Su Yuan stared at the two Snezhnayan merchants who had turned into piles of rotten flesh—this was probably another one of Dottore's inhumane research results...
But after those two finished eating the bucket of slop, Guoba really had returned to normal.
Previously, he had said that the dead couldn't eat anything…
But now, it seemed Dottore had likely found the corpses of those two Snezhnayan merchants and used some kind of special method to turn them into this grotesque state—neither human nor ghost.
They had finished eating the wasted food, which somehow worked as a loophole and allowed Guoba to return to normal…
But now the bigger question was—how did Dottore even know what was going on here?
Could it be that someone among them was secretly reporting to him?
Su Yuan turned his gaze toward Cloud Retainer.
At the moment, she was the most suspicious one.
"Su Yuan, why are you staring at this One? Is there something on my face?" Cloud Retainer noticed his gaze and spoke.
"Cloud Retainer, I have a few questions for you. I ask that you answer them truthfully," Su Yuan said.
"First, do you know if any of the Adepti in Liyue might have been contaminated or controlled by the Eerie?"
"I do," Cloud Retainer replied.
"In fact, I've been wondering all along—just who that Adeptus could be?"
"Then why, when we were using the Mechanical Culinary Divine Machine earlier, did you insist that Zhongli be the one to operate it?"
Su Yuan continued asking:
"Clearly, in such an urgent situation, it would have been more prudent to let you, the creator of the mechanism, operate it."
"Didn't I already say? I wanted to see if the immortal power of different people would have different effects on the Mechanized Culinary Divine Machine."
"The Mechanized Culinary Divine Machine itself is a highly automated Adeptus mechanism, requiring no extra operations. The Adeptus power is essentially like fuel."
"It's like using dry grass or twigs to start a fire for cooking. Though they are two different materials, the food that comes out is essentially the same."
"And the Emperor's immortal power, being much stronger and more concentrated than mine, is like having more powerful fire—it might even cook the food faster with the Mechanized Culinary Divine Machine."
Cloud Retainer responded in this way.
Su Yuan nodded and continued asking: "Then I have another question. Earlier, when we were fighting with Xiangling, did you use some kind of illusion barrier…"
"And before, between Liyue Harbor and Gunyu Cloud Pavilion, someone also set up an illusion barrier, which caused the people in Liyue Harbor to be completely unaware of the situation in Gunyu Cloud Pavilion…"
"Su Yuan, this is even more absurd," Cloud Retainer waved her hand and spoke helplessly.
"I see, so you've taken me as the mole among the Adepti, haven't you?"
"But you should know, using immortal power to set up a simple illusion barrier isn't some secret technique of an individual…"
"Every Adeptus in Liyue Harbor can easily do it."
"And besides, if I were really being controlled by the eerie corruption, why would I have taken out the Mechanized Culinary Divine Machine and tried to help you all lift Xiangling's eerie transformation?"
Cloud Retainer looked at Su Yuan and said seriously, "Su Yuan, if you really don't trust me, then go ahead and put a blade to my neck! See if I resist…"
Seeing how serious Cloud Retainer was, with no sign of joking, Su Yuan began to doubt himself…
Could it be that he had guessed wrong again?
Or… is it possible that even the current Cloud Retainer is just another layer of disguise within the eerie influence?
And just then, Su Yuan suddenly thought of Lumine…
He still remembered the palm-sized hint: the Abyssal power and the eerie power were both grand forces of the world and seemed to be mutually repulsive.
As long as he had Cloud Retainer cooperate and not resist, and let Lumine inject some Abyssal power into her body…
If nothing strange happened, wouldn't that be enough to clear Cloud Retainer of suspicion?
So, Su Yuan looked at Cloud Retainer and spoke: "Cloud Retainer, I suddenly have an idea, and I hope you'll cooperate…"
"Can you relax your mind and body, and allow Lumine to inject some Abyssal power into you?"
"This…" Upon hearing Su Yuan's words, Cloud Retainer looked at Lumine with a hesitant expression…
"Su Yuan, I'll say it again—"
Just then, Lumine's voice rang out:
"You're still too indecisive, too concerned about others…"
"Since you already have this thought in your mind, and I've already said I'll follow your lead, then go ahead and do it without hesitation!"
A dense surge of Abyssal power suddenly erupted from Lumine's body as she slowly walked toward Cloud Retainer…
Cloud Retainer looked at Lumine with a solemn expression, unsure of what she was truly thinking…
But at that moment, two figures suddenly appeared at the entrance of Wanmin Restaurant.
"Ah! Su Yuan, I knew you'd be here!"
Hearing that familiar voice, Su Yuan turned around—surprisingly, it was Neuvillette and Furina!
They had actually shown up here?
"Su Yuan, it's been a while," Neuvillette said with a faint smile, greeting him.
"Furina and I were just planning to visit this 'Wanmin Restaurant' you mentioned before. But when we arrived, we found that the Millelith Army had sealed off the area..."
"Moreover, I sensed an unusual aura here, so I decided to come straight in."
Neuvillette looked up at Lumine and slowly said, "This is... eerie power? No, it seems more like Abyssal power..."
Cloud Retainer also noticed Neuvillette's arrival.
She smiled faintly and said, "Neuvillette, you've finally come..."
"I've waited so long for you..."
Su Yuan immediately felt that something was off.
What was going on between Cloud Retainer and Neuvillette?
These two shouldn't have anything to do with each other, yet Cloud Retainer acted like she'd known he would show up here all along?
And then, Su Yuan finally realized what had been bothering him about Cloud Retainer...
The real Cloud Retainer, when among acquaintances and without outsiders present, always referred to herself as "this One," never "I"...
But this Cloud Retainer had been switching between calling herself "this One" and "I" randomly, without any pattern...
In the next moment, a violent wind suddenly swept across the skies above Liyue Harbor.
Dark clouds surged, thunder roared—an ominous storm was brewing…
The Millelith Army soldiers stationed outside looked up at the sky in confusion.
It had been bright and sunny just moments ago—why did it suddenly look like a storm was coming?
How could the weather change so abruptly?
Cloud Retainer turned to the crowd, tilted her head slightly, and revealed a strange, eerie smile as she spoke:
"Did you know? In the old days of Liyue, whenever there was a famine or drought, it was I—Cloud Retainer—who would borrow the wind and summon the rains, bringing sweet dew upon the land..."
"Though now the world enjoys bountiful seasons and no longer needs me to call upon wind and rain..."
"This time, however, is an exception..."
"Let the storm come—let it rage even harder!!!"
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