In fact, the Inazuman leadership—Kamisato Ayaka, Sangonomiya Kokomi, Kaname Kaname, and Raiden Shogun (Ei)—had all vaguely realized that Kamisato Ayato, or rather Yilan, was still alive.
After all, Yilan had conducted two of his simulations in Inazuma, and if someone were to carefully compare them, they would inevitably find some clues.
Moreover, at the end of the Vision Hunt Decree, after Yilan had died under suspicious circumstances, both the Raiden Shogunate and Watatsumi Island had sent people to the other nations of Teyvat to inquire about a person named Yilan.
Perhaps at first, they didn't have high hopes. They sent scouts simply because they were unwilling to give up.
But as the investigation progressed, certain truths began to surface—truths they couldn't believe, yet were forced to accept—along with a growing sense of shock.
First, there was a dazzling young knight named Yilan in Mondstadt.
This immediately stirred memories in Kamisato Ayaka.
She remembered that her brother had once mentioned such a person in a proud tone, saying that he was the only knight in Mondstadt who could compare to him.
At the time, she hadn't paid much attention to that comment. But in hindsight, it no longer seemed like a casual remark.
Later, they managed to obtain a photograph of this Yilan through certain channels.
They brought it forward and took a look—
Oh? Wasn't this the same person?
The name was the same, the appearance identical—but of course, that wasn't definitive proof.
After all, this world held countless mysteries. Perhaps someone else simply had the same name and appearance?
What truly tipped the scales was the news they received from Liyue.
Anyone remotely informed on the continent of Teyvat knew that there had once been an immortal in Liyue named Yilan, said to have lived over a thousand years ago.
After all, Jianmen Pass and Yuheng Mountain, which he had left behind, had become iconic landmarks of Liyue.
But just recently, during the Yuheng Mountain Incident, news broke that the immortal Yilan, long thought dead, had returned from the grave, defeated a Fatui Harbinger, and saved Liyue.
The news was so incredible that even someone as sharp as Ningguang found it difficult to believe.
But the people of Inazuma, already mentally prepared, did believe it.
They further investigated the Mondstadt Yilan's whereabouts during that period, and—sure enough—discovered that he had gone to Liyue.
That practically confirmed everything.
Yilan wasn't really dead.
He likely possessed powers such as time travel or shapeshifting.
Even so, they weren't in a hurry to approach him.
These were still only educated guesses, not hard facts.
What if they found Yilan and he simply asked, calmly: "Who are you?"
They would likely collapse mentally on the spot.
And if that Yilan in Mondstadt truly was her brother, then surely—he'd come to find her soon… right?
Kamisato Ayaka clung to this hopeful thought, and then—
One day passed…
A week passed…
A month passed…
"He faked his death and left his poor sister grieving alone for three whole months… A brother like that really needs to be… properly trained."
Kamisato Ayaka squatted beside Yilan and gently caressed his face, but the expression on her face was disturbingly cracked.
"Um…"
Sangonomiya Kokomi suddenly peeked in from the side and asked weakly, "Ayaka, are we really sure this is okay?"
"What's wrong with it? Besides, you're the one who came up with the idea in the first place."
"That's not what I meant…"
That's right!
The idea of knocking Yilan unconscious and locking him in the basement for a bit of "re-education" had been Kokomi's!
After all, she had been completely played by him in the past—he had teased her mercilessly from start to finish.
Now that they had a chance, she had to get her revenge!
Just imagining Yilan trembling under their "training" filled her with a wicked excitement!
But—
"Are we really not going to tell Makoto-sama? Wasn't she the one who helped set up the illusion array?"
To avoid unnecessary consumption of her divine power and reduce the chances of Celestia detecting her, Raiden Makoto and several of Inazuma's elder yokai usually resided in a sealed domain.
Unless there were special circumstances, they rarely left it.
"It's not like we'll never tell her—we'll just tell her later."
Makoto had known her brother longer than anyone. That fact made Ayaka feel a strange sense of crisis.
So she decided: before letting him meet the real Makoto, she would change his loyalty to her!
"Enough about that—come help me carry my brother to the basement. Also, why is he so heavy?"
"Alright, I'll help."
As Kamisato Ayaka spun her private little schemes, how could Sangonomiya Kokomi not have her own?
Without hesitation, the two of them—one lifting Yilan by the shoulders, the other by the legs—began dragging him toward the basement.
