He changed Tiwat

Speaking of Tinari, Ying recalled what happened this morning: "But, isn't Tinari a little too strict with you? He doesn't let you do a lot of things..."

Paimon nodded in agreement: "Yes, you have to do many things to learn them. If you're not allowed to touch this or that, the slow learning is because he doesn't know how to teach you!"

“No, that’s not how it is! If you spend more time with Master, you’ll find that he’s actually a very good person.” Cole immediately defended Master. “I’ve heard from the elders that Master comes from a very ancient and mysterious race. They are all very intelligent, and most of them are somewhat eccentric, but Master is a very warm-hearted person.”

"By the way, do you know the Order of the Church? Master came from the A, A... something academy of the Biophysical School. Anyway, because Master is very knowledgeable about plants, the sages of that academy wrote to him several times, asking him to take a position in the Order of the Church. However, Master refused on the grounds that 'the city of Sumeru is too noisy and bad for the ears.'"

"That really sounds like something Tinari would say..." Paimon thought of Tinari's fox ears, which did seem quite sensitive.

Ying also complimented, "And...their ears feel really nice to touch!"

Cole nodded vigorously: "Right! I think so too!"

Seeing Ying and Paimon both grinning mischievously, Cole realized he'd let something slip and quickly coughed to cover it up, but his words were still brimming with pride: "Ahem! In short, Master could have taken a position at the Order of the Fathers, but he chose to come to the remote Way of the Forest as a ranger, helping the residents of the rainforest every day, teaching his subordinates all sorts of knowledge, and he doesn't look down on a disciple like me... He's really a very, very good person."

“A really, really good person… um…” Paimon stroked his chin. “Speaking of which, after Ying fainted yesterday, it was indeed Tinari who treated her and carried her back to Huacheng Guo… but I still feel a little annoyed because he kept nagging me the whole way!”

“What? ‘You dare to step into the rainforest without proper gear?’ What? ‘Why didn’t you bring a water bladder? Do you think the people in the rainforest drink rainwater?’ And what? ‘You say you’re a guide? Turn around and look at the path you came from—dense foliage, even more humid, it doesn’t look like a main road to town at all!’”

"What's most infuriating is that he also said, 'Oh, no wonder she fainted. You're planning to send her to the Health Home in Sumeru City after she faints, aren't you? If this is your guiding route, then I guess you have some ideas.'"

"His mouth is so infuriating!" Paimon said angrily, stomping his foot in the air again.

Cole covered her mouth and chuckled, "Pfft... I'm so sorry, Master might have been a bit wrong about this... but it's also because you angered Paimon."

Yingmei tilted her head: "What did Paimon do back then?"

Cole replied, "Because Paimon kept shouting in his ear, 'What should we do? Is she going to die?' Master said he was almost deaf."

Even Ying laughed.

Paimon puffed out his cheeks: "Hey, you jerk, don't laugh! I was just worried about you! Colette, you're not allowed to laugh either! Ugh, I'm so angry! I'm going to get my revenge on you! I'll ruffle your heads into bird's nests!"

As she spoke, she made a move to pounce on Cole, however—

But this was met with a furious roar from Cole: "Don't touch me!!"

Chapter Fourteen: Demonic Scale Disease [4k]

Cole's loud shout startled not only Paimon, but also herself.

Ying looked at Ke Lai with a complicated expression, wanting to say something, but feeling that it wasn't the right time to speak.

Paimon remained frozen in his lunge position, and after a long while, he awkwardly apologized, "Coyle, I'm sorry. Um, I didn't mean to..."

Although Paimon tried to keep his voice calm, Cory could still sense the fear in Paimon's eyes.

Yes, anyone would be scared if they were suddenly yelled at like that, especially if rejected like that by someone they thought was a "friend"...

Cole lowered her head silently, her hands tightly clasped together, her body trembling slightly, her expression one of deep pain: "I... just now... no, it wasn't like that, it wasn't..."

Paimon noticed Cole's unusual behavior and cautiously asked, "Cole, are you... are you alright?"

