Chapter 368: Ch 368 : Must kneel before me and apologize
"Madame 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, "Madame 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 me, 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, "Madame Ping" was still someone that could be reasoned with—not completely irrational after all.
"Madame Ping, go ahead and say it. As long as it’s something I’m capable of doing, I’ll agree to it," Su Yuan responded.
"First," Madame 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 me."
As she said this, Madame 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 someone else?"
Su Yuan and Neuvillette spoke almost in unison.
"I already said—the hostage must be chosen by me. You have no say in the matter. Otherwise, our cooperation is off."
Madame 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 me 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 Madame Ping’s conditions and bring me back safely!"
Furina spoke with determination, then, without the slightest hesitation, walked over to Madame Ping’s side.
Immediately after, Madame Ping gripped the back of Furina’s neck and continued:
"Actually, Su Yuan, there were some things you said earlier that weren’t entirely correct..."
"The reason I chose to work with Dottore wasn’t just because he could provide me with materials to make a new Serenitea Pot..."
"More importantly, his segments are spread all across Teyvat. He promised me he would track down the Traveler’s whereabouts—and bring him back to Liyue."
"The Traveler?" Su Yuan looked puzzled.
"Madame Ping, why are you looking for the Traveler?"
"That brings me to my second condition," Madame Ping said, her voice suddenly rising with emotion, her expression contorting into something 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 me and apologize!!!"
"That’s my second condition. Su Yuan, can you do that for me???"
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 Madame Ping finished listing all her demands?
And now look—this second condition was nearly impossible to fulfill, yet Furina was already in Madame Ping’s hands as a hostage, leaving him no choice but to accept it...
"...Fine! Don’t worry, Madame Ping. I swear I’ll find the Traveler and bring him to you—to apologize, right in front of you!"
"Very good..."
Madame 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 agreement ahead of time, just come find me 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, "Madame Ping" activated an adeptal art, transforming into a streak of light.
Carrying Furina with her, she left the mountaintop of Mt. Aocang...
At that moment, Su Yuan suddenly came 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 moment Madame Ping attempted to use it?
Which meant... the contract that had just been made between him and "Madame 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 judgment—the Warth of the Rock..
And likewise, if Madame Ping fails to return Furina safely after the contract is fulfilled, she too will be subject to that same punishment.
"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 came 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 time for us to meet," 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 Shimmersoil beneath the riverbanks of Dihua Marsh, and Smaragdus Jadeite excavated from the Chasm."
"We can ask Xiao to search for the Shimmersoil, and while Smaragdus Jadeite hasn’t been mined from the Chasm in ages, I’m certain many gem collectors still possess some in their collections."
"As for how to locate the Traveler... I’m afraid that is beyond my capabilities."
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