"Just because you let him stay in the Jade Chamber, you think he'll definitely help you?"
Yelan eyed Ningguang skeptically.
She didn't believe the Tianquan could be so naive.
"At least it guarantees the Jade Chamber's safety."
Ningguang did not answer directly. She merely spoke in a calm voice.
Perhaps it was her imagination.
But her right eyelid kept twitching, as though something bad was about to happen.
"Fine."
Seeing that Ningguang had no intention of explaining, Yelan pressed no further and changed the subject. "What do we do now?"
After a pause, she added, "If the Adepti put pressure on us, then this—"
"I'll handle it."
Ningguang cut her off. "Find out where those strangely dressed outsiders came from."
"All right."
After watching Yelan leave, Ningguang sank wearily into her chair. She let out a long breath and rubbed her temples.
In all her years as Tianquan, this was the first time the weight on her shoulders had felt so heavy—
"How did you know we'd have somewhere to stay tonight?"
Ganyu had shown Chen Fan and Bi Ji into a side room, then excused herself and left them alone.
She had barely gone when Bi Ji turned to Chen Fan and asked.
"Of course I knew."
"But how did you know?"
Bi Ji couldn't understand it. They had both arrived in Teyvat at the same time, so why did Chen Fan always seem one step ahead?
Chen Fan had never intended to tell her. He brushed her off. "Because of course I did!"
Bi Ji was speechless.
"Oh, right."
Chen Fan paused. "One correction: I have somewhere to stay tonight."
"What do you mean?"
"Keep watch tonight. If anything happens, call me."
Bi Ji's eyes widened. "You mean you want me to stand guard all night?"
"What else?"
Bi Ji opened her mouth, but faced with Chen Fan's puzzled expression, she found herself at a loss for words.
"...Fine!"
After watching Bi Ji walk out, Chen Fan rose and looked through the window at the endless night sky, lost in thought.
He had a feeling.
This task of surviving three days and three nights couldn't be as simple as hiding from the Millelith in Liyue.
There had to be something else—
"Damn it, are people in Liyue always this brutal?!"
"Hiss—"
At that moment.
In the Lisha Outskirts.
In a secluded corner.
Tianfeng Douluo hid there, clutching his arm and grimacing in pain.
A closer look revealed the damage.
A broad patch of his shoulder was charred black, and the faint smell of cooked meat even drifted through the air.
After fleeing ahead of the others, he had walked straight into Keqing's ambush. Her Electro burst, combined with the element of surprise, had been devastating.
And so.
Tianfeng Douluo had gone all out. Using his advantage in the air, he had injured Keqing. Then, when he saw two more of her companions arrive, both able to wield elemental power, he had fled through the air.
While fleeing, he had happened upon Pufferfish Douluo, and the two had finally regrouped.
"They think we're the ones who attacked Liyue's god. Of course they didn't hold back."
Beside him, Pufferfish Douluo spoke up. "I've heard that beneath Liyue's god are the Liyue Adepti and the Liyue Qixing."
"But so far, I've only heard of the Tianquan and the Yuheng Star. The others are so mysterious I couldn't uncover a thing about them."
After a pause, he added, "I never expected the Yuheng Star to be such a formidable fighter—"
As he spoke, he raised his hand. Shockingly, his entire left palm was charred black, and all five fingers were gone—
"I tried to ambush the badly wounded Yuheng Star. Not only did I fail to kill her, she ruined my hand instead—"
"That strange elemental power of hers was like lightning from the heavens. It was almost impossible to guard against—"
The two comrades in misery looked at each other, then lowered their heads and sighed in silence.
"Still, at least we took part in the Rite of Descension. Now we just have to stay hidden for three days and three nights—"
Pufferfish Douluo had barely finished when Tianfeng Douluo said grimly, "Pufferfish, you're thinking too simply."
"Hm?"
"You said it yourself: the Liyue Qixing rank below the Liyue Adepti."
Tianfeng Douluo's gaze grew grave. "The Tianquan is hiding up in the sky, and we've ambushed and badly wounded the Yuheng Star. The Liyue Adepti may well step in to clean up the mess."
"Those Liyue Adepti... they can't be that much stronger, can they?"
Tianfeng Douluo snorted. "Even among Titled Douluo, there are vast differences!"
"You're level ninety-five now, but could you have handled Bone Douluo back in the day?"
Pufferfish Douluo had no answer.
After clearing the first stage in Mondstadt, Tianfeng Douluo had reached level ninety-seven, while Pufferfish Douluo and Snake Lance Douluo were both level ninety-five.
"Then what do we—"
"Rest a while, then head up to the Jade Chamber!"
A cold light flashed in Tianfeng Douluo's eyes. "Kill the Tianquan and the Yuheng Star, throw them into disarray, and surviving these three days and three nights won't be a problem!"
Pufferfish Douluo's heart tightened. He stared at Tianfeng Douluo in horror.
Though both were elders of the Spirit Hall Empire, Pufferfish Douluo was still young in both age and experience. Tianfeng Douluo was a genuine Titled Douluo of the older generation.
Of course.
Among his peers, he might have been the weakest Titled Douluo. Most of the others had either become Super Douluo or returned to the earth.
"What?"
Seeing Pufferfish Douluo remain silent, Tianfeng Douluo frowned. "After what they did to your hand, can you really swallow this insult?"
Pufferfish Douluo said, "...All right!"
After a moment's silence, Pufferfish Douluo looked at what remained of his left hand, now little more than a fist. Malice flashed in his eyes, and he finally nodded.
Deep into the night, two dark figures slipped onto the Jade Chamber beneath a moonless sky and a biting wind.
For the people of Liyue, reaching the Jade Chamber was difficult, even with an Anemo Vision.
But none of that posed much trouble for Tianfeng Douluo.
As a level ninety-seven Super Douluo whose Martial Soul was wind, he had a profound command of it. Carrying one other person on the wind up to the Jade Chamber was no great feat.
At that moment, a few dim lights glowed inside the Jade Chamber, but no one could be seen stationed around it.
Too much had happened that day. Ningguang had spent herself thinking through it all, while her secretaries and the other staff had been sent to carry out her instructions one by one. Naturally, they were exhausted too.
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