As for the servants and guards along the way?
Ayaka had long since given them leave.
However, as the two women struggled to carry Yilan down into the depths—
They failed to notice that Yilan's eyelids had flickered slightly, and that the corners of his mouth had curled up into what looked suspiciously like a smile.
Once in the basement, they placed Yilan on a specially prepared bed, its four corners affixed with iron chains.
They shackled Yilan's limbs securely and then put on twisted, crazed smiles.
As they excitedly imagined what Yilan's reaction would be upon waking, they waited for the illusion to lift and reality to resume.
—As for waking him up with a bucket of cold water?
Of course not.
It's not like they were actually yanderes who had gone completely off the deep end.
At most, they just wanted to lock him up for a bit and give him a lesson, as payback for the emotional trauma and trickery he had once inflicted on them.
But then—
One hour passed.
Two hours passed.
…Six hours passed.
Their facial muscles could no longer hold their expressions!
Kamisato Ayaka rubbed her now-stiff cheeks and asked Kokomi, "Why hasn't my brother woken up yet? Is the illusion array really this strong?"
"I'm not sure," Kokomi replied with a small shake of her head. "According to Makoto-sama, Yilan should've woken up in about an hour… Could his strength be weaker than we expected?"
"My brother is the strongest!"
"Shhh—he's waking up!"
As Kokomi's words fell, both girls immediately put on their most yandere, evil, and delighted expressions and looked at Yilan with trembling anticipation.
His eyelids fluttered—and slowly opened.
***
Almost the moment he was struck by the illusion, Yilan awoke from it.
Why?
Because within his sea of consciousness resided none other than the former Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, the Great Compassion Tree King.
The illusion array set by Raiden Makoto was indeed formidable, but in terms of her attainments in formation arts and spiritual mysticism, she could never hope to match the God of Wisdom—Rukkhadevata, once the ruler of Sumeru.
In a sense, with Rukkhadevata now inhabiting his sea of consciousness, Yilan had become naturally immune to all mental or spiritual invasions.
So the moment the illusion fell upon him, Rukkhadevata immediately dismantled it from within. After doing so, she remained slightly bewildered:
"Yilan, what's happening out there?"
Rukkhadevata was puzzled. These two strange girls had attacked Yilan—yet they didn't appear to truly harbor hostility.
Yilan's thoughts turned slightly, and he quickly pieced things together. He replied with a smile in his mind:
"Just like when I first came to Sumeru to save you, only to be attacked by you in your corrupted state… But judging by what's happening now, I don't think they've actually fallen into darkness."
"This…"
Rukkhadevata felt a little conflicted.
In other words… Yilan might be gaining a few more "wives"?
Two in Sumeru, an unknown number waiting in Mondstadt, and reportedly two more in Liyue…
Rukkhadevata suddenly felt that residing in Yilan's consciousness as a soul might actually be a good thing. At the very least, it made her the most special. She could follow him everywhere.
Besides, the sensation of blending together in the spiritual world… perhaps wasn't so different from the pleasures of physical intimacy.
Yilan, unaware of the many thoughts running through Rukkhadevata's mind, was currently focused on how to deal with Kamisato Ayaka and Sangonomiya Kokomi.
Seeing the two girls trying to lift him up, he deliberately activated Geo power to increase his body's weight, making them pant with effort as they struggled to drag him down into the basement.
Later, when they tied him up with ropes, Yilan even feigned muscle rigidity, letting his limbs go stiff.
With just a sweep of his consciousness, he could "see" Kamisato Ayaka and Sangonomiya Kokomi lying on the bed, their hips in the air, panting and busily occupied.
Yilan nearly burst out laughing when he saw how seriously they were working, but thanks to his strong mental control, he managed to hold it in.
When the time was right, he slowly opened his eyes as if waking up for the first time—only to see Ayaka and Kokomi standing before him, their expressions twisted with darkness, madness, and intensity.
To be honest, seeing two powerful and influential girls act this way would frighten most people into silence.
But Yilan already knew their plan.
They believed they had him fooled—that he was stuck on the "first floor" while they operated on the "third floor."
In reality, Yilan was already on the "fifth floor," so he wasn't scared at all. If anything, he found the whole thing amusing.
Especially Kokomi's evil expression—it reminded him of a meme he'd seen online: "My little Kokomi isn't actually a good girl." He nearly lost control and laughed again.
