I, from the Celestial Empire, have parachuted into Teyvat.

Reaching the edge of the crowd, Ivan overheard everyone discussing the murder case. Raising an eyebrow, he patted the shoulder of a burly man next to him, clasped his hands in greeting, and asked, "Excuse me, sir, has a murder occurred here?"

The burly man turned around, looked at Ivan and his companions, and said, "You're just passing through, aren't you?"

Ivan nodded: "We are a caravan from Mondstadt heading to Liyue to purchase goods. We were passing through this area when we heard about a murder. What happened?"

The burly man sighed and said, "Don't even mention it. The murder here involved a family of four, young and old. Earlier today, they were passing by and stopped at Uncle Wu's tea stall for tea. For some reason, the young woman suddenly went mad and started frantically tearing at and eating her husband, children, and elderly relatives. Uncle Wu was so frightened that he fainted on the spot, and everyone around them ran away in terror. After the woman killed the whole family, she immediately fled and no one knows where she went."

Ivan asked in surprise, "Gone mad?"

The burly man nodded, still shaken, and said, "Yes, she was like a wild beast. The woman had torn many pieces of flesh from the deceased's body; the corpse was mutilated beyond recognition. It was a truly gruesome sight..."

Just then, the Thousand Rock Army arrived and began dispersing the crowd to maintain order. Taking advantage of the dispersed crowd, Ivan glanced at the crime scene, which had been cordoned off by the Thousand Rock Army. There were three stretchers, each carrying a body covered with a white sheet—two adults and one child. Large amounts of dried blood remained on the ground, and upon closer inspection, some pieces of flesh could be seen…

Ivan frowned and returned to the convoy with Xiang Feng and the others. After getting into the car, Ivan squinted and said, "I think there's something fishy about this."

Xiang Feng asked, "What's strange about it?"

Ivan said, "That woman's sudden madness is probably related to the Stone of Destruction."

Liu Yun Jie Feng Zhenjun looked puzzled: "That shouldn't be the case. The Destruction Stones that appeared in Liyue before all drove those who touched them insane, but this woman was just drinking tea when she suddenly went crazy."

Ivan shook his head and said, "No, the Stone of Destruction can actually evolve."

During their battle against Tucker, Tucker mentioned that after embedding the Stone of Destruction in the back of his head, he experienced a period of mental chaos and agitation. However, he later recovered from this state and gained the Stone of Destruction's strange power. After defeating Tucker, Lisa analyzed Tucker's Stone of Destruction and discovered that it was more advanced and had developed a rudimentary form of self-awareness. From that moment, Ivan had a suspicion.

The Stone of Destruction can evolve!

When an ordinary person first comes into contact with the Stone of Destruction, it instantly enters their mind, causing confusion and erratic behavior; this is the initial stage.

Once the period of mental confusion has passed, the Stone of Destruction will begin to develop self-awareness, entering a period of incubation. The possessed person will behave no differently from an ordinary person. This is the second stage, which Ivan calls the incubation stage.

Then comes the third stage, where the dormant destructive consciousness will suddenly erupt and begin to severely manipulate people's desires, amplifying them infinitely, just like Tucker who became increasingly greedy before.

Ivan believes that the woman who committed the murder must have suddenly moved from the second stage to the third stage, and her desires were manipulated by the destructive consciousness.

Ivan shared the information about the Stone of Destruction and his own deductions with True Lord Liuyun Jiefeng, who was shocked upon hearing it.

"The Stone of Destruction is so bizarre... If that's the case, then the woman's desires, manipulated by the Stone of Destruction, are..."

Ivan chimed in, "I think it's gluttony."

At this point, Ivan paused and continued, "Have you considered that if my predictions are accurate, then there might be more than one such case?"

Liu Yun Jie Feng Zhenjun exclaimed in surprise, "So, there might be countless people among the people of Liyue who are currently in the second stage of incubation?"

