Jeht remained completely still as she stared at Babel's corpse.
Time slipped by, second after second, and she simply watched in silence.
After an unknown while, she finally exhaled a long, heavy breath—like someone awakening from a prolonged nightmare—and murmured with a trace of relief and exhaustion, "It's all over…"
Shao Yun surveyed the surroundings. Corpses lay sprawled everywhere, and what remained of the Tanit Tribe was a wrecked, chaotic ruin. His brow tightened faintly.
He knew very well that this scene meant a mountain of troublesome matters awaited him next.
He shook his head lightly and sighed. "Yeah, the fighting's over… but I'm the one who has to clean up this mess. You three go find a place to rest. Once I burn these corpses, we'll head to Aaru Village together."
With that, he turned to the bodies and began his work.
To keep the three from seeing what would follow, Shao Yun handed Babel's vault key to Lumine, asking them to check if anything inside was worth taking.
Before long, he had stacked the corpses into a mound—a small hill built of bodies.
Then he retrieved more than ten bottles of moonshine and poured them all over the pile.
The strong spirits soaked deeply into every part of the corpses.
Once finished, Shao Yun struck a match and tossed it onto the mound.
Whoosh—a roaring blaze shot upward, illuminating the entire Tanit camp in an instant.
The fire raged with terrifying intensity, devouring everything beneath it without mercy.
The thick iron scent of blood rose with the billowing smoke, quickly attracting desert vultures.
The greedy predators circled above, screeching sharply as they waited for the flames to die so they could feast.
Shao Yun silently watched the blaze. As time passed, the flames gradually weakened until finally burning out completely.
But before the smoke had even cleared, the impatient vultures swooped down one after another. With their razor-sharp beaks, they tore frantically at lumps of flesh that hadn't yet turned to ash. The scene was cruel and nauseating.
Desert vultures, accustomed to feeding on carrion, had found themselves a hot meal this time.
…
The Tanit Tribe had never been wealthy. After careful counting, they had just over two hundred thousand Mora stored in chests, plus a scattered few tens of thousands lying around.
Once all aftermath affairs were settled, Shao Yun, Lumine, and Paimon departed with Jeht and her "Benben," heading toward Aaru Village.
During the journey, Jeht sat quietly behind Lumine, her thoughts drifting back through the events of the past two months.
More than anything, she kept remembering the moment when Shao Yun revealed Babel's true origins. Curiosity and confusion tugged at her.
Unable to hold back, Jeht looked at Shao Yun riding beside her and asked, "How did you know about Babel's past?"
Shao Yun answered honestly. "In the Gavireh Lajavard, I happened to find some notes scattered on the ground. That's how I pieced together her history."
But when Jeht heard he had been in the desert northwest of the Realm of Farakhkert, she asked in surprise: "How did you even get to that place? From what I know, it's not friendly to outsiders at all, and there's even an organization called the "Nagarjunites" that forbids anyone from entering that area."
Shao Yun didn't explain much. Instead, he changed the subject. "Why are you acting like some curious little kid? Focus on your future. None of this conflict will matter to you anymore."
When Shao Yun mentioned her future, Jeht grew visibly lost, whispering, "But I've killed so many people… Bureda, Gawafar, Ijidel, Medur, Teyah, Usad, Tafureh…"
Her voice trembled slightly.
"A 'monster' like me, whose hands are drenched in blood… can I really live peacefully in Aaru Village?"
Hearing her confusion, Shao Yun replied with level realism.
"Who in this world is without sin? There are plenty of stories—burning and killing earns wealth, building bridges and roads gets no thanks. In this desert dye vat, even if you're gentle as a little white rabbit, you'll grow fangs."
"As for Aaru Village—follow their rules, and Candace will let you stay."
In short: the world doesn't have that many pure good or pure bad people. Only those who follow the rules and those who don't… those who have eyes and those who don't.
…
By the time they arrived at Aaru Village, it was already the next morning.
Bathed in warm golden sunlight, the village looked peaceful and serene.
Candace sat on her familiar stone at the village entrance, calmly maintaining her weapon.
Just as she finished preparations for her morning patrol, she lifted her head by chance—and froze.
