Recaps

Xiu Yuan and Shenhe explored Mondstadt with Acting Grand Master Jean, and Shenhe began learning why people relied on judgment rather than killing wrongdoers outright. After nightfall, Xiu Yuan asked Jean for help with a plan, bought fine cider, and went to meet Venti.

• Shenhe stopped a burly man from intimidating a restaurant waiter, and Xiu Yuan tripped the man when he tried to flee.
• Acting Grand Master Jean arrived, confirmed the man's misconduct, and invited Xiu Yuan and Shenhe on a tour of Mondstadt.
• Shenhe questioned why people reasoned with troublemakers, and Xiu Yuan explained that people could be wrongly accused.
• Acting Grand Master Jean arranged rooms at an inn, and Xiu Yuan told Shenhe he would be going out to meet someone.
• Xiu Yuan asked Acting Grand Master Jean for help, bought several bottles of fine cider, and found Venti sitting in a tree.

Xiu Yuan questioned Venti in Mondstadt, then grew closer to Shenhe during their weeks together. When Shenhe tried to make their relationship physical, Xiu Yuan rejected her and vanished, leaving her devastated.

• Xiu Yuan traded Venti bottles of cider for answers, then left Venti pondering him and promising to compose a poem for him.
• Shenhe asked to share Xiu Yuan's bed, embraced him while they slept, and thanked him the next morning for helping her rest.
• Over several weeks in Mondstadt, Shenhe became more sociable, learned from Jean, and tried to cook tomato and egg noodles for Xiu Yuan.
• Shenhe tried to remove her Red Ropes and told Xiu Yuan that he was the one who could truly bind her, but Xiu Yuan said he did not love her and told her to stop clinging to him.
• Xiu Yuan hurled his Long Spear through the window and vanished before Shenhe could stop him, while Jean stood outside the door.

Xiu Yuan left Mondstadt after arranging for Acting Grand Master Jean to help Shenhe build a life among people. The chapter revealed his plan to make Shenhe hate him and leave before his terminal illness took his life, hoping she would eventually find happiness without him.

• Xiu Yuan told Acting Grand Master Jean about Shenhe’s lonely past and asked her to become Shenhe’s friend and support her after he died.
• Xiu Yuan revealed that he had a terminal illness and had originally traveled to find a place to be buried, but meeting Shenhe gave him a reason to help her.
• Xiu Yuan asked Acting Grand Master Jean to hint to Shenhe about marriage once she had adjusted to life in Mondstadt, so Shenhe would come to confess her feelings.
• Xiu Yuan planned to reject Shenhe cruelly and leave, accepting that she might hate him so Acting Grand Master Jean could help her move on.
• More than ten days later, Xiu Yuan walked away from Mondstadt, grieving as he put his plan into action.

Xiu Yuan asked Venti how to replace Shenhe’s fate of solitude and calamity, and learned that the exchange required specific conditions and could bring severe karmic consequences. As Xiu Yuan left to seek Moon Carver’s help, Shenhe broke down, injured herself, and tried to stab herself before Acting Grand Master Jean stopped her.

• Xiu Yuan offered Venti cider in exchange for answers about changing fate, and Venti explained that a good fate could replace a bad one under strict conditions.
• Venti directed Xiu Yuan to find Moon Carver at Cloud-Retainer's Abode and warned him of the karmic consequences.
• Xiu Yuan told Venti about Shenhe’s loneliness and said he was willing to bear her fate so she could experience the warmth of human life.
• Venti gave Xiu Yuan a paper talisman, and Xiu Yuan left while Venti watched him disappear into the night.
• Shenhe believed Xiu Yuan had abandoned her, beat her fists against the floor, and reached for a kitchen knife before Acting Grand Master Jean intervened.
• Shenhe clung to Acting Grand Master Jean and sobbed that Xiu Yuan no longer wanted her, while Jean tried to comfort her.

Xiu Yuan exchanged his fate of happiness for Shenhe’s lone calamity, and Shenhe learned of his sacrifice when she returned to Liyue. After hearing his final message, she mourned him and vowed to wait for him.

• Xiu Yuan asked Moon Carver to exchange his fate for Shenhe’s, and the exchange succeeded after lightning struck them both.
• Shenhe discovered that her baleful energy had vanished and traveled to Liyue with Acting Grand Master Jean to ask her master what had happened.
• Moon Carver examined Shenhe and revealed that her fate had changed from lone calamity to happiness because Xiu Yuan had exchanged their fates.
• Shenhe recalled Xiu Yuan’s promises, begged Moon Carver to reverse the exchange, and learned that fate could only be exchanged once.
• Acting Grand Master Jean comforted Shenhe as Moon Carver relayed Xiu Yuan’s final message, and Shenhe vowed to wait for him.

