The Temporary Archive inside the Serenitea Pot was thick with the musty smell of decaying paper. Jingyi leaned over a long table pieced together from shields, using a scraper fashioned from discarded Akasha Terminal parts to clear mold spots from ancient texts. These classics, soaked in muddy water during transport, carried the last remaining sparks of wisdom in Teyvat. "Handle with care!" she whispered softly to the children carrying the books, her fingertips trembling slightly.
At the other end of the archive, Limeng was directing craftsmen in assembling a multi-layered straw drying rack. The main frame was constructed from the tough, dead vine wood inside the Serenitea Pot, while the shelves were tightly woven corn straw mats. Suspended above each layer were activated carbon packs fired at high temperatures using Akaho corn cobs, and beneath them sat thick pottery basins containing gentle, glowing embers. "Done!" he wiped the sweat from his brow, watching the warm current carrying the scent of charcoal sweep gently across the pages. Sumeru scholars nodded one after another, marveling at this ingenuity that replaced drying magic.
However, when she reached a damaged copy of *A Study of Floating Pivots*, its cover stamped with ancient Liyue mechanical patterns, Jingyi's movements froze. Her brow furrowed tightly, her gaze locking onto a crucial rune. The rune was completely blurred by water stains, the ink smeared into a dark smudge with an indistinguishable structure. Her …
Chapter 24