Ivan nodded and continued, "And the more crucial question is, now that the third stage has appeared, is it possible that someone has already entered the fourth stage, or even the fifth stage?"

The pupils of the True Lord Liuyun Borrowing the Wind trembled violently.

"No, I must go first. This matter must be reported to the Emperor immediately!"

Having said that, True Lord Liuyun Jiefeng transformed into a streak of light and flew out of the carriage, heading straight into the sky.

At the same moment that True Monarch Liuyun Jiefeng left, a pair of blood-red eyes were also watching Ivan and his group from the shadows. As True Monarch Liuyun Jiefeng departed, a murderous glint appeared in those blood-red eyes.

Chapter 87 Suspicious Clues

After Lord Liuyun left first, Ivan and the others continued their journey, since they would eventually meet again in Liyue Harbor anyway.

Ivan and the others didn't ask much about the Shimen murder case. Catching the murderer was the responsibility of the Qianyan Army, and even if Ivan and the others wanted to, they wouldn't know how to do it.

Of course, Ivan would still investigate if he found any clues, since it was related to the aura of destruction.

After leaving Stone Gate and passing through a marshland, two roads appear. One leads to the mountains north of Stone Gate, called Wuwang Slope, which is the only way to reach Qingce Village, a major grain-producing area in Liyue.

Ivan and his companions were not going to Qingce Village this time, so they had to take a different route.

Another route connects several large, isolated islands above the marshes, forming a route called Dihua Island. It leads south along the main road to Liyue Harbor.

The caravan's carriages soon drove onto the official road of Dihua Island. At this moment, Xiang Feng suddenly gasped and pointed into the distance in surprise, asking, "Are those houses?"

Ivan looked in the direction Xiang Feng pointed, and then laughed.

If there's anything about Dihua that's most eye-catching, it's definitely Wangshu Inn!

Wangshu Inn is located in the center of Dihua Island, built on a towering rock overlooking the water, about 30 meters high. Next to it is a huge wooden waterwheel in the water, comparable to a Ferris wheel. A towering tree stands on the top of the rock, and the buildings of Wangshu Inn are built around this tree. Guests can choose to go up to the inn by the boardwalk around the rock or by the "elevator" driven by the waterwheel.

Such a striking building stands out on the entire marshy plain of Dihuazhou, truly a crane among chickens, and is incredibly stunning.

Ivan was also amazed when he saw Wangshu Inn in real life for the first time.

The caravan soon arrived at Wangshu Inn. By this time, more than half a day had passed since they left Mondstadt, and they were still halfway to Liyue Harbor. As a result, Wangshu Inn was also a rest stop for merchants traveling between Mondstadt and Liyue. Japa's caravan also stopped here.

Japa said, “Ambassador Ivan, we’ve all been traveling a long way and everyone must be tired. Let’s rest here for a bit.”

Ivan nodded. They had walked most of the way, so they decided to grab something to eat here.

Ivan and his companions didn't need to go up to Wangshu Inn. Below the giant rock of Wangshu Inn was a bustling market where various vendors gathered, including tea stalls and snack stalls.

Ivan and Xiang Feng casually found a food stall to sit down, and the stall owner immediately greeted them with a smile.

"Is this your first time visiting Liyue? Would you like to try some of our local delicacies?"

Ivan chuckled, "How did the shopkeeper know this was our first time in Liyue?"

The waiter said, "Judging from your arrival from the north of Dihua Continent, you must be a caravan from Mondstadt. To be honest, over the years, almost all the caravans from Mondstadt have eaten here. I've gotten to know the people from each caravan quite well. You are unfamiliar faces, so I naturally guessed that this is your first time in Liyue."

Ivan nodded: "The shopkeeper is right, it is indeed our first time in Liyue."

The waiter said enthusiastically, "Then I'll recommend some of Liyue's signature dishes to you."

"There's no rush yet."

Ivan waved his hand and asked, "I have something I'd like to ask the shopkeeper."

"Please feel free to ask."

Ivan asked, "Did you see a family of four passing by earlier today?"

