50 50. Nantianmen

When Kun Jun saw their expressions, he felt something wasn't right.

"Is there something wrong?"

Zhongli shook his head. Then explained to Kun Jun that Ryūhei also felt a trace of energy in the same direction as Kun Jun pointed to. Since Ryūhei didn't want ordinary people to know that he could feel or even manipulate negative energy, Zhongli didn't state the truth to Kun Jun.

After finding the clue, they didn't immediately report to Uncle Dai, but asked the miners in the area. It took them quite some time to ask people how those miners and adventurers disappeared without notice.

At around 4 PM to be precise, they regrouped and called Uncle Dai to tell him the clues they got.

Ryūhei was the one who opened his mouth to explain.

"After looking at the camp the miners and adventurers left behind, we came to the conclusion that they were forced to leave."

"Forced to leave? Why though?" Uncle Dai was puzzled.

"If they weren't, they wouldn't leave their luggage. All of the things were almost intact. They didn't bring any change or meal." Ryūhei explained further. Then, he glanced at Kun Jun for a moment. "Besides, Mr. Kun Jun over here made good use of his– expert techniques– to arrive at a conclusion. And it was a child that took your men away."

"A child!? Impossible! There are no settlements here for miles around! There's no way a child would have made it over to the mine!"

Ryūhei shrugged his shoulders.

"Don't forget my ability to track down the flow of energy. It's even recorded in the Adventurers' Guild and the Ministry of Civil Affairs, you know! Otherwise, we wouldn't have this conclusion."

Most people in the Adventurers' Guild and the Ministry of Civil Affairs already knew his prowess on the surface. And from their view, his strength is considered to be at the level of a veteran adventurer even though he didn't bear a Vision.

"Ah! Then, where did they go?"

"They followed the road toward the ruins." Ryūhei pointed toward Lingju Pass.

"Then, I'll rally my men and head in pursuit. If we set off now and make haste, we might be able to catch them."

Zhongli instantly grabbed Uncle Dai's shoulder to prevent him from going. He said.

"Don't be hasty! The incident occurred 2 weeks and a week ago. You won't be able to catch them even if you make haste."

Uncle Dai turned back. But after pondering for a moment, he sighed.

"You're right. I'm sorry. I'll lead my search party over to the settlements further out and make some inquiries. There are only a few settlements around here with lodging for the night. We'll go investigate and see if we can come up with anything. In the meantime, you could keep looking for clues. If we don't see each other, let's reconvene at the Wangshu Inn tomorrow evening."

Ryūhei disagreed with Uncle Dai's suggestion as he shook his head.

"Wangshu Inn? That's quite far, don't you think? After you're done investigating, It would be better if you follow the path we took. We'll make a sign so you know where we're going."

"Agreed."

Zhongli agreed with Ryūhei's words. It would be better if Uncle Dai could catch up after finishing the investigation. Although Zhongli wasn't completely sure, if indeed the disappearance of the miners and adventurers had something to do with Azhdaha, he might need Ryūhei's power to suppress the Erosion. Besides, if they found miners and adventurers on the way, he needed Uncle Dai to look after them.

— — — —

As they passed the Lingju Pass, they continued northward according to the clues from Kun Jun's ability as well as Ryūhei's ability to detect recent negative energy.

And a few hours later, they arrived at Nantianmen, the area at the feet of Mt. Hulao.

The sky was already dark. The fog also began to cover the dark night.

There was a big tree in Nantianmen. Ryūhei could see from afar that the tree seemed to connect with the Ley Line and a terrifying existence since he could feel something amiss from the tree. The blue-like veins in the tree were akin to a frozen branch that shone brightly to illuminate the surrounding area. But, it couldn't hide the mysteriousness of how it formed.

But then, he gasped.

"There are some people near that tree!" Ryūhei pointed.

Zhongli and Kun Jun turned toward where Ryūhei was pointing.

There were 2 people lying on the ground with baskets on their backs. Judging from their appearances, those two were the missing miners they were looking for.

The three hurriedly approached the two miners and immediately checked their state.

Unfortunately, one of them was already dead from exhaustion. And another one was in a critical condition. As Ryūhei sensed residual negative energy within the surviving miner, he immediately absorbed it. After that, he asked Kun Jun to take care of the miner while handing him a bottle of water.

