Adeptal Abode

"Where were you exploring when you were killed?"

Bai Ye spoke to the souls of the adventurers.

"It was northeast of Stone Gate, probably north of Wuwang Hill. We found the ruins in a crack at the foot of a mountain there because we got curious and went inside."

The lead adventurer replied.

"That area..."

Bai Ye calculated it in his head.

He really had not been there much.

Even in the game, he had rarely gone there, so he was indeed unfamiliar with the area.

He continued asking, "What kind of ruins were they?"

"Maybe the ruins of an Adepti. My ancestor was fortunate enough to receive an Adeptal fate. An Adepti gave him an Adeptal treasure. When we went in, we could sense the same kind of Adeptal aura as the treasure in my hand."

An Adeptal ruin...

A greedy expression appeared on Bai Ye's face.

Adeptal relics were not Archon Residue. There were probably quite a few Adeptal treasures left inside.

If he could make a haul in there...

"Come on, describe exactly what it was like over there. Don't worry, I'll definitely avenge you."

Bai Ye was already treating this adventurer like a true brother.

Even Song Jiang avenging Chao Gai had not been this earnest.

Hu Tao pressed a hand to her forehead.

As the friend of this Hall Master, how could he be so unreliable when it came to money?

Hu Tao hurriedly asked:

"What about the enemy? Did you get a good look at them?"

"No, I didn't see anything. I only felt someone watching us, then everything went black, and my throat hurt."

"There was no sign of anyone approaching?"

"That's right, none."

He spoke with certainty.

It sounded very much like a Debt Collector's technique.

"We felt the same way."

The other adventurers had experienced the same thing.

The last adventurer hesitated before saying, "At the time, I felt a bit of flame along with the blade. But I don't know whether that was just an illusion."

Hearing that, Bai Ye pondered for a moment. "Flames? That makes it sound even more like a Debt Collector. But a Debt Collector's blade techniques aren't that fierce."

A Debt Collector's blade was fast, but Bai Ye could guarantee that the one he had dealt with last time had not been anywhere near this level.

"Looks like we really need to investigate that place."

Bai Ye said to Hu Tao.

"Then let's go."

Hu Tao stood with her hands on her hips.

"No matter what enemies we face, we just have to defeat them all."

With that, she grabbed Bai Ye and prepared to leave.

Seeing Bai Ye and Hu Tao about to depart, the adventurer quickly called after Hu Tao:

"Hall Master Hu, what about our situation?"

"Well, as long as you no longer cling to the mortal world, that will be enough." Hu Tao answered the adventurer's question seriously.

"We'll find out the full circumstances behind your deaths, and anyone responsible will be handed over to the Millelith to be dealt with according to the law."

"Then sorry for the trouble."

All the adventurers thanked them in unison.

"Mm."

Hu Tao and Bai Ye nodded solemnly.

"Let's go. We'll meet Ganyu now, then go check out that place."

After Bai Ye and Hu Tao emerged from the boundary between life and death, Hu Tao impatiently said to Bai Ye.

"Alright."

Bai Ye nodded.

"Hehe, let's see who's been launching sneak attacks from the shadows."

Hu Tao and Bai Ye headed for the Millelith to find Ganyu.

When they arrived at the Millelith garrison, Ganyu and the Millelith soldiers happened to be returning.

The moment she saw Bai Ye, Ganyu ran over and asked, "Bai Ye, how did things go on your end? I just patrolled the place where the bodies were found with the Millelith, but we didn't find a single clue."

As she said this, she looked a little embarrassed.

She had personally searched for so long, yet found nothing at all.

Bai Ye reassured her, "It's normal that you couldn't find anything. That wasn't the original crime scene."

As he spoke,

he told her everything about his exchange with the adventurers' souls.

"Those people wanted to escape. If we hadn't known about this, we probably never would have discovered the truth."

At that, Bai Ye could not help feeling fortunate that Hu Tao had been the detective investigating this case.

Otherwise, even if Conan, Kindaichi, and Di Renjie had all come, they would not have been able to solve it.

The victims had teleported themselves away before they died.

That was truly absurd.

Ganyu pondered for a moment, then turned to the Millelith behind her.

"Captain Sun San, gather the Millelith at once. Prepare to join us in wiping out the bandits who murdered those innocent adventurers."

"Yes!"

Captain Sun San of the Millelith immediately stood at attention with his spear in hand, indicating that he would obey the order.

After the Millelith left, Ganyu turned to Bai Ye and Hu Tao. "Um, Mondstadt and Liyue have never gone to war, so there aren't many Millelith stationed here. We can only have them prevent those people from escaping. The ones entering the Adeptal ruin will probably still be us."

"Mm, naturally."

Bai Ye asked Ganyu, "By the way, since it's an Adeptal ruin, do you know which Adepti it belonged to?"

"Mm... let me think. It may have belonged to True Lord Jing Xuan Tong You. I remember his Adeptal abode was in this area."

After thinking it over, Ganyu named an Adepti.

"Do you think the adventurers' deaths were related to this Adepti? Could it have been some defense mechanism he left behind?"

Bai Ye asked one more question.

"That's impossible." Ganyu shook her head firmly. "True Lord Tong You preferred researching soul-targeting Adeptal arts. He didn't want to harm people's physical bodies."

"So someone has occupied this Adeptal place. They may even be using things left behind by the Adepti to strengthen themselves."

Bai Ye said, stroking his chin.

"Mm, that's very possible."

Ganyu's expression also turned serious as she spoke.

"Let's go. The moment the Millelith arrive, we'll set off."

"Mm, this time, we must bring those villains to justice."

Hu Tao agreed.

"Don't be so hasty. Have you forgotten how those adventurers died? If you rush over like this, what if you get ambushed?"

Bai Ye hurriedly stopped them both.

"It's fine. I'm very nimble."

Hu Tao performed a beautiful spear flourish.

"Mm, this time, we can't let you go in first."

Ganyu stared intently at Bai Ye as well.

She had let her junior brother enter first last time. If it happened again this time, how could she face their master afterward?

With the two of them staring at him, Bai Ye timidly raised his black crystal-like player. "Well, what I mean is, why do we have to go in first and wait for them to ambush us?"

Why not send a robot in first to take pictures?

Last time, it had been the remnant of an Archon's body, so robots could not move around very well. This time, it was an Adeptal site, so it would be much easier.