Chapter Summaries

Ellin pressured Xiao into repaying the debt he owed her for saving his life by invoking Rex Lapis's name. She asked Xiao to teach her spear techniques and midair combat, and he agreed to let her follow him despite warning her of the danger.

• Xiao tried to leave without thanking Ellin, but Ellin and Feng'er challenged his manners.
• Ellin asked Xiao for a mask, and he refused to give her one.
• Ellin invoked Rex Lapis's name to make Xiao stay and ask what she wanted in return.
• Ellin requested lessons in spear techniques and midair combat, surprising Xiao with how simple her request was.
• Xiao warned Ellin that following him would bring misfortune, then walked away as she followed.

Xiao reluctantly took Ellin to Jueyun Karst for combat lessons, but she caught up with him in flight and unsettled him by revealing a pristine Primordial Jade Winged-Spear and several Visions. The chapter left Xiao furious and embarrassed as he attacked Ellin, who dodged and continued teasing him.

• Xiao told Ellin to stay at Wangshu Inn, then arrived the next morning and challenged her to keep up with him to Jueyun Karst.
• Ellin used Anemo to catch up with Xiao in flight, surprising him with her speed.
• At the training ground, Xiao tried to leave because Ellin had no spear, but she summoned a new-looking Primordial Jade Winged-Spear.
• Ellin revealed her Visions to prove she had seven eyes, while Xiao mistakenly thought she was exposing herself.
• Ellin teased Xiao for blushing, and he angrily swung his spear at her as she dodged.

Ellin sparred with Xiao to show him her fighting style, using multiple weapons and the overpowering stench of her Fried Fish Greatsword to overwhelm him. Xiao ended the match and concluded that Ellin should keep her unconventional methods rather than learn spearwork.

• Mountain Shaper and Moon Carver left Cloud Retainer's Abode with Cloud Retainer and Shenhe after helping Shenhe with her cultivation.
• Cloud Retainer and the others found Xiao being teased by Ellin, who provoked him until he drew his Primordial Jade Winged-Spear.
• Xiao asked Ellin to demonstrate her fighting style, and she attacked with elemental weapons, a brick-like catalyst, and her foul-smelling Fried Fish Greatsword.
• Xiao called off the spar after the Fried Fish Greatsword made him nauseated, and Ellin wondered how Zhongli would react to its smell.
• Xiao advised Ellin to keep her effective, improvised fighting style instead of learning spearwork.

Xiao taught Ellin the Skyward Freedom Technique after explaining that her unorthodox fighting style was already an advantage. Ellin mastered the adeptal art immediately and used it to lounge in the air, then followed Xiao after their contract ended, questioning whether he was fit to leave in his current mental state.

• Xiao told Ellin that learning formal spear techniques would limit her free-form fighting style and demonstrated how to use Anemo to walk through the air.
• Ellin copied Xiao’s method and learned the Skyward Freedom Technique after watching it once.
• Ellin used the technique to make a chair and bed of wind, annoying Xiao by treating his combat art as a way to relax.
• Xiao left after declaring their contract fulfilled, but Ellin followed him half an hour later.
• Xiao threatened Ellin with the Primordial Jade Winged-Spear, and Ellin calmly asked whether he could leave while in his current mental state.

Xiao refused Ellin’s offer of help and flew away, despite knowing that his damaged inner sanctum left him vulnerable to the resentment in his mind. The adepti discussed Ellin’s unusual influence over him and hoped she could help him, while agreeing to keep his loss of composure secret.

• Ellin asked Xiao if he could safely leave in his unstable condition, but Xiao insisted he needed neither pity nor help.
• Xiao warned Ellin that anyone who came near him would suffer misfortune, then flew away.
• Mountain Shaper and Moon Carver discussed how Ellin had saved Xiao and brought out emotions he usually suppressed.
• Moon Carver urged Cloud Retainer not to tell anyone about Xiao losing his composure, and Cloud Retainer agreed.

Ellin reflected on the origins of Xiao’s karmic debt as he endured its worsening effects while fighting monsters across Liyue. Xiao remained close to collapse, but he continued to hold fast to his duty as Liyue’s last Guardian Yaksha.

