Yelan's Defeat

"Sigh... the situation is worse than I expected."

A cold wind blew through the depths of the mine, carrying with it the damp chill that lingers from the earth year-round. Xingsu gazed at the dark and deep, seemingly endless rock fissures and sighed deeply.

"According to intelligence, the Ninth Company was originally a team of sixty-four men, but now only five children have survived by sheer luck."

His expression was calm, but he couldn't hide the sorrow in his eyes.

"As for Nikolay... I asked Anton, and a long time has passed since that attack."

The unspoken meaning behind Xingsu's words was self-evident.

Ying's heart sank slightly upon hearing this. She looked at Xingsu beside her, remained silent for a moment, and then asked softly:

"Would you like to tell me more about those Fatui, and about the House of the Hearth you mentioned?"

"Of course. But before that..." Xingsu's eyes suddenly sharpened, and he casually pulled a spherical object from his magic pocket and threw it towards the rock wall behind him. "There are some things we can't let others overhear."

Bang--!

A dull thud suddenly echoed through the empty mine tunnel!

The small black sphere exploded instantly, and thick, yellowish-green smoke billowed and spread rapidly, instantly enveloping a large area and quickly filling the air.

Amidst the swirling smoke, a dark blue figure emerged from the misty shadows.

"Looks like Ningguang was right... Ugh..."

Her composed expression shattered instantly as a violent wave of nausea swept over her without warning, and she couldn't stop the physiological retching.

"You really are... ugh... the most troublesome opponent... ugh! Where did you get this... ugh... this outrageous biological weapon?!"

Xingsu pulled out a mask from somewhere and put it on. A muffled voice came from below. "The kids at home gave me this idea. It can be used as smoke for cover and also to teach the pursuers a little lesson. How about it, useful, right?"

"Xingsu... Ugh... The stench is wafting this way... Ugh, quick, look at Paimon... Ugh, she, she's foaming at the mouth, she's passed out!"

Ying quickly reached out and steadily supported Paimon had completely lost consciousness. In her haste, she subconsciously activated the gentle Anemo Element power in her palm, trying to create a breeze to blow away the pungent stench.

"... not good!"

The Anemo Element swirled and took shape, unleashing a howling gust of air. However, the mine tunnel was narrow and enclosed, with surrounding rock walls blocking all escape routes. The stench, blown away, had no chance to escape and was completely swept up by the Anemo Element, changing direction and sweeping powerfully towards Yelan behind them!

Behind Yelan was a straight, narrow one-way road, and in front of her was smoke. There was no way to escape to the back; she had absolutely no choice but to face the challenge head-on and get out of the stench area as quickly as possible.

Yelan felt an unbearable stench rush into her nostrils, and her mind went blank for a moment. She staggered and tried her best to break free of the smoke, but after only a few steps, she lost all strength, foam spilled from her lips, and collapsed to the ground, losing consciousness.

Xingsu looked at the two who had both fainted, remained silent for a moment, and then murmured to himself:

"... Wow, this thing is so powerful! Looks like I shouldn't use it in enclosed spaces anymore..."

"Xingsu, you bastard..."

"Ahem." Xingsu cleared his throat awkwardly. "Don't worry, the gas inside is all non-toxic and harmless. Paimon just... well, he was simply knocked out by the fumes. He'll wake up after a bit of fresh air."

As he spoke, Xingsu took out a fan and gently fanned Paimon.

Lying unconscious to the side, Yelan cried out, "Am I even human? Am I even human?!"

After a while, Paimon let out a long breath, her eyelashes fluttering slightly, and she finally woke up. Her eyes were glazed, her head was dizzy and throbbing, and she was still a little dazed.

"Phew... Xingsu, Traveler... I think I just had a nightmare..." Paimon rubbed his throbbing temples and continued, "In the dream, Xiangling and Hu Tao had a cooking competition and dragged me into being a judge. The contest was about who could make the smelliest stinky tofu, and it ended up making me faint from the stench. By the way, where are we now?"

Paimon floated slowly to his feet, his gaze sweeping around the dark mine tunnels in a daze. His eyes immediately locked onto Yelan, who was motionless not far away.

"Yes, right! This person followed us all the way, Xingsu caught him, and then... how did I inexplicably fall asleep?"

Yinghuan crossed her arms and glanced sideways at Xingsu.

"Haha..." Xingsu chuckled dryly, trying to brush it off, "You were probably too tired from traveling all the way, and your mind was too tense for too long, so you accidentally fell asleep."

Then he quickly changed the subject. "We still have important things to do. We should continue deeper into the mine to rescue her. But we can't just leave her here alone in this desolate place... How about you carry her? Shall we continue now? But we can't just leave her here alone... How about you carry her?"

"Why am I the one carrying you?" Ying raised an eyebrow and pointed to herself.

"Because I'm married," Xingsu said frankly and seriously. "Men and women shouldn't be so close, I have to avoid suspicion. You guys wait here for a moment, I'll deal with her quickly."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xingsu pulled out a bundle of sturdy and durable thick hemp rope from his magic pocket.

Ying's pupils contracted slightly, her eyes wide with shock as she watched his actions.

Xingsu moved swiftly and smoothly, taking a few steps forward and squatting down beside Yelan. He then raised his hand and tied Yelan up with a rope.

Layers of tight knots bound the unconscious Yelan securely. The areas that needed tightening were bound tightly and securely, outlining her figure perfectly, with some places conspicuously marked by the ropes.

Finally, he took out a piece of black cloth and blindfolded Yelan, blocking all her vision so she couldn't see his location. Then he gently gagged her with a soft strip of cloth to prevent her from making any noise and alerting him.

Clearly, Paimon's strange knowledge wasn't extensive. "Is it really that safe? They even put an eye patch on her."

"Better safe than sorry. She's been following us like this in such a remote place; she must have ill intentions."

You're the one who came here, aren't you!?

Xingsu patted the dust off his hands, as if he had just done something perfectly normal.

"Alright, carry her on your back. You know I'm a married man, so we need to avoid suspicion." Xingsu walked forward, turning back to give Ying a smile and a thumbs up.

Where did you go to avoid suspicion? You tied someone up like that and then tell me you're trying to avoid suspicion?!