Cole paused for a moment, then answered softly, "Ah... um, I'm fine, I'm fine now... Sorry, I startled you, haha..."

Although she seemed to be trying to respond to Paimon with a smile, her face looked more like she was crying.

She suddenly stood up: "Right, it's getting late, let's hurry back to Huacheng Guo! Master and the others should be back by now."

Before Luminous and Paimon could answer, Cory had already left on her own—she didn't even turn back to check if Luminous and Paimon had followed, as if she was afraid to see their faces.

On the way back, the three of them did not exchange any more words.

They actually returned much earlier than planned. As soon as Ke Lai got back to Huacheng Guo, she locked herself in her house and refused to be visited by Ying and Paimon.

Neither Ying nor Paimon slept well that night.

The next morning, Paimon, sporting dark circles under his eyes, shook Yingmei awake.

"Ying... I thought about it all night yesterday, but I still can't figure out what's wrong with Ke Lai. Can you come with me to see her?"

Ying was silent for a moment before replying, "...If Cole himself is unwilling to say, I think it's better if we don't pry too much into it."

"Huh? Why? Is it because you think Cole won't want to see us?" Paimon was surprised; she had thought Ying would agree with her.

Ying shook her head.

She could actually sense that Cole had some unspeakable secret.

When she first met Cole the night before last, she noticed that although Cole was very friendly in his words, he was deliberately keeping his distance from others.

For example, when she first woke up from her coma and sat up, Cole reached out to help her, but for some reason stopped halfway; and yesterday, Cole yelled at Paimon, which was less about disliking Paimon's jokes and more about forcefully refusing physical contact with others.

There were also instances of wrist tremors when Cole broke the medicine bowl and dropped the "pocket biscuit"...

If we analyze all of these factors together, it is easy to conclude that "Coley suffers from a hidden illness".

—But since they consider this a secret, and are going to such lengths to keep it a secret, why don't they risk losing this friend by deliberately revealing it?

Although Ying's intuition told her that Cole might have the information she wanted to know, she was unwilling to sacrifice her friendship to obtain it.

Just as she was about to explain the reason to Paimon, someone walked into the cabin.

It is Tinaari.

Tinari's expression was very serious: "Luminous, Paimon, I have something I want to talk to you about."

Paimon was somewhat surprised: "What are you trying to say?"

Tinari closed the door behind him, found a seat, and adopted a posture for a long talk: "I want to talk to you about Cole."

"About Cole?"

Paimon was even more surprised. She had thought that if Cole didn't want to see them, she would go to Tinari, but she didn't expect Tinari to come to them on her own initiative.

After a moment of silence, Tinari said, "I've come to tell you that Corley is ill."

"She's sick!? How could that be..." Paimon covered his mouth in shock. "Wait, could it be because of me yesterday... it was my fault..."

Tina shook her head: "Don't worry, you little guy won't cause such serious consequences. Cole's illness is an old one. But to be honest, Cole has been a bit too excited these past few days since you came and has neglected his physical condition."

"Sigh, but there's nothing we can do about it. After all, she hasn't seen her friends in a long time."

Ying then interjected, "What exactly is wrong with Ke Lai? Is there anything we can do to help?"

Tinari gave Luminous a deep look and replied, "Actually, it wasn't until last night when Cole told me that I realized you were the honorary knight of Mondstadt. I've also heard about your other acts of kindness in Liyue and Inazuma. But I want to clarify that I'm telling you Cole's true situation not because of your identities or past experiences, but solely for one reason—"

"It was Cole who asked me to do this."

“Colette…?” Ying was somewhat surprised. She had thought that Colette would hate it when others pried into her secrets. She had even thought that Tinari had come to talk to them so solemnly to warn them not to pry into Colette’s secrets anymore… but she never expected that Colette would take the initiative to ask Tinari to tell them the secret.

Paimon seemed a little agitated: "Since she wants to tell us the secret, why doesn't she tell us herself? I... I'm going to find her right now!"

Tina waved her hand to stop Paimon: "I've already said that emotional fluctuations are bad for her condition. I've prepared some medicine for her and told her to rest for a couple of days. You should also not try to see her secretly; that will only worsen her condition."

