After some exchange, although Yuan Shang always beat around the bush and did not directly answer Feng Yi's questions, Feng Yi was not entirely without gains.
He managed to pry from Yuan Shang that the latter's disguise as a Sumeru scholar, here in Liyue for archaeology, was to find some high-level energy bodies from the corpses of Archons...
As it was about time, Feng Yi and Yuan Shang got up and headed towards the opposite side of the beach to rendezvous with Zhongli and the others.
Before they even arrived, they could hear the quarreling voices of the Fatui member Clement and the archaeologist Wan Yan from afar.
"You call yourself an archaeologist?! You can't even recognize this, nor identify that, are you even competent?"
Clement was highly skeptical of Wan Yan's professional abilities, his voice booming with impatience.
"Isn't it normal to have specialized fields? I've already explained to the best of my ability!"
Wan Yan retorted, frowning.
Just then, Lumine and Zhongli also arrived, quickly asking what had happened.
"You're just in time, help us settle this. This guy claims to be an archaeologist but knows nothing about the ruins around us! He knows less than I do! I can only rely on my intuition... I mean, experience, to bring back something valuable. Ugh, such a waste of time!"
Clement spread his hands, regretting bringing this liability along.
"I've been researching the 'Saline God,' so it's normal that I don't understand things from the sea! It's you, however, who keeps asking me how much Mora this is worth, and how much that is worth! Is the value of an artifact merely Mora?!"
Wan Yan was also incensed.
"Isn't the value of an artifact measured in Mora the most straightforward way? It also aligns with Liyue's traditions!"
"You..."
"Please, both of you, calm yourselves. We have brought back some rather good items, we can examine them together."
Just as the conflict between Wan Yan and Clement was about to escalate further, Zhongli stepped in, stopping them and redirecting their attention to the spoils he had brought.
Zhongli first appraised the items Clement had collected, shaking his head slightly:
"Unfortunately, the items you've brought back, while indeed brought ashore by the 'Vortex God,' are unfortunately unrelated to the Archon, merely originating from the nearby sea.
In comparison, the stone tablet we found, with its mysterious inscriptions and a faint trace of divine power, may be of assistance to our research."
"As expected of Guest Associate Zhongli, quickly, give it to me! With this, it won't be a complete loss. Archon's power, heh heh, this is the good stuff..."
Clement snatched the stone tablet from Zhongli's hand, immediately fondling it with delight.
The next second, he suddenly thought of something and turned to look at Feng Yi and Yuan Shang, wondering what treasures they might have found.
"You two were over there for so long, you must have found some good things, right? Quickly, take them out and share..."
Clement asked expectantly.
"Share" in his mind actually meant tricking them into revealing their findings, and then using some excuse to claim them as his own.
"Uh..."
Feng Yi had been too busy extracting information from Yuan Shang, he hadn't bothered looking for any treasures.
"Hey, hey, hey, you guys weren't slacking off, were you?"
Clement suddenly had a bad premonition.
"Of course not. We discovered an ancient shell hidden by monsters, with a mysterious power remaining on it, different from elemental energy. It must be very precious and of great research significance..."
Yuan Shang produced the shell he had used earlier and smeared some Abyss power onto it, forming some profound, dark purple rune patterns.
"Guest Associate Zhongli, quickly examine this item. Is it valuable... ah, I mean, does it have value?"
Clement looked at Zhongli expectantly.
"The residual power on the shell is indeed not elemental energy and has some research value, but this power is extremely dangerous..."
However, before Zhongli could finish, Clement snatched the shell away, under the guise of "temporarily taking custody."
"Ahem, there are other items too, which should also be worth quite a bit. If we sell them all, we can recoup a good portion of the consultant fees..."
Clement chuckled, shamelessly claiming all the items for himself.
"So, only items with residual Archon power are considered to have research value?"
Paimon, though ignorant of archaeology, doubted Clement's methods. He was always talking about selling things, as if he was blinded by greed.
"That's not true. I pursue the history of the Saline God because history tells of culture and faith... unlike this guy, who just wants to get rich under the guise of archaeology!"
Wan Yan shook her head, differentiating herself from someone like Clement.
"Nonsense! I am a professional archaeological researcher from Snezhnaya, bona fide!"
Clement continued to talk tough, but his actions of stuffing ancient relics into bags never stopped.
"Oh, right, that teacup, it's best not to sell it."
Zhongli added as a friendly reminder.
"Huh? Why?"
"That's not an ancient item. It's Ningguang's collection, which fell with the Jade Chamber. If you don't want to anger the Seven Stars..."
"Uh, I see... I thought it looked pretty good..."
Clement paused, looking at the teacup in his hand, suddenly feeling it was rather useless.
"See, you just wanted to sell it for money!"
Wan Yan had seen through his type.
"So what? Can't we have both research and profit? Why be so rigid in your thinking?! We've collected most of what's here, so there's no need to linger. By the way, I'm also quite interested in the 'Saline God.' Let's head to 'Sal Terrae' next."
After such a long buildup, Clement felt that these people must now see him as a greedy secondhand dealer. This way, his subsequent actions would not attract much attention.
The group arrived before the sealing array of 'Sal Terrae.' Clement deliberately reinforced his image as a greedy person:
"I heard that 'Sal Terrae' was once where the citizens of the 'Saline God' lived, so, hehe... should there be valuable relics everywhere?"
His words had a significant effect. Wan Yan clenched her fists, gritted her teeth, and cast a cold glance at Clement, but regained her composure the next second.
The most important matter at hand was to enter 'Sal Terrae.' Later, she wouldn't mind orchestrating a 'Sal Terrae locked-room murder case'!