Walnut used me to boost her sales performance.

So it's more accurate to say that we're taking a "dou" (a unit of dry measure) on a tour rather than two people.

Unfortunately, after being taken to the Rebirth Hall by Hu Tao yesterday, Yi Dou absolutely refused to stay there anymore.

Although he sometimes slept in stone coffins in the wild, the stone coffins he made were still different from real coffins.

The funeral hall was filled with black coffins, urns, memorial tablets, paper money, wreaths, incense, and candles...

Most of the coffins are used at night, and the atmosphere in the entire funeral hall is gloomy. There's also a hutong (a type of ghost) who likes to scare people. Amidst the shadows of the trees, it feels like a ghost might pop out at any moment, which is quite creepy.

Although he is a member of the Oni clan, Ito is still quite afraid of ghosts and also afraid of staying in such gloomy places.

In this respect, Yi Dou and Jiang Bai are worlds apart.

You should know that when Jiang Bai first came to the Hall of Rebirth, he was like a fish in water and adapted very well.

Otherwise, how could he have gotten along so well with Hu Tao and earned the title of the number one little brother?

"Huh, finally a concrete clue?"

Hu Tao was somewhat surprised to receive the message from Jiang Bai.

After being away for so long, we finally have a concrete lead.

She casually sent a reply, telling him that Ichidou and Shinobu had come.

"What clue?" Ichidou, who was enjoying a snack, curiously poked his head over.

"Didn't I tell you that Jiang Bai was looking for immortals in the Layered Rock Abyss? Now we've found a clue. If we calculate it this way, he should be back in half a month at most."

Kurumi looked at Shinobu Hisaki, "Speaking of which, how long do you plan to stay in Liyue this time?"

"That depends on the boss. I'm fine with how long it takes."

The Arakkari faction doesn't usually have anything important to do, and they don't have the concept of clocking in for work. When they come to Liyue, they can stay as long as they want without being asked.

"Of course I can stay as long as I want, but I can't stay too long. The Ara-ryu Sect can't function without its leader."

"Then you should wait for Jiang Bai to come back before you leave. If you don't want to stay at the Hall of Rebirth, I'll arrange an inn for you."

"Then we won't stand on ceremony."

"Don't mention it. It's a rare opportunity for you to come all this way, so of course you should eat, drink, and have fun."

On the other side, in the abyss.

With her weakened body, Zhiqiong made her way to the deepest part of the abyss.

Looking at the towering, floating celestial nail in front of her, Zhiqiong was speechless with astonishment.

She had seen photos of the Frost Nail from "Snow Country," but just looking at the pictures didn't convey the sheer impact.

The feeling of being bathed in pure light seemed to alleviate many of my physical discomforts.

Looking at the giant mechanical serpent whose body was mostly buried beneath the Heavenly Nail, Zhiqiong felt that many of her doubts had been answered.

Chapter 616 What's there to be afraid of?

It turns out that there really was such a terrifying, enormous serpent in the abyss.

Just like the Yaksha being sealed beneath the abyss, these legends are not true legends; they are all real events. However, due to the scarcity of those who knew about them and the lack of detailed records, they have become legends over time.

She took out paper and pen and wrote down the scene in front of her and her thoughts in her journal.

While Zhiqiong was exploring this enormous cave, Kong and Paimon also rushed over.

Looking at the remaining traces of battle in the cave, and the dismembered giant serpent ruins, Sora and Paimon exchanged bewildered glances.

"It seems they've solved the problem here; we don't need to do anything anymore."

"It seems so. But where did they go?"

Paimon looked around but couldn't find Jiang Bai or Xiao, but he did see Zhiqiong.

She was holding a manuscript, digging for some kind of ore near the rocks by the sky nail.

"Zhiqiong is over there, let's go ask her."

"Zhiqiong!" Paimon flew towards her.

"It's you seniors!"

"What are you doing?"

Zhiqiong showed them the ore she had just dug up.

This is a very strange ore. The power of the abyss and the sky nail are simultaneously imprinted on this ore, leaving behind a vortex-like, incongruous yet clearly distinct scene.

"What a unique stone!"

Zhiqiong handed the stone to Kong, saying, "This is for you, senior. Thank you for taking care of me all this way."

"Then I'll accept it. How are you feeling right now?"

"I'm fine, don't worry about me. All that's left is to finish drawing the map of this area, and our investigation will be complete."

Paimon pumped his little fist, "Yeah! Let's do our best! I'm already starting to miss the sunshine outside!"

They had been underground for quite some time. It was alright when they couldn't see the sunlight occasionally, but after a while, they really missed the warm feeling of the sun shining on them.

"Have you seen Jiang Bai?" Kong asked.

"No, this place was like this when I arrived. Senior Jiang Bai must have defeated this giant serpent."

"You didn't see him either... So where did he go..."

Kong looked around; there were no other roads.

After thinking for a moment, he shouted:

"Xiao, can you hear me, Xiao!"

I called for a while, but there was no response, and Xiao didn't appear.

“Strange…” Kong frowned, sensing that something was not quite right.

