In Teyvat, it all begins with rescuing the grass god.

Although Cole was well hidden.

But everyone present was shrewd enough to see that her willingness to stay wasn't because she was craving the food, but because she had other ideas.

She was already asleep, so Dixia felt free to confront Rhodes about the matter.

However, Rhodes didn't care about this.

Holding a twig in his hand, he poked at the campfire as he replied, "Yeah, I know."

"You knew that, yet you still kept her?"

Upon hearing this, Dixia's voice rose a few decibels.

"Shh-"

Rhodes didn't explain, but simply raised a finger to signal Desia to be quiet.

"—!"

Dixia was getting angry, and said, barely containing her rage, "Aren't you afraid this little girl will cause you trouble?"

"fine."

"She can't cause any trouble, and she's not the one who's in trouble."

Rod said nonchalantly, "Don't worry, I have my reasons for keeping her. When have I ever done anything that would put me at a disadvantage?"

"."

His words were reasonable and well-founded, and Dixia didn't know how to continue persuading him.

The atmosphere suddenly fell silent.

In the huge courtyard.

Aside from the whistling of the cold wind, the only other sound was the crackling of the campfire.

After a long time.

It was only then that Dixia took the initiative to speak.

"What are you going to do?"

"So you just took her in like that?"

Considering the practicalities, she continued the previous topic, offering her analysis for Rhodes: "She suffers from Demonscale Disease. Staying here will only worsen her condition. It would be very troublesome if she died here. I heard that the Order of the Church has a hospital that specializes in treating Demonscale Disease, I think it's called the House of Vitality, not far from Aru Village."

Before she could finish speaking, Rod interrupted, "I won't let her go anywhere, especially not that damn Vitality House."

"!?"

Dixia was taken aback, then quickly realized what was going on and asked, "Is there a problem with Vitality House?"

"has a problem?"

"Ah--"

Rhodes sneered: "That place is specifically for luring people there to conduct human experiments, not a legitimate place to treat Demonscale Disease."

"what?"

This was the first time Dixia had heard of this, and she looked astonished: "Is what you're saying true?"

Suddenly.

Then she thought of something else, her eyes widening as she exclaimed, "All the patients with the Demon Scale Disease in the village have been sent there! If it's really like you said, then wouldn't that mean!!!"

"Hopeless."

Rhodes shook his head: "Once you go in there, you can't come out like a normal person."

"no!"

"How can you just stand by and watch someone die!"

"Since that place is specifically designed to harm people, why not go and rescue them?!"

Ignoring what Rhodes said, Dixia flew into a rage and went to find Candice to discuss the rescue.

However, she hadn't taken more than a few steps when Rod forcibly pulled her back.

"What are you going to do?"

"The defenses there are even tighter than those in Sumeru City, and the leader is more capable of fighting than the Grand Disciplinary Officer. Unless it's someone from the Order of the Instruction who takes action, there's simply no way to snatch them out of there."

As he spoke, Rod gestured toward the room where Cole slept: "Look, she escaped from a lab that looks like that."

"."

Dixia's first thought wasn't to sympathize with Cole or anything else, but rather to ask in confusion, "How do you know all this?"

“I encountered one of these laboratories in the desert and saw the horrific conditions inside.”

Rod made up a random excuse.

Anyway, no one knows what those Fools' laboratories in the desert are really like, so we can just make up any lie.

Next.

He told Dixia everything he knew.

These include, but are not limited to, surgeries that remove brain lobes to keep patients calm; dialysis of the patient's blood using a special instrument to reduce the concentration of elements; replacing organs from healthy individuals with those from patients that cause abnormal elemental levels; forcibly replacing limbs, skin, or other body parts of patients; and, most egregiously, the live injection of demonic remnants.

There is no video.

Just hearing Rhodes's description gave Dixia goosebumps.

"Is this...is this really something a human being could do?"

Dixia pursed her lips.

For some reason, she felt a strange sense of fear towards the attending physician that Rod had mentioned.

Desia is not someone who has never killed anyone.

In desert areas, especially deep in the desert, murder is a common occurrence.

But if you asked her to remove organs from a living person and then implant them into another person without batting an eye, she knew she couldn't do it.

And those who can do these things without changing their expression.

Even before meeting him, he was already enough to instill fear in people.

"Unfortunately."

"In these hospitals that claim to treat patients with Demon Scale Disease, all the doctors are living, breathing human beings, not monsters or ghosts."

Rhodes looked at Dixia seriously and warned, "Don't try to provoke those people. We can't afford to mess with them. If things really fall out, with their strength, you, me, the Blazing Beast Hunter, and even Aru Village might all end up dead without a burial place."

"I, I know."

Despite being repeatedly warned by Rhodes and hearing the descriptions of those horrific experimental scenes, no matter how much Dixia wanted to help those innocent patients, she could only helplessly look up at the moon and sigh, "They are all pitiful people who just want to live."

"Yes."

"They just want to try to survive."

Looking at the full moon in the sky, Rod also sighed.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 46 Interrogation

This night.

Cole slept very restlessly.

Even though Rhodes' home is very safe, there is no need to worry about the various dangers that may arise in the desert.

But she still woke up many times.

When she woke up from the nightmare, her face was contorted with rage, her body was enveloped in purplish-black smoke and mist, and she was extremely agitated. Each time, Rhodes had to knock her unconscious in order to calm her down.

It's one thing if it happens once or twice.

Kele would wake up every one or two hours. She was a light sleeper and would be startled by the slightest noise. Rhodes couldn't use force, so he could only subdue Kele, who was agitated by being startled, again and again.

This resulted in Rhodes barely sleeping all night, forcing him to sit in his chair and keep watch despite his sleepiness.

dawn.

Cole finally woke up completely.

However, even though she had already opened her eyes, she didn't get out of bed. Instead, she clutched the blanket tightly and huddled inside, quietly observing her surroundings.

"Ha—ah~"

"If you're awake, don't lie there anymore, get up."

The sudden sound startled Cole, who nearly bared her teeth at Rod again, just like before.

Looking at Rod, who kept yawning.

Cole was momentarily dazed, then carefully climbed out of bed.

Even when she puts on her shoes, she does so in a very stealthy manner.

Rod said irritably, "Stop pretending. There are no outsiders here. You don't need to put on that pitiful act anymore."

Cole paused in putting on her shoes, then looked over in surprise.

Rod, with a businesslike expression, crossed his legs and tapped the back of his chair lightly.

"If you want to stay here properly, it's really necessary to tell the truth."

"if not."

"I'm not sure if you'll cause damage to the village."

"Tell us everything about your origins, your past, your purpose in staying here, and the strange power within you."

The scene, resembling an interrogation of a criminal, instantly froze the atmosphere in the room.

Cole's expression changed several times.

The pitiful and innocent expression she had been wearing was slowly fading away.