This was a wound made by cutting with an extremely sharp or slender weapon.
It did not match the weapons commonly used by the people of Liyue.
Liyue's weapons rarely took such bizarre forms.
It was more like the Fatui Debt Collectors Bai Ye knew. However, Bai Ye had once exchanged warm and friendly physical greetings with them, so he knew ordinary Debt Collectors absolutely could not leave wounds like these.
Could the debtor have grown stronger?
In fact, if he had not known her temperament, Bai Ye might even have suspected Yelan.
"Unfortunately, there are no survivors here. Otherwise, we could ask around and find out exactly what happened. Under normal circumstances, they probably saw something they should not have seen, which was why this happened to them."
Bai Ye shook his head as he spoke.
Ganyu prepared to leave.
"Um, Bai Ye, I'll go find the Millelith soldiers who discovered these bodies and bring them here. We can ask them about the details."
"Mm, that seems to be the only option for now."
Bai Ye agreed with Ganyu.
At the same time, he continued examining the wounds and checking whether there were any other clues left on the bodies.
Just as Ganyu was about to leave, Hu Tao reached out and stopped them.
"Isn't that making things too complicated? Finding the killer should be easy, shouldn't it?"
She looked at the two of them with a puzzled expression.
"Easy?"
Ganyu looked at Hu Tao in surprise.
Could it be that Hu Tao really had a talent for detective work?
Meanwhile, Bai Ye, standing beside Ganyu, seemed to realize something and slapped his forehead speechlessly.
"Of course it's easy. Whoever was killed, we just go ask them directly, right?"
Hu Tao said seriously.
Detective extraordinaire Miss Hu Tao handled matters with such impeccable care.
Ask the victim directly—then the accuracy rate was one hundred percent.
"You really are wasting your talent by becoming a detective."
"Of course. I'm even planning to write a detective novel next."
"Don't." Bai Ye waved a hand. "If you put your method of solving cases into a novel, it would be a third-rate novel among third-rate novels."
Detectives solved cases by searching for clues; modern people solved cases by checking surveillance footage; Hu Tao solved cases by directly asking the dead.
Hu Tao shot Bai Ye an annoyed look, then said, "Hey, hey, hey. At least my method is useful, isn't it?"
"That's true."
Bai Ye nodded.
"So, are you going to summon the dead souls here?"
Hu Tao waved her hand.
"The Wangsheng Funeral Parlor handles funerals, not spirit summoning. I can only take you to places where the ley lines are in disorder and search for the souls of the dead. These adventurers died unjustly, so we might find one or two of them there."
"I see. Then shall we set off now?"
The sooner, the better. Otherwise, someone else might discover it later, and complications could arise.
Ganyu spoke up at that moment. "Well, the two of you can go there. I'll contact the Millelith here and investigate the place where the bodies were found with them. Working on both fronts should help us find the truth faster. If we resolve this sooner, I can return to Liyue and resume my work sooner as well."
They had first dealt with the god ruins on the Guili Plains after coming out here, and now they had run into the murder of these adventurers. They had been delayed for far too long, and she worried that too much work would pile up back in Liyue.
"Mm-hm."
Bai Ye nodded.
Thus, they decided to split up.
Bai Ye and Hu Tao went to search for ghosts, while Ganyu led the Millelith to investigate the place where the adventurers had died.
Finding a place where the ley lines were in disorder and slipping into the realm between life and death was second nature to Hu Tao.
Taking Bai Ye by the hand, Hu Tao began searching around Stone Gate.
Soon, the two arrived at a shady spot behind the Stone Gate mountains.
"Let's go. We can slip in from here."
Hu Tao swung her spear and struck the rock heavily. The stone shattered, revealing a pitch-black opening.
"This should be where the nearby souls who died unjustly are temporarily staying. Come on, let's not waste time here."
Hu Tao charged ahead energetically.
Bai Ye hurried after her.
The two began heading directly downward.
Along the way, due to the disorder in the ley lines, they encountered some Hilichurls and Slimes, but Hu Tao dispatched them all with one spear strike each.
At the deepest point was a naturally formed plaza.
Quite a few people stood in the plaza.
Looking closely, their figures flickered in and out of sight.
"These are all ghosts. Stone Gate is surrounded by mountains, and over the past thousand years, no small number of people have died in accidents. Unable to let go of their resentment, they naturally remain here."
Hu Tao explained to Bai Ye.
Her tone had become more solemn as well.
"Let's go. I can already see those people."
Bai Ye nodded.
The two walked up to several souls dressed in adventurers' clothing.
They were still talking at that moment.
"What a pity. If only I hadn't discovered that place."
"It's fine. No one could have expected there to be people in a place like that."
"At the time, we thought we had found some Adeptus ruins and could discover some Adeptus artifacts inside."
"Yeah. But we never expected several black shadows to rush out and kill us all as soon as we entered."
"What a pity. That family-inherited Adeptus mechanism of mine, the one that can teleport people over short distances, had already activated. I thought it would move us away, but in the end, it probably only moved our bodies."
"Ah..."
After hearing what the adventurers said, Bai Ye and Hu Tao immediately understood what had happened to the bodies.
Hu Tao walked over to the adventurers and asked, "What exactly happened to you? What kind of people killed you?"
The adventurers turned toward Bai Ye and Hu Tao, regret in their eyes.
The leader said, "You two came here after dying at such a young age?"
Another adventurer said to Bai Ye and Hu Tao, "Well, we'll take care of you from now on. Don't worry, um..."
He stalled halfway through, scratching at his ears and cheeks in anxious frustration.
It was his first time dying. He had no experience.
He was a rookie himself, so how was he supposed to comfort others?
Hu Tao hurriedly explained, "We're not dead. We came here specifically to find you. I'm the director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, and he's my friend Bai Ye. We came to uncover the truth about what happened to you."
"Bai Ye..."
The adventurers all looked at Bai Ye, their expressions complicated.
But soon, their expressions eased.
They were already dead. What was the point of dwelling on such things?
"Whatever you want to know, we'll tell you everything."
The lead adventurer said to Bai Ye and Hu Tao.
Before you continue