"Cough, cough, cough!"
Shikanoin Heizou's coughing could be heard from behind an unremarkable boulder on Yashiori Island.
"Kid, why don't we take a break? Otherwise, I think you might die," Ember said, turning to look at Shikanoin Heizou beside him, his voice filled with concern.
Shikanoin Heizou was completely drenched, his once shiny and stylish auburn hair had lost its luster, becoming messy and coarse.
His bloodshot eyes were now framed by prominent dark circles, making anyone who saw him think he might suddenly collapse and die on the spot.
"No need, what's this?" Shikanoin Heizou shook his head. Although he had just completed two strenuous activities, the "Watatsumi Island Marathon" and "Oceanic Swim," there was no trace of fatigue on his face.
On the contrary, his flushed eyes were still bright and spirited, looking quite out of place with his exhausted appearance.
Ember took one look and knew this was a classic case of a mismatch between spirit and body. For such a person, persuasion was useless; physical methods were needed.
"Ember, follow this river that flows into the sea… What are you doing?"
Shikanoin Heizou rubbed his somewhat sore eyes. Had Ember just been holding a big stick?
"Nothing, your hair is wet. It's easy to get sick if you don't dry it," Ember quickly put away the large wooden stick in his hand. He extended the arm he had hidden behind his back, opening his palm to reveal a warm stone emitting a gentle heat.
"Here, it'll help you dry faster," Ember placed the warm stone on top of Shikanoin Heizou's head.
As the warmth from the stone spread, Shikanoin Heizou immediately felt a warm current flow through his entire body.
This warm current started from his head and exited from his feet, carrying away all the accumulated fatigue.
"Good stuff, do you have any more? I'll buy them at a high price if you do," Shikanoin Heizou stuffed the warm stone from his head into his pocket, mentioning it casually.
If he had this item, his future tracking activities would be much easier. It just needed to fix its glowing drawback.
"No, this item is out of print," Ember shook his head. This was from his personal stock, and each one used meant one less.
"By the way, what were you saying about following the river earlier?"
"To the Fatui supply base, if they're not idiots."
Shikanoin Heizou answered confidently. The Fatui should understand the cost difference between land and water transport, so building a stronghold by a river connected to the sea would be very necessary.
"Alright, I understand," Ember nodded distractedly. He looked at the river beside him, feeling that its color was somewhat strange.
Why was this water purple?
Walking to the river's edge, Ember extended his finger. Soon, a faint, tiny wisp of resentment followed his finger, going straight into his head, attempting to influence his mind.
However, its effect on him was not as prominent as the tingling sensation from his finger.
"Damn it? Who threw a body in the river? Don't they have any public decency?!" Ember stood up, shaking the purple water droplets from his hand, exclaiming in surprise.
He seemed to know why the water was like this.
If one were to look closely, the water in this river was quite similar to the water in Musoujin Gorge, but compared to Musoujin Gorge's water, this river flowing into the sea was undoubtedly more unsettling.
Musoujin Gorge's was only physical damage; this river water had both physical and magical damage!
"Body? No, that's not right. Water after soaking a corpse isn't this color," Shikanoin Heizou also squatted down and tested the river water.
The pain from his finger, however, immediately made him retract his hand.
"You don't need to worry about that. What I mean is, you might have found something big," Ember turned and walked along the river deeper into Yashiori Island.
What he didn't tell Shikanoin Heizou was that the bodies thrown into this river were likely the remnants of a God.
He looked up at the massive snake bone mountain range in the distance. People in Higi Village said that this was formed from the corpse of a God slain by the God of Thunder in ancient times.
"Ah, how tragic," Ember sighed. The great snake died, and that was that, but a group of people kept digging up its corpse every day. He wondered what it would think if it came back to life.
"Big? What do you mean?" Shikanoin Heizou caught up, asking in confusion.
Could it be that the Fatui supply base was very large?
But how large could it be? This was Inazuma, arguably the furthest nation from Snezhnaya, and there was an ocean separating them.
No matter how vast the Fatui's power, their influence in Inazuma was limited.
"You'll know when we get there!" Ember smiled mysteriously, but unfortunately, through the helmet, Shikanoin Heizou saw nothing.
The two followed the river that flowed into the sea. At first, Shikanoin Heizou considered hiding, but after seeing that Ember had no intention of hiding at all, he also gave up.
As they walked deeper into Yashiori Island, open spaces became scarcer, replaced by various rugged rocks.
If these were all formed from the great snake God, then Ember could only say that the God of Thunder's swordsmanship was not refined enough.
To create so many fragments with one slash, she needed more practice!
"Boom!"
A clap of thunder struck, illuminating the dim world.
"Is this tatarigami?" Shikanoin Heizou looked at the barren land around them, even more desolate than Watatsumi Island, and felt a sense of gloom.
"That's why you, as a detective, need to collect evidence and bring all the culprits to justice!" Ember clenched his fist, encouraging Shikanoin Heizou.
"You think too highly of me. I'm just a small detective; how could I have such great power?" Shikanoin Heizou forced a bitter smile.
These incidents clearly exceeded the scope of a "detective's" duties. Shikanoin Heizou felt that even if he could gather all the evidence, the various factions would not punish the culprits.
"Crime" is easy to judge when it applies to an individual, but when it applies to a certain faction, it becomes blurred.
"But I will still try my best to collect evidence," After his bitter smile, Shikanoin Heizou perked up.
Perhaps the evidence collected in the end would be useless for punishing the culprits, but at least for the victims, they could know some truth.
This alone was enough for Shikanoin Heizou to give his all.
Evil, the less there is, the better. Even if he encountered evil he couldn't eliminate, he would expose it.
"Don't be so pessimistic, isn't I here?" Ember patted his chest plate, speaking to the somewhat dejected Shikanoin Heizou.
"Alright, alright, I know how impressive you are, Ember! Stop it quickly, or the Fatui will discover us."
Shikanoin Heizou covered his ears, shouting at Ember. The sound of him patting his chest plate was even louder than thunder; if he hadn't reacted quickly, his head would definitely be ringing right now.
"Fatui? Where?" Ember immediately perked up, stopping his movements and starting to look around.
"Over there," Shikanoin Heizou pulled Ember into a hidden spot, pointing to a large cliff by the river.
The land beside the river rose, with tall and thick cliffs standing on both sides of the river, as if a large mountain had been cut in half at the waist.
And on top of the cliff, there was a gap. A gap alone was nothing special, but if that gap glowed, that would be very unusual.
"If there are no surprises, that should be the place we're looking for," Shikanoin Heizou said decisively, looking at the faint purple light flickering in the gap.
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