Wangshu Inn.
The moment Lumine and Paimon stepped onto the wooden terrace, a telekinetic dome flared up far behind them over Dihua Marsh.
They traded a look.
"What's that for? Why did Boss suddenly pop a barrier?" Paimon asked first.
Lumine shook her head. "Not sure. Feels… not like good news."
"Mm. That woman gave me serious danger vibes…" Paimon nodded.
Another look. Same thought.
Danger-seeker—if she came looking for it, she might not walk away.
"But I'm guessing she's like me—another diary holder," Lumine added. "She should know how scary Su Xuan is. She wouldn't be dumb enough to seek death."
"Then let's not worry," she decided. "Eat, rest, and head to Liyue Harbor. We'll meet Su Xuan there."
Honestly—could any job be sweeter?
No need to worry about the boss's safety.
No need to plan the boss's moves.
Just follow, eat well, sleep soft, and soak in hot springs when you feel like it.
This thigh must be hugged for life.
They glanced around. Rain kept everyone indoors; no one else had noticed the anomaly over Dihua Marsh. The two slipped into Wangshu Inn.
At the same time, a figure flashed like a gust of wind and appeared before the distant barrier.
Xiao frowned. No matter which angle he looked from, he couldn't see inside.
"What… is this…" He reached out—
and in the next instant was flung backward by a terrifying elastic force.
A golden light caught him midair.
"—!?" Xiao recognized the aura the moment he landed. He turned to see a black-haired young man with a single braid.
"Em—Emperor…"
Zhongli folded his arms and watched the telekinetic dome in silence.
"Emperor, what is this barrier? I've never seen its like," Xiao asked quickly.
A few breaths later, Zhongli sighed. "Nor have I."
Xiao: "…"
If even the oldest god in Liyue didn't recognize it, who in Teyvat would?
A bad feeling drummed against Xiao's skull. "Emperor, this—"
"I don't think it's a crisis," Zhongli said evenly.
The wind is Barbatos's trusted friend; it whispers him many truths.
The earth is Morax's greatest ally; everything on land is his eyes and ears.
From the moment Su Xuan, Lumine, and Paimon crossed into Liyue, Zhongli felt their footprints in the stone. Then their traces vanished. Moments later, the Statue of The Seven in Dihua flared—so he came.
He found the barrier.
And based on information the wind had already brought from Mondstadt, Zhongli knew at a glance the black-haired young man was the one who saved Dvalin, scrubbed away erosion, and bent impossibility—Su Xuan.
"No crisis?" Xiao still didn't get it. "His companions just went into Wangshu Inn. Should we visit them—learn their intent?"
"No need." Zhongli's tone remained mild. "Go on. I'll keep watch."
Xiao obeyed. A streak of turquoise wind vanished into the rain.
Inside the dome.
Hidden behind a tree, Yelan pressed a fingertip into the bruise on her arm.
A piercing ache shot up her nerves—
and she exhaled, strangely satisfied.
He hadn't used killing force.
A telekinetic pebble that could split mountains would tear a human to pieces; she still had her arm.
She glanced at the floating clock Su Xuan had conjured in the air to show her the countdown.
Ten minutes of evasion. She'd survived seven. Two more and she'd win.
But the closer she got to "victory," the more her pulse raced.
Would he see through her concealment?
Would he catch her?
If he did—what fate awaited her?
The danger pressed against her skin like the chill of the rain, heart thudding, mind ablaze.
She peered out.
Su Xuan sat cross-legged in midair beneath the suspended clock, as if deep in thought.
"He really isn't using perception…?" Yelan whispered inside.
She knew—if he used any kind of sensing ability, her veil was useless.
If he wrote a line in the diary, her location would be exposed instantly.
That uncertainty was the very drug she craved.
"Haah…" Su Xuan sighed above, faintly exasperated.
All his Teyvat knowledge came from before he arrived.
But reality added texture—habits, quirks, the unpredictable bend of a person's heart.
He'd never imagined that the first to approach him in Liyue would be Yelan—the one who should be hardest to find.
And she came to… experience danger.
"Well, if that's what you want."
"At least I won't have to track you down later."
He rested his cheek on his hand.
Below, frost began to bloom across the marsh.
Yelan stiffened. She had almost forgotten—Su Xuan commanded ice as well.
A skin of slick blue spread outward—
and then thousands of short, vicious ice spines erupted from the sheet, each two or three centimeters long—non-lethal, but cruelly sharp.
He was going to freeze the whole field.
"Not good…" Cold sweat slid down Yelan's neck.
She flinched—the bark behind her stabbed her forearm. She jerked forward and saw blood bead on her skin.
The ice was advancing far faster than she'd accounted for. In only a few blinks, it had reached her blind.
She sprang back—
"Two minutes more—"
"Ah!"
A stabbing pain exploded in her thigh; she stumbled to one knee, then dropped against the ice.
"Why did the freeze stop spreading… and how did he—find me…?"
"Blood," Su Xuan's voice answered, almost apologetic. "Scent and heat. Sigh."
The ice receded, revealing Yelan sprawled on the ground, dragging one leg, breathing hard.
Su Xuan descended step by step.
"How's the thrill? The ending is failure—
does that get your heart racing?"
Yelan's instincts made her crawl forward.
A pebble snapped through the air.
"—ngh!"
It punched cleanly through her forearm. Blood leapt, pain flared white, and her body sagged back against the ice.
"You lost," Su Xuan said softly. "You know, for people in your line of work, sometimes… death would be a luxury."
Yelan's pupils dilated. "You mean—"
A shadow swept across her; his heel pinned her wounded arm and twisted.
"U—AAH!"
The bolt of pain arched her spine; sweat burst from her brow.
Su Xuan scratched his cheek. "So… does that hurt… or what?"
Yelan panted, voice shaking. "It hurts—but… it's… oddly relieving."
He blinked.
Right. This woman could sit through high-pain procedures without anesthesia and call it a day.
A shard of blue fire flickered on his fingertip—
an ice spike winked into being—
and thudded into the soft of her thigh.
Yelan shuddered, folded, and then lay flat, shivering.
"Alright." Su Xuan dusted his hands. "That's enough for now. I'll take you somewhere else to play."
"…Where?" she managed. "What do you mean?"
"You'll see. For now—close your eyes and rest."
Something invisible looped around her pale throat and tightened gently.
Her legs kicked twice—then Yelan went completely limp.
Su Xuan exhaled. "What a bizarre kink. Honestly."
He looked down at the blood-smeared, unconscious queen of the underworld and shook his head.
His diary glimmered:
I'm speechless.
I thought of Yelan as an underworld empress—a casino queen in the shadows.
Turns out she came to taste danger firsthand.
Now I see why she always feels so calm—she likes life on the blade's edge. The riskier it is, the more alive she feels. The more it hurts, the more she breathes.
…I truly don't know what to say.
Jade Chamber.
Ningguang froze at her desk.
She'd warned Yelan just days ago—Don't. Seek. Thrill.
And Yelan… ignored her?
She flipped the diary anxiously.
We played hide-and-seek: 10 minutes. If I catch her without using perception, I win.
To meet her request, I provided pain mid-game.
So… she's lying on the ground now, covered in blood.
A collective hiss echoed through the women reading.
Dead?
Liyue's ladies paled.
Relax. I only shot through her limbs—no vitals.
I'll feed her a recovery pill from my stash later.
Also—before the game we made a deal: if I caught her in time, her life is mine.
I can use her however I want.
This is what she asked for. I merely fulfilled a peculiar wish.
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