This stumped Paimon and the Traveler. By normal reasoning, if it were a home invasion robbery, the interior wouldn't be this "tidy"—forget bloodstains; the rooms would at least be in disarray.
But if it were a thief sneaking in while no one was home, there wouldn't be any signs of the doors and windows being pried open.
The Traveler and Paimon couldn't figure out what was going on, but luckily, Yelan pieced together the truth from local intel in the story.
It turned out that long ago in this area, there was a gang of mountain bandits who would blow a horn every time before raiding a village.
Over time, the villagers learned that upon hearing the horn, they should grab what valuables they could and flee their homes.
Though that bandit gang had been caught, the sound of that horn had been etched into the villagers' hearts.
And the eerie music in this incident was exactly that horn sound—the villagers had heard it and fled with their possessions.
That's why the house looked "tidy" yet stripped of valuables, like it had been ransacked.
The readers got it: so there were no bandits now, but someone blew the horn, and the villagers just up and ran.
What a Liyue version of "The Boy Who Cried Wolf."
Good thing the Traveler and Yelan were there to handle it—the two of them brought justice!
Yelan was an expert in this field; not only did she analyze the truth, but she also tracked down all the traces left by the copycat.
This copycat was quite skilled at counter-surveillance—even the Traveler with her Elemental Sight couldn't spot these traces.
In reality, Paimon covered her little mouth: "Yelan, you're amazing."
No wonder I get caught snacking in the kitchen—it must be Yelan who notices.
But in truth, her snacking wasn't secretive at all; everyone knew, they just didn't call her out on it—except Lucian.
"Hmm... compared to tracking, I'm actually pretty confident in interrogations too." Yelan flashed a charming smile.
Paimon shrank back in fear: "Don't interrogate me! The dessert from last night was me!"
Furina was shocked: So it was you who ate my little cake! Death penalty! Death penalty!
Back to the story: Yelan led the Traveler along, tracking down that copycat, and finally spotted him at one of the Treasure Hoarder camps.
Seeing this, the readers couldn't help but wonder: what was the Traveler's role in this event...? Expressing the author's homesickness?
They soon learned what the Traveler's role was.
The copycat was named Fu Jing. Faced with Yelan pursuing him, he refused to surrender.
Then the Traveler lunged! A left roundhouse kick, followed by a right whip leg!
People really do shine brightest in their areas of expertise—brainy detective games weren't for the Traveler; fist-based "persuasion" suited her much better.
After the Traveler's bout of "gentle persuasion"—which was really just a thorough thrashing—Fu Jing gave in and dropped to his knees.
[Fu Jing: "Spare me—"]
[Yelan: "Confess on your own. You get one chance."]
Fu Jing was terrified: I was just putting on a tough act—these two are the real deal.
He came clean, saying that as a Treasure Hoarder, he couldn't bring himself to do petty theft, so life was pretty tough.
With the new year approaching, he just wanted to spruce things up for the Lantern Rite and have a good celebration.
This had the readers cracking up: you, a thief, thinking about improving your life for the new year? If you improve yours, how are the people you steal from supposed to have a good year?
[Paimon said angrily too: "Oh, really? Now you're playing the pity card!"]
Fu Jing hurriedly said he didn't dare—he was just sharing his honest experience.
He quickly added that he'd remembered his childhood: the bandits would blow the horn, and his grandma would grab him and run.
So he'd tried playing the tune from memory, and it actually worked.
He said he already knew he was wrong, that he'd return everything, and begged the Traveler to let him off.
The readers laughed in exasperation: Did you know you were wrong? You just realized you're headed to prison!
You've been through that fear of bandits yourself—it wasn't pleasant!
And now you're using the same method to scare others, turning from victim to perpetrator, and trying to play for sympathy?
Weren't you all cocky just now, resisting even after getting caught? How'd you go soft so fast? We preferred your defiant side earlier—snap back to it.
Luckily, Yelan had no intention of letting him off. Not only did he have to return the items and apologize, but he'd end up in prison too.
Yelan wrapped up the incident, but she didn't want to reveal herself, so she naturally credited it all to the Traveler.
The Traveler returned to Yujing Terrace to report back to Hearsay, who said that Ningguang would personally come to commend her shortly.
The readers were already numb: this little thing actually warranted a personal commendation from the Tianquan? Was this the Traveler's influence?
Yes, that was the Traveler's influence—Ningguang really did come personally.
After Ningguang arrived, she exchanged a few polite words before chatting with the Traveler.
Last Lantern Rite, the massive Evernight Sky lantern was for "Marching Ahead to the Sky True Lord"; this time, the prepared Evernight Sky lantern was for "Resounding Waves Roaming Clouds True Lord."
Like "Marching Ahead to the Sky True Lord," Resounding Waves Roaming Clouds was an adeptus who had fallen in battle for Liyue.
As mentioned before, the Lantern Rite wasn't just New Year's celebrations—it was also a time to remember and pay respects to the ancestors.
"May the heroic spirits, amidst this grand festival of lights, tread the seas and return home."
Guiding the heroic spirits back along the paths lit by countless lanterns, so that upon returning home, they could see a Liyue filled with joy, harmony, peace, and prosperity.
[Ningguang: "If melodies could accompany the flowing waters and spread to all corners, I wonder if their spirits in the heavens would take a liking to the tunes of this era."]
Ningguang also casually reminded the Traveler that if she had any intel on finding the fairy, to share it with her—she was curious too.
Two days later, the Traveler returned to Yujing Terrace, this time to find Ganyu. Ganyu planned to join her in searching for that fairy from the story.
A fairy leading you to find a fairy—no issues there.
Upon arriving at Yujing Terrace, she found Ganyu already waiting for the Traveler, looking drowsy as she kept nodding off, as if she were in math class.
No wonder Ganyu could fall asleep in the grass—she was practically sleep-standing now.
Seeing the Traveler arrive, Ganyu immediately perked up. Facing Paimon's concern, she waved it off, saying she was fine.
"You can't go on like this, Ganyu. Rest is essential," Yae Miko said.
"Mm, I agree," Jean nodded, then continued, "I have some medicine that can shorten sleep time—want to try it?"
Ganyu's eyes lit up, clearly very interested in the medicine Jean mentioned.
Furina nodded along with a serious expression, but in her mind, she thought: 'Wait, that doesn't seem right? Shouldn't it be about getting proper sleep? How'd it turn into shortening sleep time?'
===✧✦✧===
Character Voice Lines · Furina: About Medicine for Shortening Sleep Time
"I think Neuvillette might need it, so I brought some for him, but he didn't seem too happy. Why's that?"