Omniscius [Genshin Impact]

59: Neverending Rabbit Holes

"Hey. Sorry, I'm late."

Chongyun whirled his head to hear a familiar feminine voice. His eyes glimmered when he saw Soleil walking towards his table.

"It's okay. I don't mind," Chongyun smiled as she approached, "It's just a good thing to see you came."

"We don't mind," Hu Tao corrected from across the table, "One look at Soleil and you forgot I exist. Seriously, Chongyun! Try to be a little more subtler next time, won't you?"

"Subtle with what?" the exorcist was confused. Soleil giggled and sat down on the reserved chair, "Thanks for inviting me over."

"How are you feeling? The last time we spoke, you weren't doing very well," Chongyun said worryingly.

"I'm feeling better nowadays. Thank you for your concern," Soleil answered. Chongyun smiled and nodded.

"That's great because we need to run over some details we couldn't discuss before," Hu Tao said. "Details?" Soleil asked.

"From the case of the possessed cultists last month," Hu Tao said. "I thought that was case closed," Soleil frowned, "What happened?"

"Huh. Looks like that strange crane lady didn't say anything. It's up to me, then," Hu Tao shrugged, "Remember that time we went to Mingyun Village?"

"U-huh," Soleil nodded, "You said those cultists were possessed and that the spirits dispersed."

"I did. But it wasn't 'dispersed', per se," Hu Tao replied, "We all know Chongyun's presence is all that is needed to exorcise spirits. But the strange detail I wasn't able to tell you is that they weren't purged."

"How come?" Soleil asked, sitting up in intrigue. "I'm not sure why yet. But it is clear that these spirits are different from your typical ones. Spirits of the deceased often have no reason meddling with other people. But these guys..." Hu Tao twisted her lips to the side, "They are much more stubborn. Not even yang energy is enough to send them off. How troublesome!"

"I also did a little review back at home and asked my elders for opinions," Chongyun piped in, "As it turns out, the spirits who possessed those people have power."

"'Power'?" Soleil asked. Chongyun nodded grimly, "It is what allows them to shift back and forth between the afterlife... Just as they are hard to vanquish, it is also a difficult thing to summon them in the first place."

Soleil held her chin, "Ghosts are essentially dead people. For them to have 'power'... I'll be frank: It's hard to believe."

"Haaa... I expected as much," Hu Tao sighed heavily and plopped back on her seat, "This was why I took a long time debating with Chongyun whether we should tell you our hypothesis or not."

"But Soleil needs to know as much as we do," Chongyun protested. "I know, I know! I didn't say we wouldn't be honest. In a way," Hu Tao's eyes glimmered, "Soleil is related to this case."

Soleil giggled humorlessly. "As much as I'd like to deny it, I'm starting to believe I need to investigate this case," she said.

"Why?" Chongyun asked. Soleil looked at him, "I haven't told any of you this yet...but I believe there is someone out there trying to get at me."

"Someone...wants to hurt you?" Hu Tao asked. "I'm not sure why, but I know that I have something to do with all of this madness. The recent incidents were proof," Soleil said seriously.

"Then what do we do? Did you ask anyone for help? We can go to Lady Ningguang or Miss Beidou to look after you–" Chongyun was cut off when Soleil tapped his cold hand.