Genshin Impact: Watch me turn the tables and kill my servants at the start!

Yakoda spread out an old map of the Nata border region on the table at the Fools' temporary camp. The edges of the map were worn and frayed, but the place names and arrows marked with pencil were still clearly legible.

Yakoda squatted by the table and flipped through the documents for a while, then looked up at Fanes: "I just checked, Citrali—that young grandmother in the vegetable garden—has lived for more than two hundred years. The records of the Smoke Lord mention that she has been an important figure in the tribe since at least the time of the previous tribal chief. There are currently no records showing that she has retired or gone into seclusion."

Fanes leaned back in the chair next to him: "No, isn't this normal? Apart from the four of us who just joined, which of the remaining executives of the Fools is under 100 years old?"

Yakoda flipped the document over to confirm she wasn't mistaken: "Indeed. She does look young, probably due to the Night Soul's blessing."

Fanes sat there for a moment, then turned his head to look at the brightening sky outside the window: "It's a pity we have to hurry to send the Heart of God back, otherwise I would have stayed here for a couple more days."

Yakoda folded the map and put it away: "Boss, if you really want to stay here for a couple of days, I can send the Heart of God back first. Anyway, I've traveled the route to Winter's End many times, and with both Hearts of God on me, nothing unexpected will happen in the short term."

Fanes turned to look at her: "Are you serious?"

Yakoda tightened the straps on her backpack again: "Anyway, it won't take me too long to make this trip. And you really haven't truly relaxed in a long time. From Fontaine to Liyue, from Liyue to Inazuma, and from Inazuma to Sumeru, you've been on the go the whole time."

Fanes thought for a moment, then said, "Then I won't stand on ceremony. Here, take the things."

Fanes took the two Hearts of God out of his inner bag, put them into a sealed container that Yakoda handed him, added a layer of shockproof padding, and then pressed the lid tightly before handing it back.

Yakoda took the container, checked that the outer shell was properly sealed, then wrapped it in a layer of woven fabric and put it in the backpack compartment: "Boss, you're really not being polite? I was just mentioning it casually."

Fanes sat back in his chair: "This was my little brother's own suggestion, how could I refuse to let him do hard labor?"

Yakoda stood there in silence for a moment, as if weighing the direction and logic of the conversation in her own way, before she spoke: "...I feel like I've been tricked."

Fanes leaned back in his chair: "Don't worry, by the time you get back, there should already be a pot of hot wine ready."

Yakoda walked out towards the camp entrance, her backpack swaying gently behind her as she walked, and soon disappeared into the distance along the hillside.

Meanwhile, deep within the Sumeru Rainforest, Ying was crouching in front of a ruin covered in vines, clutching the sword she had used many times, trying to pry off a stone slab embedded in the wall.

While chasing a startled fungus, Ying slipped and slid down a collapsed embankment, landing in a semi-underground space she hadn't noticed before. The walls were covered with tree roots and moss, but at the base of the wall was a stone slab that was noticeably lighter in color than the surrounding area, with a crack showing at its edge.

Ying crouched down and pried a few times with the tip of her sword. The stone slab loosened a bit, so she added more force, and the entire slab fell inward along the curve of the wall, revealing the space behind it that was mostly covered in dust.

After the dust settled, she saw a wall full of treasure chests. Chests of all sizes were arranged along the wall, some stacked up to waist height, others lying horizontally in the corner, all covered with a thick layer of dust.

Paimon flew up from behind her, looking at the wall: "...What's going on here? You didn't discover some ancient treasure chest storage room, did you?"

Ying stepped forward, reached out and touched the edge of the lid of the nearest treasure chest, then tapped the side of the chest to confirm its material and structure: "It definitely looks real. And these treasure chests are all in good condition, without any obvious damage or deformation, so they should still be able to be opened normally."

Just as Ying was about to reach out and lift the lid of the first treasure chest, a small, round creature poked its head out from between the chests.

Its body is light brown, covered with a layer of fine down, and it has a pair of translucent round ears on its head with slightly curled edges.

It climbed out of the pile of treasure chests and stood on the lid of the top chest, stretching out a small hand to block Ying's fingers from the lid: "No. You can't open these chests. I collected all of these, and I haven't finished counting them yet."

