บท 165: Genshin Impact's Incense Burner Of Liyue [165]
If he were the type to falter when it counted, they may as well all agree to lay down and wait for the end.
Liyue Harbor had once stood as a symbol of strength and prosperity, thanks to Morax's influence and Liyue's storied legacy of battle. Now, however, its reputation as a bustling trading center was sustained by generations of diligent governance, transforming Liyue into a bastion of law and order where merchants could conduct their business without fear.
A disturbance of cursed gods in such a place would be met by powerful figures who could crush them, maybe even turn the situation into a culinary experiment if they had the whim. But any disruption, even a minor one, would leave its mark on the people's trust.
It's the same as discovering your partner sneaking off to play with someone else. No matter how close you once were, that trust is never fully restored.
Business relationships were no different. Even the smallest shifts would prompt merchants to run their profit and loss forecasts before deciding whether Liyue remained worth their investment.
And more than anything, with his sister now leading, Gu Sanqiu would not have a minor problem like this blow up under her watch.
Keeping his composure so as not to raise the Sanxuan Association's suspicions, he walked calmly, exchanging polite nods with passersby despite the storm of impatience broiling beneath his calm exterior.
Meanwhile, within his mindscape, the wraiths of the Wraith Bone Brush had clearly upped their game, and it seemed as though the brush was now releasing some of its stronger spirits from deep within.
Gu Sanqiu wasn't in the mood to keep up his mental charade, abandoning his spear and hammer to transform the battlefield into a modern military standoff.
This familiar setup made things easier, saving him the mental resources to conserve strength.
If his mindscape was a battleground, he was like a mage tearing through enemies, only to discover he'd forgotten his mana potions halfway in.
One pill after another went down the hatch—medicinal pills to soothe and focus his mind, restore his mental fortitude, and keep his spirit clear.
The worst part was, he couldn't even resort to using his golden fishing rod to "tame" the Wraith Bone Brush.
The situation wasn't like the time he'd used it against the Ugandan Giant Thunder Chicken. Technically, the Wraith Bone Brush hadn't wronged him in any way; he was the one who had activated the Paper Men Technique for his own ends.
If he tried to subdue the brush now, there was a sixty to seventy percent chance he'd mess up the technique's effect.
The other thirty percent? Most likely, he'd cripple the brush entirely, causing his plan to fail and granting the Sanxuan Association a complimentary "alertness +100" buff, along with a house full of blood-soaked paper.
Overhead, Granny Ping and the Cat Lord of the Medicinal Furnace gazed at Gu Sanqiu as he moved away from Liyue Harbor. The cat licked his right paw, only to remember Granny Ping beside him and hastily set it down, acting as though nothing had happened.
"That kid's probably out for revenge, don't you think?" Granny Ping chuckled, glancing over.
"You're the cat from the Medicinal Furnace, aren't you supposed to be sensitive to those things?"
The Cat Lord nearly choked at the jab. Really, Gu Sanqiu was far more agreeable—at least he offered food and the respectful title of "Lord of the Medicinal Furnace." Here, it was just… "Furnace Cat."
What a disgrace.
"Yes," the Cat Lord said with a shiver of disdain. "Those folks have all been turned into paper men with flesh, or perhaps I should say, flesh-bound shells assembled from paper."
His tone turned grave. "What's particularly insidious about this spell is that it leaves the soul intact. So long as they encounter a familiar target, they won't display a single hint of abnormality."
A hint of cyan light shimmered in his eyes. "Were we not so attuned to the flow of energy, we wouldn't be able to see the traces so clearly."
"That kid," he muttered, "where did he even find something so downright unorthodox?"
Granny Ping chuckled. "Oh, if you can sense it, then you've probably guessed why he's heading out of Liyue Harbor by now."
"Don't call me a cat!" The Cat Lord bristled, though he wore an approving glint in his eye.
"What he's doing… he won't stop, that's clear enough. Right now, the number of those paper creatures is still manageable. But if they multiply, they'll draw certain beings toward the source."
"He's attempting something grand, while carefully ensuring it won't drag in the innocent. The boy's got quite the mature mind for his age."
"No need to worry about his safety. That shield he's got isn't just for show. Any common cursed god that tries him will only be meeting its own end."
The Cat Lord's expression grew wistful. "Ah, the Gu family's cursed bond with that certain someone… how long has it been?"
Granny Ping snickered. "Who was it, not long ago, casting doubt over whether he was even a true child of the Gu family?"
"Come on, can't you spare an old soul a bit of dignity?"
"Certainly, Lord Furnace Cat."
"I said—!"
Jingle.
"Meow~"
In the wilderness, Gu Sanqiu wore a focused expression, spear in hand as he stowed the Wraith Bone Brush in his robe.
Moments ago, after a series of costly replenishments, he'd finally cleared the brush of all its wraiths.
And as he'd expected, activating the Paper Men Technique again would require a fresh influx of energy—one that could attract unsavory entities.
To make matters worse, the brush craved qi and blood.
If the brush were a mid-level boss, this was akin to a second phase—a self-inflicted, unavoidable "bleed" effect.
Pills could replenish his qi and blood to some degree, but they could only treat quantity; his actual condition would still take a hit.
One of the fiends he'd fought had a fox tail and wolf head, with a body that resembled an insect's. At the sight of his spear, it had lunged at him like a mad beast.
It probably had some unfinished business with the Gu family, he mused, possibly having fallen to one of his ancestors' blades long ago.
"Let there be more of these… the type that just flings itself onto my spear," he muttered, leveling his weapon as he pressed onward.
---
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