There was too much information, and it was a bit too much for Paimon’s little brain to process.
“Wait, you mean to say that Eixuan took advantage of the fact that Sumeru had no god and caused Sumeru’s economic crisis?”
Lumine also looked at Alhaitham with shock on her face.
Was the person who seemed to be smiling all the time actually such a ruthless and decisive person?
“It’s not just him. At that time, his fangs were just beginning to show.
Actually, in the decades after he became a diplomat,
he was a very gentle person. Whether it was Fontaine's governance or diplomacy,
he always had a “harmony brings wealth” attitude.
But after the new Grand Inquisitor of Fontaine took office,
Eixuan began to show his ruthless side.
Internally, he colluded with the current Grand Inquisitor to clear out the old noble forces of Fontaine.
Externally, he joined forces with the Qixing of Liyue and implemented economic plunder in Sumeru.”
Alhaitham had read Eixuan’s relevant biographies.
According to the descriptions in the biographies,
Eixuan’s change occurred after the Grand Inquisitor, Nahida, took office.
He only began to use radical measures to eliminate Fontaine's old noble forces after Nahida's arrival.
Before Nahida came, he was the typical nice guy,
balancing the various forces of Fontaine.
So Alhaitham connected Eixuan’s change to Nahida’s appointment.
Alhaitham believed that Nahida's ascension to power led to Eixuan's change.
Either he had Nahida's support, giving him the confidence to reform,
or Eixuan felt a crisis in his own position in Fontaine and wanted to achieve something.
Unfortunately, even though Alhaitham mastered over twenty languages,
he couldn’t imagine that the reason for Eixuan’s change was
that he had discovered that he might have been cursed by Focalors to become an immortal.
He didn’t need to worry about retirement and changed his way of doing things.
“The Qixing? Ganyu?” Paimon covered her mouth in surprise.
But then she thought about it. This was four hundred years ago. Ganyu wasn’t even born then.
“No, it was the Qixing of four hundred years ago. That Qixing’s business talent was far inferior to the current one,
but their actions were much more radical.
They joined forces with that diplomat and acquired Sumeru’s industries, from the super-rich to the small vendors.
Anything that could be bought with money fell into their hands.”
Through Alhaitham’s narration,
Lumine and Paimon completely changed their impression of Eixuan.
Paimon even put Eixuan’s danger level on the same level as the Fatui Harbingers in her heart.
“Then what happened? No one could control Eixuan in Fontaine. Wasn’t the Qixing still under the control of the Geo Archon?”
Paimon thought, based on Zhongli’s personality, he wouldn’t have let his subordinate do such a thing.
“Two years later, that Qixing was dismissed by the Geo Archon.
That diplomat went to Liyue and stayed there for two years.
Then, he returned to Fontaine unscathed. Because the time was too long ago,
no one knew what he did in Liyue for those two years.
But later, the Qixing’s acquired industries were all taken over by that diplomat.”
The two gasped in shock.
By this point, they couldn’t understand.
Eixuan had basically tricked the Qixing back then.
He colluded with the Qixing to illegally take over Sumeru’s assets.
Then the Qixing was dismissed, and Eixuan went to Liyue.
What did he go to Liyue for? It was obvious that Zhongli wanted to hold him accountable.
But what happened? After two years in Liyue,
not only was he fine, but he also took ownership of the assets that the Qixing had illegally acquired.
It had to be said that this guy was really bold.
Lumine even suspected that the Qixing had crossed the line and illegally seized Sumeru's assets.
It was probably Eixuan who leaked the information.
Alhaitham closed the book in his hand.
“I told you this story to prevent you from blindly trusting that guy.
Although this matter was really unfair, it wasn’t entirely bad for Sumeru.
Sumeru was very chaotic at that time. Right and wrong were not something that could be explained in a few sentences.
However, you should still be wary of him.”
Lumine left with a heavy heart.
Sumeru warned her to be careful of Alhaitham.
Alhaitham warned her to be careful of Eixuan.
Wait a minute? Wouldn't Eixuan come over and warn her to be careful of Sumeru?
At this time, Lumine was wandering aimlessly in the village of Aaru.
At this moment, Eixuan appeared in front of Lumine.
He whispered mysteriously to Lumine.
“I’m telling you, you have to be careful of Sumeru.”
What, really? It was exactly what she was thinking about.
Paimon felt like her head was about to explode.
There were only four people, why did they have to be so scheming and manipulative.
“Ah, my head is so confused. You said we should be careful of Sumeru?”
“Because all of Sumeru’s actions have been recorded in the void.
So no matter what he does now, the Akademiya can detect it one step ahead.
So if you’re following Sumeru to find something,
you must look in the opposite direction.”
Lumine stared at Eixuan with a blank expression, forcing her facial muscles to squeeze out a smile.
“Oh, thank you.”
Eixuan waved his hand nonchalantly.
“You’re welcome, it’s my duty.”
Lumine ignored the smug Eixuan.
She left in a daze.
Lumine felt a bit chaotic now.
In the previous three nations, she had basically relied on brute force.
Although she was wanted by the police every time, she never encountered any trouble.
It was just a simple chase, she ran, and they chased. She cleared the level.
This was so brain-burning in Sumeru,
first there was the cycle in the Rite of the Floral Offering.
She played the decryption game for so long.
When she came to the desert, she started playing Werewolf again.
Three people were suspicious of each other, forming a perfect chain of suspicion.
She suddenly felt that there was no trust left in this team.
Eixuan looked at Lumine’s departing figure with confusion.
She was full of energy just now, why did she suddenly look like she was messed up?
‘Did I play a little too much? I just wanted to get involved a bit.’
Eixuan naturally wouldn’t suspect anyone else.
It was just that when he was leaving, he heard Lumine, Sumeru, and Alhaitham’s conversation.
Eixuan didn’t care about Alhaitham’s evaluation of him.
He had lived for so many years. If he still cared about other people's evaluations of him,
he might as well not live.
It was just that he heard Alhaitham telling Lumine not to completely trust him.
For a moment, he was in a playful mood, so he ran to Lumine and said those words.
Now it seemed like he had taken it a little too far.
But as a 屑荧, Lumine's ability to adjust was very strong.
After half a day, she had already recovered from her daze.
From the villagers, they learned about the existence of the crazed scholars.
They also knew that many crazed scholars had recently disappeared.
The sharp few immediately understood that this might be a breakthrough.
Not only could they find the crazed scholars, but they could also try to negotiate with the mercenaries in the depths of the desert.
So everyone immediately set out to find the crazed scholars in the depths of the desert.
Eixuan didn’t act immediately this time,
because he suddenly felt some movement in the ley lines west of the village of Aaru.
It seemed as if something was about to be unearthed.
So Eixuan temporarily left the team and gave Lumine a positioning device.
He would find them after he finished his business.
In this way, everyone started to act separately.