Genshin Impact, I'm Slime

Chapter 683 The building is empty
Yelan's figure appeared like a phantom emerging from pure water, first appearing in the courtyard of Heulia's room.

She unleashed her most treasured water-based secret technique to its fullest extent, moving so fast that only the afterimage of rising water vapor remained.

The courtyard was silent and empty. The doors of the side rooms were wide open, and only Wu Pei stood there, his face pale. His eyes were filled with panic and confusion, as if he had not yet recovered from the sudden change. His fists were clenched so tightly that his nails dug deep into his palms.

"what happened?"

Ye Lan's voice was chilling, and her sharp, knife-like gaze instantly fixed on Wu Pei.

Upon hearing Ye Lan's question, Wu Pei's body trembled slightly, his head drooped even lower, and he forced out words through clenched teeth:
"My...my lord...this subordinate...this subordinate does not know..."

The overwhelming shame and sense of dereliction of duty nearly crushed him, and his back hunched slightly.

"I don't know?"

Ye Lan's brows furrowed suddenly, and a cold glint flashed in her eyes.

Without another word, she darted into the open room like an arrow released from a bow.

The solidified candle slag, the overturned tables and chairs, the empty dressing table... every messy spot coldly tells the same story: this place is deserted.

Ye Lan whirled around, locking her gaze back onto Wu Pei, who stood frozen in the courtyard. Her voice, low and suppressed, rose as if to utter a storm:
“Wu Pei, tell me everything you have seen, heard, and done, without missing a single word.”

Wu Pei dared not hesitate for a moment, his voice dry and hurried as he recounted the exhaustion of forcibly imitating muscle control techniques in the abandoned attic, the alertness after being awakened by the biting cold wind, and the despair of rushing over only to find an empty courtyard and empty rooms... Every word was filled with endless regret.

Ye Lan listened in silence, the atmosphere around her so oppressive it was suffocating.

It's understandable that the subordinates were tired and lax after days of intense surveillance, but this momentary lapse could not have caused a powerless demon god to vanish into thin air, let alone the missing Thousand Rock Army soldiers.

This is something Heuria could never have done; there must be some other force at play.

Just as Ye Lan's mind was racing, deducing the mastermind behind the scenes and the next move.

"grown ups!"

Two gray-blue figures emerged from the shadows of the courtyard wall almost simultaneously.

It was Ye Lan's capable assistants, Wen Yuan and Shang Hua.

Shang Hua's black-rimmed glasses were askew, and a few strands of hair were stuck messily to his sweaty forehead. He had obviously run there at top speed and hadn't even had time to take care of his appearance.

Their eyes swept over the open door and the distraught Wu Pei, and their hearts sank.

Shang Hua blurted out, his surprised and suspicious gaze sweeping over Wu Pei:

"Boss, what happened? Did Wu Pei let him go...?"

Before Shang Hua finished speaking, his meaning was already clear.

"No! I didn't!"

Wu Pei looked up abruptly as if he had been branded with a hot iron, and hurriedly defended himself, his face turning bright red.

"enough!"

Ye Lan shouted, her icy gaze sweeping over the three of them in an instant. The chill in her eyes and the unprecedented sharpness and irritation made Wen Yuan and Shang Hua instantly fall silent, even slowing their breathing.

Wu Pei felt as if he had been choked, all his words stuck in his throat, and his face turned from red to white.

But before Ye Lan could figure out what to do next, the courtyard gate of the side room was violently smashed open by a brute force.

"Wow!"

Da Kun led two Qianyan soldiers, who were also disheveled and had just been awakened from their barracks, and rushed in, panting heavily.

They were clearly alarmed by the unusual situation and arrived in haste.

Da Kun's gaze quickly locked onto Ye Lan, the only woman in the courtyard with an extraordinary bearing but an unfamiliar face, and he asked in a gruff voice:
"Who are you? How dare you trespass into this forbidden area!"

He looked around and, not seeing his comrades who were supposed to be on duty, became even more suspicious, his voice filled with questioning.

"Where are the guards? What did you do to them?" Ye Lan asked expressionlessly, her eyes still showing lingering irritation, only shaking her head slightly.

