"So, Su Yuan, what you mean is… Citlali and Ororon were attacked by someone controlled by eerie force?" Hearing this, Mavuika spoke with a deep frown.
"There is such a possibility. But it's also possible that one of the two has already fallen into an eerie-state…" Su Yuan said.
"That mysterious force Chief Bilan just mentioned… the one disrupting the divination—should be the eerie power, right?"
Paimon also frowned with confusion:
"But before, back in Mondstadt, when we asked Mona to do divination, the eerie power did interfere, but not to the point where nothing at all could be perceived, right?"
"Does that mean… Chief Bilan is weaker than Mona when it comes to divination?"
"I don't know who this 'Mona' is that you speak of," Mavuika said, "but since Bilan is the chief of the Night-Wind Tribe, his abilities should be unquestionable… So what you mean is that the eerie power can interfere with divination, but cannot disrupt it completely…"
"In other words, the reason Bilan couldn't get any clear result is because Citlali was interfering as well?"
"So the one corrupted by the eerie power… would be Citlali?" Aether followed her reasoning.
"Yes. Citlali has already been corrupted and doesn't want us to locate her by divination, so she interfered," Mavuika nodded.
"But the crucial issue now is… we don't understand Citlali. We haven't even met her. We know nothing about her eerie-state rules…"
Su Yuan looked at Mavuika and asked:
"So, Mavuika, what do you think could've triggered Citlali's eerie-transformation? We need to be prepared in advance…"
"If it's Citlali… maybe someone damaged one of her treasured collections?"
Mavuika said thoughtfully:
"Or maybe she didn't get to read the newest light novel, so she started crying and throwing a tantrum—poor thing—and directly fell into an eerie-transformation?"
"Or perhaps her grandson Ororon did something to seriously anger her, and she transformed from sheer rage?"
"Of course, it's also possible that Citlali becomes eerie when she's drunk. Her alcohol tolerance is terrible, and her drunken behavior is… well…"
Listening to this, Su Yuan was stunned…
Isn't Citlali supposed to be a centuries-old grand shaman of the Night-Wind Tribe? Shouldn't she be a dignified elder?
Why does she sound like a brat when Mavuika talks about her?
"No… Citlali has lived too long. She has too many things to care about. It's really hard to guess…" Mavuika sighed.
"Everyone…"
At this moment, Bilan approached and said:
"Since divination has failed, we must rely on the most primitive, most direct method: sending people out to search."
"I've already dispatched several tribal warriors to places where Citlali and Ororon might appear. Hopefully they will find clues."
"So for now, please rest in the village while we wait for them to return."
And so Bilan led them to the reception hall to rest.
Not long later, Chasca arrived.
"Chasca, you came so quickly… did you take care of everything? You didn't have to rush here for us…" Paimon asked with concern.
"It's fine. Everything is settled." Chasca replied.
"Chuychu didn't like extravagance while she was alive, so the funeral was simple. It ended quickly…"
"By the way, all of you are sitting here, but I don't see Citlali. You still haven't found her?"
"That's right. Both Citlali and Ororon are missing. Chief Bilan has already sent warriors to search suspicious locations. We're waiting for results…" Paimon said.
"Everyone, we seem to have found something suspicious…"
At that moment, Bilan pushed the door open and entered, speaking with a grave expression:
"One of the squads went to Ororon's vegetable garden outside the village—but none of them have returned."
"I strongly suspect that they have met with danger. Something hazardous must be over there. We must send stronger fighters immediately to support and rescue them!"
Su Yuan and the others had not told Bilan about the existence of the Eerie force, which was why Bilan was thinking that way now…
And Su Yuan's group had never expected that they would actually find the location this easily.
It was just a pity that several Night-Wind tribesmen had been sacrificed…
"Bilan, leave this matter to us. You and the other members of the Night-Wind tribe don't need to get involved any further," Mavuika said to Bilan.
"Since even you, Lady Mavuika, say so, then please be careful."
Bilan didn't insist any further.
In Natlan, if one couldn't even trust Mavuika, then who could they trust?
After that, Su Yuan and the others immediately headed toward Ororon's vegetable garden on the outskirts…
As soon as they arrived near the garden, everyone could smell a thick scent of blood lingering in the air, and mixed within it was a foul stench…
"W-what… what is this disgusting smell…"
Paimon pinched her nose with a pained expression, looking like she was about to throw up her breakfast…
"Besides the smell of blood, why is there also a smell like someone used the toilet without flushing?"
"Everyone, since we don't know what's going on yet, I've decided to scout ahead and gather some information first," Su Yuan said to the group.
"And you don't need to worry about my safety. I have my Ancient Name. Even if something happens to me, I can resurrect in the Kingdom of the Night God and return."
"And when I return from the Kingdom of the Night God, I'll bring back information related to what happened."
Then, Su Yuan went alone toward Ororon's vegetable garden.
Soon, he discovered the source of the blood smell and foul stench—it was the soil where the fruits and vegetables were planted…
Su Yuan was confused.
What was Citlali doing in her eerie-transformed state?
Why would she do something so strange?