Genshin Impact: This fireplace house is your graveyard.

Chapter 68 The Lost Laughter Returns

After treating Lily's foot wound, Qiuhe told everyone to rest there while he went to look for clues to get to the next location.

During the break, Claire's stomach started rumbling in protest; none of them had eaten anything since entering the ruins.

Hearing Clementine's stomach growl, Navia took out a large amount of food from her backpack. "I prepared a lot of food because I knew this expedition might take a long time."

"Everyone, come and have something to eat." Everyone perked up at the sight of food. While eating, Claire paused for a moment and turned her gaze toward the direction where Qiuhe was.

Then, she picked up a few cans of food and went to the room where Akikawa was. When Peruvier saw Clévius leave with the cans, she knew her intention and followed her.

Meanwhile, Qiuhe was also perusing a large number of books. Although he hadn't paid close attention to the plot while carrying out the Narcissus Cross mission, seeing the layout and the books here...

He also recalled some fragmented memories; it seemed that during the Narcissus Cross quest, he controlled the protagonist to find a book here.

Then she was transported to a place that looked like a fairyland, which is where Lilith is now.

At this moment, Claire slowly entered the room where Akikawa was. Seeing Akikawa reading a book, Claire slowly walked to his side.

"Le Yi, you must be hungry too, have something to eat first." Hearing the voice, Qiu He came back to his senses.

He discovered that it was Claire who was handing him the canned food, and he also noticed that Claire's expression still seemed somewhat sad.

Claire noticed Qiuhe looking at her and avoided his gaze. Seeing Claire's evasive eyes, Qiuhe naturally understood the reason; he remembered everything.

Remembering his coldness towards Clementine back then, Akikawa remained silent for a moment before forcing a kind smile.

“Thank you, Claire,” Claire said, her heart gradually calming down upon seeing the smile. Peruvier then entered the room.

Seeing Clementine sitting with Akikawa, Peruvieri didn't go up to disturb them. She knew that Clementine and Akikawa needed this time alone, and then quietly returned to the group.

After a moment of silence, Claire asked weakly, "Lei, why do you insist on finding this Narcissus Holy Sword?" Upon hearing this question, Qiuhe stopped eating.

Qiuhe was eager to find this holy sword, naturally because the immense energy it contained might make him stronger, allowing him to defeat Kujavina as soon as possible.

But the thought that Claire still didn't know the true nature of her mother, even if Claire trusted him completely, still meant that she was her biological mother.

Qiuhe also imagined what it would be like if he had a mother as gentle as an angel, but one day his friend suddenly told him that his mother was an absolute devil.

How would I feel? I'd definitely be angry, and the thought of my coldness towards Claire when we entered the ruins again made me feel increasingly dejected.

Claire also saw the sad and upset expression on Akikawa's face. She knew that this Akikawa was the Akikawa she knew.

Then, he raised his hand again, trembling, wanting to gently stroke Qiuhe's face, but the moment he raised his hand, Qiuhe's icy cold face appeared in his mind when they entered the ruins.

Her raised hand froze in mid-air, as if frozen in place, before slowly lowering itself. Qiuhe noticed this as well, and then, like a graceful butterfly, she gently grasped Clover's wrist.

The sudden touch struck Clementine's heart like a lightning bolt, making her tremble slightly, but then she felt the gentle warmth of Qiuhe's hand.

Qiuhe slowly raised Claire's hand and gently placed her palm against his face. Qiuhe then revealed a gentle smile, as tender as a spring flower in bloom.

He slowly closed his eyes, immersing himself in the warmth of Claire's palm. At this moment, Qiuhe was no longer as cold and indifferent as before; now he was like a kitten who had done something wrong, begging for his master's forgiveness.

Seeing the gentle smile on Qiuhe's face and feeling the warmth of the sun on his face, Clementine's smile slowly returned to her face like spring flowers. Then, like a joyful little bird, she hugged Qiuhe tightly.

Qiuhe gently hugged Claire and whispered, "I'm sorry for being so cold to Claire before. Please forgive me."

Upon hearing this, Claire's nose tingled, she twitched slightly, and her hand seemed to be wiping away tears. Finally, she slowly released her grip on Qiuhe.

He placed his hand on Qiuhe's face again and began to knead it, as if he were kneading a soft lump of dough.

Qiuhe maintained that gentle, sunny smile throughout, and Claire finally spoke up, saying, "Layi tells me stories every night."

Qiuhe smiled and gently hummed in agreement, "Okay, I'll tell Clementine stories every day and lull her to sleep every day."

As the two were having a heart-to-heart talk, Clementine's gaze, like that of a nimble fawn, lightly swept over the group standing at the top of the steps.

At this moment, everyone watched Clementine and Akikawa quietly, knowing smiles on their faces.

Tian Yaochen was carrying Lily on his back at the moment. When he realized that everyone's eyes were on him, Clementine's face instantly turned bright red, like a ripe apple.

She covered her face with her hands as if she had been electrocuted, and then, like a shy little ostrich, slowly crawled under the table.

Seeing this, Lily couldn't help but laugh and say, "Okay, Clementine, don't be shy. We won't tell anyone."

Everyone then smiled and nodded in agreement, while Kai Le looked at Qiu He and said, "It seems that you have returned to normal now."

Qiuhe smiled slightly at everyone and said, "I'm sorry for the trouble I caused you all. I will make it up to you all after we get out."

Tian Yaochen teased playfully from the side, "Hmph, then you'd better make it up to me in a big way. Do you know how scary you were when you went crazy back then? You'll have to compensate me for my mental distress."

Lily, who was clinging to Tian Yaochen's back, pinched his face with both hands, saying, "If you don't speak, no one will think you're mute~". Seeing Tian Yaochen's comical appearance, everyone couldn't help but smile at each other.

After a burst of laughter, Kailer led everyone to search for clues inside the house again. Qiuhe had now recovered and told Kailer everything he knew without reservation.

After a moment's thought, Kailer said, "According to Leyi's description, if such a book really exists, it can transcend space and location when touched."

“Then I think those kinds of books would stand out more and be more eye-catching than other books in a place full of books,” Kailer then asked, looking at Ann beside him.

"Ann, do you have any clues?" Ann shook her head after hearing this. Seeing that Ann didn't know either, Kai Le gestured for everyone to search the vicinity for any suspicious books.

After browsing for a while, everyone discovered that the books here were all ordinary books, nothing particularly remarkable. Meanwhile, Clorind was at a table in a corner.

A book with picture cards was found. "Kailer, come and take a look at this," everyone said after hearing Claurind's voice, and they all went over.

Kailer walked over, picked up the book, and looked at it. He found that it depicted a fairyland-like place surrounded by trees, with a house in the center.

Kailer then began to ponder, recalling what Qiuhe had said at the beginning: the method to enter the next location was to read a strange book, which would complete the location travel.

After searching the room for a while, only this one book looked a bit strange, so Keller started flipping through the book with pictures in front of him.

After watching for a while, everyone felt their vision blurring, and in the blink of an eye, the surrounding scenery changed.

When everyone came to their senses, they found themselves in a place that looked like a fairyland.