Shani fell into recollection. "Actually, my hearing is sharper than most people's, so I occasionally hear strange crying sounds at night."
Paimon was startled. "Does that mean... there are ghosts?"
Shani said, "Perhaps. I don't know. But it's definitely faint crying, drifting from very far away, carrying strong emotion."
"The crying used to be clearer and more frequent. Ever since you entered the village, the sound has become much quieter and less frequent. I have to concentrate to hear it now."
Alhaitham interjected, "I confirmed this with the night watchmen in the village as well. One of them, who has particularly keen hearing, has also heard similar sounds."
"But this is the desert. Rather than ghosts, that watchman is more inclined to believe it's the howling of wild beasts."
Lumine asked, "So can you pinpoint the source of the sound?"
Shani spread her hands. "There's nothing noteworthy nearby, but there is a hospital not far from the village."
Alhaitham helped explain, "It appears to have been a facility for treating Eleazar. But it's been abandoned for many years."
[Paimon: Eleazar has been around for that long? They've been researching it for so long and still can't cure it?]
[Nahida: The root cause of Eleazar is Irminsul's illness. If Irminsul isn't healed, Eleazar can't be cured either. And in recent years, more and more people have been afflicted with Eleazar.]
[Ningguang: Does that mean if Irminsul isn't cured, Eleazar could appear in Liyue too?]
[Nahida: Yes.]
[Paimon: This is even more serious than Fontaine's crisis.]
[Lumine: We need to take this seriously.]
Lumine said, "We need to go to that hospital now."
The hospital was desolate and rundown, its courtyard already buried under sand.
After searching inside, they found nothing.
Paimon looked at Alhaitham. "There's nothing here. Are you sure we didn't come all this way for nothing?"
Alhaitham said, "No rush. The crying only happens at night. Let's wait a while."
"We can rest in the meantime."
With that, Alhaitham sat down on a protruding rock and casually pulled out a book to read.
Paimon said indignantly, "He just sat down so confidently and started reading."
[Alhaitham: Between sitting around doing nothing and reading, is there a problem with choosing to read?]
[Paimon: Logically, there's nothing wrong with that.]
[Alhaitham: There never was.]
[Paimon: It still feels strange somehow.]
[Lumine: I feel strange too, but I can't pinpoint why.]
"What are you reading? Let me see too."
Lumine and Paimon crowded around him.
Paimon rested her chin on her hand, as if actually thinking about it. "Uh... natural position giving forced motion, relative natural motion... the position of the curve... every object naturally tends toward..."
[Ningguang: That's just basic fundamental principles. Is it really that hard to read?]
[Paimon: Ningguang, you can understand it?]
[Ningguang: Yes. It's just the basics of a discipline.]
[Alhaitham: Indeed. It's just the basics of a discipline. I'm broadening my scope of knowledge.]
Alhaitham asked, "Why are you still reading so haltingly?"
Paimon spread her hands. "I give up. You go ahead and read slowly. Goodbye."
With that, she flew off.
On the way, she grumbled, "That guy sure has a lot of leisure time. Reading such complicated books in a place like this."
[Lumine: But now, the two of us can only sit around doing nothing.]