• Ellin stayed with Xiao for fifteen days, helping him fight monsters in the wilderness and keeping his karmic debt from endangering people near Wangshu Inn.
• Ellin understood that lingering Archon resentment contaminated people and monsters, while generations of yakshas had fought the resulting threats until Xiao was the last one left.
• Ellin connected Xiao’s karmic debt to the guilt he carried for the innocent lives he had been forced to take and the dreams he had devoured.
• Ellin recognized that centuries of Archon contamination magnified Xiao’s guilt, leaving him tormented by the cries of those he had harmed and close to collapse.
• Xiao continued to endure his suffering and hold to the yaksha way of protecting Liyue.

During a rainy night in a cave, Ellin coaxed Xiao into eating her grilled tiger fish and reflected on the trust and affection growing between them. Xiao, unsettled by feelings he had never experienced, asked why she treated him so well, and Ellin challenged his assumption that kindness required an ulterior motive.

• Ellin offered Xiao grilled tiger fish, and he initially refused because he disliked mortal food.
• Ellin summoned the foul-smelling Fried Fish Greatsword, prompting Xiao to accept the fish and eat it.
• The grilled tiger fish reminded Xiao of an old friend, and he considered how Ellin had fought beside and supported him for fifteen days.
• Xiao realized he had begun to trust Ellin and felt an unfamiliar flutter in his heart.
• Xiao asked Ellin what she wanted from him, and she asked why he thought she needed a reason to be kind.

After Ellin questioned Xiao’s distrust, he convinced himself she was the Anemo Archon, Barbatos, and treated her with newfound respect. When the rain stopped, they set out to gather supplies for Xiao’s plan to punish Wang Ping'an, arriving at a ruined Yaksha temple where a man in red recited poetry.

• Ellin asked why she would need something from Xiao to treat him kindly, leaving him unable to refute her.
• Xiao reflected on Ellin’s powers and weapons and concluded that she was the Anemo Archon, Barbatos.
• After the rain eased, Ellin reminded Xiao that he had to help find the censer and lamps for the Dreamwalking Through Realms Technique.
• Xiao agreed to go with Ellin, who brought an extra grilled Chi Tiger Fish and led him toward a place where they could find the supplies.
• Ellin and Xiao arrived at a ruined Yaksha temple, where a man in red was reciting poetry.

Xiao reunited with the spirit of his old friend Copper Tusk at a ruined temple, where they shared grilled Chi Tiger Fish and spoke of Xiao’s karmic debt. After Copper Tusk asked Ellin to help Xiao, she said she had found a way to save him and left determined to act.

• Xiao realized Ellin had deliberately brought him to Copper Tusk and sat with his old friend at the ruined temple.
• Copper Tusk and Xiao shared Ellin’s grilled Chi Tiger Fish and reminisced about their friendship and Copper Tusk’s death.
• Copper Tusk raised concern about Xiao’s karmic debt, but Xiao refused his pity and left to fight evil stirring at night.
• Ellin met Copper Tusk after Xiao departed and acknowledged that Xiao was close to collapse under his karmic debt.
• Copper Tusk asked Ellin to help Xiao, and she said she had found her answer and would not let Xiao’s story end in tragedy.
• Copper Tusk watched over Liyue and hoped Xiao’s story would end well.

Ellin concluded that care and companionship could ease Xiao’s karmic burden after she arranged his reunion with Pervases. Xiao quietly listened to her chanting that night, while Ellin continued to offer him comfort without calling attention to it.

• Ellin returned to Xiao and cooked the grilled Chi Tiger Fish he requested.
• Ellin reflected on how Xiao’s meeting with Pervases had eased his negative emotions and confirmed her belief that love and care could help save him.
• Xiao ate the fish while remembering Pervases and their comrades.
• Ellin went to the mountain summit to ring the Soul-Calming Bell and chant, while Xiao secretly listened from halfway up the mountain.
• Ellin sensed Xiao listening and let the bells and chanting soothe him without exposing him.

Xiao used a sliver of his karmic debt to punish Wang Ping'an for impersonating an adeptus and swindling people. After a day of misfortune left Wang Ping'an battered and facing a monster attack, Xiao rescued him and stood among the slain Hilichurls.

