Outside, the light rain continued to patter down. Raindrops fell from the sky onto the roof, then dripped one by one from the eaves to the ground.
The endless stream of raindrops fell from the sky, one after another, until the distance between each drop became indistinguishable.
The rain was getting heavier.
There was no wind.
Although the houses were temporary structures, they were surprisingly sturdy, more than capable of keeping out the wind and rain.
The largest house served as a meeting hall. It could be used to entertain guests, such as the people from the resistance army who had visited a few days ago. It could also be used to gather the shrine maidens for meetings.
At this moment, there was wind inside the house.
The elements became chaotic, forming turbulent currents.
Li Mo's aura leaked out, a mix of various mysterious energies that coalesced into his presence. By releasing his magical energy, he could manipulate the elemental forces around him.
"The smell of fox is even stronger now. It seems the Guuji has found another 'Hakushin bloodline,'" Scaramouche remarked, his arrogance slightly tempered. He could sense that the priest before him was no less dangerous than himself. If it were Childe, the Eleventh Harbinger, he would have already charged in for a fight.
But Scaramouche wasn't like that. He had a brain.
Scaramouche said, "So, what do you want in exchange for the Gnosis?"
He didn't mind fighting if it meant obtaining the Gnosis. But at this moment, the priest was no pushover, and while he was confident he could defeat him, Yae Miko was watching closely. Would she allow him to take the Gnosis?
Within the Fatui, Yae Miko was known as the "guardian dog," but her strength was highly respected. Among the divine familiars, she was one of the more powerful ones.
So, he decided to try negotiation.
There was no shame in that.
Li Mo said, "You can speak like a human? I thought you were always so arrogant and overbearing."
A brat.
That was Li Mo's first impression of Scaramouche, and it wasn't a good one.
"Conditions?"
"Is there a possibility that it's not for sale?"
Li Mo had figured something out.
The reason Scaramouche was here.
On one hand, it was because his research on the Gnosis had caused some fluctuations that attracted Scaramouche's attention.
On the other hand, Scaramouche had been on Yashiori Island all along.
The Fatui were producing Delusions, artificial objects similar to Visions. They allowed ordinary people to wield elemental power at the cost of their life force. They were essentially super low-grade Visions. And where better to set up a Delusion factory than Yashiori Island?
The raw materials for Delusions were already on this island. It saved the trouble of transportation, making it more convenient.
—In the original storyline, when the Traveler discovered the location of the Delusion factory, they stormed in. The Fatui stationed there were no match for the Traveler, but in the end, the Traveler was defeated by Scaramouche. It was Yae Miko who stepped in, using the Gnosis to secure the Traveler's safety.
While playing through the story, Li Mo hadn't given it much thought. But now that he was actually in Teyvat, he couldn't help but ponder.
Why had Yae Miko appeared there at that time?
Of course, that wasn't important.
What mattered was that Scaramouche was at the Delusion factory.
He was on Yashiori Island, so it was only natural that he would be drawn here.
"Not for sale? Then I'll just have to take it by force," Scaramouche said, his temper clearly not the best.
Li Mo replied, "Do you think I have the authority to decide what happens to the Gnosis? Scaramouche, please think carefully. Do I have that right?"
"You're right. A junior like you wouldn't have such authority."
Li Mo's fists clenched.
And he couldn't even refute it.
Among the three people in the room, he was the youngest.
Yae Miko had been alive for over five hundred years as the "Hakushin orphan."
Scaramouche was the first puppet created by the Raiden Shogun. He had lived in Inazuma and later became a Harbinger in Snezhnaya, causing no small amount of trouble. The incident with the Raiden Gokaden had happened over a decade ago. Considering his rich history, Scaramouche wasn't young either.
Just as Li Mo was pondering this subtle topic, Yae Miko pushed him back into the spotlight.
"I've authorized it."
"You... fine." Li Mo paused. "A trade isn't out of the question. But can you wait a while? I still need the Gnosis for something."
Li Mo still planned to use the Gnosis to show Raiden Ei what the "Musou no Hitotachi" of Inazuma truly was.
Having achieved his goal of securing a potential trade, Scaramouche left.
Outside, the heavy rain continued, but Scaramouche remained untouched, as if an invisible barrier protected him from the rain.
The tension dissipated.
Yae Miko said, "I thought you two were going to fight."
"With you here, he wouldn't dare. If he had, my opinion of him would have gone from 'brat' to 'idiot.'"
Bratty children, in reality, know how to weigh pros and cons. Scaramouche understood what he shouldn't do.
Li Mo wasn't afraid of a fight, but if it was just a fight for the sake of fighting, it would be meaningless. He wasn't a battle maniac; every fight should have its purpose.
The topic of Scaramouche ended there, but both of them knew it wasn't over. As long as the Gnosis remained in Li Mo's hands, they would cross paths again.
The Gnosis had to be handed over. The Fatui's goal was to obtain it, and keeping it would only invite continuous harassment. But how it was handed over mattered.
A good price had to be negotiated.
If Liyue could get assistance from Snezhnaya, then why couldn't Inazuma get personnel and financial aid?
As for how to use it, that was up to the Tri-Commission.
Since that was a matter for after ascending to Tenshukaku, Li Mo quickly put it out of his mind. While researching the Gnosis, he occasionally pestered Yae Miko for stories of the past.
Earlier, he had been studying "Spiritual Tripping" and "Blasting Rod."
He had some ideas about the latter, but the former was a complete mystery. On the surface, it seemed simple—just implanting a mental image into someone else's mind and making it take effect. How hard could it be?
But when he actually tried to learn it, Li Mo was completely stumped. It was like proving why one plus one equals two. It seemed simple, but the proof was anything but.
Geniuses like Aleister Crowley could just pick it up and use it, but for someone as clumsy as Li Mo, it wasn't so easy. He needed to understand the underlying principles.
He was about to give up.
Strategically abandoning it, he turned his focus to the Gnosis.
The "Idol Theory" was something Li Mo was very familiar with, and using it again was effortless. The mystical energy in Teyvat was abundant, so there were no restrictions on researching spells.
Time flew by, and an eerie harmony settled over Yashiori Island. The conflict between the Shogunate and the resistance army continued, but the shrine maidens of the Grand Narukami Shrine, temporarily residing in Kujou Village, and the Fatui maintained a strange peace.
This balance was only broken when the wards were finally repaired.