"Let's set up a tent to let that person rest. His body is so weak from exhaustion." Zhongli suggested setting up a tent a little bit far from the tree as if he understood something.

Ryūhei didn't question Zhongli as Zhongli's expression grew pensive the closer he got to Nantianmen. So, Ryūhei believed that Zhongli knew something about the weird tree in front of them.

After Ryūhei finished setting up the tent, Kun Jun put the surviving miner inside the tent, and at that moment, he saw an ore fragment fall from his pocket.

Kun Jun picked up the ore fragment and felt that it was a high-quality one. Kun Jun saw a vision when the miner was picking the ore fragment. From there, he witnessed how a little girl suddenly appeared and ordered the miners as if she was using hypnosis.

Ryūhei opened his mouth.

"I see. That explains why the witnesses saw that their expressions were so lifeless while following a little girl."

"Oh! Wait a moment! Seeing this fragment has jogged my memory. I have something for you." Kun Jun seemed to remember something. He took something from his bag, then gave it to Zhongli and Ryūhei.

Zhongli seemed baffled by this, while Ryūhei's expression turned ugly.

"Wait, wait! If you gave us something like this suddenly and at a time like this. I feel like this would be a death flag."

"Eh…" Kun Jun was surprised by Ryūhei's response.

Looking at his expression, Ryūhei knew that he should explain.

"Well. It's something like…umm… a custom? Anyway, when you give something or a promise to someone right before a certain event occurs, it's like a mysterious thing that's happening right now that has the potential to become a big event. That's like raising the death flag that suggests one of us might die."

"Ugh… Hahaha. I'm sorry. I didn't know that." Kun Jun could only laugh awkwardly in response to Ryūhei's explanation. He knew that Ryūhei hailed from Inazuma. So it was not strange if Ryūhei had such a belief.

"Why did you want to give something to us?" Zhongli suddenly asked.

Kun Jun scratched his head before opening his mouth to reply.

"Umm, I don't know where to start. Well, let's start from the beginning. As I mentioned before, I kept looking for a clue about what I wanted to do by coming to Liyue Harbor. I was in a daze outside the city before being invited by Uncle Dai. In fact, I've been feeling extremely anxious lately, as if there's something I've forgotten to finish. It's an unpleasant sensation."

Kun Jun took a deep breath before continuing.

"One day at the market, I overheard a conversation while I was buying something. They mentioned Dragonfall. It sounded so familiar to me, as if whatever it was I had to do was linked to that stone. So when Uncle Dai mentioned that he was looking for help for the missing miners on the mining site, considering I can see memories from ores, I decided to follow him to look for Dragonfall while helping him."

"Dragonfall?" Zhongli was startled. It was a rare ore formed from elemental reactions and used for forging weapons.

Meanwhile, Ryūhei felt that he read it somewhere.

"That's right. Perhaps if I can retrieve some, I'll remember what it is I have to do. On the other hand, when I saw you in Liyue Harbor this morning, I felt nostalgic, as if I had a connection with you before, but I couldn't recall where I met you before that. Moreover, I felt at ease after setting out with you on this case."

Because there was some connection to Zhongli, Kun Jun felt that he should give something as a memory. But since Ryūhei said that giving something in such a circumstance was not good, he decided not to do so.

"I see. If you want, I can help you to look for one."

"Really? Oh, thank you, Mr. Zhongli! You're too kind!"

"Don't mind it. It was an exchange since you showed me a fascinating skill."

"In that case, I'll look for more rocks. Perhaps there are more memories to uncover."

Kun Jun rushed toward the direction of the big tree. Ryūhei was worried that something bad had happened to him. So, he tried to stop him.

"Mr. Kun Jun. Please wait!"

Kun Jun instantly halted his step and turned around.

"You should go get some rest! After all, we had already walked for a few hours without stopping. Moreover, we found the miners around that tree, so there must be a hidden danger in the surroundings." Ryūhei warned Kun Jun. However, Zhongli was the one who replied.

"It's fine. I already surveyed the surroundings, and there's no danger."

"Oh, your words assure me a lot, Mr. Zhongli. Then, I'm going."

Kun Jun walked toward the tree, leaving Ryūhei and Zhongli behind.