From Ningguang's briefing, Idris now knew the blond traveler was the bubbly "Ying."
Which was fine—male or female didn't really change his plans.
Meanwhile, far below the Chasm's rim, Ying finally cracked the outer seal and glided into the lightless belly of the mines. Black veins ran through the rock; stagnant miasma pulsed in the air.
"This seal is ridiculous," she huffed as she floated down. "Hilichurls can get in, monsters can get in… so who exactly was it keeping out?"
Paimon coughed. "U-uh… besides the miners, probably just you?"
Ying flared her wings and dropped to a ledge. "No sailing to Sumeru. The Chests Demand It. If I skip the Chasm, I'll miss a fortune in loot!"
Paimon could only spread her tiny hands. Priorities were priorities.
By the time the Adventurers' Guild team and Liyue's miners joined them below, Ying was already asking around.
"Didn't someone say they were from Sumeru? If it's our next stop, we should get intel early."
They found a tan, scarfed young woman cataloging ore samples. At the mention of Sumeru, she brightened—then winced.
"I've been down here a while. What I know is… about a month old. Still want it?"
"Please," Ying said.
"Okay. Month-old Sumeru in a nutshell:
New Grand Sage. Very young, name's Idris. In two weeks he cleaned up a lot—street crime down, markets steadier, the Akademiya's grip on money and manpower loosened a notch. People don't all like him, but they trust he gets things done. Loudly.
Dreams came back. Adults hadn't dreamed for, well, forever. Then, bang—two notices the same day. The Fatui 'Doctor' issued a public apology for… 'tampering' with our Akasha network, and the Akademiya announced the cause of dreamlessness was found and lifted. Folks slept, dreamed—and cried. Whole city cheered. You can imagine how popular the Grand Sage got.
Alchemy Faculty. He's adding a seventh Darshan—Alchemy. Not the potion boilerplate you've heard from Mond; this is 'pill-craft.' He personally demonstrated a pill that suppresses—and then cures—Eleazar. Two cases everyone talks about: Collei and Dinazedad. First pill calms it, second finishes it. Miracles sell themselves.
Music thingies. 'Sumeru Music Players.' Palm-sized, 200 songs inside, special earset that still works outside the nation. First batch tiny, hype enormous. He previewed one at the Grand Bazaar—Nilou danced to it. Speaking of…
Grand Bazaar relations thawed. For the first time, official receptions moved from the cold trees up there to our warm bazaar down here. Food, lights, music, dancing. The bazaar feels… respected. Oh—word is he gifted Nilou a 'Beauty-Preserving Pill.' Draw your own conclusions."
Paimon's eyes sparkled. "A pill that keeps you pretty forever… Is that… edible for floating life-forms?"
The adventurer smothered a grin and went on, fingers ticking points.
"6) The Doctor got humbled. Rumor says he planted a hundred backdoors in the Akasha and still lost a duel to some absurd Sumeru security ward. He had to apologize publicly. People laughed for days. (The Fatui did not.)
But there's a shadow. In Port Ormos and parts of Caravan Ribat and Pardis Dhyai, contraband canned knowledge laced with forbidden wisdom is spreading again. The Matra and the 30-man Corps seized a lot, but it keeps reappearing, like someone's feeding it. Some users go comatose; some start preaching about a 'divine machine.' So… be careful.
Withering and Eleazar. Withering zones still pop up, but the response is faster, and—thanks to the new pills—Eleazar isn't a death sentence anymore. Hope does wonders to a city's mood.
Desert clans. The Gilded Brigade is split: some mercs, like Dehya, cooperate more; others sulk because a calmer Sumeru means fewer 'opportunities.'
The Little Lord. We still haven't seen Lesser Lord Kusanali. Whispers say she and the Grand Sage are… complicated. But the streets are quieter, so most folks have stopped arguing theology and started arguing which music track slaps harder.
God-making rumor. Black-market talk says a giant 'Divine Machine' is near completion and a certain puppet from Inazuma wants to become a god. No timetable. Just… whispers."
She exhaled. "That's my month-old snapshot."
"Dreams restored… Eleazar treatable… and a seventh Darshan," Ying murmured. "Sumeru sounds busy."
"Busy and touchy," the adventurer warned. "If you're heading there, watch out for canned knowledge and any talk about 'forbidden wisdom.' If the Matra ask, cooperate. Their General Mahamatra—Cyno—is scary polite."
Paimon floated a slow circle. "Sooo… plan stays the same: clear the Chasm, loot every chest, then Sumeru?"
Ying grinned. "Exactly. The Chests Demand It, then the God of Wisdom. Maybe she'll know about my brother."
"Or the Grand Sage will," Paimon said. "He sounds… very loud."
"Either way," Ying said, tightening her gloves, "down we go."
And with that, the blond traveler plunged deeper into the echoing dark—toward the last locks on Liyue's road, and the green canopy beyond.
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