Still, his face maintained just the right mixture of shock, confusion, panic, and fear.
"Ayaka, Kokomi… what's going on? Is there some kind of misunderstanding? Please, listen—I'm not the kind of person you think I am, I—"
"No, no. There's no misunderstanding," Kokomi interrupted gently, leaning close. Her soft lips brushed Yilan's ear, her breath carrying a sweet, ticklish warmth that made his scalp tingle. Her voice, though sweet, held a dangerous edge.
"Should I call you Lord Eastland of Mondstadt? Or perhaps… Kamisato Ayato of Inazuma?"
Ayaka maintained her dark expression.
"I thought I had personally killed my brother. I mourned him, blamed myself, nearly performed seppuku out of guilt. But in the end, it was all a lie… The brother I trusted most had deceived me."
She gave a soft, unhinged chuckle, on the verge of cracking.
Seeing her like this, Yilan suddenly felt a pang of guilt.
—He wasn't pretending. He genuinely felt bad.
When he made the simulation plan, he hadn't known it would manifest into reality. Back then, he hadn't considered the aftermath—or the feelings of people like Ayaka.
Now that the simulation had become real, thinking back to what Ayaka must have gone through in that third simulation… he could tell her words were mostly true.
Thinking of this, he said earnestly:
"…I am truly sorry for everything. But I hope you'll believe me when I say there's a reason behind it all. One of the reasons I came to Inazuma this time was to explain everything properly."
"What kind of reason—"
"It doesn't matter anymore," Kokomi cut in before Ayaka could finish.
The girl who always carried herself with a gentle and wise demeanor now wore a devilish smile, like a mischievous little demon.
She had finally captured Yilan, tied him up on the bed. She could do anything she wanted to him now. How could she let such an opportunity go?
Kokomi feigned seriousness:
"Think about everything you've done to us in the past. Don't even dream of trying to win us back. We're emotionless avengers now, heh!"
Ayaka, briefly startled by the interruption, quickly nodded in agreement.
"That's right. A brother who toys with our feelings deserves punishment!"
Yilan glanced at Kokomi speechlessly.
I didn't expect this. I really didn't expect this.
Ayaka looked like the one most likely to fall into darkness, but it turns out Kokomi was the real schemer here.
Seems like you deserve proper punishment later…
He sighed and said,
"Alright, I admit I was wrong before. So—how do you plan to punish me?"
"Hmm…"
Yilan rolled his eyes toward the ceiling, lying limp.
"Anyway, I've been captured and tied up. I can't resist even if I want to. Just do whatever you like."
He almost said the classic line: "Don't show mercy just because I'm a fragile little flower," but he restrained himself at the last moment.
However, after he said this, both Ayaka and Kokomi began to hesitate.
Before capturing him, they had imagined countless scenarios of what to do after succeeding. But now that the moment had come, they froze.
On one hand, they were reluctant, unsure if they might scare Yilan; on the other hand…
Having a third party present was awkward.
Ayaka suddenly pulled Kokomi aside and whispered:
"My brother once told me about something called the 'suspension bridge effect' and 'Stockholm syndrome.' Basically, if we keep him locked here and take care of his meals and hygiene, he'll start to feel something for us."
"That's it?" Kokomi said, clearly unsatisfied.
"That's all we can do for now." Ayaka looked at her warily. "You're not thinking of going behind my back, are you?"
Kokomi's violet eyes flickered with mischief.
"Of course not. We're sisters in arms—we agreed to face this together."
"Good." Ayaka nodded, satisfied.
——
Late at night.
Kokomi crept back toward the basement.
"Hehe… as the saying goes, 'Opportunities don't come twice.' If I stick too strictly to the plan, wouldn't I seem too stiff and old-fashioned?"
"A good tactician must be adaptable!"
Having found an excuse to soothe her conscience, Kokomi felt justified and confidently approached the door.
But just as she reached it, she heard a suspicious sound from inside—blushing, breathless noises.
"—!"
Kokomi burst in—
Only to see Yilan still tied to the bed, and Kamisato Ayaka half-undressed, straddling him in a thoroughly indecent posture.
Kokomi froze in place.
No way. This had to be fake, right?
She had felt a little guilty on her way down, even worried she might betray Ayaka's trust. But looking at Ayaka now—those glazed, blissful eyes—it was clear she had already tried every trick in the book!
You said we weren't allowed to go first… and yet you were the first one to sneak a bite!?