The waiter thought for a moment, then suddenly realized and said, "I've seen it before. You mean a man, a woman, a child, and an old man, right?"

Ivan's eyes showed surprise.

Regarding the Shimen massacre, he only asked casually because he saw that his colleague was good at recognizing people, but he didn't expect that the other party had actually seen it.

Ivan pressed, "Did they come this morning?"

The waiter nodded and said, "They came by this morning. Before our stall even opened, a family of four came to eat, but they left immediately before we opened. And speaking of which, that family of four seemed a bit strange..."

Ivan raised an eyebrow and asked, "What's strange?"

The shop assistant recalled, "The family was in a hurry, looking flustered, carrying large and small bags. They looked like they were fleeing a disaster."

Ivan frowned.

In the entire Teyvat, Liyue is considered one of the most prosperous countries. Under the rule of the Liyue Seven Stars, Liyue is exceptionally prosperous, making it virtually impossible for anyone to flee. Moreover, if it were to escape the various demons that broke the seal recently, they should have fled long ago. It's impossible for them to wait until the Emperor has quelled the powerful enemies and Liyue has regained peace before running away.

In conclusion, Ivan felt that the family of four might be hiding from something.

"Sir, would you like to order anything else?"

The waiter's voice pulled Ivan back from his thoughts. Ivan said, "Then I'll have your local specialties. Do you have Mora meat and Central Plains offal here?"

The waiter gave a thumbs up: "It seems that although you've never been to Liyue, you know quite a bit about it. Mora meat and Central Plains offal are both local specialties of Liyue, and we're very good at making them here. Just wait and see, we guarantee you'll be satisfied."

After the man left, Xiang Feng leaned over and whispered, "Commander Yi, what do you think of what this man said about that murder case?"

Ivan analyzed, "This family of four seems to be hiding from something."

Xiang Feng asked, "Is it possible that someone is hunting them down?"

Ivan frowned and said, "We can't rule out that possibility, but if someone is really chasing them, who is it? What is their purpose? Is the woman's madness in the family of four also related to the person chasing them? We don't know any of these things at the moment."

Xiang Feng whispered, "Should we continue investigating this murder case?"

Ivan nodded.

"We should investigate as much as possible, but we don't have any leads yet. All we can do is wait for news from the Qianyan Army. If the woman who killed her family was indeed controlled by the Destruction Stone, she won't be able to hold back for long before she commits another crime."

There were many people around, and to avoid certain things being overheard by people with ulterior motives, Ivan and Xiang Feng stopped chatting after saying that.

Just then, a voice suddenly reached Ivan's ears.

"Old Wang, you just got back from Shimen. Did you catch up with that traitor Li San?"

"Li San is dead."

Ivan paused for a moment, turned his head slightly, and realized that the voice was coming from a few men at the next table. The voices were very soft, as if they were discussing something.

Ivan pricked up his ears.

"What? Dead?"

"Keep your voice down, don't let anyone hear you."

"what happened?"

"Li San's wife suddenly went mad and killed Li San's entire family. She has now escaped and is being pursued by the Qianyan Army."

"Could it be related to that stone? Will the Thousand Rock Army trace it back to us?"

"Probably not. Let's stay at Wangshu Inn for the next couple of days and see how things go."

After whispering among themselves for a while, the men got up and left.

Ivan frowned.

These people seem to be related to the Shimen murder case.

Chapter 88 The Great Sage Who Subdues Demons

Below Wangshu Inn, at a snack stall.

The suspicious men got up and left, and Ivan gave Xiang Feng a wink.

Xiang Feng immediately understood and turned to follow.

These people are very likely connected to the Stone Gate murder case. Ivan decided to see if he could get any clues from them, since it was related to the Stone of Destruction.

Before long, the waiter brought several dishes that Ivan had ordered to the table.

"Hey? Aren't you missing one person?"

Ivan laughed and said, "Oh, that person had a stomachache and went to the toilet."