Although Paimon still seemed somewhat uneasy, he obediently nodded.

Tina's expression finally softened a little: "To be honest, I personally don't recommend that Cole tell you about her past experiences... but Cole told me that you treat her as a friend and are sincere to her, so she should treat you the same way."

“I’m willing to trust Cole’s friends, which is why I’m telling you this.”

He paused, then uttered a single word: "'Demon Scale Disease'."

"'Demon Scale Disease'?" Ying and Paimon looked at each other, this was a completely new term to them.

Tina nodded: "This is a disease unique to Sumeru, named for the grayish-black scale-like tissue that appears on the patient's body. Kolei has suffered from this 'Demon Scale Disease' since childhood; a large part of her body is already covered in those scales. If you've noticed her clothing..."

He raised his arm slightly.

“So that’s how it is…” Ying understood Tina’s implication.

The Sumeru Rainforest has a humid and hot climate year-round, and it doesn't cool down much even in autumn. People living in the rainforest usually wear short sleeves like the Tinari, but Kore unusually wore thick arm sleeves all the time, as if he was very afraid of the cold.

Clearly, Cole did this to cover up the "scales" on her body.

“I think you’ve all noticed that Cole is a bit clumsy and indecisive…” Tinari’s voice gradually lowered.

"That's the effect of 'megalo' disease. At first, patients only feel some numbness in the areas of their skin that have changed, but as the disease progresses, they may experience weakness and occasional loss of sensation in their fingers and toes."

"Ultimately, the patient will lose control of their body and completely lose the ability to move."

"Unfortunately, even in the medically advanced Sumeru, 'Demon Scale Disease' is an 'incurable disease' and there is still no cure... All I can do is control the condition and try my best to prevent Cole's symptoms from worsening."

“Ah…no wonder you always stopped Cole from doing anything!” Paimon finally understood why Tinari had seemed so “strict” before.

Tinari gave a wry smile: "This is because I was afraid that Cole would hurt herself, so I asked her to avoid touching fragile items or engaging in heavy physical labor as much as possible..."

Ying then asked, "Is this disease contagious?"

Paimon also looked at Tinari.

Tinari shook his head again: "It's not contagious. The reason Cole refuses to have physical contact with others is psychological..."

He looked at Ying, "When you were chatting yesterday, you mentioned the 'Fools,' right?"

Ying and Paimon reacted in perfect unison: "The Fools again?"

Tinari sighed: "It was Seno... the one who entrusted Coletto to me, who told me about this."

“When Cole was little, someone tricked Cole’s mother into believing they had a way to eradicate ‘Demon Scale Disease’ and told her to hand her daughter over to the Fools’ organization. Then, Cole was sent to an executive officer known as ‘The Doctor’.”

“I don’t know how ‘Doctor’ did it, but Cole’s ‘Demonic Scales’ was indeed completely contained during those years. But the price was… In short, her time with the Fatui was definitely not a pleasant memory for her.”

"Although she is very strong and has always tried to appear cheerful, even now, she is still occasionally afraid of being touched by others."

“…'Doctor'…” Ying quietly clenched her fist.

The "experimental records" in the "Evil Eye Factory," Teppei's smiling face, and Xiaochangci's red eyes from crying all came to mind once again.

If she were to encounter that "doctor," she would not hesitate to draw her sword and kill him!

“So Cole went through so much pain before…” Paimon also lowered his head sadly.

Tinari then turned to Paimon and said, “By the way, Paimon, Cole asked me to tell you that she’s sorry for scaring you yesterday. She also said, ‘I’m sorry I kept some things from you at first.’”

Paimon raised his little fist: "This isn't Cole's fault, she doesn't need to apologize!"

Tina smiled upon hearing this: "Yes, I hope you can tell her these things in person next time you see her. She once thought she was not worthy of friendship, so please don't let my disciple experience similar pain again."

Paimon nodded vigorously: "Tinari, don't worry!"

Ying asked with concern, "How is Ke Lai's condition now?"

