Zhongli looked at Kun Jun, who was acting this way, and stroked his chin as if deep in thought.
"Fascinating as this is, don't forget to stay vigilant."
"Twelve adults with blank expressions following a child day and night, crossing mountains and terrain... this is no simple matter."
After a long pause, Zhongli crossed his arms and reminded them calmly.
"Oh, right! That's true."
"Mr. Zhongli, you're always so cautious."
Kun Jun looked at Zhongli and quickly nodded in agreement.
"Also, that scholar earlier was attacked by a Juvenile Geovishap."
"But those creatures aren't normally so aggressive."
Zhongli paused, his tone slightly odd.
"All the clues we've seen so far... they seem to be connected in some invisible way."
"The workers headed toward the direction of Nantianmen two days ago. From here, the route takes them through some very treacherous mountain paths."
After finishing, Zhongli turned to Qiu Bai beside him.
"Sigh, even you're getting lazy now."
"Fine, hold on to me. We're heading to Nantianmen, right?"
Qiu Bai, who had been just watching from the side, didn't expect to get roped in. He looked at Zhongli with a helpless expression.
"Heh, if there's a faster way, why bother walking?"
Zhongli crossed his arms and smiled at Qiu Bai reaction.
"I left a marker nearby earlier."
"If Old Dai chases after us, he can follow the marker to find us."
Zhongli then turned slowly to Kunjun and the others and explained.
"As expected of Zhongli!"
"Alright, let's get going!"
Paimon clapped her hands and then looked over at Qiu Bai.
"Heh, alright, hold on to me."
"I'll take you there now."
Qiu Bai gave a faint smile and spoke to the others.
Once everyone grabbed onto the hem of Qiu Bai robe, the world began to spin and in an instant, they arrived at the location of Nantianmen.
As they landed, the group immediately looked around, checking for any abnormalities.
"Hey hey, look over there on the ground!"
"Is that one of the people we're looking for?"
Paimon flew around and then fixed her gaze on a person lying on the ground.
The group hurried over.
"There's a bamboo basket next to him... he really is a miner."
Kun Jun stepped forward to observe the situation and spoke to the others.
"Hey, hey, can you hear me?"
Paimon tried to wake the miner, but nothing worked.
"Judging by his condition..."
"He probably collapsed from sheer exhaustion."
Zhongli looked at the miner on the ground and said slowly.
"Should we try waking him up?"
Paimon turned to Qiu Bai and Zhongli and asked.
"I can still... dig..."
The miner on the ground seemed to struggle to get up.
But being completely worn out, there was no way he could stand.
"Huh? He's muttering something..."
Paimon looked at the miner with a confused expression.
"Such stubbornness… it's abnormal."
"There's a nearby camp. Let's take him there and settle him down before deciding what to do."
Zhongli spoke calmly as he looked at the miner.
The group then helped the miner into a nearby camp.
"What do you think? He's not dead, right?"
Paimon asked nervously, looking at the man lying on the ground.
"He's just overworked and passed out."
"Fortunately, his life isn't in danger."
Zhongli reassured them gently.
"No, it's more than just exhaustion."
"Something is manipulating his consciousness."
Qiu Bai crouched beside the miner, visibly surprised.
"I heard him muttering about digging something earlier."
"Could it be he's being controlled, forced to work like a slave?"
Paimon waved her hands in confusion and looked at Qiubai.
"I'm not sure. But right now, the important thing..."
"Is to sever whatever's controlling him."
Qiu Bai furrowed his brows, and a white divine glow began to emanate from his hand as he reached toward the miner's forehead.
Qiu Bai closed his eyes slightly, and after a moment,
The miner who had been muttering stopped and lay down, falling into a peaceful sleep.
"That should do it."
Qiu Bai slowly stood up and spoke to the group.
"Hehe, as expected of Qiubai!"
"Now this miner should be fine, right?"
She had witnessed the power of this white light back at the Jade Chamber.
It had revived fallen Millelith soldiers and healed Lumine wounds.
"Everyone, I checked the memory within the ore shards in his pocket."
"These fragments were brought out from the mining site by this person, meaning he is indeed one of the twelve miners we've been looking for."
Kun Jun also stood up slowly and addressed the others.
"If he collapsed here, that makes things even more interesting."
"Unless something happened that forced them to leave him behind."
Zhongli stroked his chin and spoke slowly.
"Ah, right! Seeing these shards reminded me..."
"I have something to give you all as well."
Kun Jun looked at the group in front of him and said with a smile.
"Huh? Gifts? Really?"
Paimon face lit up as she immediately leaned in.
"Gifts for us? Why?"
Zhongli turned to Kun Jun, looking a bit puzzled.
"To be honest, before I met up with Old Dai, my thoughts were always a bit muddled."
"It wasn't until I started investigating with you that my thinking became clearer."
Kun Jun stroked his chin as if reminiscing.
"I've been secretly feeling lucky that Old Dai asked for your help."
"If it were just me, I don't think I could've uncovered so many clues."
He said this slowly, looking sincerely at everyone.
"These are crystals I picked up from the market. Don't underestimate them just because they're crystals."
"They're actually quite rare! One for each of you as a memento."
As he spoke, Kun Jun took four crystals from his pocket. Their surfaces were perfectly smooth and under the sunlight, they sparkled and changed color constantly.
"Wow! These crystals are so pretty and the colors even change!"
"From this angle and that angle they look totally different!"
Paimon leaned in and stared at the crystal, amazed.
"They look really valuable..."
"Are you sure I can have one?"
Lumine looked at Kunjun, placing a hand on her chest as she asked.
"Don't be shy, go ahead and take it."
Kun Jun smiled as he looked at her.
"This one is for Mr. Qiu Bai."
Kunjun held a crystal out toward Qiu Bai with a smile.
"Heh, thank you, Brother Kun."
"I'll be sure to take good care of it."
Qiu Bai smiled lightly at Kunjun, then took the crystal and began to fiddle with it in his hand.
"This one is for Mr. Zhongli."
Kun Jun looked at Qiu Bai who had just accepted his gift, nodded with a smile and then turned toward Zhongli.
"Hmm..."
Zhongli stared at the crystal in Kun Jun hand, remaining silent for a moment.
"Eh? Wh-what's wrong? You don't like it?"
Kun Jun looked at Zhongli with a hint of awkwardness, thinking he might dislike the crystal.
(T/N: Like the story fellow daoist? Read 20 chapters ahead on my P@treon [p@treon.com/DaoistRongyi] Thanks for your support! 😊)