On the first anniversary of Xiu Yuan’s passing, Hu Tao visited his grave and confessed how much she missed him and how tired she was from carrying her responsibilities. Zhongli watched over her, promised Xiu Yuan he would care for her, and carried the sleeping Hu Tao home.

• Hu Tao worried that business at the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor had slowed, while Zhongli suggested she spend time with her old friends.
• Hu Tao insisted she was too busy as director, though Zhongli knew she had been suppressing her wish to play and carrying the burden of the parlor.
• At midnight, Hu Tao visited Xiu Yuan’s grave and told him about the past year, including Rex Lapis’s death and the Rite of Parting she held with Zhongli’s help.
• Hu Tao broke down in tears, telling Xiu Yuan she missed him, felt exhausted, and wanted to sing with her friends again.
• Zhongli watched Hu Tao through the night, draped his coat over her, promised Xiu Yuan he would care for her, and carried her home after she cried herself to sleep.

Hu Tao and Zhongli made a contract about arranging his funeral, but decades later Hu Tao realized that the Rite of Parting had fulfilled it. As Hu Tao died of old age, Zhongli held her memory in his heart.

• Hu Tao returned to the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor after failing to find customers and asked Zhongli why people did not prepare for death in advance.
• Hu Tao told Zhongli she had prepared his funeral and promised to make it as grand as Rex Lapis's.
• Zhongli and Hu Tao sealed a contract, with Zhongli invoking the Wrath of the Rock against anyone who broke their word.
• Decades later, the aged Hu Tao realized that the Rite of Parting had fulfilled the contract, thanked Zhongli, and died.
• Zhongli watched Hu Tao's hand fall and carried another lasting memory of her.

When Little Fluff stopped eating, Qiqi and Xiangling learned that the finch had reached the end of its life. They brought it to the Forest Cabin, where Little Fluff died among a gathering of finches, and Qiqi realized it had returned home.

• Qiqi grew worried when Little Fluff stopped eating and drinking, so she and Xiangling took the finch to a veterinarian.
• The veterinarian told Qiqi and Xiangling that Little Fluff was healthy but had reached the end of its life, and that it had likely been happy returning to them after flying free.
• Qiqi sensed that Little Fluff wanted to be buried at Xiu Yuan's cabin, so she and Xiangling carried it to the Forest Cabin after sunset.
• Little Fluff died when they arrived, and fireflies and a flock of finches gathered around Qiqi and Xiangling.
• Qiqi understood that the Forest Cabin had been Little Fluff's home all along and smiled through her tears.

Xiu Yuan and Qiqi searched for ingredients with Xiangling, then found her trapped on a cliff after she secretly went to gather Violetgrass. Xiu Yuan saved her and was wounded, and the chapter left Xiangling grateful and resolved not to gather dangerous ingredients alone again.

• Xiangling asked Xiu Yuan and Qiqi to help gather ingredients, and the three split up after agreeing to meet at eleven.
• When Xiangling failed to return, Xiu Yuan and Qiqi searched the forest and found her clinging to a cliff while Hilichurl archers attacked.
• Xiu Yuan shielded Xiangling from the arrows, helped her up the cliff, and Qiqi defeated the Hilichurl archers.
• Xiu Yuan removed the arrows from his wounds and let Xiangling bandage him before they headed back to Liyue.
• Xiu Yuan confronted Xiangling for secretly gathering Violetgrass alone, and Qiqi agreed they should gather ingredients together.
• Xiangling apologized and remembered Xiu Yuan's actions with gratitude as she realized how lucky Qiqi was to have him.

Qiqi reread the last page of her notebook and mourned Xiu Yuan, who had left Liyue. She added that she wanted to watch the coming Lantern Rite with him and vowed to wait for his return.

• After finishing her Soft Gymnastics, Qiqi checked her notebook and remembered that she had one last task: reread her story with Xiu Yuan.
• Qiqi read her heartfelt memories of Xiu Yuan and the warmth he had brought into her life.
• Qiqi cried and said she missed Xiu Yuan and hoped he would remember her too.
• After hearing from Xiangling that the Lantern Rite was approaching, Qiqi wrote that she wanted to watch it with Xiu Yuan.
• Qiqi finished the last page, gazed at the stars, and promised to wait for Xiu Yuan to come back.

