"There's something wrong with this place!" Ember, flickering with firelight in the mist, scratched his head and uttered a truism.
However, the "problem" he referred to this time wasn't the persistent dense fog all around, but the people circling near him.
In his perception, all the scattered Fatui were spinning in circles, and the crucial part was that they hadn't noticed it at all, still forging ahead blindly.
The only two who detected something amiss were Childe and Balladeer. Childe sprinted frantically, only to make his circles larger in diameter; Balladeer, on the other hand, stood in place, deep in thought, seemingly trying to find a way to break through.
Seeing this, Ember could only rub his head. This group of people in front of him was unreliable; he had to rely on himself.
Realizing this, Ember no longer waited for the Fatui to catch up. He simply started wandering by himself.
Anyway, his aura was strong enough, and the firelight on him was bright enough. As long as these people were still on Tsurumi Island, they would definitely know his location.
After randomly choosing a direction, Ember began to run at full speed. The Fatui behind him were still circling, unaware that he had run far away.
Ember advanced through the fog, and soon, a change appeared before his eyes—the density of the fog had lessened.
Upon noticing this welcome change, Ember didn't hesitate. He directly headed in the direction where the fog was thinning, not worrying at all if it might be a trap.
As he walked, everything before him suddenly opened up after piercing through the vast white mist.
A wide road appeared in Ember's vision. However, calling it a wide road might be overstating the place.
It was just a wide dirt path, the ground wasn't compacted, and loose stones lay scattered in the middle of the road.
The only difference between this dirt path and other areas was that all the vegetation here had been cleared, revealing the brownish-red soil beneath.
But this was already quite rare compared to other parts of Tsurumi Island. The rest of Tsurumi Island was like an uninhabited island, as if no one had ever set foot there.
Vegetation grew wildly, the ground was rugged with strange rocks, and coupled with the dense fog covering the entire island, it was no exaggeration to say that it was difficult for ordinary people to move an inch.
There was still fog on the main road, but it was greatly reduced compared to other places. Beyond the main road, it was like being in the dark of night—because nothing could be seen clearly.
The fog density on this main road was like a normal morning mist, not affecting visibility at all.
"Alright, it seems they finally don't have to circle anymore." Ember shook his head, sighed for a moment, then turned and ran back into the dense fog.
"Ah! What is it!"
"Help!!!"
"Don't eat me!"
...In the dense fog, screams of the crowd could be heard. When Ember grabbed them from the mist, most thought it was some kind of monster attacking and immediately screamed.
When they saw that the person was Ember, they always awkwardly smiled at him.
With Ember's efforts, the scattered Fatui were quickly all thrown onto the newly found main road.
Looking around at the thin mist and the windless, self-moving bluish-green lanterns on both sides of the road, Balladeer had an epiphany.
"This main road should be the real way to the island. No wonder we were circling in the fog before."
Balladeer saw the panting Childe being carried on Ember's shoulder and stated his conjecture.
"So we really were just circling in place?" Childe struggled to jump off Ember's shoulder, showing a surprised expression.
"That's right, I specifically tested it. It's likely that only by following this road will we not get lost."
Balladeer pointed to the road, which could be called desolate, and sighed with emotion.
He had previously thought about coming to the island alone, but now it seemed he really had to thank Ember for stopping him.
Otherwise, he might have really been trapped here.
"Didn't they say this area was a desolate island? Why would there be something like this?" Childe picked up a dead branch from the ground and poked a lantern emitting a strange bluish-green light by the roadside, asking.
"Who said it was a desolate island? This place used to be inhabited, and maybe there are still people here!"
"Look! Aren't there two people over there?"
As Ember spoke, he pointed to one side of the main road. Following Ember's direction, everyone saw two figures. Through the not-too-dense fog on the main road, they could vaguely see the figures' movements; they seemed to be talking.
"There are really people here?!" Childe dropped the dead branch in his hand and exclaimed in surprise.
The existence of people in such a strange place was something Childe hadn't expected. Besides his surprise, a hint of excitement also rose in his heart.
Since there were people, did that mean the Tsurumi Island development work assigned to the Fatui would be a little easier?
"Your drool is about to drip out. If you don't keep up, you'll be alone here!"
Ember looked back at the foolishly grinning Childe, flicked a pebble, and hit him on the forehead.
"Wait... wait for me!" Childe covered his forehead. Seeing only the backs of the others, he shook his head and immediately followed.
Although there were far fewer strange things on this main road, if Childe were truly left alone, he would still be a bit scared.
The two people in the distance were not too far from the group. Soon, a large crowd surrounded the two.
But to everyone's surprise, the two talking faces showed no trace of panic.
Forget panic, the two talking individuals didn't even glance at them.
"The perch is in very good condition. It seems this year's festival will definitely go smoothly." The woman in the green robe looked at the short-sleeved man opposite her and said with a joyful expression.
The expression on her face was incredibly natural, indicating that the joy in her tone was heartfelt.
However, displaying such an incredibly natural expression while being surrounded by a group of burly men was, in itself, unnatural.
"Just looking and talking won't complete the festival. Properly worshiping the perch is the right way." The man crossed his arms and admonished the woman.
"These two seem to be treating us as air." Childe was very surprised to see the two conversing as if no one else was present.
Could it be that the people of Tsurumi Island were so exclusive that they could directly treat outsiders as if they were air?
"More than just treating us as air, I don't think they've even glanced at us." Balladeer sneered a few times. From the moment he arrived here until the Fatui surrounded the two, their gazes hadn't shifted an inch throughout the entire process.
"Haha, I certainly will, after all, the perch is the tree where Thunderbird once rested."
"I didn't expect there to be people even more arrogant than you here. It's truly an eye-opener."
The woman and Childe each spoke their own words, making the scene appear very strange, but in the atmosphere of Tsurumi Island, it actually seemed quite normal.
Childe had a smile on his face, complaining about the two people's disregard for him. Although he was ignored, Childe felt surprisingly little anger.
If anything, perhaps being individually scorned after a group taunt is easier to accept.
"Indeed, when Balladeer had his nose in the air, he at least looked down at people. These two don't even look at us."
Ember nodded, expressing full agreement with Childe's words.
"Hmph, I only act that way when facing idiots." Balladeer snorted, then shifted his gaze to the two people who were talking.
"Hey! You two, there's a limit to acting, isn't there? Are you both blind, unable to see this large group of people?" Balladeer walked up to the two and mocked them.
"Hmm... worshiping the perch means removing impurities from it. Your grandfather told you about that, didn't he?"
Balladeer's words had no effect. The two continued to discuss their "festival" among themselves.
Seeing this, a hint of annoyance flashed in Balladeer's eyes. He reached out his hand and angrily exclaimed, "Since you dare to ignore me, you must have the capital to do so!"
"Let me test if your abilities are enough for you to be so arrogant."
"Outsiders?"
Just as Balladeer's palm was about to land on the shoulders of the two, a child's voice suddenly came.
Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw a child wearing a straw hat emerge from the mist.
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