Chapter 101: Fuli Lian: Immortality Is the Cruelest Punishment for Some

"The children of Bei Luoboge are still playing in the mud underground, while the children here can already skillfully treat patients," she said. Though understandable, San Yueqi was still amazed.

Bai Lu pretended not to hear her: "Things have been uneasy on the Celestial Vessel lately, if you…"

"If there's nothing, don't run around, right?" San Yueqi instantly guessed what she was about to say, spread his hands helplessly and said, "What a pity, the general of Luofu gave us a task, so we have to run east and west."

"Then, if any of the uncles or sisters have a minor injury or bruise… I can treat you for free! Since you saved me, I'll give you a twenty‑percent discount on the medicine fee," Bai Lu said with a bright smile.

Then she threw herself wholeheartedly into treating the wounds of those Demon Yin Body soldiers.

Watching her treat patients earnestly, Walter was quite curious: "So that's the Chiming clan? I've only seen records of them in texts; I heard they're descendants of the Dragon Vein lineage, and that does seem fitting."

The Star people didn't want to keep bothering Bai Lu, so they prepared to continue strolling while waiting to meet the person arranged by Fu Xuan.

"Young miss, you're interrupting, please hold back," a man with a tangled side‑beard walked over. "Fortunately you intervened earlier, rescuing the people of Changletian and that Dragon Lady from the siege."

"Dragon Lady?" San Yueqi turned back in surprise, looking at the girl devoted to treatment behind him. "That child, by the sound of the title, seems quite important."

Teyvat continent, Coral Palace.

"My deduction... this young lady is likely a figure akin to the Chiming clan chieftain, very important in the current situation of the Celestial Vessel," Xinhai of Coral Palace said after a brief contemplation.

"Huh...? Coral Palace, how did you guess that?" Wu Lang looked at the girl curiously.

"Wu Lang, look, the Celestial Vessel currently has only three races: Foxfolk, the Chiming clan, and ordinary Celestial Vessel humans. Do you notice any problem?"

"Foxfolk have tails and ears; the others... you can't really tell."

"The issue lies here. Ordinary Celestial Vessel humans and Chiming clan members look almost identical, which at least shows that Bai Lu's outward Dragon traits are extremely rare within the entire Chiming clan," Xinhai of Coral Palace speculated.

"I can't say for certain she's the Chiming clan chieftain, but she must have received the clan's secret technique inheritance to have her current bearing."

"Coral Palace's meaning is... Miss Bai Lu might possess more than just medical skill? What hidden powers are unknown?" Hearing Xinhai say that, Wu Lang suddenly became eager.

"Hmm... I can't guess that," Xinhai lifted her head and smiled lightly. "But if this is a story from the light‑novel writers of Yae Double Hall, they'd surely give Miss Bai Lu some special abilities as a 'setting'."

"After all, they're Dragonfolk; even in Teyvat, any creature related to 'dragons' must be formidable, right?" Xinhai recalled the deep‑sea drake lizards of the Abyssal Palace that could both resist and strike; if it weren't for the Traveler... she still didn't know how to handle them.

The man was from the Di Heng Office, named Da Hao. He came looking for Xing after hearing they were guests of the general, and being quite skilled, he wanted to invite a few of them to the Di Heng Office for a chat.

Although the things after the guess might not be easy, we were idle anyway, so we just followed Da Hao.

Inside the Di Heng Office, Da Hao thanked them again, and to avoid wasting anyone's time, he got straight to the current trouble of the Celestial Vessel.

"As you can see, since the Star Core Cataclysm arrived, the mania of the Demon Yin Body has spread," Da Hao said gravely. "The Demon Yin Body has long been a fate the Celestial Vessel people avoid; under the Ten Kings Office's watch, it shouldn't have appeared so frequently."

"But now more and more people, especially those like Cloud Rider who must bear pressure and risk, are falling into the Demon Yin Body."

"Moreover, those people's appearances become extremely terrifying, resembling monsters. This differs from my previous understanding of the Demon Yin Body..."

"Do you think there's a conspiracy behind this?" Xing heard his meaning.

"Exactly," Da Hao said. Having heard that a few were commissioned by the general to investigate the star core, he proposed cooperating with them, sharing any clues with the Di Heng Office so they could respond promptly and also provide assistance.

At this point, Xing suddenly recalled that at the Spiral Star Port, a letter had fallen from a Demon Yin Body monster she had slain, and she had picked it up.

Da Hao read the letter Xing delivered carefully; after reading it twice with a solemn look, he broke into a cold sweat, confessed his fault to the few, and hurried away.

After waiting about ten minutes, Da Hao returned with a woman.

"I read that letter... to be frank, I didn't know how to handle it, so I contacted the general's stationed Divine Strategy Office. This is Lord Qingzu, the chief strategist of General Jingyuan."

Qingzu has been responsible for pursuing matters related to the Demon Yin Body, and the letter Xing provided happened to give a crucial clue.

The letter appeared to be a joyful family message, but in fact violated the Ten Unforgivable Sins prohibition, namely seeking immortality or mutation under the guise of 'healing'.

"Strange, haven't the Celestial Vessel people already achieved immortality? Why seek it again?" Xiutaerke wondered. "Isn't that redundant?"

Fuli Lian shook her head: "No, the quest for immortality targets not the Celestial Vessel people, but short-lived species like Xing who come from beyond the Star Sea."

As an immortal spirit, Fuli Lian knows well how the word 'immortality' attracts ordinary humans; for millennia, many have hoped to devise immortality magic and use it to defeat death, yet none have succeeded.

"Indeed, if it were me, I'd also be curious about what immortality feels like."

"Actually, there's not much to experience," Fuli Lian lightly brushed the holy staff emblem on her neck and said calmly, "Perhaps... it's like a blink that skips fifty years. Time speeds up."

"But Lady Fuli Lian, why would the Celestial Vessel people undergo mutation and alteration?" Filien couldn't grasp the Celestial Vessel people's mindset. "Risking violation of the prohibition, is it necessary?"

"Hmm... actually it's quite understandable, but before answering, let me ask you, Filien," Fuli Lian looked toward the bustling crowd outside the inn, "have you ever seen people born with innate disabilities?"

"No."

"... I almost forgot, you've lived in the forest with Hai Ta since childhood," Fuli Lian said, rubbing her forehead. "Some humans are born with disabilities, like being blind from birth or having leg impairments that prevent walking..."

"For these humans, life is a continual process of suffering. Yet no matter how painful, it's only a few decades."

"... But now that such misfortune falls upon the Celestial Vessel people, life becomes a punishment lasting hundreds, even thousands of years; even I doubt I have enough willpower to endure it."