At an inn in Mondstadt, Shenhe shared her painful past with Xiu Yuan and imagined a future as his wife and the mother of his child. Xiu Yuan hid his sorrow about eventually leaving her, and the chapter ended with him watching over the sleeping Shenhe and wishing they could be together.

• Shenhe told Xiu Yuan that her village had been abandoned and her father had died, leaving her feeling cut off from her human ties.
• Xiu Yuan comforted Shenhe, and they shared candied hawthorns as she delighted in their sweetness.
• Shenhe asked whether Xiu Yuan would want a boy or a girl if they married, and he said he only wanted her because pregnancy and childbirth could be painful.
• Shenhe said she would gladly endure those hardships for him and imagined raising a son with the best father in the world.
• Xiu Yuan ended the conversation and went inside with Shenhe, then sat alone by the window after she fell asleep and wished she could be his wife.

After completing his third reincarnation, Xiu Yuan chose the Demon Qilin Garment and began his fourth life with the mission to make Xiao smile from the heart. He considered Xiao’s painful past and learned how the Golden Roc Yaksha was freed by Morax and became the Conqueror of Demons.

• Xiu Yuan refused to choose a skill or continue reincarnating until he learned a replacement personality could affect his previous worlds, prompting him to continue so no one could take his place.
• Xiu Yuan selected the Demon Qilin Garment for its defensive abilities and was sent to Liyue with the mission to make Xiao smile from the heart again.
• Xiu Yuan recalled how the god who controlled Golden Roc forced him to kill and devour his enemies’ dreams, leaving him emotionally hardened.
• Morax defeated Golden Roc’s master, freed the Yaksha, and gave him the name Xiao.
• Xiao vowed to protect Liyue, becoming the Conqueror of Demons and the sole surviving Guardian Yaksha after three died and one disappeared.

Xiu Yuan found Xiao fighting evil spirits in Nightfall Forest and challenged him to prove their strength was equal. After battling all night without a winner, Xiao acknowledged Xiu Yuan and asked whether he wanted to slay evil spirits together, but Xiu Yuan tried to provoke him into fighting longer.

• Xiu Yuan followed the sounds of battle through Nightfall Forest and joined Xiao in defeating several evil spirits.
• Xiu Yuan introduced himself and asked to join Xiao in slaying demons, then argued that he was Xiao's equal.
• Xiao challenged Xiu Yuan to a test of strength, and they fought with spears for hours before unleashing their full abilities.
• Xiu Yuan and Xiao battled through the night without either winning, and Xiao acknowledged Xiu Yuan's strength.
• Xiao asked whether Xiu Yuan still wanted to slay evil spirits with him, and Xiu Yuan taunted him to keep fighting for another three thousand rounds.

Xiu Yuan and Xiao fought until they collapsed, then recognized the friendship they had found in each other. They raced to Wangshu Inn for Almond Tofu and immediately started competing over how much to order.

• Xiu Yuan and Xiao fought through the day and night, defeating any evil spirits that interrupted them.
• Xiu Yuan and Xiao both collapsed, then argued over who had fallen first.
• Xiao remembered his friendship with the other Guardian Yakshas, while Xiu Yuan insisted Xiao was afraid he would take his position.
• Xiu Yuan and Xiao challenged each other to fight again, but stopped when their stomachs growled.
• Xiu Yuan and Xiao raced to Wangshu Inn and competed over how many portions of Almond Tofu to order.

Xiu Yuan befriended Xiao at Wangshu Inn over Almond Tofu, then ignored Xiao’s warnings about karmic debt and declared himself commissioned to help purge evil spirits. He left Xiao bewildered and went to sleep beneath a tree, exhausted from their fight.

• Xiao ordered Almond Tofu, and Xiu Yuan ordered a bowl to find common ground with him.
• Xiu Yuan and Xiao talked about being alone and sharing a spear, and Xiu Yuan ate ten bowls of Almond Tofu.
• Xiao warned Xiu Yuan three times that hunting evil spirits brought unbearable karmic debt, but Xiu Yuan dismissed his concern.
• Xiu Yuan told Xiao that the meal was on him as payment for a commission to help purge evil spirits, then left to nap.
• Xiao stared at the empty bowls in confusion while Xiu Yuan fell asleep under a tree.

