Chapter 375: Ch 375 : The Truth Behind the Disguise
Su Yuan couldn’t understand—why had things turned out like this?
Of course, he knew that once someone was corrupted by the Eerie force, their personality would change drastically, and reasoning with them would be nearly impossible...
But "reason" and "rules" were two entirely different things.
If "Madame Ping" had truly fallen into an Eerie state because the Traveler, Aether, had broken the Serenitea Pot, then everything his group had done—retrieving the raw materials for the pot and making Aether kneel and apologize—should have fulfilled her conditions.
Logically, "Madame Ping" should have withdrawn from the Eerie state and returned to normal.
But now, she was still clearly under Eerie control.
That left only two possible explanations:
Either the real reason for her Eerie state wasn’t the damaged Serenitea Pot, and so, no matter what they did, they couldn’t lift her corruption...
But if that were true, then what was the point of her making such demands in the first place?
If she simply wanted to wipe them out, wouldn’t it have been far easier to do so back on Mt. Aocang yesterday?
Why go through such a convoluted and seemingly pointless charade?
That left the second possibility as more likely: they had not truly fulfilled "Madame Ping’s" task.
The Shimmersoil had been dug up from beneath the Dihua Marsh by the Vigilant Yaksha, Xiao, and Zhongli had verified its exceptional quality—so there shouldn’t have been any problem with that.
Could the issue lie with the Smaragdus Jadeite instead?
Although the Smaragdus Jadeite was obtained from the Northland Bank, it was taken under Tartaglia’s identity—and a branch manager of the Northland Bank wouldn’t dare deceive a Fatui Harbinger...
Moreover, Zhongli had personally confirmed that the stones were indeed genuine Smaragdus Jadeite, with no issues at all.
So then, does the biggest suspicion still lie with Aether?
Even though Zhongli said this Aether was fine, and even "Madame Ping" acknowledged that he was fine...
There were still some unusual behaviors from this Aether that made Su Yuan feel something wasn’t right...
If we assume that this Aether was actually someone else in disguise—but disguised so perfectly that even Zhongli and "Madame Ping" couldn’t detect anything off...
Still, rules are rules—they do not tolerate even the slightest discrepancy.
So the eerie forces behind those rules must have been able to perceive the disguise.
If this hypothesis is true, then everything—everything—makes perfect sense...
Which brings the question to this: Who exactly is the person disguised as Aether?
To be able to impersonate him so well, almost without leaving any trace of inconsistency...
Moreover, hadn’t Su Yuan previously asked Zhongli to use his eerie-affected contract rules to test this Aether?
And yet, nothing abnormal had been detected...
Wait—!!!
Su Yuan suddenly realized something...
Back when this Aether swore the oath to Zhongli, he never actually said that he was Aether.
What he said was that he was the Traveler who came to Teyvat from another world...
But—Travelers who came to Teyvat from another world weren’t limited to just one!
And someone who could impersonate Aether so flawlessly, without raising any suspicion... usually only someone with a deep, almost telepathic bond—like a sibling—could do that.
If all of these assumptions are correct, then the answer is already obvious...
The one impersonating Aether—is actually his sister, Lumine!!!
"Actually, you’re not Aether at all... You’re his sister—Lumine, aren’t you?"
Su Yuan turned to face the "Aether" and asked:
"You knew that Madame Ping wanted Aether to kneel and apologize. Yet you came here pretending to be him—are you trying to get all of us killed?"
"Aether" smiled gently and said:
"Su Yuan, in the end, you still figured it out..."
"But Su Yuan, I think you might be misunderstanding something..."
"Now—and even back when we were in Inazuma—I truly did want to help you."
"It’s just... I never thought that my good intentions would end up causing so much harm..."
"I originally thought I could fool Madame Ping and muddle through, but I underestimated the rules of the Eerie... and failed..."
"Right... even Shenhe was able to sense that I wasn’t Aether, let alone the Eerie laws—those transcend all things..."
"No wonder you kept avoiding Shenhe..." Su Yuan sighed softly and said, "So it was because you were afraid she’d see through your disguise..."
But soon, Su Yuan realized something strange—
Lumine, while disguised as Aether, had never met Shenhe.
So how did she know she couldn’t maintain the disguise in front of her?
Before Su Yuan could finish processing the thought, Madame Ping’s voice cut through sharply:
"So that’s it... This ’Traveler’—was never the one I gave the Serenitea Pot to..."
"Although I truly couldn’t detect any abnormalities... even if this Traveler knelt and bowed in apology, there was still something stuck in my heart I couldn’t let go..."
"Now I finally understand. Su Yuan—you deceived me!!!"
"Morax! You saw this, didn’t you?!"
"Su Yuan has broken the contract—he has lied to me!!!"
"You know better than anyone... what must be done!!!"
In the very next moment, an intense surge of eerie power erupted from "Zhongli," instantly breaking free from Madame Ping’s suppression!
"The contract is fulfilled. But a liar must suffer the Warth of the Rock..."
"Zhongli," now expressionless and cold, spoke with chilling finality as he slowly approached Su Yuan.
Facing this twisted, eerily glowing Zhongli, Su Yuan couldn’t help but swallow hard—several times.
His nerves were stretched taut.
Just moments ago, when the contract was fulfilled, "Zhongli" showed no signs of eerie corruption.
But now that "Madame Ping" realized she had been deceived, "Zhongli" instantly descended into an eerie state...
Could it be that whether a contract is violated... actually contains a degree of subjectivity?
Makes sense—otherwise, why do so many contracts and agreements end with:
"The final right of interpretation belongs to XXX"?
But regardless, Su Yuan understood—this time, there was no escape from death.
Still, perhaps that was for the best.
He could trigger a death-based time-rewind with ease...
Though he couldn’t help but wonder:
What would it feel like... to receive the "Warth of the Rock" from Zhongli?
But in the very next moment, something completely unexpected happened—
Lumine, disguised as Aether, suddenly burst forth with an intense surge of Abyssal power—
Then, without hesitation, she drew a sword and plunged it deep into her own chest!
Blood streamed from the corner of Lumine’s mouth...
Yet a faint smile lingered on her face as she whispered:
"Su Yuan, I’m sorry... for deceiving you."
"I’ll go on ahead, now..."
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