Chapter 83: Mountains, Seas, and Stars (Part 4)

Words : 1218 Updated : Sep 21st, 2025

"It's over, it's over. The Traveler's about to get framed." Watching the storyline unfold, Big Bro Horse couldn't help but feel doomed. "From the preview PV, it's clear that the islanders are about to get poisoned because the water's been tainted. Obviously, it's not us who did it—it's definitely that sneaky Fatui Harbinger who's secretly come ashore." "Huh? What? You're asking me how I know she's a Fatui Harbinger?" "Isn't it obvious? The Tsaritsa was mentioned, and right now, the only one referred to as 'Her Majesty' is the Cryo Archon of Snezhnaya. So, that woman is 99% a Fatui agent!" "Plus, just look at her aura. She's even more imposing than Tartaglia and La Signora. If she's not a Harbinger, what is she? Let's be real, only the Harbingers get that kind of character design." At this point, Big Bro Horse could pretty much guess what was coming next. After all, the PV had already spoiled most of the plot. "Next, the Traveler's going to get arrested because of the poisoned water. Man, the Traveler just can't catch a break!" Even as he said this, Big Bro Horse still followed the quest marker up Gaoyang Mountain. After all, even if he didn't want to get framed, he still had to progress the story. Lumine and Paimon made their way up Gaoyang Mountain together. "This must be the place Xuanqing mentioned. Gaoyang Mountain is protected by a barrier. If we keep walking up like this, we won't get any closer. We need to use a specific method to enter. Let's follow the route Xuanqing told us about." Lumine first looked down at the stone tablet at her feet, then used it as a starting point. She ran east to find the eastern tablet, then headed straight south to find the southern tablet. After that, she ran north, returning to the original tablet, then continued north to find another tablet. Finally, she went west, found another tablet, and then turned south to return to the starting point. At this point, a massive water ring appeared above the stone tablet. Lumine and Paimon stepped forward and jumped into it. In the next moment, they found themselves inside Gaoyang Mountain. According to Xuanqing, as long as they followed this specific route when encountering stone tablets, they could enter Gaoyang Mountain. Of course, this was from the perspective of Lumine in Teyvat. From the player's perspective, it was about activating five stone tablets in a specific order using Geo energy, which then created the water ring leading inside. This prevented players from being flung back like they were in Stormterror's Lair. Incidentally, from Lumine's perspective, it was more like a maze. If she didn't follow the specific route, no matter how much she walked toward the mountain, she wouldn't get any closer to Gaoyang Mountain. She could only watch as the mountain seemed to move further away, no matter how hard she tried... though she didn't stubbornly test this herself. This was the barrier surrounding Gaoyang Mountain, similar to the one protecting all of Shanhaijing. "I think I hear the roar. Let's keep going." At Paimon's words, Lumine nodded. She first unlocked the nearby Teleport Waypoint before continuing forward. Soon, Lumine emerged from the passage and found herself on a mountain loop path. In the center of the loop, a thick column of water gushed upward. The higher it went, the clearer the water became, and they could even see fish and sea creatures being swept upward by the current. "ROAR ROAR ROAR ROAR!" Suddenly, the roar came from the other side of the loop. "It's over there!" Paimon shouted and quickly hid behind Lumine. Lumine gripped her sword and charged toward the Deepsea Lizard. The battle, of course, was nothing to write home about. Lumine was incredibly strong and quickly defeated the lizard, tying it up with rope and dragging it back without delay to report to Xuanqing. "As expected of the famous Traveler. Such a small matter was no trouble for you." Xuanqing smiled and said: "Here's your reward. It's not much, but I hope you don't mind." Lumine accepted the Xibei and then asked curiously, "What are you going to do with this Deepsea Lizard? There must be a reason you specifically asked me to capture it, right?" "We'll release it back into the sea." Xuanqing glanced at the unconscious Deepsea Lizard. "Dragonkin are different from ordinary monsters. While it wouldn't be wrong to kill them from a human perspective, it's still too cruel. So, in Shanhaijing, we have a rule: unless absolutely necessary, we don't kill dragonkin." "Anyway, thank you, Traveler. You've helped us solve a big problem. If you need any help in the future, feel free to ask me." With that, the quest came to a temporary end. Lumine and Paimon wandered around the island for a bit before heading back to their room to sleep. Over the next two days, Lumine and Paimon explored the island, and the islanders gradually became aware of the two outsiders. Then, on the third day... "Wow! What's going on here?!" Paimon exclaimed in shock as she looked at the people collapsed all over the streets of the town. Lumine immediately tensed up and rushed forward. "It's over, it's over." Big Bro Horse slapped his thigh. "What was bound to happen has finally happened! The Traveler's going to jail!" The following plot unfolded pretty much as Big Bro Horse had predicted. When Lumine asked the islanders what was going on, their initial reactions were friendly, as they didn't know what had happened either. They explained that many people had suddenly collapsed in pain. But then, a young disciple from the Xuanlong Sect finally figured out the cause and stood up in a panic from the riverbank: "The water's poisoned! Quickly inform the Sect Leader!" "Poisoned? How is that possible?!" A man shouted: "No one would poison the water! And even if someone did, the poison would be diluted and washed out to sea, right?" "I've checked several waterways. It's likely that all of them are poisoned! So, the poison must have been introduced at the source! And it's still contaminating the water." The girl spoke anxiously, then hurried off toward the Xuanlong Sect's headquarters. "That's impossible! No one can enter Gaoyang Mountain! It's guarded by disciples! And even if someone got past the guards, there's no way they could bypass the barrier! Unless... this was done by the Xuanlong Sect—but that's even more impossible!" The man looked utterly confused, unable to make sense of the situation. However, at that moment, his gaze fell on Lumine, who was deep in thought. In an instant, he realized something and glared at her in anger. "Outsider! Why would you do something like this?!" "Huh?!" Paimon looked shocked, and Lumine also looked up at him in surprise. Then, in an instant, both Lumine and Paimon realized the same thing. In this situation... they really did seem like the most likely suspects.

Chapter 83: Mountains, Seas, and Stars (Part 4)

Comments (0)