"Feng Yi, look, that little cat over there is so cute!"
Keqing spotted an adorable kitten in the distance, lazily grooming its paws. Its cute demeanor instantly struck a chord with Keqing's soft spot for felines.
As Feng Yi followed Keqing's gaze, something unexpected happened. A large net descended from the sky, ensnaring the kitten. Immediately, a person clad in black hoisted the net and fled.
Feng Yi: "Is it inappropriate for me to say this, Keqing, but is your mouth blessed?"
It was just like the incident at Mt. Tianheng last time.
"Bold villain! How dare you engage in theft and poaching right before the Liyue Qixing! I shall throw you into prison to reflect on your actions!"
Keqing drew her sword and shot out like an arrow.
Feng Yi's mind immediately flashed to Keqing's father grounding her. He quickly followed, worried that this was a trap set specifically for Keqing, the cat lover.
"Keqing? What's wrong?"
When Feng Yi caught up to Keqing, he found her standing alone, looking dejected.
"I lost him..."
Keqing found it hard to admit. She, the Yuheng of the Liyue Qixing, who possessed teleportation abilities like the Thunder Manifestation, had actually been outrun by a thief.
"Where did you lose him?"
Feng Yi found it strange. Keqing was incredibly fast. Unless the enemy could move several times faster than her, it would be impossible to escape her.
But if the enemy truly possessed such speed, why would they be sneaking around catching kittens?
"Around this alleyway!"
Keqing had followed the thief to this alleyway, and in the blink of an eye, the person had vanished. There had to be something unusual here.
"Don't rush. Let me take a closer look."
Feng Yi concentrated his spiritual energy into his eyes, scanning the elemental fluctuations around them.
Indeed, on the wall of the alley, he found a clue.
Judging by the residual elemental traces on the wall, it bore a resemblance to a minor teleportation array recorded in the manual gifted to him by the Cloud Retainer.
By injecting elemental energy, a short-range spatial transfer array could be activated.
Were the costs of cat-napping this high nowadays?
The materials required to set up such an array were enough to buy a whole herd of cats.
According to the Cloud Retainer, the array formation of this minor teleportation array was not only complex, but activating it also required a special spatial energy.
Such a complex formation could not be set up by an ordinary person.
It seemed this was indeed a premeditated action.
"Feng Yi, did you find something?"
Keqing saw the glint in Feng Yi's eyes and his long period of thoughtful silence. He must have discovered something.
"Keqing, this formation isn't difficult to break, but this is clearly a premeditated act. I think we need to find some reinforcements!"
Feng Yi shared some of his speculations with Keqing, worried about encountering pre-laid traps after entering the formation.
Feng Yi was unwilling to take risks without certainty, and his first thought was to find help.
Ideally, he'd bring in a detachment of the Millelith as backup.
"But we don't know how many enemies there are. How many reinforcements should we call? Maybe there are only a few people inside, and the two of us can handle it!"
Keqing raised a crucial point. Without knowing the enemy's numbers, how many reinforcements would be appropriate?
Too many, and they wouldn't be able to bring them without concrete evidence.
Too few, and they'd be walking into a deathtrap.
"Why don't we go in first to scout the enemy's situation and then come back to gather troops!"
Seeing Feng Yi hesitate, Keqing seized the opportunity and said.
"Then you have to promise me, no matter what happens, you won't act rashly..."
Feng Yi had no other recourse and nodded in compromise.
But before they left, he repeatedly cautioned Keqing, worried she would act impulsively once inside.
Feng Yi had many means of self-preservation: an invincible golden body, the Celestial Isolation device gifted by Zhongli, and Yuanbao's bone whistle.
If he encountered real danger, he could activate his golden body for protection and then blow the bone whistle to summon Xiao.
Thinking this way, he wasn't as worried.
"Feng Yi, don't worry! Once we're inside, I'll listen to you completely and absolutely won't act on my own!"
Keqing quickly gave her assurance when Feng Yi agreed.
Feng Yi led Keqing to the alley wall.
He placed his hand on the wall and injected some spiritual energy.
