—Reality
[This… hearing it feels really heartbreaking.]
[He originally wanted to make a name for himself and return home in glory, but in the end he came back with nothing to show for it. Heartbreaking is only natural.]
[Feels like I've been subtly called out.]
[But recognizing reality is a good thing. After all, Dongfang Yueming only looks 18—he still has a chance to start over.]
"Let me tell everyone some bad news." Stelle showed a mischievous smile. "Dongfang Yueming is a ley line reappearance. That means the real Dongfang Yueming has already passed away~"
"So this Dongfang Yueming doesn't have a chance to start over…"
Before she could finish, March 7th delivered a light but firm chop to Stelle's forehead. "If you keep this up, everyone in our livestream room is going to leave."
"Ehehe." Stelle instantly turned into Venti mode.
March 7th pulled over a stool and sat to the side to prevent Stelle from causing more chaos during the rest of the stream.
This account was managed by the three of them together, so March 7th had to keep a close eye on things.
If Stelle pulled off some huge stunt that got the livestream banned or caused viewership to drop, little March would cry.
With March 7th watching, Stelle didn't continue acting up. She started behaving and progressing the story properly.
Lumine: "So now that you're back, you're not planning to leave again?"
Yueming: "Since I've already faced reality, of course I'm coming back. If I can't return home in glory, at least I can't let my corpse be buried out there."
Paimon: "Thinking about the future at such a young age—it's clear you're really disheartened."
Lumine: "Since you're back, just stay home properly. There will always be someone at home waiting for you."
[Is the protagonist homesick?]
[I think she might be missing her brother.]
Yueming: "Thank you so much, all three of you. Not only did you save my life, but you're also willing to listen to me vent."
Lumine: "No need to thank us—it's no big deal~"
Paimon: "Yeah, it's nothing."
Paimon: "Huh? Lumine, didn't we forget something really important?"
Lumine: "Seems like it…"
Yiya: "Yiya…" (The god…)
Paimon: "Ah—Lumine, we completely forgot about the task Jun Bai gave us!"
[Real. I do that all the time—chatting with friends and forgetting important stuff.]
[If Jun Bai finds out, I feel like we won't be able to run a tab at Fengdeng Lou anymore.]
Stelle would absolutely never allow that to happen, so…
Lumine: "Yiya, you absolutely cannot tell Jun Bai! If you really have to say something, just say it was Paimon's fault!"
Paimon: "Lumine!"
Yueming: "Um, are the three of you looking for something related to a god?"
Paimon: "It's a bit hard to explain—just understand it however you want."
Yueming: "In that case, you three can go check in that direction. That place is a ruin that records information related to gods. There might be the clues you're looking for."
Yueming: "But please remember—there are a lot of evil spirits over there. Do not try to get close."
[Finally provided a clue after half a day.]
[So it's time to say goodbye to Yueming.]
[This Yueming is just a past reappearance—who knows if there'll be a chance to meet again.]
Lumine: "Thank you."
Yueming: "You three saved me first—no need for thanks. After this journey, the roads of the jianghu are long. Until we meet again, if fate allows."
(Don't know if I used it correctly—if not, please point it out in the comments, thanks.)
Paimon: "Goodbye."
Lumine: "Paimon, he's just a memory reappeared from the ley lines. Sooner or later he'll return to the ley lines."
Yiya: "Yiya…" (Big sister is right.)
Paimon: "I know… but I still hope we can see him again."
Paimon: "I actually really hate people who lie, but if everyone were like Yueming, maybe I wouldn't hate lying so much."
[Even kind lies are still lies, but who really holds it against them?]
[Doing anything to survive is a human instinct—there's no right or wrong about it.]
"So that's it. I was wondering why I couldn't bring myself to hate this NPC even though I'm not someone who likes lying. Turns out there's this layer to it."
March 7th suddenly understood—she'd felt something was off.
It turned out her impression of Dongfang Yueming as an NPC was actually pretty positive, even though little March usually hated people who lied as easily as breathing.
Stelle: "…"
Isn't the reason you hate lying because you can't tell truth from lies, and when people lie to you they don't give you good stuff?
Of course, Stelle didn't say that out loud.
That could wait until after the stream.
After getting the quest clue from Dongfang Yueming, they teleported straight to the quest marker and switched to Yiya for exploration.
The player arrived at a ruin and encountered an NPC named Qingyuan, learning that this was a ruin recording information related to Chi.
[You're telling me this modeling is an NPC?]
[I could tell at a glance this is a new character—and a 5-star one too. That design screams not simple!]
[Qingyuan hurry up and enter the pool!]
Qingyuan is an archaeologist who came to explore the ruin and search for related information. Unfortunately, he was blocked by a Ruin Hunter and had no choice but to give up.
Paimon: "Lumine, Yiya, did you hear that? This ruin is related to Chi!"
Lumine: "But the ruin doesn't seem related to what we're supposed to do right now."
Yiya: "Yiya, yiya ya, yiya yi…"
Paimon (translating): "Big sister, you're wrong. If the god reappeared from the ley lines is Chi, then His goal must be to revive himself in the present world."
Lumine: "Is that so? I understand."
Paimon: "Little Yiya, I know you're smart—can you tell me why Chi would definitely want to revive himself?"
Yiya: "Yiya, yiya yi."
Paimon: "Oh! So that's how it is."
Paimon: "Lumine, Yiya says that three thousand years ago, the first thing Chi did upon awakening was to devour Jun Bai to revive himself. He failed last time, and He won't let it go."
Paimon: "In fact, Yiya has already thought of the method Chi will use. Next we just need to find the place."
Lumine: "So now we need clues."
Paimon, Yiya (nodding): "That's right."
Lumine: "But what if the enemy isn't Chi?"
Yiya: "Yiya…"
Paimon: "Then we can only hope for Jun Bai's results."
[What a "just give up and become invincible" move.]
[Since they've already set up this plot segment, it looks like Chi's revival is certain.]
The dialogue ended, entering the combat phase.
But Stelle preferred to call it: disassembly-of-little-treasure phase.
After dismantling the little treasure, Stelle received a piece of text:
[Qingce is already without Chi, the marvelous method to bind the dragon is useless…]
[…Yet Chi's body does not die; its blood congeals in the earth, forming stone that pollutes the world…]
[…Therefore it is suppressed with revered statues, their number being three…]