Xiao

"Who's there!"

Babel's personal level was far from low, but the presence emanating from the cave entrance still filled her with an overwhelming sense of intimidation.

At that moment, Lin Yi also noticed that something was off about the atmosphere.

He instinctively turned his head to look behind him.

A gentle breeze drifted in.

Anemo began filling the cave.

The oppressive sensation instantly put Babel on her guard.

"Who's out there? Stop playing games!"

The diamond-shaped catalyst in her hand flashed, gathering a mass of scorching Pyro energy.

Of course, without a Vision, the elemental power Babel wielded was impure.

"Could reinforcements have arrived?"

Lin Yi was curious. Anemo, here in Liyue...

The first figure that sprang to mind was the Conqueror of Demons, the adeptus Xiao!

Whoosh, whoosh!

In an instant, two wind blades came flying in first.

Babel's brow furrowed.

Her figure flickered, and the two wind blades flew past either side of her body.

But those wind blades were only the beginning.

Before Babel could regain her footing, something else happened.

The mysterious figure charged toward her at explosive speed.

"Wind Karma!"

The spear flashed, passing almost close enough to graze Lin Yi's scalp.

Lin Yi turned his head and met the eyes of Xiao, who was right behind the spear.

There was no time to waste on words. Dealing with Babel was naturally the priority.

The power of Wind Karma could even form a small tornado inside the cave.

In terms of elemental interactions, it countered Babel's Pyro perfectly.

"This guy really is hard to handle!"

Babel's bitter mutter reached Xiao's ears.

"A human?"

"What else would I be, a ghost? Cut the chatter. If you want a fight, I'll give you one!"

Babel seemed to have a somewhat blind confidence in her own strength.

To be fair, her information on Lin Yi was fairly accurate, and she knew quite a lot about Liyue Harbor from her reconnaissance and surveillance on the surface.

But Liyue was a land of exceptional people and spiritual power. How could she possibly see through all the depths it concealed?

The two fought fiercely, their weapons flashing as neither gave ground.

Watching from the sidelines, however, Lin Yi noticed that Xiao held back at the final stage of every strike.

After all, Babel was a living human. Xiao would not readily strike to kill.

Yet even with his strength restrained, he still maintained a firm upper hand over Babel.

She had even exposed several openings, but Xiao did not press his advantage, merely maintaining the stalemate.

"Could there be someone else nearby?"

Lin Yi felt that Xiao was guarding against something.

Sure enough, another sound of something slicing through the air came from behind Lin Yi.

It was accompanied by the whistle of a blade cutting through the air.

Sensing mortal danger, Lin Yi felt his hair stand on end.

Almost instinctively, he ducked.

The bladed wheel behind him flew straight over his head.

"Just as I thought. There really is a second Dendro wielder!"

Xiao seemed to have a perfect grasp of the situation.

By withholding his full strength, he had given his opponent the illusion that she could fight him on equal terms.

Only when the person hiding among them could no longer resist making a move would he truly unleash his full power.

"Karmic Blade!"

Deep green elemental power coiled around the White Tassel, and the might it exuded sent a chill through everyone present.

Planting his foot on the spear's shaft, he swept it sideways.

It collided with the bladed wheel in a violent shower of sparks, foiling the sneak attack.

The newcomer was none other than a member of the Eremites, the Wheel Dancer.

The Wheel Dancer swiftly joined the fray.

The Burning effect produced by Dendro and Pyro was scattered by a casual gust from Xiao.

"Sister, what's going on?"

"Isn't it obvious? Lin Yi's reinforcements are here!"

The two sides broke off and drew back.

Xiao came to Lin Yi's side.

With a casual wind blade, he severed the paralyzing vines, finally allowing Lin Yi to move again.

"Adeptus Xiao, thank you so much! Neither of these two women is any good. Do you need a hand?"

"Stand aside and stay clear of the battle. As for your own affairs, I will hold you to account afterward."

Hold me to account?

For what?

Only then did Lin Yi remember how strongly Xiao had reacted after Zhongli staged his own death.

Xiao had very likely picked up some hearsay and assumed that something Lin Yi had done caused Morax's misfortune.

But now was not the time to dwell on all that.

Although he had the elemental advantage, members of the Eremites were certainly no easy opponents.

For a moment, the stalemate continued, neither side attacking again.

The two Eremites had only come under orders to verify something. As for the God Factor in Lin Yi's body, there would be plenty of opportunities in the future.

But they had attacked Liyue's Geo Archon on Liyue soil.

Judging by the cold glint in Xiao's eyes, he did not seem to intend to let either woman leave alive.

His spear rang out as he leveled its sharp point at the two.

"Disrespecting the Lord of Liyue is a grave crime in Liyue. You two deserve punishment."

"Abducting the Lord of Liyue compounds your crimes. You two deserve death!"

The baleful aura pouring from Xiao instantly enveloped the two Eremites.

Only when they saw Xiao summon the Blue Oni Fanged Mask did they remember that here in Liyue, there was a Conqueror of Demons whose slaughter of the demon gods' followers had left them trembling at the mere mention of his name.

"So it's you!"

As Babel recognized Xiao, a bead of sweat slid down her temple. She seemed well aware that even if she and her sister joined forces, they would be hard-pressed to do anything to him.

"Good, you know who I am. Surrender and face judgment, and perhaps you will live to return home!"

Xiao's aura surged.

Wind runes appeared beneath his feet, accompanied by endless, terrifying karmic power.

At that moment, Lin Yi moved closer to him.

He gently patted Xiao's shoulder.

Through an unspoken suggestion, the Gnosis's authority of command directly reined in Xiao's aura.

"What are you doing? These people are dangerous. We must deal with them carefully."

"It seems even Adeptus Xiao has much to learn. Humans aren't the same as the followers of demon gods, so the methods for dealing with them differ too. Demon gods and monsters must be killed, but humans can still turn from enemies into friends. We can lay down our weapons and make peace."

Xiao did not understand, and his confusion showed on his otherwise calm face.

A direct explanation would naturally have been unconvincing.

Lin Yi smiled, stepped forward of his own accord, and stood before the two beauties from the Eremites.

One was a sexy, fair-skinned mature woman, the other a seductive, dark-skinned firebrand. Lin Yi merely gave them a brief look of appreciation for their beauty.

"As you both saw, if it weren't for me, you would probably already be dead."

"If you're going to fight, then fight! What's with all this chatter?"

The Wheel Dancer was not as even-tempered as Babel. Her fiery personality and dark skin naturally made her a distinctive sight.

Lin Yi was not so easily angered.

"Don't misunderstand. We can talk this out. I want to know where you heard about me, and why you want my blood."

"Of course, in exchange, once I have the information I want, I can give you a blood sample too."

Beside him, Xiao frowned, unable to understand what Lin Yi was doing.