"Ah!"
Xiu Yuan suddenly bolted upright.
His eyes widened as he panted for breath, his body drenched in cold sweat.
"Had a nightmare?"
Xiao asked without turning around, studying his yaksha mask in his hands.
"Yeah." Xiu Yuan wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"Looks like you really have been through something unusual."
Xiao knew what nightmares felt like. Burdened with countless karmic debts, he often had nightmares himself and frequently woke with a start.
Xiu Yuan furrowed his brows, sinking into thought.
He rarely had nightmares.
Besides, by all rights, he should have slept like the dead this time.
After all, he hadn't slept for a day and two nights, spending that whole time in intense combat. Normally, he shouldn't have dreamed at all, just slept until he woke naturally.
"Unusual... doesn't even begin to cover it."
Even now, recalling the scenes from his dream left Xiu Yuan shaken, a chill running down his spine.
He had dreamed of completing his nine lives and returning to Hu Tao, Qiqi, Shenhe, and the others.
Yet...
None of them remembered Xiu Yuan.
Even with evidence of his existence, they didn't remember him at all and insisted they had never heard of him.
It wasn't just them. Zhongli, Xiangling, even Acting Grand Master Jean-none of them remembered him.
That was precisely why Xiu Yuan had jolted awake like that.
As for what had caused the nightmare, it might have been a side effect of exchanging fates with Shenhe.
He remembered that Shenhe frequently had nightmares too. Without the Red Ropes, she was guaranteed to have them.
Perhaps this was another effect of the Lone Calamity fate.
In any case...
It didn't just torment its host physically. It tormented them mentally too.
A double dose of suffering, basically.
"Time to get up and work," Xiao reminded him.
"Huh? What work?" Xiu Yuan looked utterly bewildered.
Xiao: "?"
"You ate ten bowls of almond tofu, and now you're trying to welsh on the deal?"
Now Xiao was annoyed. Earlier, he had done everything he could to persuade Xiu Yuan not to get involved with evil spirits, but after the stunt Xiu Yuan had pulled, he no longer had a choice.
Ten bowls of almond tofu were a week's worth for him, and this asshole had eaten all ten in one sitting!!!
If Xiu Yuan had paid with his own Mora, that would have been fine!
But those ten bowls had come out of Xiao's pocket!
Now that he'd eaten his fill and wiped his mouth, he wanted to skip work?
There was no such thing as a free lunch!
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
Xiu Yuan was a master at playing dumb. To Xiao, that innocent expression on his face looked incredibly punchable.
"Are you getting up or not?" Xiao asked through gritted teeth, a "friendly" smile on his face.
"Who are you again?"
Clang!
A crisp metallic ring rang out.
Sparks immediately scattered through the air.
"Hey, hey, hey! I'm getting up! Can't you take a joke?"
Xiu Yuan complained as he stared at the spear right in front of his face.
"Who's joking with you?" Xiao said coldly, spear in hand.
"This won't do. Brandishing weapons all day is bad enough, but you start swinging the moment someone says something you don't like. And you're not even tall. You know you'll never find a wife like this, right?"
At Xiu Yuan's words, Xiao's eyebrows shot up in fury. He leaped into the air and brought his spear down in a vicious strike.
BOOM!!!!!
A huge crater instantly appeared in the ground.
But a moment before the attack landed, Xiu Yuan had already vanished.
Xiu Yuan had anticipated his attack. A second before Xiao moved, he threw his spear and used Flame Flash Body Flicker to dodge.
"Someone's mad! Someone's mad!"
Xiu Yuan had truly taken being an obnoxious bastard to its absolute limit.
He ran as soon as he shouted, with no intention of stopping.
"I'm going to kill you! Stop running!"
By now, Xiao was so furious he could barely think straight. He chased after Xiu Yuan, dragging his spear behind him.
"Woohoo! Can't catch me!" Even as he ran, Xiu Yuan didn't forget to turn back and taunt him.
"Damn it..." Xiao was livid. He stomped hard against the ground and shot forward like a cannonball.
Still, to be fair, Xiao had become noticeably more talkative now that no one else was around, no longer as aloof as he had been at Wangshu Inn.
Looking at him like this, he seemed like a bit of a tsundere.
He had to maintain his cold, detached image around other people, but with only Xiu Yuan present, his true nature slipped out.
After all, no one was born cold as ice. Whether it was Shenhe or Xiao, their aloofness was only a protective shell.
It protected not them, but other people.
Shenhe and Xiao weren't so different. Both carried misfortune with them, so they avoided mortals and kept everyone at arm's length.
"Ugh..."
While chasing Xiu Yuan, Xiao suddenly let out a pained groan.
Xiu Yuan immediately stopped and looked back. Xiao was down on one knee, his spear in his right hand and his left pressed against his face in agony.
"Is this..."
"The corrosion of karmic debt...?"
Xiu Yuan immediately ran back and crouched beside Xiao.
"Don't tell me you're going to lose to something like this," Xiu Yuan said in a low voice.
"Mere karmic debt..." Fighting through the pain, Xiao used his indomitable will to force the karmic debt threatening to spill out back down.
He panted, his eyes slightly unfocused.
Clearly, every bout of karmic corrosion brought excruciating pain. The slightest misstep could send him plunging into the abyss.
"This little bit of karmic debt did all that to you? You're not looking so tough. Getting old?"
"From now on, I'll deal with the evil spirits. You just rest on the sidelines."
"I'd like to see what kind of karmic debt these puny evil spirits can bring."
As Xiu Yuan spoke, he patted Xiao's shoulder like they were good buddies.
His words, however, weren't particularly pleasant.
Still, between men, this was the best way to get along.
After all, back in school, the closest friends were always the ones calling each other "son."
As he spoke, several evil spirits appeared nearby, heading toward Liyue.
"Well! Speak of the devil!"
Xiu Yuan picked up his spear and charged at the evil spirits.
"They're my prey." Having recovered, Xiao refused to be outdone and followed right behind him.
"Then let's see who kills more!"
Xiu Yuan chuckled and threw his spear straight toward the group of evil spirits.
"Damn it!" Seeing Xiu Yuan's move, Xiao knew he was about to teleport over.
After their long battle yesterday, he already knew Xiu Yuan's abilities inside out.
That teleportation technique was the biggest headache. Several times, Xiao had nearly landed a hit, only for Xiu Yuan to escape with it.
Sure enough, a second later, Xiu Yuan used Flame Flash Body Flicker to appear beside the evil spirits.
Then he grabbed his spear and unleashed a flurry of attacks.
His spearwork was fierce and overwhelmingly forceful. Evil spirits like these couldn't withstand more than a few strikes before falling.
By the time Xiao arrived, only one evil spirit remained.
"I even made a point of leaving one for you, so your self-esteem wouldn't take too much of a hit."
"I'm truly the ultimate invincible, ridiculously super nice guy."
Xiu Yuan folded his arms across his chest and nodded solemnly.
By now, Xiao was close to losing his patience completely. He had no idea where this menace called Xiu Yuan had crawled out from.
He couldn't understand how anyone could be this shameless!
Xiu Yuan had just raised his spear and nearly stabbed down, yet now he was claiming he'd deliberately left that one for Xiao.
Unbelievable!
That was all Xiao could think.
Even if, for the sake of argument, he really had left it for Xiao to spare his pride...
What the hell was the point of saying it out loud???
He'd even sung his own praises, calling himself some kind of super nice guy.
Like hell!
Super nice guy, my ass. More like a super villain!
This...
This was the ultimate thick skin, tougher than a fortress wall!
Before you continue