Jiang Xiaofeng looked at the Fatui Skirmishers and La Signora's party, who had already pursued him to the bottom of the ruins.
After a moment's thought, he descended.
Watching Jiang Xiaofeng head toward the Fatui, Paimon was the first who could no longer stand it.
"Hey, tone-deaf bard, why aren't we going to help that guy?"
"He's helped us out plenty, you know!"
Venti looked at Paimon and shook his head.
"I can't help him."
"Until I confirm that he has no connection to the Abyss, I can't risk saving an enemy."
"Not taking the initiative to subdue him was already my way of repaying him for helping me awaken Dvalin."
Paimon hurriedly said, "Exactly! Didn't he also help us subdue Dvalin when he lost control? We should help him, no matter how you look at it!"
"Even if there really is something wrong, can't we save him first and ask him afterward?"
Lumine, standing nearby, thought the same.
Regardless of anything else, Jiang Xiaofeng was, after all, the person she had met so far with the strongest potential connection to the Abyss.
She wanted to go down and help Jiang Xiaofeng too, but on the one hand, her strength had not recovered, so she would not be much help. On the other, Jean stopped her.
Lumine clearly did not understand.
Jean sighed and said, "Honorary Knight, let's listen to Lord Barbatos for now."
Jean's wording was nothing if not shrewd.
First, she mentioned Lumine's title of "Honorary Knight" to remind her that she, too, was a member of the Knights of Favonius, then followed it with "Lord Barbatos" to hint that Lumine had best not oppose the Anemo Archon's stance too strongly.
After all, because of Jiang Xiaofeng, Stormterror had not inflicted much damage on Mondstadt City, and Jean's first impression of Lumine remained that of someone who had been "forced" to steal the Holy Lyre der Himmel.
So, rather than getting to the bottom of things, Jean wanted to obey Barbatos.
As for Master Diluc... the master had suffered quite a bit.
When they entered the space beneath the ruins, Dvalin, having agreed to the request to stall for a while, pretended to go berserk, recreating the situation from the game.
Without thinking much of it, Master Diluc unleashed Dawn, only for Dvalin to block it and send it straight back...
Although his life was not in danger, Master Diluc had indeed been resting with his eyes closed on Dvalin's back all this time...
Otherwise, Diluc would certainly have acted differently from Venti in this situation.
By now, Jiang Xiaofeng had landed and approached La Signora.
Seeing this, La Signora called off the attacks and looked at Jiang Xiaofeng.
"What, have you decided to submit to the Tsaritsa's authority?"
La Signora said.
Jiang Xiaofeng frowned and asked, "You need the Gnosis, right?"
Hearing this, La Signora nodded.
Jiang Xiaofeng held out his hand. "I'll take you up."
"Opportunities like this are rare. I won't be in this mood next time."
La Signora did not stand on ceremony either. She extended her hand and placed it in Jiang Xiaofeng's.
Jiang Xiaofeng pulled La Signora into his arms and flew up.
The Fatui Skirmishers still on the ground: "..."
La Signora was startled. "What are you doing?"
Without even turning his head, Jiang Xiaofeng said, "Would you rather I hauled you up by one hand?"
"I don't mind, but don't you care about saving face?"
La Signora wanted to argue. This was hardly saving her any face either.
But after imagining Jiang Xiaofeng carrying her by one hand, she gave up on arguing.
Feeling the lifeless aura emanating from Jiang Xiaofeng, La Signora could not help remembering her lover.
When he had slowly lost his warmth in her arms, he had given off that same aura...
La Signora's eyes suddenly widened.
Was Jiang Xiaofeng dying?
Of course Jiang Xiaofeng was not dying. He was already dead.
Jiang Xiaofeng wanted very much to show this world goodwill, but reality always managed to slap him in the face.
When he wanted to spend some peaceful days in Liyue, Jiang Xiaofeng unerringly discovered Liyue's shady dealings. At the same time, a group of boys and girls with Visions surrounded and attacked him, and he fled.
When he felt he was slowly beginning to like Mondstadt, Stormterror appeared bearing a curse and disrupted his fantasy.
When he wholeheartedly wanted to bring Mondstadt's dragon crisis to an end in Stormterror's Lair, Aether appeared and fought him until Venti and the others discovered them.
Jiang Xiaofeng felt as though the whole world was playing a joke on him.
He felt he belonged back on that plague-ridden island in Dead Cells, constantly killing monsters to obtain cells, then going to find The Collector and kicking him to death as a matter of routine, returning to the Prisoners' Quarters to go through cycle after cycle until he went completely insane.
The only pity was that Jiang Xiaofeng did not know how to return to that island.
The kingdom belonging to that bastard king.
All Jiang Xiaofeng could do now was help La Signora rip out Venti's Gnosis to grind some favorability with her.
Jiang Xiaofeng soon brought La Signora to the very top of the ruins.
There, Jiang Xiaofeng encountered Venti and the others.
He also did not see Master Diluc, who had been carried on Dvalin's back.
After asking, he learned, Oh, the master's unconscious.
Fine, then. I won't hold this against you this time.
Jiang Xiaofeng stopped wasting time and raised his hand. A purple braid instantly wound around Venti and yanked him over.
"Lord Venti!"
"Tone-deaf bard!"
"Venti!"
The three shouted.
Venti, however, looked calmly at Jiang Xiaofeng.
"You... just which faction do you belong to?"
Jiang Xiaofeng slapped Venti with a smack.
"None of them. It was all just your arbitrary speculation."
Jiang Xiaofeng said calmly.
And to think he had once imagined living a life of slacking off with Venti. Now it all seemed like bullshit.
"Don't you have so many ideas of your own?"
"Then why didn't all those ideas of yours save him back then?"
Venti froze on the spot.
Jiang Xiaofeng lifted Venti and handed him to La Signora. "Do it."
"You... uh, sir, what are you trying to do?"
Jean had just been about to call out to Jiang Xiaofeng when she suddenly realized she did not even know who he was...
"Hey, fire-breather, what are you trying to do?"
As always, Paimon started handing out nicknames.
Jiang Xiaofeng glanced at Paimon and said, "Not fire-breather. The Beheaded."
The Beheaded?
Questions arose in the minds of the five people present.
La Signora had long since finished catching up with Venti. She reached straight in and pulled out a cyan chess piece.
"Hmm..."
La Signora was still examining it when Jiang Xiaofeng interrupted her.
"Don't bother commenting on that thing. Hurry up and go."
Jiang Xiaofeng released Venti, who had not resisted in the slightest, and flew down with La Signora.
"Lord Barbatos!"
Jean hurried over and helped Venti up.
But his eyes were vacant, and he was still murmuring.
"Why..."
Looking at Venti, Jean was at a loss, but Lumine walked over and said, "He's fine. He just got scared."
Seeing Lumine's resolute expression, Jean did not believe her nonsense, but she still decided to have Dvalin carry them away.
Thinking of Venti's expression back then, Jiang Xiaofeng almost wanted to burst out laughing.
You dared trip me up?
Then I'll break your defenses!
Even if I unlocked your constellations in the game, Venti, who told you I did it because I liked you as a character?
Jiang Xiaofeng laughed without a care.