Normally, calling out to Xiao would definitely bring him out, but this time, no matter how long he called, Xiao didn't react at all.

Where did you go?

But this place doesn't look like it has an entrance.

"It is a bit strange." Paimon couldn't figure it out either, but he didn't think too much about it.

"But don't worry about them. Let's finish drawing the map first, and then go find Haidifu and meet up with them."

"Ah."

……

In the unknown space, Jiang Bai did not see Xiao.

Although they entered one after the other, with less than a second between them, they still managed to separate.

He looked around. It was a huge cave, surrounded by underground rock layers that were no different from the abyss, except that some plants grew there. The low-lying plants that lived in darkness all year round emitted a faint light, so that it was not pitch black.

"Where are we now? What's going on down there?"

Jiang Bai looked completely bewildered.

Cave after cave, this abyss is far too deep. Could the underground of Teyvat really be hollow?

He touched the earring on his ear. Before coming down, he sent a message to the hall master saying he had found the location. Usually, the hall master would reply to him quickly.

Several minutes have passed, and there's still no sign of anything.

Or did you not receive it?

Jiang Bai didn't pay much attention, after all, he could only send a message once every three days, and Hu Tao didn't always reply instantly.

He walked along, calling out Xiao's name.

"Xiao? Where are you? Can you hear me?"

Since he arrived right after Xiao, Xiao shouldn't be too far away from him.

Xiao didn't appear, but his voice came through, sounding somewhat annoyed:

Why did you come down here too?

Jiang Bai put his hands on his hips, speaking with righteous indignation: "You came down here without taking me with you, and you still have the nerve to say that? I promised Master I would bring you back safely!"

Fortunately, his master allowed him to come along. Otherwise, the changes underground might have had a huge impact on Xiao. If he died underground, the last Yaksha of Liyue would be gone.

"Where are you? Can you sense my location by following my voice? Why aren't we in the same place?" Before Xiao could reply, Jiang Bai fired off a series of questions.

Xiao remained silent for a while, but ultimately did not hide it.

It's better to be honest about some things than to keep them hidden forever.

"This space is special; it's easy to get in, but getting out..."

"What's there to be afraid of?" Jiang Bai dismissed his unfinished words. "Isn't there still Master? If we don't go back for a long time, will Master just sit idly by and do nothing?"

They have already reported their arrival in Juyuan. With Zhongli around, why worry about anything happening in Liyue?

Besides, Hu Tao is still outside. If he can't be contacted, Hu Tao will definitely know something's wrong and will come looking for him immediately.

There are people waiting outside to meet them, so it's not a big deal if they're trapped inside. They just need to wait for Hu Tao to bring the old man to rescue them.

Xiao seemed to have never considered this possibility and remained silent for a long time.

"...How could I dare trouble Your Majesty...?"

He came to the Abyss to find Fushe because of his own selfish desires. How could he disturb the Emperor because of his own selfishness?

The Emperor's decision to have Jiang Bai accompany him is already a sign of consideration. If the Emperor were to personally intervene, wouldn't that be taking advantage of the Emperor's magnanimity and pushing his luck?

Jiang Bai thought Xiao was good in every way, but he underestimated himself.

When facing the Emperor, he always subconsciously placed himself in a very low position.

He saw himself as a tool, a weapon that didn't need to be imbued with emotion, so he never dared to ask for too much.

Zhongli told Jiang Bai that this was related to Xiao's past experiences, a form of self-protection after suffering, which has been the case for thousands of years.

Zhongli never regarded Xiao as a tool; he underestimated himself.

Zhongli also wanted him to change, but she didn't have a good way to do it.

Visiting him occasionally is fine, but going too often will only make him anxious, worrying that he hasn't done something right, that he's disappointed the Emperor, or that something strange has happened in Dihua Island...

He would never even consider whether the Emperor was coming to see him.

Zhongli could only tell Jiang Bai to visit Xiao at Wangshu Inn whenever he had free time.

This time, Zhongli even had Jiang Bai accompany her.

If this doesn't demonstrate that we value something, then what does?

Chapter 617 Do you want to know her fate?

"What trouble is there to say? Do you want the Emperor to watch you, the last of the immortal yakshas, ​​die?"

Jiang Bai's tone was stern; Xiao's viewpoint needed to be corrected.

In his opinion, one should act cute when necessary, play the victim when necessary, and ask for help when necessary. What's the point of stubbornly holding on?

If something goes wrong, it will only cause heartache and pain to those who care about you.

"Your master cares so much about your safety, sending me to deliver medicine and food, visiting you from time to time, and even bringing me with you to the Great Abyss. Do you really think your master would be happy if you died here?"

"...That's not what I meant."

Suddenly scolded, Xiao lowered his eyes.

That's not what he meant, but... he didn't know how to say it.

He simply didn't want to trouble the Emperor...

"That's exactly what you mean! There's no such thing as 'troubling' or 'troubling.' You help me, I help you. Isn't that how worldly relationships and bonds are built?"

“You said you didn’t want to bother your master, but have you ever thought that your master would want you to bother him?”

"You think you don't want to cause trouble for others, but have you ever thought that this will cause even bigger trouble?"