already followed through with the plan—heading to a remote, uninhabited location, so that he wouldn’t witness the event and thus avoid falling into an eerie state himself.
Su Yuan knew full well that a great battle was bound to erupt soon.
To avoid harming innocent people, he found an abandoned hut in the outskirts and got ready to welcome Furina’s return there.
"Whew..."
He took a deep breath, eyes filled with determination, and opened the promotional pamphlet for tourism in Fontaine that Neuvillette had prepared for him—Furina’s portrait printed prominently on the cover.
Su Yuan stared at the image of Furina.
The last time he saw her was from afar in a tavern, barely a glimpse—he hadn’t gotten a clear look at all.
Now, looking at this illustration up close, he had to admit—it was impressively well drawn.
And something about the art style looked strangely familiar...
Ah—Su Yuan quickly remembered.
This style resembled the one from that event illustration in Inazuma’s "Irodori Festival" back in the game!
If he wasn’t mistaken, that artwork had been drawn by Albedo from Mondstadt, right?
Could it be that this Fontaine tourism pamphlet was illustrated by Albedo too?
Once things in Liyue were resolved, barring any surprises, the next nation would be the Land of Freedom—Mondstadt...
And Albedo—he might just be the key to Su Yuan’s entry into Mondstadt.
Just as that thought crossed Su Yuan’s mind, a sudden knock came from outside the abandoned hut.
Su Yuan’s heart tensed instantly.
Could it be Furina? Did she really arrive this quickly?
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