"When the sun comes out, I bask in the sun; when the moon comes out, I bask in the moon..."

"Lady Ningguang, some citizens have reported seeing a few foreigners in strange attire. After verification, it appears they are neither from Mondstadt nor scholars from Sumeru."

Tianfeng Douluo felt his legs go weak. He carefully steadied himself against the eaves to sit cross-legged, wiping the cold sweat from his face. Just as he was about to mutter something, his unique Titled Douluo spiritual power picked up a sound.

In an instant.

He held his breath, clamped his mouth shut, and listened with rapt attention.

"Foreigners?"

It was a distinct, mature female voice.

"Have you investigated clearly? The Fatui seem to have been up to something in Mondstadt. Are these people instigated by them?"

"We haven't found any traces of the Fatui yet, but—"

"But what?"

"There seems to be some movement over at the Northland Bank. I wonder—"

The air seemed to still. After two and a half seconds of silence, Ningguang's signature mature voice rang out again.

"I understand!"

"Strengthen the Millelith's defenses. We must ensure that tomorrow's Rite of Descension proceeds and concludes smoothly!"

"Yes!"

Hearing this, Tianfeng Douluo finally understood.

This "Rite of Descension" was happening tomorrow!

"You may all withdraw."

"Yes, Lady Ningguang!"

Tianfeng Douluo had hoped to hear more, but just then, he felt a breeze brush past. It was as if something had detected his spiritual power, and he immediately recoiled in fright.

Forget it—I'll just wait until tomorrow and follow the person with this voice. That should be enough to find the location of the Rite of Descension!

"This—surely I'm not going to end up sleeping on the streets, am I?"

At this moment.

Chen Fan had finally arrived in the vicinity of Liyue Harbor from Wangshu Inn.

To avoid being identified as an outsider.

After leaving Wangshu Inn, Chen Fan did not head straight to Liyue Harbor. Instead, he spent some time scavenging for supplies outside and managed to obtain a bit of Mora.

Finally.

He used it to buy a standard set of Liyue clothing.

Only—

The awkward part was.

Penniless as he was, even if he entered Liyue Harbor, it seemed he had nowhere to stay.

Could it be that he really had to sleep on the street?

That wouldn't be very good, would it?

Chen Fan knew that their arrival in the Teyvat world was being broadcast on a light screen back on the Douluo Continent, and the social embarrassment of that was still—

"Wait, why does it feel a bit chilly?"

As Chen Fan was thinking, he suddenly felt a cold wind blow by and shivered involuntarily. "Why does it sound like there's some noise?"

"Who's digging in the dirt?"

Thinking this, Chen Fan spread out his spiritual power and headed toward the source of the sound.

Then—

He saw a figure from behind, wearing a Qiankun Tai-Gua Hat and sporting reddish-brown gradient twin tails.

At the same time.

Strapped to the back of this figure was a little one with a vacant gaze and a talisman stuck to their forehead—

"Wait, what is going on here? Is there someone kidnapping children in Liyue?"

"Whose child is this? Why do they look so dazed and foolish? They haven't been killed, have they?"

"Hey, hasn't anyone noticed that this kidnapper has a pretty nice back view?"

"You must have never seen those kinds of perverts before, have you?"

On the light screen, as soon as there was a development on Chen Fan's side, it was immediately noticed by many. Of course, the previous scene with Tianfeng Douluo had also left many people clicking their tongues in wonder.

However.

Chen Fan was unaware of the reactions from the masses on the Douluo Continent.

Seeing this scene, his expression immediately turned peculiar. "I knew it—"

"Why is it so chilly?"

"So I've stumbled upon this underworld business!"

Chen Fan was all too familiar with the two figures, one large and one small, before him.

The larger one was none other than the 77th Director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, Hu Tao, known by the nickname "Eat well, drink well, and have a safe journey!"

And the smaller one—was Director Hu Tao's lifelong obsession, the one she racked her brains to lay to rest, known as the "Fortune Preserver," Qiqi!

"However—this segment doesn't seem to have appeared in the main quest, right?"

"Could it be the butterfly effect?"

Chen Fan raised an eyebrow and looked at the dazed, unresponsive Qiqi before him. He narrowed his eyes, sensing that something was amiss.

At this moment.

Director Hu Tao, who was busy digging a hole, had not noticed Chen Fan's arrival and was still digging with great enthusiasm.

"Hehe, this newcomer really has a knack for things!"

"To think they could come up with this!"

"Finally, I can lay her to rest!"

In Director Hu Tao's eyes, Qiqi was a dead person, and the best way to deal with the dead was to bury them, which would also balance the order of Yin and Yang.

It was just a pity that despite all her painstaking efforts to bury Qiqi, she had failed every single time.

"When the sun comes out, I bask in the sun; when the moon comes out, I bask in the moon—"

Humming a little tune in high spirits, Director Hu Tao tossed her shovel onto the ground and prepared to toss the Qiqi behind her into the hole, but unexpectedly, she grabbed her own hair instead. "Eh?"

She let go, feeling somewhat bewildered, and looked back, then left and right. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing there but herself.

"She ran away?"

"Eh, I remember tying her up securely, this—"

She scratched her head in confusion, a giant question mark hanging over her, looking like someone lost and bewildered in the vast wilderness.

Meanwhile.

Chen Fan had already carried Qiqi away and arrived at Mt. Tianheng.

Spirit scattered, eyes dazed—why does it feel like she's been hit by some kind of mental attack?

Setting Qiqi down, Chen Fan closed his eyes and used his spiritual power to sense her condition, which became clear at a glance.

According to the traditional Yin and Yang order of Liyue, a person is composed of three souls and seven spirits.

Qiqi was a bug-like existence caught between Yin and Yang, meaning her soul and spirits were incomplete; this allowed her to live, but also resulted in her extremely poor memory.

Of course.

Based on the current interpretation, this could be classified as an incomplete spiritual sea.

And now, after Chen Fan's examination, it appeared that Qiqi's spiritual sea had suffered some kind of violent impact, causing it to nearly collapse.

Once the spiritual sea collapses, the person dies on the spot, or at the very least, becomes a vegetable.

And in the world of Teyvat—aside from the Goddess of Flowers' reincarnation or the Akasha Terminals, there didn't seem to be any entities involved in this sort of thing.

That meant—

This must have been a dirty trick played on Qiqi by someone from a certain faction?

With this thought, Chen Fan fell into deep contemplation.

"On the Douluo Continent, everyone has a spiritual sea, but only Spirit Masters of the mental attribute or Titled Douluo above level 95 would likely possess any means of mental attack."

"If that's the case—who exactly is in the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor?"