The minor teleportation array was successfully activated.
Feng Yi was surprised to find that the array had an independent, external energy stone to power its operation. He only needed to transfer a small amount of spiritual energy.
Ordinary factions wouldn't be so extravagant. Feng Yi suddenly felt a hint of unease.
However, the atmosphere had been built up to this point, and giving up felt somewhat unwilling.
As a precaution, he took out his golden notebook, flipped to a page, and wrote Keqing's name.
He then tore off a golden paper and handed it to Keqing, instructing her to swallow it if she encountered danger.
Feng Yi had his own stash of golden paper, but Keqing didn't. He didn't want Keqing to be severely injured carelessly again, as she had been last time.
After giving instructions, Feng Yi finally pulled Keqing and stepped into the formation.
After a bout of dizziness, Feng Yi and Keqing were teleported to an underground cavern.
Drip, drip~
The cavern was vast and dimly lit, with a quiet atmosphere. Only the sound of water dripping from stalactites was clearly audible.
This was the kind of scene that evoked the saying, "The cicadas' cries make the forest seem quieter; the birds' chirping makes the mountain feel more serene."
"Feng Yi, it's so dark here..."
Keqing tightly clutched Feng Yi's arm, finding the silence somewhat eerie.
"Don't be afraid, just follow me!"
Feng Yi felt the soft pressure on his arm and gently comforted Keqing.
With the River God's Eye activated, the darkness could no longer hinder Feng Yi's progress.
They walked along the only passage in the cavern. After about ten minutes, they finally heard conversations up ahead.
"Lord Ba Qiu is truly powerful! Only by offering sufficient sacrifices can one obtain miraculous power!"
"Exactly! Lord Ba Qiu is far superior to the adepti of Liyue. He answers every prayer. As long as you offer sacrifices, all wishes will be granted!"
"Lord Ba Qiu..."
"..."
From the conversations, Feng Yi identified a recurring keyword: "Lord Ba Qiu." He wondered who this deity was.
"Ba Qiu? I've heard Grandpa mention this name. It seems to be a sea demon that wreaked havoc in ancient times..."
Keqing murmured softly.
Keqing's reminder suddenly made Feng Yi recall the story introduction of the Vortex Vanquisher.
"In the nascent years of Liyue, the ocean was still a domain of monstrous beasts and archons.
The ancestors of Liyue lived in fear of the sea, fighting it with their meager strength.
Through countless springs and autumns, overly large sea beasts became the untamed overlords of the vast ocean, holding their own even against the stone whales created by the Geo Archon.
These were the demonic beasts the people of Liyue called 'Ba Qiu,' unchallenged in the depths of the sea.
They would occasionally surface from the bottomless abyss, stirring up colossal waves that destroyed houses and ships like avalanches.
The Geo Archon then personally sculpted an oriole from jade and bedrock.
As soon as the stone bird was formed, it broke free from the earth's constraints, soaring into the sky. Like a spear cast by the blazing sun, it plunged directly into the heart of the ocean where the demon beast and the stone whale were locked in battle. The giant beast was immediately impaled and sank into the dark trenches, never to resurface.
From then on, the people of Liyue were freed from the roars of the sea beasts."
Simply put, this sea monster named Ba Qiu was quite the troublemaker, attacking the early settlers of Liyue. Then, the Geo Archon, unable to stand it any longer, conjured a stone spear and pinned it in the ocean trench.
And now, this Ba Qiu was causing trouble under the Geo Archon's nose, deceiving the people of Liyue.
Perhaps it was like lighting a lamp in a latrine – seeking trouble (death)!
..........................
PS: Some readers have been urging me to implement a bonus chapter mechanism, so I'll briefly explain it here.
For every donation exceeding 100 yuan, I will add an extra chapter! (Do you think it's too expensive, and that enjoying two free chapters daily is more appealing?!)
These bonus chapters will not affect the regular update schedule at 9 AM the following day. This is also to ensure the quality of the work. If the threshold were too low, it might be difficult to maintain the daily updates.