Walking toward her were Shao Yun, Lumine, Paimon… and Jeht.
Candace widened her eyes slightly and greeted them.
"Whoa, look who's back! Mr. Shao Yun, and Lumine and Paimon—and Jeht?"
Clearly, she hadn't expected to see Jeht again in this place.
Shao Yun smiled and waved. "Hello, Miss Candace! I wanted to ask—would Aaru Village be willing to accept a new resident?"
Candace blinked, momentarily stunned. Her gaze swept across the group, uncertainty in her voice as she asked, "You mean… all four of you intend to settle down here?"
Realizing he had phrased things poorly, Shao Yun quickly waved his hands and laughed.
"Haha, no, no, that's not it, Miss Candace. Only Jeht and Benben. Would Aaru Village accept the two of them?"
At that, Candace's face warmed into a kind smile.
"Of course!"
She stood and stepped forward, extending her right hand with sincere hospitality.
"Miss Jeht, you are very welcome to join Aaru Village and become one of us. Please follow me—I'll arrange a place for you to stay and help you settle in."
Jeht stared at her wide-eyed, stunned.
She had assumed joining the village would require formalities, tests—something complicated. She hadn't expected it to be so simple… so warm.
The surprise left her momentarily speechless.
Seeing her expression, Shao Yun leaned in and whispered, "See? Told you not to worry. Enjoy your new life in Aaru Village."
Jeht blinked as though waking from a dream, gratitude flooding her face.
She gave Shao Yun a thankful look, then turned to Lumine and Paimon as well.
"Mm… thank you. Truly. Without you all, I really wouldn't have known what to do."
Then she turned to her Benben, gently stroking its head. "Benben, let's go."
The little machine followed her immediately, as if perfectly understanding.
And so, Jeht and her Benben followed Candace into the village.
From that day onward, Aaru Village gained a new helpful young woman and her small mechanical friend.
…
After settling Jeht, Shao Yun, Lumine, and Paimon gathered at the village entrance, discussing when and how they should travel to Fontaine.
Paimon happened to glance toward someone walking out of the village. When she saw the figure clearly, she froze—then pointed and shouted, "Cyno? Why are you here in Aaru Village?!"
Cyno walked over at an unhurried pace, speaking in his usual calm, serious tone. "I have official duties to attend to."
"According to reports submitted by the Matra, several trade caravans have mysteriously vanished in the southern region of the Realm of Farakhkert over the past two months."
He paused, then added, "I decided to investigate personally. I arrived in Aaru Village last night to rest before heading out."
Hearing this, Paimon frowned and leaned toward Lumine and Shao Yun, whispering quietly.
"If you ask me… this is definitely the Tanit Tribe's doing. Their territory is right in that southern area, and that's their usual hunting ground…"
Lumine lowered her voice as well, glancing at Shao Yun. "Should we tell Cyno?"
But Shao Yun shook his head and whispered back, "Tell him what? That we wiped out the entire Tanit Tribe? Forget it… some things are better buried under the sands."
Cyno, noticing their blatant whispering, stepped closer in curiosity. "What are you three muttering about?"
Shao Yun froze for a split second, then quickly shook his head and casually lied.
"Oh, nothing much. Just talking about a friend from Mondstadt I met in the desert two months back—wondering whether she's in danger."
Cyno's expression immediately sharpened; matters concerning safety in the desert were never trivial.
He rushed to ask, "In that case, what does your Mondstadt friend look like? I may be able to help."
Shao Yun had originally planned to brush it off—but then changed his mind.
So, he began describing Eula.
"Well, she's a girl, slightly taller than Lumine. Her figure is similar to your senior, Lisa. Short blue hair, and she wears a black headband with lace trim."
"Oh! She should also have a sea-blue one-shoulder cape… though at the moment she's likely wearing a white desert hooded cloak."
Shao Yun recalled details while describing them.
Cyno memorized the features carefully and nodded. "Understood. If I encounter her in the desert, I'll assist her."
Then he added:
"However… if you met her two months ago, I can't promise much."
Shao Yun shrugged calmly. "It's fine. She's pretty capable. I doubt she'd run into anything too dangerous."
"Of course, if you do see her, helping out would be great."
===BREAK===
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