Tinari replied, "It's alright, not too serious. She collapsed this time mainly because she was a bit exhausted these past two days, and she also got agitated after hearing about the Fools, which caused her condition to relapse. She's taken her medicine now, and she'll get better after some rest."

“Although she should maintain a moderate amount of exercise, long-distance patrols are no longer suitable for her. Perhaps I should persuade her to retire from the ranks of forest rangers…” He stood up. “Alright, I have told you all about Cole’s situation. Now I’m going to go and collect some herbs for her, so I won’t chat any longer.”

Ying stood up after him: "Can we come along too?"

Paimon chimed in, "Yes, Tinari, we also want to do something for Cole!"

Tinari glanced at Luminous, then at Paimon, and finally couldn't bring himself to refuse: "...Alright. But since the rainforest is dangerous, and Luminous is still recovering, I hope you'll follow my instructions along the way. Is that alright?"

Ying and Paimon performed a proper Knights of Favonius salute together: "Yes, sir!"

On the way, Tinari introduced the medicinal herbs they were looking for to Ying and Paimon: "We are going to collect a plant called 'Moon Lotus,' which is very helpful for patients with 'Demon Scale Disease' to restore their energy. Moon Lotus is widely distributed in the rainforest, and the area near Huacheng is also a major growing area."

Paimon blinked. "Shouldn't we look for lotus flowers in the water?"

Tinaly rarely affirmed Paimon's words: "Yes. Moon lilies are aquatic herbaceous plants that grow in forest wetlands, so you have to go to the water to find them."

However, the next second, Tinari changed the subject: "But I must tell you, the moon lotus is not a lotus. Although it looks like a large blue lotus floating on the water, and it is quite eye-catching, those blue 'petals' are actually leaves and sepals."

"The moon lotus is a flower that emits a bright light like the moon. In the ancient folk tales collected by the Order of the Monarchy, the moon lotus is called the jewel on the chariot of the moon goddess."

"It is said that the chariot of the moon god once shone with a light comparable to the sun, and all things on earth looked up to its grace. However, the arrow that tore through the sky finally shattered the jewels that adorned the chariot, and people could never see the face of the moon king again. All the flowers turned to serve the new master, but the moon lotus still bathed in the cold moonlight, reminiscing about the joyous songs of the past."

"—So, it only blooms at night. We need to find the area where the moon lotus grows first, make a plan, and then pick it when it blooms at night."

"Furthermore, many Sumeru plants cannot be identified by their names alone. For example, 'Kalpa Lotus' sounds like a lotus, but it is actually a vine that grows on cliffs; 'Sumeru Rose' is not actually a rose..."

Paimon clasped his hands together and said, "It was presumptuous of me to discuss plants with Professor Tinari. Please stop reading..."

Chapter Fifteen: The Dead Zone [4k]

Tinari soon discovered that the legendary Knight of Honor was indeed agile, far surpassing ordinary forest rangers. Even an expert like himself, familiar with the terrain, struggled to keep up with Ying's speed—no wonder these two dared to venture into the rainforest without a guide or equipment.

If she hadn't accidentally smelled the "spiritual fragrance," Ying, with her skills, could have easily carved a path through the dense rainforest. Whether it was thorns or vines blocking her way, Ying would simply cleave the path with a single stroke of her sword... As long as she didn't get lost, she could have cut her way all the way from Huacheng to Xumi City.

Of course, even if Luminous can actually carve a path with that strange longsword in her hand, Tinari still has to stop Luminous from destroying the rainforest ecosystem like that.

Tinari's primary profession was as a botanist, and one of his tasks as a forest ranger was to protect the rainforest environment.

Although he shouldn't have thought that way, he sincerely felt that it was a good thing this person had fainted earlier; otherwise, a part of the Sumeru Rainforest, which had been passed down from the era of the Tree King, might have disappeared from this world forever...

The group quickly arrived at the area where the moon lotus grows, and made a collection plan, drawing a distribution map of the moon lotus.

With this map showing how to harvest moon lotus, Huacheng Guo will have no shortage of this medicinal herb for a long time to come.