Chapter 163: No Way, Could Luocha Truly Be a Good Person?!
「 ("When it comes to minor details, March can be very logical. As for the rest of the story..." Welt suddenly pivoted, looking at March 7th: "Speaking of which, when did I turn into an aurumaton?")
("That's Puer's hidden setting; he transforms into an Aurumaton in times of crisis," March 7th patiently explained.)
("I... okay.")
A cold sneer escaped Luocha's lips as he spoke indifferently, "And there I was thinking you gangsters still had some decorum."
With that, Luocha raised his rapier and effortlessly obliterated the golden figure. This unexpectedly masterful swordsmanship utterly infuriated Pam, who stomped its feet in rage: "You wretched fiend, Pam! Remember this, Pam!"
Luocha mused that causing such a commotion in the Exalting Sanctum would surely draw the Cloud Knights, so he leaped onto a starskiff and, with the help of an unidentified individual, escaped the scene… While the identity of March 7th's 'unidentified individual' remained unclear, this was, in essence, the complete picture of the 『 Luocha Disappearance Incident 』.
"March 7th, while I don't want to discourage you, your deduction still has a few minor flaws."
Welt meticulously listed several "minor" issues, such as "Luocha reappearing in the footage after his escape." But most crucially, no matter how arduous the process, he wouldn't have been delayed for two hours.
After much deliberation, on March 7th realized they were still going in circles, so they decided to visit the original location together. No sooner had they stepped out than they saw two local Xianzhou crosstalk performers conversing with Jingyan.
They had come in search of someone, and that someone was none other than Luocha!
When asked for their reasons, the two delivered a stunning revelation: "To be frank, this man saved our lives."
The two explained that they were the black-clad figures seen in the footage. In truth, they weren't wearing black; they had simply fallen into a ditch and were covered head-to-toe in mud.
It was then that March 7th remembered Yingshu's earlier comment about a foul odor… So, the source of the stench was them.
All in all, Mr. Luocha had gone to great lengths to rescue them, and those two hours were largely spent on that endeavor. 」
「 .....」
〜Honkai: Impact 3rd World〜
"Circling back and forth, guessing this and that, it turns out this Luocha is actually a good person after all. I thought—"
Tesla's words faltered as she noticed Welt's expression was somewhat off. She sighed, consoling him,
"Joachim, I honestly think you don't need to be so tense. While this Luocha is almost identical to Otto, he isn't Otto, is he?"
"We've speculated countless times, and this time even you miscalculated… No, to be precise, it wasn't a miscalculation; you simply calculated too much. Luocha only considered the first layer, while you've already delved into the fifth."
That was true; Welt admitted that he always subconsciously tried to fathom this man's thoughts and plans.
Luocha had healed Xueyi in front of Dan Heng, Sushang, and others, which Welt initially dismissed as a pretense. Yet, in private, he consistently maintained a benevolent demeanor. Could he truly have been wrong?
As Himeko said, was this Luocha's counterpart simply a good person?
"No, no… there's still one question. If Luocha was helping, then why did he tear out the front page of the book in secret? That's also very strange, could it be…"
"—Stop, stop, stop! Joachim, don't let your mind run wild!"
Tesla had finally discerned a pattern.
"I've noticed that no matter how much you think, events always unfold beyond your expectations. You're probably overcomplicating this 'Luocha tearing the book' incident all by yourself, aren't you? Let's just see first; perhaps things are far simpler than you imagine."
—
「 Luocha saw the two about to leave and quickly called out to them again.
"This sewage holds some toxicity. I am somewhat skilled in medicine. The two of you should follow my prescription, take the medicine, and rest well." Luocha handed them a folded paper flower.
The paper flower was densely covered in writing—Luocha's handwritten prescription.
As for the paper itself… March 7th found it somewhat familiar. Upon unfolding it, it was indeed the front page of "The Angler Mystery." Not only that, but the reverse side of the front page also had writing!
It read:
To the next reader:
The killer is Chang Hong, the nephew of Chang the Ninth.
Yours sincerely,
Best regards
The Immortal Spoiler 」
「 .....」
〜Genshin Impact World〜
Teyvat—
"So Luocha tore out the page because it was a spoiler!"
Xingqiu suddenly realized.
"I thought it was some secret code, but who knew…"
Xingqiu was no stranger to Liyue and Inazuma novels, and he had often encountered people who loved to spoil books on the front page, which always made his teeth itch. Especially with detective novels, knowing the culprit beforehand often diminished much of the enjoyment.
A wave of profound guilt washed over Xingqiu. Just moments before, he had been questioning Mr. Luocha's suspicious late-night activities, believing him to be a great villain allied with the Emanator of 『 Destruction 』. But in this instant, the truth was laid bare… Xingqiu felt as though he had judged a gentleman with the heart of a small-minded man.
"By the way… this Master Chang the Ninth, he wouldn't happen to be our Chang the Ninth from Liyue, would he?"
Xingqiu looked at the name on the note, suddenly finding it familiar.
Meanwhile, in the Jade Chamber, Keqing, Ningguang, and the other Qixing were gathered.
As Liyue Harbor grew increasingly prosperous and its settled population swelled, the port began to attract a more diverse and complex mix of people. In response to this situation, the Qixing leadership planned to discuss and nominate a series of Liyue's moral exemplars to uphold the public's morale.
The previously decided candidate was Baizhu, for his healing and life-saving work. But now, seeing Luocha on the projection screen, Keqing began to waver.
"Esteemed colleagues, what if we make an exception this time and designate Mr. Luocha as Liyue Harbor's exemplar for the month?"
Keqing proposed her idea.
"Mr. Luocha possesses exceptional medical skills and is always ready to help others. Regardless of his methods, his benevolence alone is truly rare and commendable."
"Baizhu is excellent, but we can nominate him later, can't we?"
"Hmm, that sounds splendid,"
Ningguang nodded in agreement.
"Since Mr. Luocha has been cleared of any Stellaron suspicion, let's make a big splash with this announcement. We can put up more posters, from Qingce Village all the way down to The Chasm."
"…This needs to happen quickly. Let's assign Ganyu to handle it for now."
—
「 "I'm starting to think the Luocha we envisioned doesn't square with the real one... Would a villain do a good deed like this?" Jingyan remarked.
"To tear out the front page to prevent others from being spoiled… that means he truly loves 'The Angler Mystery' And how could someone who loves that book do anything evil?" March 7th chuckled, "Looks like the whole thing was just a big misunderstanding."
Welt also let out a long sigh of relief: "Indeed, judging a book by its cover is always ill-advised… Oh, right, Dahao mentioned that the Realm-Keeping Commission has recovered some new footage of Luocha. Shall we go take a look together?"
Before the Foursquare Mirror, Dahao was playing footage of Luocha. He was seen standing on a vast, empty platform, gazing at the withered and decayed Ambrosial Arbor in the distance, seemingly speaking to someone.
"It's alright… I'll resolve it."
"Yes, none of this concerns you or me… The journey has only just begun…"
His words abruptly ceased there, and then the image vanished, completely cut off.
"Huh? Why did the sound suddenly cut out?" March 7th pouted regretfully, but then she heard Mr. Welt's heavy breathing behind her.
"…"
Welt closed his eyes, feeling his temples throbbing intensely. 」
「 .....」
( Translator-kun: Okay, Outworld Sojourner is done, next... hmm.. I wonder which Vita Infinita Companion Mission is next?? About Bailu? March? Yukong?, or Little Guizi/Houhou event 'A Foxian Tale of the Haunted Ghost Event'? )