After Cloud Retainer left, Zhong Baiye and the others had completed their mission. Originally, Zhong Baiye had wanted to tackle some side quests to collect check-in rewards.
But according to Cloud Retainer, Liyue was in turmoil, and as one of the Liyue Qixing, Keqing had no choice but to return.
Zhong Baiye could only abandon his plan and prepare to deal with the danger facing Liyue first.
"Help!"
"Roar, roar..."
The road back to Liyue Harbor was far from peaceful, with Hilichurls and Treasure Hoarders everywhere.
"With sword comes shadow-"
As Keqing's voice rang out, they rescued another Traveling Merchant heading from Mondstadt to Liyue Harbor.
"Ahhh... you're..."
Seeing Zhong Baiye and the others wipe out the monsters attacking him, the Traveling Merchant quickly caught his breath and looked over his saviors.
At first, he had been a little suspicious that Zhong Baiye and the others might be there to rob him, but the sight of Lumine put him at ease.
He gave Lumine a sincere smile and said,
"You're the Honorary Knight of the Knights of Favonius, aren't you? Thank you so much for saving me. Without you, I wouldn't have known what to do."
Paimon inspected the merchant's cargo-a horse-drawn wagon. Its wheel ruts were deep, so there had to be something good inside.
Before Lumine could speak, Paimon beat her to it.
"We saved you, so shouldn't you give us a little something as thanks?"
As Paimon spoke, she stretched out a hand and beckoned to him.
Seeing Paimon's greedy behavior, Zhong Baiye was about to stop her when the Traveling Merchant spoke.
"Of course, of course. You all saved my life, so it's only right that I thank you properly."
With that, he climbed onto the wagon, rummaged around inside, then jumped down with a bag of Mora.
"I don't have much worth offering, so please accept this Mora as a token of my gratitude. Oh, and my name is Yuzhong."
Paimon snatched the Mora from him and opened the bag with a beaming smile to check how much was inside.
Watching Paimon, Zhong Baiye pressed a hand to his forehead and stepped forward to apologize to Yuzhong.
"I'm terribly sorry. Our companion got a little ahead of herself."
Then Zhong Baiye began introducing everyone.
"I'm Zhong Baiye... this is Keqing of the Liyue Qixing... and you already know this one, Lumine, the Honorary Knight of the Knights of Favonius. Beside her is our companion, Paimon."
Yuzhong seemed a little shocked to hear that one of the Liyue Qixing was standing right in front of him.
Keqing immediately stepped forward and asked, "Mr. Yuzhong, what's happening in Liyue right now? Why are even these roads crawling with monsters and Treasure Hoarders?"
Yuzhong recovered from his surprise, nodded, and said,
"I heard from a friend that something seems to have happened to Liyue's Rex Lapis. Without Rex Lapis keeping them in check, those monsters and Treasure Hoarders naturally started running wild."
Keqing could hardly believe that this was the reason. She pressed him further.
"What about the Millelith? Don't they regularly clear threats from the roads?"
Yuzhong tilted his head in thought, looking puzzled.
"That's true. I haven't seen a single member of the Millelith on my way here. In the past, I used to see Millelith patrols every day when I traveled this road. It really is strange."
Zhong Baiye wanted to help Keqing too, but the game had provided no information about this at all, and he could not figure out where the Millelith had gone.
Still, he told Keqing, "Since the Millelith can't spare anyone right now, let's clear the dangers along these roads together before heading back."
Lumine agreed. "We can clear out as many of these monsters and Treasure Hoarders as possible before returning to Liyue Harbor."
"That's right, that's right! When it comes to protecting people, I, Paimon, won't shirk my duty!"
Paimon said this with a sly grin as she gazed at the Mora in her arms.
Keqing turned toward them, touched that Zhong Baiye and the others were willing to brave danger to help her despite having little connection to Liyue.
"Please, don't forget about me! What am I supposed to do if you leave me behind?"
Thinking Zhong Baiye and the others were about to abandon him, Yuzhong hurriedly pleaded through tears.
Zhong Baiye considered it. Bringing Yuzhong along while they fought monsters could be dangerous, and a troubled expression crossed his face.
Seeing Zhong Baiye's expression change, Yuzhong immediately realized that he was about to refuse. He hurriedly pulled a pouch from his clothes.
"These are some Primogems I've collected. Please accept them as thanks for protecting me on the way to Liyue Harbor."
The sight of the Primogems did not sway Zhong Baiye. If they encountered real danger, they could not even guarantee their own safety, let alone protect Yuzhong.
But Paimon snatched up the pouch of Primogems before he could respond.
"I, Paimon, accept your request on everyone's behalf! Just come along with us. They're only monsters, after all."
With Paimon having already accepted the Primogems, Zhong Baiye and the others had no choice but to agree to protect Yuzhong on the way back to Liyue Harbor.
Zhong Baiye resolved to keep Paimon in check first the next time something like this happened.
And so, Yuzhong joined them on the journey back to Liyue Harbor.
Monsters and Treasure Hoarders ran rampant along the road back. Together, they slew the monsters and drove off the Treasure Hoarders.
What puzzled Zhong Baiye, however, was that they had seen no one else besides Yuzhong.
Surely all those people could not have been captured? If that were the case, there would have been at least some traces of fighting along the road.
Yet despite Zhong Baiye's careful observation, he found no sign of a struggle.
All of this left Zhong Baiye and the others uneasy about Liyue Harbor. A sense of an approaching storm lingered in their hearts.
"Ya yika!"
Another group of Hilichurls blocked their path, along with
several Abyss Mages.
Even the Millelith would need elite troops to deal with a force like this without suffering injuries.
But Zhong Baiye, Keqing, and the others could all wield elemental power. These Hilichurls put them under some pressure, but posed no danger at all.
"Lumine, stay behind and protect Yuzhong. The rest of us will clear out these Hilichurls."
With that, Zhong Baiye raised the Skyward Blade and advanced alongside Keqing to fight the Hilichurls.
Zhong Baiye noticed that Keqing seemed even faster than before. Every flash of violet light brought down another Hilichurl.
Not to be outdone, he unleashed bursts of sword energy from the Skyward Blade among the Hilichurls. Only the Abyss Mages could offer even a little resistance.
"Huff, huff..."
Just as Keqing finished off the last Abyss Mage, before she and Zhong Baiye could catch their breath, a group of black-clad figures suddenly sprang out around them.
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