• Xiao and Ellin watched Wang Ping'an swindle a believer, and Xiao sent a trace of his karmic debt toward him as punishment.
• Wang Ping'an returned to Wangshu Inn, where his karmic debt brought exhaustion, confusion, and uncontrollable emotions.
• Wang Ping'an lost his money gambling, was beaten by a woman’s fiancé and his companions, and returned to the road in disgrace.
• More than a dozen Hilichurls and several Hilichurl Berserkers attacked Wang Ping'an, while his exhausted Sigil of Permission failed to deter them.
• Xiao charged into the battle and swiftly killed the monsters, leaving Wang Ping'an staring at him amid the bloodied battlefield.

Ellin and Xiao confronted Wang Ping'an over his fraudulent impersonation of an adeptus, and Xiao’s lesson led Wang Ping'an to repent and return the Sigil of Permission. After the two adepti left, Ellin noticed that meeting a sincere believer had eased Xiao’s Karmic Debt slightly.

• Xiao overwhelmed Wang Ping'an with his killing intent and warned him to stop using an adeptus’s name to deceive people.
• Ellin introduced herself as the Immortal Venerable Who Hears Cries and Subdues Evil and identified Xiao as the Guardian Yaksha, the Conqueror of Demons.
• Wang Ping'an explained how he had found a Sigil of Permission, become addicted to worship, and strayed into fraud; Xiao revealed that he had placed a trace of Karmic Debt on him.
• Wang Ping'an recognized the burden Xiao carried, apologized for his deception, and vowed to return his ill-gotten wealth and do good.
• Ellin healed Wang Ping'an, and he returned the Sigil of Permission before the two adepti departed.
• As they flew through the clouds, Ellin teased Xiao about his new believer and noticed that his Karmic Debt had faded a little more.

Ellin and Xiao spent forty-eight days fighting demons and helping people across Liyue, and Xiao’s karmic debt eased as he learned to accept the gratitude of those he saved. After Ellin left, Zhongli heard stories about her and Xiao and became intrigued by Ellin’s unusual abilities.

• Ellin said it was time to leave after spending forty-eight days traveling and fighting alongside Xiao.
• Ellin helped Xiao remain with the people they rescued, and their gratitude brought him joy and helped stabilize his karmic debt.
• Ellin publicized their titles, spreading Xiao’s reputation as the Conqueror of Demons and earning herself the nickname Clear-Bell Flower-Butterfly Fairy.
• Zhongli heard rumors about Ellin, questioned Cloud Retainer, and learned about her powers and her connection with Xiao.
• Zhongli wondered whether Ellin might be his old friend from Mondstadt in a female form and smiled with interest.

Ellin left Xiao after his karmic debt had diminished and his mind had stabilized, receiving a Yaksha mask as a keepsake and his promise to come to her aid in Liyue. As she traveled on, Feng'er speculated about how Xiao could answer her calls and explained how Ellin might imprint a soul signature.

• Ellin prepared to leave Xiao after confirming that his karmic debt had eased, though it had not been fully purged.
• Xiao promised to come to Ellin's side if she called his name while she was in Liyue.
• Xiao gave Ellin the mask of a female Yaksha comrade and explained its meaning and the burden it represented.
• Ellin accepted the mask, thanked Xiao, and departed across the sea of clouds.
• On the mountain path, Feng'er suggested Xiao might have feelings for Ellin, but Ellin said he regarded her as a comrade and owed her a favor.
• Feng'er explained how soul signatures might let someone sense a call, then told Ellin how to try imprinting one on a nearby wild boar.

Ellin returned to Mondstadt after resolving Xiao’s situation and reunited with Fischl and her friends. She learned that Jean had turned Sucrose’s Slime Bra prototypes into a booming business, earning Ellin a share of 280 million Mora; she planned to look for Zhongli next.

• Ellin called Xiao back to share an extra grilled Chi Tiger Fish with him, then used a Teleport Waypoint to return to Mondstadt.
• Fischl joyfully hugged Ellin, and her parents teased Fischl about how much she had missed Ellin.
• Ellin met Klee, Sucrose, and Noelle, visited her parents, and then went shopping with her friends.
• Sucrose explained that Jean had patented the Slime Bras, launched the Sun Knight Brand, and sold 120,000 sets in a week for 960 million Mora.
• Jean appointed Ellin chairwoman with thirty percent of the earnings, and Sucrose told Ellin that her 280 million Mora share was waiting in the Serenitea Pot villa.

