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Mawtiyima Forest.
The vast mushroom forest, glowing with a faint blue light, was rather quiet. The reeds with the Four-Leaf sigil swayed back and forth, and were suddenly blown down to one side by a swift and sharp breeze. A figure emerged from the Four-Leaf sigil and landed steadily in the gap beneath the giant mushroom's umbrella, lying down beside a mushroom that was strikingly similar to the hat on his head, and closing his eyes. But after a short while, he opened his eyes with a frown, clearly displeased.
"Lesser Lord Kusanali, if I remember correctly, today is neither the day for exploring the abyss nor the lecture day. Why do you bother to disturb the peace of a idler?"
"Sorry, I disturbed your rest by my carelessness. I just wanted to tell you that I have also arrived at Mawtiyima Forest." A gentle and powerful childlike voice rang in his mind. Wanderer inwardly cursed, realizing that he was about to be caught. But just as he was about to escape, a Seed of Skandha appeared on his body. He looked up and met the gaze of the tiny deity with hands making a photo frame. The deity had a faint smile on her face.
"I see everything."
The call of the Dusk Bird echoed through the woods. The still lake reflected two figures, one larger and one smaller. The smaller figure spoke first: "I'm very sorry to have taken up your personal time, but there's something I can't handle alone and I need someone to help me with it."
Wanderer folded his arms and said, "If you have a task, just say it,Lesser Lord Kusanali." Nahida wanted to say that this is not a task but a request, but knowing his awkward nature, she changed her words and said straightforwardly, "Recently, I have observed several unusual Withering Zone. Normally, Withering Zone start from a certain part of the forest and gradually spread. But these ones are different. I can't find the source of the disease. There's only the symptom but no root cause. It's as if..."
It was as if someone had deliberately staged it. The two exchanged a glance and understood each other without words.
"If it's just ordinary pollution, it would be fine to leave it to the Forest Watcher who have Vision. But you came all the way here yourself. So, is there something important involved?" The Wanderer habitually asked himself in his mind. Seeing that Nahida didn't respond, he remembered that Nahida had agreed with him that they couldn't communicate by mind-reading when they had face-to-face communication. Feeling embarrassed, he pulled the brim of his hat down and asked again.
"Yes. They are the life and soul of the forest - Aranara."
Wanderer had heard of these little creatures in the forest before and had also encountered them on several occasions when passing through the forest on missions. However, they were all quick-witted and managed to burrow into the soil before he could get a good look at them.
"My abilities are of the same origin as theirs, and I often play with them in my dreams. But recently, I noticed that a few Aranara were missing, and along with them, a caravan of about a dozen people vanished. This is quite serious. I investigated for some time and got some clues and speculations: It seems that someone wants to study the ability of Aranara related to dreams. The dozen-person caravan was also mistakenly involved. Although that place is not a real Withering Zone, whether it is harmful to ordinary people is unknown. Therefore, I would like to ask you to check that area, while I will go to Vanarana to inquire about the details." Nahida rarely added any embellishments or metaphors in her words, which shows that the matter is quite serious.
Wanderer nodded and waved his hand to transform the hat on his head into a halo behind him. "Where is the location?"
"Devantaka Mountain."
"Oh, by the way, there's one more thing."
Nahida called out to wanderer who had flown two meters away, waving her hand with a smile and saying, "Please be careful.Goodbye."
"... Oh, goodbye."Wanderer felt a pang in his heart, but still he waved goodbye to that little deity.
Nahida watched the wanderer fly away and said softly to the Dusk Bird beside her, "I hope he will gain something from this journey."
Kaedehara Kazuha slowly regained consciousness. He wanted to support his aching head with his hands, but felt a soft touch. He was dumbfounded for a moment, then struggled to open his eyes. What he saw was not the five fingers wrapped in bandages, but a fluffy paw with a little bit of blood that was about to solidify. He didn't care about the throbbing pain in his head; he stumbled towards the nearby stream. There, he saw the reflection of a small white fox in the clear water. Its head was injured, and blood was sliding down from the left side of its face, delicately matching the red streak in his white hair.
The memories from before began to resurface. When the Alcor was moored at Port Ormos, he escorted the caravan that had bought the goods from Beidou back to their destination. While passing through a forest, he sensed that the wind around him was not calm. He wanted to advise the caravan to change their route, but it was too late by the time he realized it. A scream was heard, and he wanted to rush forward to save the people, but after passing through an invisible barrier, he lost consciousness.
After the memories faded away, he tried to get used to walking with his limbs and saw that there were still some "companions" around him who were still unconscious - various animals. It seemed that all the dozen or so people who had traveled together had been transformed into animals. For safety's sake, he decided to explore the surroundings to confirm the situation... Huh? Is there anyone? Several people dressed in black and wearing masks were approaching here. There were no obstructions around. He had no choice but to lie down and pretend to be unconscious among a few "companions".
"These dozen or so merchants are really ungrateful. They have found this remote place."
"Alright, the top priority now is to ensure the smooth progress of the experiment. Let's take these uncertain factors back first." The man and the woman were chatting while throwing these dozen or so small animals into a cart. On the bumpy road of the cart, a white fluffy ball got stuck at the top layer and stared at the two people in front of it.
