"Xiao, you're still injured!" Lumine called out, but the connection with Xiao had already been severed.
Itto suddenly exclaimed, "Even with such a serious injury, he's still worried about our safety! This guy's alright—he's got some guts, just like me!"
"Hmph, you cattle herder! You're so thick-skinned!"
"Hey, you little Lavender Melon! I told you already... Ugh, forget it. Compared to 'Big Dummy,' you can call me 'Cattle Herder' all you want."
For once, Itto didn't retort.
Qingge gazed down at the massive pit below the platform. "We need to jump down from here."
"Jump again?!" Itto protested.
Though he'd escaped injury from the previous high fall, he'd developed a psychological aversion to such leaps.
"Boss, if you don't want to jump, you'll have to stay here alone."
"A-a-a, I'll jump! I'll jump, alright?"
After leaping off the platform, Itto clutched his rear, wanting to yell but too embarrassed to.
Paimon giggled uncontrollably nearby, her infectious laughter even making Qingge want to smile.
After the laughter subsided, everyone's attention shifted to the space around them.
"Xiao doesn't seem to be here. Instead..."
Paimon: "A door in a place like this?"
"It's one of those... one of those little wooden cabins! I saw in a picture book that kind-hearted people build them in dangerous places for travelers to rest in."
Qingge and Yelan exchanged glances. While this place couldn't possibly be what Itto described, his ability to imagine such things showed his heart wasn't rotten.
"The guy must be inside! You guys agree, right?" Itto turned to the group for confirmation, but only Paimon chimed in with an enthusiastic, "Yeah, that's right!"
Kuki Shinobu: "No. Anyone with a sense of danger wouldn't be so optimistic."
Paimon: "Hey, cowherd, your subordinate's badmouthing you!"
Itto: "She's badmouthing you too! What's there to be happy about?"
Turning back to Kuki Shinobu, he declared, "See, Shinobu! This is where you fall short of the great Itto! Get it? Everyone's too scared to open it, so I'll do it!"
As Itto strode toward the door, he thought to himself, If Yuna were here, she'd have opened it way before me. That girl's got guts for days.
First, Itto slammed his fist against the door. The ground shook violently, but the door remained stubbornly shut.
Only then did he notice the mechanism beside it. He casually placed his hand on it.
With a series of clicks and whirs, the door slowly swung open.
Mu Qingge clearly saw what lay beyond: the interior of a typical Inazuman commoner's home. A single table stood in the center of the room, with two plates on top, both piled high with beans.
The moment he saw the beans, Itto's pupils contracted sharply.
He cautiously stepped inside, surveying his surroundings. Suddenly, a figure materialized behind him, chanting, "Oni, begone! Oni, begone!"
Itto yelped and bolted back out.
Yanfei: "Did my eyes deceive me? Was there someone inside?"
Itto: "N-no way! Are you sure you didn't just imagine it?"
Paimon suggested opening the door again. Though terrified, Itto forced himself back inside to save face.
This time, everyone saw clearly: there were indeed people inside, each holding a bowl filled with beans.
Kuki Shinobu explained:
"They're bean-throwing exorcists. Our boss is a Oni, and they're using the beans to drive him away."
By this point, Itto had already screamed and bolted out.
"This is too terrifying! How can there be Inazumans in a place like this?"
Yanfei looked puzzled. "Calm down. Aren't you an Inazuman yourself?"
Itto retorted, "I'm an Inazuman oni, not a human!"
Kuki Shinobu countered, "The real question is, why are there Inazumans here at all? Could this place lead to Inazuma?"
Qingge suggested, "I have a theory, but we need at least one more person to go inside and test it."
Itto immediately declared he'd already been inside. His gaze swept over the group before settling on Paimon.
"Flying Lavender Melon, you go!"
"No, I don't want to! I won't go! I-I'm scared!" Paimon hid behind Lumine.
"I'll go," Kuki Shinobu volunteered.
When she opened the door, a woman with green hair appeared—Kuki Shinobu's mother.
"Shinobu, dear, I've found you a job as a miko. You absolutely must take it! It's much better than..."
Kuki Shinobu: "..."
She quickly retreated, her head throbbing.
"Who was that inside?"
"My mother's voice. She's always wanted me to become a miko at the Grand Narukami Shrine. That's why I ran away to study in Liyue."
Lumine and Paimon nodded understandingly. They already knew from their time in Inazuma that neither Kuki Shinobu nor her sister, Kuki Yuna, had any desire to become mikos.
"Everyone," Qingge said, "I think I've figured it out. Whoever enters this door will face their greatest fear."
"Greatest fear?"
"Yes, that seems to be the case. Does anyone else want to try?"
This time, Yanfei stepped forward. Inside the door, she encountered a swarm of petty disputes—neighborly squabbles and trivial matters—the very things that constantly plagued her.
Lumine also took a turn, only to confront the pitch-black Abyss—the Abyss that had stolen her brother and her closest friends!
Lumine emerged last, her teeth clenched in fury as she spoke of what she had faced. Her hatred for the Abyss burned hotter than ever.
Yelan couldn't go; her work was too sensitive. Qingge, however, was different.
"You're going in?"
Noticing Mu Qingge's movement, Yelan frowned.
"I want to know what I'm truly afraid of."
Yelan wanted to protest that Qingge's position made it inappropriate, but remembering Qingge's unwavering trust in her companions and her own independent spirit, she released her grip and decided not to interfere.
Qingge slowly approached the door.
Not only those present, but also the players watching online, were fixated on the scene.
Everyone was curious to discover what the legendary Kaiyang feared most.
When the door opened, it didn't reveal a place, but rather a rapid succession of shifting locations, flashing by like frames of a movie.
The scenes depicted battlefields shrouded in smoke, and upon closer inspection, each setting was unmistakably Liyue:
Liyue Harbor, Dihua Marsh, The Chasm...
Each battlefield was devastatingly brutal, with the Millelith and countless Abyss Monsters locked in a fierce struggle, the Millelith steadily retreating.
Liyue Harbor was particularly horrific, its citizens slaughtered en masse. This was clearly a vision of Liyue after its fall.
Even though Qingge knew it was an illusion, her hands clenched so tightly that her knuckles turned white.
Outside, Yanfei and Yelan felt the most empathy. Yelan even recognized familiar faces among the dead.
"Danger! Pull her out now!"
Sensing Qingge's deteriorating state, Yelan rushed forward and dragged her back.
"Are you alright?"
"I... I'm fine..." Qingge managed.
"How could it be like this? It's terrifying!" Paimon's small face was ashen with fright from the vision.