She reached into her bosom, and with a flick of her fingertips, a small but clearly patterned token of the Thousand Rock Army appeared in her palm, gleaming with a cold, hard luster under the moonlight.

Da Kun was taken aback when he saw this, but his eyes cleared instantly. He immediately took out the small iron plate that matched his body from his inner pocket. His movements were as swift as a soldier's. The two metal plates collided together with their edges fitting perfectly, and their elemental forces interacted.

"Click."

The crisp sound of their kisses rang out clearly in the quiet courtyard.

Da Kun suddenly looked up, his pupils contracted sharply, and the questioning expression on his face instantly disappeared, leaving only incredulous astonishment.

He never expected that this mysterious woman, who appeared at the guard post late at night with an imposing aura, was actually one of the highest-ranking commanders of their Thousand Rock Army whom they had never met.

The token in Yelan's hand was exactly the same as the token of their instructor, Fengyan.

"Sir, Da Kun, the squad leader of the third detachment of the sixth battalion of the Qianyan Army's northern camp, is reporting to you!"

Da Kun's voice trembled slightly, and he held his breath as he respectfully handed the token back.

Immediately afterwards, Da Kun stood with his heels together, gripped his rifle tightly with both hands, and gave a perfectly standard military salute.

The two soldiers behind him panicked even more, frantically straightening their slightly crooked leather armor and clothing, and hurriedly saluting after him, their movements accompanied by a clattering sound of armor plates colliding.

Meanwhile, at the Moon Sea Pavilion, which is quite far away.

In the brightly lit hall, Gan Yu held a vermilion brush suspended in mid-air.

The sharp whistling sound coming from the direction of the General Affairs Department also shattered the tranquility of paper and pen rubbing together in the Moon Sea Pavilion.

Several clerical staff members who were reviewing documents with Gan Yu in the same hall looked up at the same time. Gan Yu, who was working in a half-asleep state, suddenly woke up, stood up abruptly, and looked through the window frame, just in time to catch the scarlet signal that was dyed red above the General Affairs Department, which was so bright it hurt people's eyes.

As Liyue's oldest secretary, Gan Yu also knew the meaning behind this signal.

Ningguang had not yet returned to port. The situation was urgent and could not be delayed in the slightest. Gan Yu frowned slightly and made a decisive decision, bypassing the usual procedures, and directly summoned the Thousand Rock Army soldiers guarding outside the Moon Sea Pavilion, Zhenhai.

"Zhenhai, there has been a disturbance at the General Affairs Department's independent compound. Take my token and dispatch two squads of Qianyan Army soldiers to immediately reinforce and quell the unrest!"

Gan Yu's voice was resolute, and before she finished speaking, a token had already flown into the other party's hand.

Although Zhenhai outside the door was unaware of what was going on, the unusual urgency on Gan Yu's face and the cold token in his hand were the clearest commands.

"Yes!"

Without hesitation, Zhenhai gripped the token tightly, turned around, and rushed towards the military camp like an arrow released from a bow.

At the same time, the Qianyan Army Detachment patrolling Yujingtai also suddenly stopped.

Instructor Feng Yan suddenly looked up, his gaze also locked on the direction of the General Affairs Department, where a blinding signal flare was tearing through the sky, trailing an ominous tail flame.

"That direction is...the General Affairs Department?!"

Feng Yan felt a sudden tightness in his chest; an ominous premonition washed over him like a bucket of cold water.

He didn't know the meaning of the signal flares in the sky, but the red light didn't look like a celebration at all.

"Hurry up, follow me!"

With a low shout, Feng Yan led the patrolling Qianyan Army detachment swiftly toward the direction where the signal had been raised.

A signal flare instantly stirred the tense nerves of Liyue Harbor, drawing all eyes to this sudden warning.

Fortunately, Ke Qing was not in the port city at the time, but was still recuperating and healing in the Crag Abyss. Otherwise, given her decisive nature, Wu Pei's desperate signal might have really attracted the Thousand Rock Army's iron hooves like a tidal wave.

As the saying goes, an arrow pierces the clouds and thousands of troops come to meet you.

(End of this chapter)