Mu Yang told Lumine that he was fine and there was no need to worry.
"See? I'm perfectly alright."
Only then did Lumine let go of his hand.
Paimon finally found a chance to interject. Lumine had moved so quickly earlier that it startled her.
"We were both really worried about you."
"But… since you came back to this place, you really are an Adeptus, aren't you?"
Mu Yang didn't confirm whether he was an Adeptus. Instead, he shook his head.
[Hahaha, so you're answering with 'or' instead of yes or no?]
[Yikes—I've got a bad feeling about this.]
[Don't jinx it! What could've made him … was it miHoYo?]
Lumine found it hard to believe. It should be a simple yes or no. What kind of answer was "I don't know"?
Mu Yang didn't seem intent on hiding anything. He explained to Lumine and Paimon that his memories were actually quite fragmented—he often forgot many things. He could only recall events from the recent past, while older memories were completely blank.
"Like what I told you before about the Abyss Order."
"Maybe in a year or two, I won't remember any of it."
These weren't lies Mu Yang fabricated to deceive Lumine. They were deductions based on existing lore—part of the retconned setting.
Teyvat had its own rules.
He had suppressed the demons.
And the demons, in turn, could corrode him.
Otherwise, there shouldn't be such large gaps in his memory.
Guinaifen wasn't thrilled after hearing this.
"What kind of messed-up setting is this? Feels like we're being set up for tragedy, folks."
[So a young guy gets Alzheimer's, huh?]
[Damn, does that mean he'll forget us too?]
[No way! If he's gonna forget me, at least wait until I quit for ten years first!]
[Once this kind of setup drops, you know the tragic tone is locked in.]
[If Mu Yang really dies, I'm quitting—wuwuwu—]
[Bro, the game just launched. And he's definitely gonna be a playable character. Don't panic.]
Paimon, having listened to Mu Yang's explanation, asked, "So that's why you said 'I don't know'?"
"You even forgot your own identity?"
When Mu Yang nodded, Paimon was shocked. Lumine also found it hard to believe—this was just too bizarre.
"I'm not sure, but probably not."
Lumine suddenly felt something was off. If Mu Yang truly remembered nothing, why had he appeared at the Rite of Descension today? To pay respects to the Geo Archon like an ordinary person?
No—because he had left midway.
And afterward, he had come to Mt. Aocang, where the Adepti resided.
That didn't add up at all.
"Then why did you come to Mt. Aocang?"
"Let's sit down first. This might actually be related to you."
Lumine took a seat on a spot marked "Reserved for the Archon."
She was even more confused now.
Mu Yang sat down as well and began recounting events from his perspective.
He said the reason he had appeared in Mondstadt earlier was that, apart from the Fatui, the clearest memories in his mind were of the Abyss Order. Hearing about the dragon crisis in Mondstadt—which might have been connected to the Abyss—he went to investigate.
If he could uncover something, great. If not, at least he'd be helping Mondstadt. After all, not every Abyss creature could speak human language.
Everything that happened afterward in Mondstadt, Lumine already knew.
Lost in thought, Lumine nodded.
Paimon cut in, "Then what? Did something happen after you left Mondstadt ahead of us?"
Mu Yang confirmed it.
After interacting with Lumine, fragments of new memories occasionally surfaced in his mind—though not many. For example, a name.
[Isn't that the Geo Archon's name?]
[Holy crap, Mu Yang knows the Geo Archon too?]
[I'm gonna post this on the miHoYo forums—lol, 'Honest Truthseeker' is killing me!]
Lumine suddenly understood.
"So that's why you attended the Rite of Descension?"
"I thought seeing him might help me remember more."
Paimon expressed understanding, but Lumine still had questions.
"Then why did you leave in the middle of it?"
"I didn't see you in your original spot during the ceremony."
Mu Yang had his explanation ready.
"Because I sensed some very hostile gazes."
"They weren't just watching the sky—they were watching the two of you..."
This startled Paimon.
"Huh?! So the culprit wanted to hurt us too?"
Lumine quickly analyzed the clues at hand. Her reasoning was sharp.
"You mean… the Fatui?"
Mu Yang: "Mhm. The ones watching you were that Fatui Harbinger."
"As for the others, I'm not sure. The moment I moved, they scattered."
Mu Yang's story was a mix of truth and lies.
Lumine was special to every character.
Who knew if what he said now would become reality later?
Perhaps this was the beginning of a Story Quest.
Mu Yang's final ending would undoubtedly unfold under Lumine's witness.
Silver Wolf's livestream:
Now Silver Wolf could gloat.
"Where are the haters now? Still saying the streamer got humiliated?"
"I told you Mu Yang wasn't the culprit."
"And that 'Honest Truthseeker'? Pfft."
[This is what a real hardcore streamer looks like—love it!]
[Brothers, I've already made tons of alt accounts to spam that forum post. Waiting for those Constellation upgrades!]
[You actually believe this? 'Constellation upgrades'?]
[Hey, you commented too, didn't you?]
[I'm just treating him like a clown.]
Back in Teyvat, Mu Yang continued his story.
"I didn't know what that Harbinger's goal was."
"I thought he meant to harm you, so I intercepted him."
"After you left, I tried to find you immediately, but I couldn't."
Lumine and Paimon exchanged glances.
It seemed they had been tricked.
"We were taken to the Northland Bank by Childe's subordinates."
"He even said you were in danger and told us to seek help from the Adepti..."
Mu Yang nodded in understanding.
"I see. That's why you're here."
Paimon asked, "Then what about you? If you couldn't find us, what happened next?"
"How did you end up at Mt. Aocang too?"
Mu Yang had an answer prepared for this as well.
"The news of Morax's death gave me a splitting headache."
"My instincts told me to go to Guili Assembly… and Mt. Aocang."
Paimon: "Guili Assembly? Don't you mean Guili Plains?"
Mu Yang said he wasn't sure. In any case, he went there, but aside from ruins, there was nothing.
Afterward, he made his way to Mt. Aocang.
"The moment I reached the summit, I ran into you two."
The system, having listened to Mu Yang's elaborate fabrication, couldn't help but applaud.
"Tsk tsk, you're something else. Even I can't tell which parts are true and which are lies now."
Mu Yang replied inwardly, "Isn't it obvious? It's all true—truer than a 'Cheetah Snow'!"