The Infinite Journey of a Certain Flame

Kiana continued to follow silently behind.

Now that all the quest items have been obtained, it's time to question the village chief and get the truth.

This step also involves revealing items and then the village chief confessing to everything.

However, there are subtle differences in the details.

At first, the village chief's expression was relatively harmonious upon seeing Ying and Paimon.

But when he saw Kiana, he became nervous for some reason.

"This girl is not to be trifled with..."

I've lived this long and experienced so much.

The village chief has always been good at judging people.

He was certain that this group of people was definitely not simple.

Especially after hearing Ying's question, his originally unbreakable psychological defenses gradually crumbled.

"I'll confess everything."

His move of admitting guilt without being asked was so clever that even Ying and Paimon, who were busy gathering evidence, were dumbfounded.

"What? We haven't presented all the evidence yet!"

The two spoke in unison, clearly frightened by the village chief's cooperation.

Of course, the village chief was also frightened by their overreaction and began to stammer.

Just then, Kiana, unable to bear it any longer, gently pressed down on Ying's delicate shoulder:

"Let him finish speaking."

Wow, so warm. Why is her touch so comforting?

Ying trembled involuntarily, then nodded with a slight blush:

"Hmm...okay."

"Traveler, why are you blushing?" The clueless Paimon scratched his ear, only to be glared at by his good travel companion, leaving him awkwardly floating in mid-air, at a loss for what to do.

After this ordeal, the village chief gradually calmed down and began to confess to the past that he had kept hidden for many years.

After gaining a general understanding of the situation, Ying did not delve into the details but instead astutely inquired:

"Regarding the lock on the wellhead..."

"Yes, I locked the well. I've also written down where I hid the key in my notebook. Go see for yourself."

Upon hearing this, Ying and Paimon both smiled knowingly. Paimon then asked:

"Grandpa Densuke knows about the barrier surrounding Konta Village..."

Just as the two were listening to the village chief, Konta Densuke, tell the story about the barrier.

Kiana leaped onto the roof and grabbed the village chief's notebook.

By the time the two had said goodbye to the village chief and were about to find the key to unlock the well, she had already dealt with the wild beasts near the key in a few moves and obtained the key.

Because of this seemingly prescient action, Paimon and Ying ran around the village chief's house, searching east and west, but they couldn't find any notes.

Just as the two were at their wits' end and were about to ask the village chief if he had made a mistake...

Is this what you're looking for?

Kiana slowly raised her hand, and the notebook and key floated in front of them.

Even after witnessing her display of power once again, Ying and Paimon were still shocked.

A moment later, Ying took the notebook and key, and complained to Paimon with a wry smile:

"It seems we no longer have a reason to exist..."

“Uh…” Paimon was speechless.

Kiana dismissed Ying's self-deprecating remarks as utter nonsense.

"Ying, you are indispensable."

Is that strange?

That's not surprising at all.

Without the main character, this mission becomes meaningless.

However, Kiana's straightforwardness led Luminous and Paimon to misunderstand...

Kiana always seems to say things that are easy to misunderstand...

Ying touched the flower on her head, feeling a little embarrassed.

"Uh...me? I'm not that..."

"Alright, alright, let's hurry to the well."

This was a rare occasion; Ying felt that Paimon was truly reliable.

"Well, let's go."

She smiled shyly, then stepped ahead of her travel companions, prompting Paimon to call out from behind.

Looking at her two close travel companions, one big and one small, Kiana felt a sense of peace.

She exhaled a breath of stale air, then caught up with the two and arrived at the well.

"What exactly is the ritual like?"

Holding the key, Ying looked at the well that had been sealed for so long, and hesitated for a moment...

Song of Flames and Lightning (Genshin Impact Inazuma Main Story): Chapter 5 Hmm, Luminous is amazing!

Seeing her hesitate to unlock the door, Paimon scratched his head.

"Traveler, are you scared?"

"No, I'm just not mentally prepared yet," Ying said, and to show that she wasn't afraid, she directly opened the dilapidated iron lock.

Because no one had visited it for a long time, the ancient well was filled with a musty smell.

Ying and Paimon covered their noses, feeling somewhat uncomfortable with the smell.

"Going to a place like this again... Paimon, you better stick close to me!"

"Eh? Traveler, are you worried I'll get lost? Hehehe, although I'm secretly happy, actually..."

Paimon was about to boast a bit, indicating that he could take full care of himself.

Then I saw Ying shake her head with a wry smile.

"I'm worried that you'll wander off and attract some tough monsters."

"Huh?" Paimon froze on the spot.

Just as she was feeling inexplicably ashamed, Ying had already made up her mind to explore the bottom of the well.

"Kiana, can you come down with me?"

As Ying extended her sincere invitation, the system's task notification sounded in Kiana's ears.

[Ding! Congratulations, host, you have successfully triggered the world quest "Teyvat: The Great Exorcism of the Divine Cherry Blossom"!]

[How to complete the mission: Assist the main character, the Traveler, in completing the Divine Cherry Blossom Great Purification.]

[Completing this task will reward you with 3000 Herrscher Points.]

Although 3000 Traveler Points isn't much compared to the main quests, it's still a huge extra sum of money nonetheless.

Kiana had no reason to refuse.

Besides, even without a mission, she would still help Ying complete this journey.

“I’d be happy to, Ying. Hehe, with me here, you don’t really need to be afraid.”

Kiana smiled and slowly approached Ying.

I wanted to calm her inner fear.

However, her approach was so sudden that Ying waved her hands repeatedly:

"Eh! I'm not scared, I'm just... impatient! Yes, I can't wait to see the ritual the shrine maiden mentioned!"

"Really?"

"Okay! Let's go down!" Ying, who had been forced to the edge of the well, hurriedly turned around and jumped down into the well.

This decisive and efficient demeanor is quite different from what he was just now.

Even Paimon, his best travel companion, was puzzled.

"Strange, what's wrong with her today? Kiana, don't worry about it too much, Ying is just like that sometimes."

strange?

Kiana stared at Paimon's little face for a while.

If Ying were there, she would hear this guy who eats slime, likes to come up with weird ideas, and sometimes even tries to be clever, say that he's strange.

I'm afraid I'll get so angry I'll pout at her.

However, it was indeed a bit strange that she went down so hastily.

"Maybe so. Let's go down too."

"Ok!"

After Paimon finished speaking, he disappeared into the well, and Kiana followed him down.

Although the entrance to this ancient well is narrow, there is a completely different world below.

Upon arrival, one might even have the illusion that they don't know the true face of Mount Lu.

Of course, although the ancient well has a very large interior space, it gives people the feeling of cave exploration.

Damp walls, waterways with trickling streams, and old, decaying wooden planks.