Ellin and her friends discovered that Godwin had abandoned Varka’s expedition after losing Glory’s love token, then hid in the wilderness out of shame. Ellin knocked him out and brought him back to Mondstadt, where he apologized and reunited with Glory.

• Ellin and her friends enjoyed a picnic at Windrise when Noelle recognized Godwin wandering near the Temple of the Falcon of the West.
• Godwin admitted that he had lost Glory’s love token, lost track of Varka’s expedition while searching for it, and stayed away because he was ashamed.
• Fischl, Noelle, and Klee told Godwin how much Glory worried about him, but he still refused to return.
• Ellin tricked Godwin into turning around, hit him with a Geo brick, and dragged him unconscious to Mondstadt.
• Godwin woke beside Glory, heard her joy at his return, and apologized as he embraced her.

After returning to Mondstadt, Ellin reunited with her friends at the Angel's Share and told them about her adventures in Liyue. The gathering turned to business and teasing, while Diluc's supposed trip was exposed as Kaeya questioned him about it.

• Ellin speculated that Varka had deliberately shaken Godwin off to keep him safe, then set the matter aside now that Godwin had returned.
• Venti asked Ellin to tell everyone about her adventures in Liyue, and she recounted traveling with Xiao, fighting demons, and becoming an adeptus.
• Venti teased Ellin about her Slime Bra business, and Jean apologized for using the Sun Knight title as its brand name; Ellin reluctantly said she did not mind.
• Jean asked Ellin to consider letting Ningguang represent the Slime Bra business in Liyue and offered to introduce them by letter.
• Kaeya teased Diluc about returning from his supposed long trip after only a few hours, and someone nearby asked what important intelligence he meant.

Diluc told Ellin about his investigation into the Abyss before she left Mondstadt for Liyue. In Inazuma, Kamisato Ayaka received news of Ellin’s exploits and longed to meet her, while Zhongli discovered he had no way to pay his restaurant bill.

• Diluc told Ellin that Abyss Mages had grown more active in Mondstadt and that he was waiting for more clues before acting.
• Diluc and Kaeya traded teasing remarks at the party, which ended amid cheerful celebration.
• Ellin said goodbye to her friends and family and left Mondstadt.
• Thoma told Kamisato Ayaka that Ellin had traveled to Liyue and earned the name Clear-Bell Flower-Butterfly Fairy, and Ayaka wondered if she might meet her someday.
• Zhongli ordered twenty-eight dishes and two jars of wine at Wanmin Restaurant, then froze when he realized he could not pay the bill.

Zhongli struggled to pay for a meal after forbidding himself from conjuring Mora, but Ellin covered the bill and revealed that she knew his identity. She brought along a friend who wanted to meet him: a bard in green who appeared from a street corner.

• Zhongli tried to pay at Wanmin Restaurant but remembered his rules against using divine powers or conjuring Mora.
• Xiangling mistook Zhongli’s hesitation for forgetting his money and explained that the restaurant could call the Millelith or let him pay later.
• Ellin arrived with Feng'er and paid Zhongli’s bill, allowing him to leave without revealing himself.
• Zhongli recognized Ellin as the Clear-Bell Flower-Butterfly Fairy and asked why she had helped him.
• Ellin said a friend wanted to meet Zhongli, and a green-clad bard appeared from a street corner.

Venti reunited with Zhongli after centuries apart and brought him Dandelion Wine, prompting them to share memories of their old gatherings. They met in Ellin’s Serenitea Pot and celebrated their renewed companionship over a drink.

• Venti approached Zhongli with two bottles of Dandelion Wine, and Zhongli lowered his fist to welcome his old friend.
• Venti and Zhongli agreed to find somewhere quiet to talk and went to the Serenitea Pot.
• Ellin welcomed Zhongli to the Dandelion Sea and explained that friends had helped decorate the realm.
• Zhongli recalled how Venti first visited Liyue with wine and how the Archons used to gather and drink together.
• Zhongli and Venti shared Dandelion Wine, and Zhongli sighed that their reunion was wonderful.