Wherever Qiqi went, trees came crashing down in droves.
Qiqi worked with remarkable efficiency.
Chopping trees was easy for her, far easier than gathering herbs.
In no time at all, she had felled every tree in the entire forest.
The blacksmith swallowed nervously at the sight.
He knew
there was no way he could handle things alone in this situation.
He would have to call over a few more people to help.
Several young, able-bodied villagers were rummaging through the ruins for anything useful.
Now and then, their faces fell, and they looked thoroughly dejected.
"We're supposed to be the village's main force, but here we are doing such simple work. It feels like we've got all this strength and nowhere to use it."
"Tell me about it. I was ready to show what I could do, and instead they assigned me to clear rubbish. This is such a waste of talent."
As they grumbled, someone came hurrying over. "Uncle Zhang the blacksmith sent me to pass on a message."
"He said to get over there and help him right away! The sooner, the better!"
The villagers' blood immediately started pumping. They were all visibly excited.
"I knew it, I knew it! Gold always shines in the end. It's finally our turn to show what we can do!"
"Brothers, we finally get to make something of ourselves!"
The young men were all thrilled.
After all, the work at the blacksmith's was a crucial part of rebuilding the village.
The villagers all respected the blacksmith.
If they could help him, they'd earn themselves a good reputation in the village.
Amid the excitement, one of the young men asked,
"By the way, did Uncle Zhang say what he needs us to do?"
"Oh, he said to go help a little zombie named Qiqi."
Everyone: "???"
Liyue,
Mount Aocang,
Cloud Retainer's abode.
At this time of day, the immortal's abode was usually silent, both inside and out.
After all, it was an immortal's home, and ordinary people wouldn't dare disturb her.
But today was different.
Clear hoofbeats and a loud crane's cry rang out beyond Cloud Retainer's cave.
They belonged to True Lord of Moon-Cutting and Sun-Carving, who had appeared in the form of a divine deer,
and True Lord of Water and Mountains, who had taken the form of a divine crane.
Now, the two immortals had arrived outside Cloud Retainer's cave at the same time.
The cave's doors swung open,
and Cloud Retainer flew out at the sound.
The three immortals had gathered together, an extremely rare occurrence.
Normally, each of the three had their own duties and territories to watch over and protect.
The immortals rarely met in person.
But if all three of them had gathered,
there could only be one reason: a great upheaval had befallen Liyue.
True Lord of Moon-Cutting and Sun-Carving spoke first. "Cloud Retainer, you summoned us to come at once. What is this urgent matter?"
True Lord of Water and Mountains also looked at Cloud Retainer, his expression puzzled.
Cloud Retainer spoke slowly. "I recently received some information. The Fatui are plotting to disrupt Liyue's peace."
"First, they sent out an advance team to attack the Millelith."
"Then they released an Ancient Rock Dragon Lizard sealed beneath the earth, letting it wreak havoc."
"On top of that, the Fatui are planning to release the god Osial and throw Liyue into chaos."
Ever since the Ancient Rock Dragon Lizard had appeared without warning last time,
Cloud Retainer had sensed something was amiss and quietly investigated.
Her investigation revealed that the Fatui had countless ties to the incident.
This only strengthened Cloud Retainer's belief that the Fatui were plotting something.
If they were allowed to continue, Liyue's peace would be shattered completely.
So Cloud Retainer had called the other two immortals to intervene.
"We don't know what the Fatui are after, but it certainly won't benefit Liyue."
"I called you here in the hope that we'll all keep an eye out for anything unusual and stop the Fatui's plans in time."
At the mention of the Fatui, True Lord of Water and Mountains and True Lord of Moon-Cutting and Sun-Carving exchanged a glance.
They knew the Fatui had a terrible reputation.
And there had been unrest in Liyue lately, with the Fatui's fingerprints all over it.
Even if Cloud Retainer hadn't brought it up today, the two immortals would have kept an eye on those Fatui.
True Lord of Water and Mountains pondered for a moment before speaking slowly. "Now that you mention it, I did sense something unusual today."
"The amber that sealed the herbalist girl all those years ago has been broken."
"Could this be the Fatui's doing as well?"
The immortals still remembered the herbalist girl from all those years ago.
After she came back to life as a zombie, she lost control and became frantic.
Even the immortals couldn't calm her down.
In the end, True Lord of Water and Mountains had been forced to seal the little girl inside amber.
If the Fatui really had broken the amber seal and intended to use the herbalist girl as a weapon,
they could cause Liyue a great deal of trouble.
Knowing how serious the matter was, Cloud Retainer immediately asked, "True Lord of Water and Mountains, can you sense where the girl is?"
True Lord of Water and Mountains nodded without hesitation. "Of course."
"When I sealed the girl, I made the talisman on her myself. It won't be difficult to find her by following its aura."
True Lord of Water and Mountains paused, then added, "Cloud Retainer, are you suggesting we observe the herbalist girl in secret?"
"If she's returned to a normal state, we'll let her live like any other ordinary person."
"But if she loses control again, I'll seal her in amber once more."
After working together for thousands of years, True Lord of Water and Mountains immediately understood what Cloud Retainer meant.
He had already planned to check on the herbalist girl.
Now that Cloud Retainer had brought up the Fatui, he felt even more strongly that they should go and investigate.
Cloud Retainer nodded. "Exactly. Let's see how the girl is doing now, then decide what to do."
True Lord of Moon-Cutting and Sun-Carving looked up at the drifting clouds and spoke gravely. "There's no time to waste. Let's go now."
After a brief discussion, the three immortals set off through the clouds.
True Lord of Water and Mountains led the way, with the other two following behind.
The three immortals were powerful beings, after all.
In the blink of an eye, they had traveled from Mount Aocang to Guili Plains, without making a sound.
They passed as quietly as a gust of wind.
The three immortals appeared without a sound on a cliff.
They looked down, searching the village—still in the midst of rebuilding—for the herbalist girl.
Since True Lord of Water and Mountains could sense the talisman he had made, he soon found Qiqi.
True Lord of Water and Mountains turned to the other two immortals. "I've found the girl."
"She's... chopping trees?"
Cloud Retainer and True Lord of Moon-Cutting and Sun-Carving soon spotted Qiqi as well.
They saw her chopping trees, with several young people helping her.
There was no sign of the Fatui.
Qiqi also seemed stable for now, able to fit into human society just fine.
The humans appeared to have accepted her, and they all got along well.
Only...
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