Xiu Yuan woke from a nightmare about the people he loved forgetting him, then sparred and hunted evil spirits with Xiao. After Xiao’s karmic debt flared up, Xiu Yuan insisted on fighting the spirits too and left Xiao one enemy while loudly praising his own kindness.

• Xiu Yuan woke from a nightmare in which Hu Tao, Qiqi, Shenhe, Zhongli, Xiangling, and Jean no longer remembered him.
• Xiao reminded Xiu Yuan that he owed him work after eating ten bowls of almond tofu, and Xiu Yuan provoked him into chasing him with a spear.
• Xiao suffered a painful bout of karmic corrosion, but forced the karmic debt back down.
• Xiu Yuan and Xiao spotted evil spirits heading toward Liyue and raced to fight them.
• Xiu Yuan quickly defeated nearly all the evil spirits, left one for Xiao, and declared himself an invincible, super nice guy.

Xiu Yuan and Xiao competed to see who could kill more evil spirits, with the loser owing the winner a request. After Xiu Yuan won, the two headed to Wangshu Inn, where he tried unsuccessfully to persuade Xiao to buy him Almond Tofu.

• Xiu Yuan proposed a competition to kill evil spirits, with the winner earning a request the loser could not refuse, and Xiao accepted.
• Xiu Yuan and Xiao hunted evil spirits through the night and met again at dawn to compare their totals.
• Xiu Yuan said he had killed sixty-eight spirits and mocked Xiao for losing, until Xiao pointed his spear at him.
• Xiu Yuan deferred choosing his prize request, then suggested they go to Wangshu Inn for Almond Tofu.
• Xiao refused to buy Xiu Yuan food, and Xiu Yuan pestered him all the way to the inn.

Xiao and Xiu Yuan rushed to save Treasure Hoarders who had called for help, defeating a horde of Hilichurls. When the Treasure Hoarders recoiled from Xiao in fear, Xiu Yuan forced them to thank their savior, then angrily objected to Xiao being accustomed to such treatment.

• Xiu Yuan pressed Xiao to share his past, and Xiao reflected that some people could be remembered even after a brief time together.
• Xiao sensed someone calling him and hurried from Wangshu Inn with Xiu Yuan, who followed him into the forest.
• Xiao and Xiu Yuan defeated the Hilichurls threatening more than twenty Treasure Hoarders in under five minutes.
• The Treasure Hoarders shrank away from Xiao, so Xiu Yuan angrily confronted their leader and demanded they show gratitude to their savior.
• The Treasure Hoarders knelt and apologized to Xiao before fleeing, while Xiu Yuan fumed at their fear and Xiao said he was used to it.

Xiu Yuan comforted Xiao about mortals fearing him, awakening Xiao’s long-suppressed tenderness. After they competed to fight Evil Spirits overnight, Xiu Yuan recognized Zhongli as Rex Lapis, leaving both Zhongli and Xiao stunned.

• Xiu Yuan angrily defended Xiao, telling him that saving lives mattered more than the fear and ingratitude of those he rescued.
• Xiao felt warmth and tenderness toward Xiu Yuan, who promised to accompany him when he saved people.
• Xiao treated Xiu Yuan to five bowls of Almond Tofu, and they returned to night watch and fought Evil Spirits in another contest.
• Xiu Yuan claimed he had defeated seventy-five Evil Spirits, while Xiao said he had defeated eighty and won the contest.
• Xiao challenged Xiu Yuan to compete again that night, and Zhongli approached them.
• Xiu Yuan told Zhongli and Xiao that he knew Zhongli was Rex Lapis, leaving both men bewildered.

Xiu Yuan revealed to Zhongli that he knew Zhongli was Rex Lapis, and Zhongli learned about Xiu Yuan’s strength and friendship with Xiao. Xiu Yuan refused Zhongli’s offer to become a Guardian Yaksha, and the three prepared to investigate a weakening barrier after eating.

• Xiu Yuan introduced himself as the jokingly named Hidden Sixth Yaksha, and Xiao explained that he was a mortal who had been helping him slay demons.
• Zhongli tested Xiu Yuan’s strength by having him and Xiao release their auras, then thanked Xiu Yuan for helping Xiao.
• Zhongli offered to make Xiu Yuan a Guardian Yaksha, but Xiu Yuan refused despite Xiao’s hope that they could remain together for a long time.
• Zhongli told Xiao to inspect the weakening barrier to the northwest, and Xiu Yuan volunteered to accompany him.
• Xiu Yuan suggested they eat at Wangshu Inn before setting out, and the group agreed to get Almond Tofu.