Experiment? What kind of experiment is it? Why is it being conducted in this remote place? Anyway, he must at least ensure the safety of these ordinary people. He habitually reached out to his waist and only got a furry sensation. He helplessly realized again that his katana had long gone missing. Even if it was still there, he couldn't use it in his current state.
Passing through a narrow and damp cave path, some light began to shine through ahead. Eventually, a cave wonder appeared. Unlike the vitality of the outside forest, here the complex machinery was arranged everywhere, with the red light flickering on the command console. The constantly updated data, which kept changing as the few small creatures in the center convulsed in pain, made the viewers shudder. This was an experimental field, and the experiments being conducted here were definitely not just for justice. I must find a way to stop all this. Kazuha silently analyzed the current situation. Unfortunately, the current state is not conducive to action. He can only wait quietly for the right moment.
"Fatui Madam, how do you want to deal with these guys?" The man who had been speaking in a hurry just now changed his expression and asked with a big smile plastered on his face.
The woman with a composed voice, did not reply immediately. She glanced at the experimental table and then at the cart filled with a group of people who had been transformed into animals by the illusion, and thought deeply. The jade set on her right arm glimmered with a cold light like her eyes. Vision? No, not that. It was the Delusion that had been rampant in the military camp on Watatsumi Island Island for a time. Kazuha suddenly understood that this must be another conspiracy of the notorious Fatui.
Then, the woman moved. Kazuha watched her approach and picked up a cub from the cart, smilingly spitting out venomous and cold words like a snake or a scorpion: "Can't adults communicate? Then let's switch to these pitiful children loved by Aranara and see if there will be any breakthrough progress." At this moment, it had already threatened the safety of those around Kazuha. He couldn't just sit and wait for death any longer.
When the man was about to step forward to take the cub, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his hand. The animal that he missed caught the ground before it landed and was safely placed on the flat ground by kazuha. The man was enraged and reached out to grab it, but was dodged by the agile white fox, which wrapped around his hand and bit him again mercilessly, causing him to cry out in pain. Before the white fox could take further action, it felt a chill on its back. It didn't know when the ice spikes emerged and pierced its front limbs with an ominous aura, pinning them to the ground. The icy air was so cold that kazuha felt increasingly exhausted. He realized this but was powerless to pull out the ice spikes. Then, he saw the man's frightened expression and the movement of wanting to turn and run, but was knocked down by a fierce gust of wind. After that, several wind blades pinned the woman. Just as she managed to form an ice shield to block it, the woman's face suddenly changed and there were faint green lights flashing on her waist and abdomen. In an instant, they turned into dark green black holes. She was knocked down by this strong wind, her face extremely ugly, and she coldly snorted before running away quickly, leaving the man behind. He had already lost all composure. Seeing that his support was gone, he immediately crouched down, held his head, and begged for mercy: "Don't kill me! Please, I can do anything!"
The intruder just snorted, and the wind ball formed in his hand did not disperse.
The storm temporarily subsided, allowing kazuha to have a chance to see clearly who the intruder was. Inazuma's clothes, attire was more in line with that of a cultivator. A wide blue hat, tilted at an angle, covered his face in kazuha's view. The ribbons on both sides of the hat were swept about haphazardly by the strong wind, revealing the owner's bad mood.
Wanderer was about to deal with this person without hesitation when a cry from a white fox behind him made him turn his head. Kazuha was already close to unconsciousness under the influence of the ice spikes. Then he heard the person approaching, scattering wind balls and stepping forward to pick up him. "Little one, hold on a bit longer." As soon as the words were spoken, wanderer swiftly drew out the ice spikes and tore off a piece of the obi to stop the bleeding in time.
The man was very good at reading people's expressions and intentions. He immediately made a proposal: "My lord, if you spare my life, I will restore these people right away. How about that?"
Wanderer didn't know that these animals were manifestations of human souls. It was fortunate that this man himself provided the intelligence. He turned around, holding the little fox curled up in his arms. With a sharp gaze, he stared directly at the man, until the man was almost knocked unconscious by the intensity of the stare, and then he slowly began to speak: "Alright. I promise, I won't kill you."
The man finally let out a sigh of relief. But then he was coldly told to fulfill his promise immediately. He kept saying "ok" repeatedly and hurriedly shut down the system that created the illusion. Seeing that the appearance of the wanderer was still not relaxed, he immediately explained that it might take several minutes to recover after the system was shut down. He carefully observed the man's expression and, upon hearing the words "Get out of here", immediately took off at full speed. However, he was suddenly confronted by the Forest Watcher who had been waiting at the door for a long time.
The matter was successfully resolved, and the aftermath workers arrived. Wanderer should have left, but he couldn't help but glance at the white fox in his arms several more times. This little thing's left side of the head was red, which made him think of something. But seeing the bloodstain marks, he dismissed his thoughts. After gently placing it on the ground, he took Aranara with him and walked away with his hat on his head, not looking back. When kazuha opened his eyes again, he remembered the solitary figure of that person and the clear jingle of the bells in his heart.
Kazuha had a hunch that this would not be their last meeting.