Troublemaker

The first thing Yelan did when she regained consciousness was vomit violently. She had not even had time to open her eyes; it was a purely instinctive reaction.

Only after throwing up the acid in her stomach did she weakly open her eyes against the bright light. The instant she did, she wondered whether she was already dead.

She now felt as though she were inside a domain. Beneath her feet were solid clouds, and several platforms and trees actually floated above them. At the highest point of the platforms, Yelan immediately spotted the person she hated most, sitting in meditation with his eyes closed.

Seeing that Uchiha here too, Yelan understood that he had brought her into some domain. While gathering information on him, she had learned that he had obtained a huge Mingxia Floating Life Stone from somewhere and left it with the Feiyun Commerce Guild for safekeeping. Presumably, this was where it had ended up.

Yelan immediately checked herself all over and discovered that her most important possessions-Aqua Simulacra, her Lifeline Thread, and her Vision-were all missing. Not only that, the intelligence, Mora, and identification documents in her pockets were gone too. Even the things she had hidden in her private areas had been taken.

At that thought, a faint blush surfaced on Yelan's face. Although she presented herself as a mature, alluring woman and was well versed in flirting, she was still a virgin at the end of the day. If things got real, she would get embarrassed too.

However, she quickly regained her composure. She actually found it strange. After subduing her, why had that man not tied her up, locked her away, or even killed her outright? Also, why had she suddenly lost consciousness? And what was going on with those unusual scarlet eyes of his?

Now Yelan's mind was filled with all sorts of questions. As an intelligence officer, remaining curious about everything and seeking the truth had already become subconscious habits for her.

"Mr. Uchiha, what is this place?"

Hearing the voice from below, Yucheng stopped meditating. "This was once the abode of the Sea of Clouds, Sea of Moonlight Adeptus, the master of your ancestors, Boyang and Rongzhao. Now it's my abode."

!!!

The sheer amount of information contained in Yucheng's simple statement made Yelan's pupils dilate involuntarily.

"You know about our ancestors?"

"What's so surprising about that? Back then, the Sea of Clouds, Sea of Moonlight Adeptus gave your ancestors the Fantastic Compass. During the battle at The Chasm, Boyang used it to seal himself, the Nameless Yaksha, some of the Millelith, and the monsters inside the underground mines of The Chasm, greatly easing the situation for the Millelith fighting aboveground.

"Unfortunately, everyone in the underground mines died in battle, and the Fantastic Compass vanished without a trace. Although Rongzhao was fortunate enough to survive, he went mad as a result and passed away not long afterward."

"What do you intend to do with me?"

"Honestly, your identity puts me in a difficult position. After a lot of consideration, I could only come up with two options. First, kill you and flee Liyue. Ningguang may wield immense power, but only within Liyue's borders. If I went to another country, her reach wouldn't extend that far."

"That's true. You've thought this through quite thoroughly. What's the second option?"

"The second depends on whether you'll accept it. I let you go, and we act as though we've never met. I'll return all your belongings too, but you'll have to promise not to cause me any more trouble unless I actually break the law first."

"You mean you want me to pretend none of this ever happened?"

"I rather like Liyue, and I'm planning to live here long-term. I don't want to end up spending my life on the run because of you. This is a good thing for you too. Isn't being alive nice? Once you're dead, you have nothing."

"Aren't you afraid I'll retaliate once you let me go and I get back?"

"Fontaine's Kamera technology really is excellent. These pictures are so lifelike." Yucheng picked up a Kamera from the ground beside him and waved it at Yelan.

Yelan immediately realized something, and her face turned bright red. "You beast! You shameless, filthy scum!"

"As long as it achieves the objective, any method is fair game. That's how ninja operate. To keep you from retaliating, I need some leverage over you. Don't worry. I guarantee that no third person besides you and me will ever know about these pictures.

"Miss Yelan, have you made your decision?"

Yelan's face was ashen. For an intelligence operative, having someone hold leverage over her meant that, besides Ningguang, a second person could control her. That effectively rendered the operative useless.

She had to recover the leverage in Yucheng's hands. Otherwise, she would never know peace again.

Yelan's eyes brimmed with murderous intent toward Yucheng. She was already weighing whether to pretend to agree first, then gather people to kill him and destroy the Kamera once she got out.

"From the look of you, you don't seem willing to agree. How about this? I'll throw in two pieces of information so you have something to do instead of watching me all day."

"What information?"

"The lowest-ranked Fatui Harbinger, [Childe], will arrive in Liyue soon. His mission is to seize Rex Lapis's [Gnosis]."

"What did you say?!"

"Don't get worked up. I'm not finished yet. However, Rex Lapis rarely appears in public these days, and no one knows his whereabouts. So [Childe] plans to cause a major incident in Liyue to force Rex Lapis to show himself. As for what sort of incident, I'll leave that for you to investigate."

"How does a ninja from Inazuma know Snezhnaya's classified intelligence? Who exactly are you?"

"Oh? Now, instead of worrying about whether my information is true, you're concerned about where I learned it? There's a saying in our country: curiosity killed the cat. Stop obsessing over who I am.

"As for the second piece of information, I hear you often visit the underground mines of The Chasm, Miss Yelan. Presumably, you're searching for your ancestor Boyang and the Fantastic Compass?"

"You know about that too?" Now Yelan truly could not remain calm. For five hundred years, every generation of her family had tried to find Boyang and the Fantastic Compass. Unfortunately, none had found anything. It had practically become an obsession for their family.

"Of course I know. But I won't tell you right now. Once you've thoroughly dealt with the matter in my first piece of information, I'll tell you."

"All right. I agree!"

After Yelan agreed, Yucheng tossed her a bundle containing all her belongings. After checking them one by one, Yelan held Aqua Simulacra in one hand and glared at Yucheng resentfully, sorely tempted to shoot an arrow straight at him.

"You can go now. The exit is behind you. Here's to a pleasant partnership."

"Our business is settled, but Lady Ningguang sent me to find you and ask you to come to the Jade Chamber for a talk."

???

"What do you mean? What does she want with me?"

"How would I know?"

"So your real reason for coming here wasn't to arrest me, but just to tell me to visit the Jade Chamber? Are you a troublemaker, you damn woman? You stirred up all this trouble out of nothing!"