Xiu Yuan and Xiao reached the weakening seal just as it was breached, and a god’s barrier cut them off from Zhongli. Xiao began repairing the seal while Xiu Yuan fought off the monsters, but Blackflame drained his mental energy and left him vulnerable to karmic debt.

• Xiu Yuan and Xiao traveled to the seal, where Xiao noticed cracks spreading across it.
• A purple dome trapped them as the seal opened, and monsters surged out while the god’s barrier blocked Zhongli from sensing them.
• Xiao proposed either destroying the purple pillars or repairing the seal, and Xiu Yuan chose to guard Xiao while he worked.
• Xiao placed his yaksha mask over the hole and began meditating to repair the barrier as Xiu Yuan attacked the monsters with Blackflame.
• After Blackflame consumed much of his mental energy, Xiu Yuan was overcome by karmic debt but forced himself to keep defending Xiao.

Xiu Yuan struggled to protect Xiao while the barrier remained broken, nearly succumbing to the monsters’ mental influence before Xiao saved him. Amy, Solomon’s fifty-eighth demon god, emerged and sealed the breach, leaving Xiu Yuan and Xiao to face him.

• Xiu Yuan used the Demon Qilin Garment and Blackflame to fight off monsters attacking him and Xiao, but their assault and the strain left him exhausted.
• The monsters’ voices tempted Xiu Yuan to surrender until memories of Hu Tao, Qiqi, and Shenhe snapped him back to his senses.
• Xiao abandoned his work on the barrier to block a monster’s battle-axe and told Xiu Yuan that repairing the breach would take at least another hour.
• Amy emerged through the enlarging hole, sealed it behind himself, and revealed that he intended to keep the other imprisoned demon gods from escaping.
• Xiao donned his Yaksha Mask, while Xiu Yuan prepared to fight Amy with his Blackflame and Demon Qilin Garment.

Xiu Yuan and Xiao lured the weakened demon god Ami into a trap and burned him with Blackflame, but Ami’s black mist entered Xiu Yuan and began taking over his body. The chapter ended with Xiu Yuan asking Xiao to kill him.

• Ami’s shield blocked Xiao and Xiu Yuan’s attacks, and Ami struck Xiu Yuan hard enough to break several ribs.
• Xiao and Xiu Yuan fought Ami through the night while Xiu Yuan waited for Xiao to draw the demon god to the spot where he had hidden his spear.
• At sunrise, Xiu Yuan used Blackflame to engulf Ami, and he and Xiao followed with a relentless spear barrage.
• Ami’s black mist struck Xiu Yuan, and the demon god tried to seize control of his body.
• Xiao tried to carry Xiu Yuan beyond the barrier, but Xiu Yuan stopped him and asked him to kill him.

Xiao killed Xiu Yuan to destroy the demon god possessing him, then honored Xiu Yuan’s wish for a joyful funeral. Days later, Xiao answered a child’s call for help and found a notice inviting people to call upon him, ending the fourth life in grief.

• Xiu Yuan urged Xiao to kill him before the demon god could take over, and Xiao drove his spear through Xiu Yuan’s chest.
• The demon god emerged from Xiu Yuan’s body and dissolved, while Xiu Yuan died after asking Xiao to see him off with a smile.
• Xiao carried Xiu Yuan to Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, where Hu Tao arranged a joyful funeral, and buried him in a forest filled with evil spirits.
• Several days later, Xiao followed the calls he sensed to a Liyue alley and rescued a little girl’s cat from a tree.
• The little girl told Xiao that she had learned to call for him from a Liyue noticeboard, where he read the notice honoring the Three-Eyed Five-Manifestation Immortal.

After completing his fourth reincarnation, Xiu Yuan chose the Demonbane Sword and began a new life as An Xiu Yuan, Amber’s grandfather. Eula visited him seeking guidance, setting the stage for him to become her teacher.

• Xiu Yuan rejected Netherworld Flame and Flame Curse Mark because they relied on mental energy, then chose the Demonbane Sword.
• The system began Xiu Yuan’s fifth reincarnation and assigned him the mission of helping Eula gain Mondstadt’s citizens’ trust.
• Xiu Yuan awoke in the body of An Xiu Yuan, a gentle former mercenary commander and respected Reconnaissance Knight who was Amber’s grandfather.
• Xiu Yuan realized the system had likely brought him to Mondstadt to become Eula’s teacher, though he had not met her before.
• Eula introduced herself to An Xiu Yuan and asked for his guidance because she was troubled and unsure what to do.