Chapter 286: Ch 286 : Who exactly is the problem—Xiao or Huai’an?

Words : 1158 Updated : Oct 1st, 2025

Su Yuan was lying on the bed, reflecting on everything that had happened today. As he was lost in thought, suddenly there was a knock at the door. "Mr. Su Yuan, are you asleep?" "I’m Huai’an, the innkeeper. I have something I want to discuss with you." "Oh, it’s Huai’an the innkeeper." Su Yuan got up from the bed, opened the door, and said, "Just in time, I also have some questions I want to ask you." Then, Huai’an entered the room and sat down on a chair, while Su Yuan sat back down on the bed. "Mr. Su Yuan, technically speaking, since you’re the guest, you should be the one to ask the questions first." Huai’an’s expression grew serious, making Su Yuan feel that something very grave might be going on. "But the situation is urgent, and time is short. I have to share my doubts and suspicions with you..." "I suspect that Adeptus Xiao has already been controlled by the Eerie force!" "What? Huai’an, you actually know about the existence of the Eerie force?" Su Yuan said, surprised. "Mr. Su Yuan, don’t think of me as an ordinary person. After all, I’m a senior officer within Liyue’s intelligence system. I do know this information." Huai’an then continued: "While Consultant Zhongli is currently keeping Adeptus Xiao occupied, our conversation should remain unknown to him. I must hurry and tell you this intelligence!" "How do you know Zhongli can keep Xiao occupied? Do you also know Zhongli’s true identity?" Su Yuan asked again. "Of course. Mr. Zhongli is learned and capable—definitely not an ordinary person..." "He’s probably one of Liyue’s adepti, just incarnated in the mortal world of Liyue Harbor. This isn’t a secret within our Liyue intelligence system!" Su Yuan didn’t know why, but he felt a momentary relief. So they just think Zhongli is an adepti, huh? He thought they all knew Zhongli was the Geo Archon... "So, Huai’an, why do you think Xiao has already been controlled by the Eerie force?" Su Yuan asked. "Su Yuan, you should know that besides me, the manager, there is also a landlady at the Wangshu Inn named Verr Goldet..." "But a few days ago, after she went to the top floor of Wangshu Inn to deliver almond tofu to adeptus Xiao, she disappeared..." "Although she left a letter saying she had urgent matters and rushed back to her hometown in Mondstadt..." "Everyone in our Liyue intelligence system knows that although she claims to be from Mondstadt, not a single person there knows her—her identity is completely fabricated!" "So, Huai’an, you suspect that Verr Goldet was killed by Xiao after he became corrupted by the Eerie force?" Su Yuan showed a surprised expression and continued: "Speaking of which, the very question I was about to ask you was where Verr Goldet had gone. I didn’t expect she would just vanish like this..." "Yes, and not only that, I also suspect that Jiang Xue’s death is related to Xiao, who has been corrupted by the Eerie force!" Huai’an said with a serious expression, clearly very tense. Su Yuan recalled what Xiao had said to him and Zhongli earlier on the top floor—that no monsters or eerie signs had been detected near Wangshu Inn today... If Xiao really had been corrupted by the eerie force, then there was no doubt he was lying! "All right, it’s about time. I must leave early, or it might raise adeptus Xiao’s suspicion!" Huai’an said as he left Su Yuan’s room, not forgetting to remind him before leaving: "Su Yuan, you and Mr. Zhongli must be very careful!" After Huai’an left, the room became quiet again, and Su Yuan fell into deep thought. He couldn’t shake the feeling that there were some strange parts and loopholes in what Huai’an had said... If Xiao really had been corrupted by the eerie force, and both Verr Goldet and Jiang Xue were killed by this corrupted Xiao... Then why was Verr Goldet’s disappearance staged as a straightforward missing person case, while Jiang Xue’s death appeared as a sudden, unexplained death? After killing Jiang Xue, wouldn’t it have been better to take away his body and also fake a disappearance, creating the illusion that they were not killed by the same person? If Xiao was really corrupted by the eerie force, maybe the corrupted Xiao wanted to create the impression that Verr Goldet and Jiang Xue weren’t killed by the same person, which is why he used different methods? Of course, there is another possibility—that Xiao was not lying, and he was not corrupted by the eerie force... It’s Huai’an... Huai’an is the one lying! After all, there are contradictions between what Huai’an and Xiao said; one of them must be disguising the truth, lying! Thinking of this, Su Yuan suddenly lost his sleepiness and wanted to go upstairs to see what Zhongli and Xiao were doing now... Su Yuan quietly opened his door, climbed up the stairs, and peeked out, only to find that on the top floor there was only Zhongli’s figure—no sign of Xiao. Su Yuan walked toward Zhongli and saw that the vigilant Zhongli seemed to be looking down, admiring the nighttime view of Dihua Marsh. "Zhongli?" "Su Yuan, it’s you," Zhongli turned to look at him. "Why, you’re still not asleep?" "Where did Xiao go?" Su Yuan asked. "Xiao went to patrol around Dihua Marsh at night," Zhongli answered. "After all, monsters love to be active at night." "Zhongli, there’s something I must tell you." Su Yuan briefly gathered his thoughts and told Zhongli all the information that Huai’an had just shared with him. "So, Zhongli, what do you think? Do you feel there’s anything unusual about Xiao?" "From what I know of Xiao, I haven’t noticed anything abnormal about him," Zhongli pondered for a moment before answering. "So that means Huai’an is more likely the one lying?" "That’s indeed possible, but we can’t rule out the possibility that a Xiao controlled by the eerie force is disguising himself perfectly," Zhongli added. "But no matter what, Su Yuan, you should still go back and get some rest. Get through tonight." "Maybe the new information you gather tomorrow can help us answer these questions." "All right, I guess that’s all I can do." Su Yuan nodded, said goodbye to Zhongli, and returned to his guest room bed, lying down again. He was still pondering—between Huai’an and Xiao, whose words were more trustworthy? The innkeeper’s wife, Verr Goldet, mysteriously disappeared and was suspected dead; the fisherman Jiang Xue suddenly died without warning... Right now, the Wangshu Inn was truly filled with a strange and eerie atmosphere. But this was one thing about Su Yuan: no matter what happened, no matter what he was thinking before sleep, he always managed to fall asleep smoothly and wake up the next day ready to gather fresh intelligence... --------------- Exclusive access : 380+ch on paetron Join now : patreon*com/DeCakraWnloverz

Chapter 286: Ch 286 : Who exactly is the problem—Xiao or Huai’an?

Comments (0)