The group arrived beneath the Skyfrost Nail. Yanfei opened the book she carried with her, furrowing her brows as she stared at the shattered ground.
"Logically, it should be right here..."
Yanfei scratched her head but was quickly snapped out of her thoughts by a loud voice.
"Hey! Finally found you, my great benefactor!"
The familiar voice from afar made Rover freeze. Upon closer inspection, it was none other than Arataki Itto, followed by a girl.
"Wait! Why is Itto here too!?"
Paimon could hardly believe her eyes. How could there be so many familiar faces in The Chasm?
And... wasn't that the exact person Yelan had described?
At first, Aether also doubted whether it was really Arataki Itto—after all, he was supposed to be in Inazuma. There was no way he could've come to Liyue, right? But the truth proved otherwise.
"Benefactor? What does this mean?"
Rover turned to Yanfei, who was avoiding eye contact. Seeing that she couldn't hide it any longer, she sighed and explained everything.
As it turned out, Yanfei had encountered Arataki Itto getting into a conflict with the Millelith on her way here. She stepped in to mediate, and the girl following Itto was named Kuki Shinobu, who was in Liyue to take the legal certification exam. That was how Yanfei had come to know them.
Rover roughly understood the situation. At that moment, Yelan also descended from above.
"The Chasm is a restricted area of Liyue. Outsiders, please leave."
Yelan had finally tracked down the intruders and spoke sternly to the two of them.
"You think I'll just leave because you say so? There's no sign here saying we can't enter. Besides, I'm here to help my benefactor. What's it to you?"
Yelan's cold and dismissive attitude immediately rubbed Arataki Itto the wrong way.
Kuki Shinobu sighed behind him, tugging at his sleeve.
"Boss, let's just go."
As the two sides were about to start arguing, Jiyan swiftly intervened.
"This isn't the place to linger. Let's talk after we go back up."
No sooner had he spoken than the ground began to tremble violently, as if confirming his words. The rocks beneath their feet shook intensely before collapsing entirely.
During the fall, Rover reacted swiftly, transforming into the Mourning Aix—a flying Echo. (Compared to the previous three, the author thinks this is the easiest one to deal with.)
He then caught everyone, slowing their descent. Meanwhile, Jiyan brandished his spear midair, conjuring a azure dragon that formed along the tip of his weapon, carrying him down safely.
"Ow, ow, ow! Rover, you big hero, you didn't catch me!"
Arataki Itto rubbed his sore backside. Yelan scoffed and added:
"It's not like you'd die from the fall anyway. Consider it a lesson."
Arataki Itto clenched his fists, scrambling for a retort, but all he could muster was:
"May your dinner be nothing but beans!"
Rover surveyed their surroundings. They seemed to have fallen into a cavern, with nothing but steep rock walls and faintly glowing ores around them.
"Tch. What rotten luck," Kuki Shinobu muttered, shaking her head.
Jiyan analyzed the situation:
"The ground we were standing on earlier wasn't stable. The weight of so many people must've caused the collapse. And if you look up, you can't even see the ceiling anymore."
Just as Rover began exploring, Paimon started her usual commentary.
"See? Itto can't win against Shinobu, can't win against Yelan… He's really at a disadvantage here."
To her surprise, Arataki Itto overheard. He marched up to Paimon, crossing his arms indignantly.
"Who are you calling out, huh? Looking for a fight? I'm not as weak as you think!"
"I'm just stating facts. Everyone knows you're dumb."
"I'm dumb? Then you're just a floating lavender melon!"
"Ugh! I'm giving you a nasty nickname—how about Bull Chucker?!"
...
Paimon and Arataki Itto bickered like kindergarteners, hurling insults back and forth. Even Jiyan couldn't help but chuckle.
"What's the situation?"
Jiyan walked over to Rover, who hesitated before voicing his speculation.
"Time here is distorted. I can clearly feel its flow slowing down. And..."
Rover paused, and Abby, standing nearby, picked up where he left off.
"The space here is unstable, just like the dimensional rift we encountered before. If we go deeper, we might get scattered by the turbulence. The good news is, we won't be sent to another world. The bad news is, the landing spots will be completely random."
Having experienced spatial anomalies three times now, Rover and Abby were all too familiar with the phenomenon.
"In that case... this could be troublesome."
Jiyan was still deep in thought when Yelan gathered everyone.
"Listen up. There's something you all should know. The Chasm has always been a restricted zone in Liyue, hiding many secrets. It was only recently opened for surface-level mining. Aside from Rover, none of you are to listen to, look into, or pry into any of these secrets.
"As long as you abide by this, I won't consider you enemies in principle. I'll also do my best to find a way out for everyone."
Without waiting for a response, she turned and left to search for an exit.
"Hey, hey, hey! How rude, just walking off like that!"
Arataki Itto snorted and resumed his squabble with Paimon.
Jiyan, however, understood Yelan's stance. As a soldier, if he were in a classified area under similar circumstances, he'd enforce confidentiality measures just as strictly—if not more aggressively.
In Jinzhou, a single piece of critical intelligence could mean the difference between life and death for thousands. Even the smallest decision had to be weighed carefully.
With that in mind, Jiyan didn't regret his choice to order the retreat that day. It had been a calculated decision.
Meanwhile, Rover approached Yanfei. Given the circumstances, he needed to know everyone's motives to feel at ease.
"Please, tell us the truth. Why did you come to The Chasm?"
Yanfei hesitated before bowing apologetically to Arataki Itto and the others.
"I'm truly sorry for keeping you in the dark. Normally, I wouldn't disclose the contents of a client's will to outsiders. My deepest apologies...
"I came to The Chasm because of a will. The deceased wished for a certain artifact called the 'Fantastic Compass' to be retrieved. Years ago, my client entrusted this artifact to an ambitious individual. According to eyewitnesses, the recipient headed to The Chasm and was never seen again.
"So, both of you, please set aside your grievances for now. We can settle things after we get out."
Arataki Itto placed his hands on his hips, glancing in Yelan's direction before relenting.
"Since my benefactor's asking nicely, I'll let it slide for now. That stuck-up lady gets a pass too, I guess."