Paimon flew up to the Lanaro: "Why can't we open them? Aren't these treasure chests placed here for people to open?"

Lanxu Nali stood still, his hand still outstretched: "No. You must find my seventy-six companions in the forest before you can open these treasure chests. That's the rule."

Ying looked down at the Lannaruo blocking the treasure chest between her fingers: "You think this is a game? The treasure chest is right here, you dare not let me open it?"

Lanxu Nali remained standing, his voice steady, as if he had repeated this many times before: "Rules are rules. If you want these treasure chests, you must first find my companions. They are scattered throughout this rainforest; some stand in tree hollows, some crouch in rock crevices, and some hide behind bushes by the water. Once you find them one by one, I will let you open these treasure chests."

Paimon flew to Bright's ear and whispered, "This looks like a task that will take a lot of time to complete, and it won't be easy. Seventy-six companions scattered throughout the rainforest—just pinpointing their exact locations will take a long time."

Ying looked down at Lanxu Nali, then she said, "If you don't let me open these treasure chests, you'll have to deal with the dead zones spreading around here yourself."

Lanxu Nali, who had been in a steady state, paused noticeably when he heard the words "dead zone".

Lanxu Nali's ears twitched slightly for a moment, as if assessing the credibility and meaning of the information in its own way, before it spoke: "...The Dead Zone?"

Ying remained standing there: "Yes. There's a dead zone spreading not far from here. If you don't let me open these treasure chests, I'll have to deal with other things first. If that dead zone spreads to this area, these treasure chests might not be safe."

Lanxu Nali stood atop the pile of treasure chests in silence for a moment. Its ears returned to their original position, then drooped down again. Then it spoke, its voice lower than before: "...If you can really resolve that dead zone, I can give you the fifteen treasure chests I've collected myself."

Paimon looked at it: "Why didn't you just give it to us earlier? Did we have to threaten you to do it?"

Ying also withdrew her hand: "Wouldn't it have been done if we had done this earlier? Did I have to do it myself?"

Lanxu Nali jumped down from the top of the pile of treasure chests, walked to a relatively small chest in the corner, and patted the latch on the lid with her small hand: "This one is for you. The others have all been checked, they should all open normally."

Ying crouched down and lifted the lid of the box, revealing several evenly colored pieces of ore and an old map wrapped in leather. Paimon leaned closer to examine it: "...These things do look quite good. And the map looks very old; it should fetch a good price."

Ying closed the treasure chest, then found several other treasure chests in the corner that needed Lan Xu Na Li's confirmation. She opened them one by one to check the items inside, then stood up, dusted off her hands, and said, "I'll handle the matter of the Dead Zone. You just wait here."

Lanxu Nali stood in the corner, watching her pack the items from the treasure chests into her backpack one by one: "It's settled then. Come find me after you've dealt with the Dead Zone. I can give you some more information about the treasure chest locations then."

Paimon flew back onto Ying's shoulder: "Should we deal with that dead zone first?"

Ying tightened the opening of her backpack and put it on: "Let's go take a look first. If it's not a big deal, we should be able to finish dealing with it before dark."

Ying turned around and walked back the way she came. Before leaving the ruins, she turned her head to the corner and said, "Next time there are treasure chests, remember to take the initiative. Don't wait for me to threaten you."

The Lanaro in the corner was still standing there, its round ears twitching slightly, as if responding to the words in its own way. Then its body disappeared back into the gap between the treasure chests, leaving only the fingertips of its small hand resting on the edge of the chest lid, swaying slightly in the gradually closing twilight.

Ying walked along the path they had come from for a while, then stopped and glanced at Paimon as they passed through the first tree root archway. "Do you think those treasure chests are enough for us to pay off our debts this month?"

Paimon thought for a moment: "If there really are ores and maps inside, they should fetch a good price. However, we'll have to wait until we find a suitable buyer in town to determine their exact value."

Ying turned back and continued walking forward: "Let's deal with the Dead Zone first."

Ying's figure quickly disappeared into the darkening shadows of trees and vines deep in the rainforest, gradually narrowing in the gaps between leaves and vines, and then completely merging into the shadows of the deep rainforest. Among the tree roots covered by vines and the entwined branches, the receding silhouette was gradually being closed by the night, as if it was being slowly swallowed up by the closing dense forest.