Shortly after Su Yuan and his group arrived near the Dragon-Queller Tree, a carrier pigeon with a blue ribbon landed in Yelan's hand.
"Su Yuan, I just received some intel..."
After reading the contents of the message, Yelan looked at Su Yuan and said:
"Furina and Neuvillette have arrived at Yilong Wharf in the Chenyu Vale—they're in Liyue now."
"Huh?"
Hearing this news, to be honest, Su Yuan felt both surprised and delighted…
After all, Fontaine was the first place he arrived at after crossing over, and he had spent a lot of time with the people of Fontaine.
And more importantly—Neuvillette's power in his Eerie-transformed state was incredibly strong.
With that in mind, dealing with Dottore seemed much more promising now…
But the problem was—he no longer had the ability to disperse rainfall.
How was he supposed to coordinate with Neuvillette now?
Then again, Su Yuan thought to himself, maybe they didn't come specifically to find him.
Perhaps they had other matters to attend to—he shouldn't get ahead of himself…
He couldn't always rely on Neuvillette, after all.
Just as the group was pondering where to start looking for Zhongli, a figure suddenly leapt down from the Dragon-Queller Tree—
That figure was none other than Zhongli!
Moreover, an intense Eerie aura was radiating from Zhongli's body…
Everyone instinctively stepped back, keeping their distance, watching Zhongli with high alert.
Yet Zhongli made no move to attack them—instead, he gazed at them calmly and solemnly.
"You've… finally arrived…"
"Now that no one is watching from the shadows, I can finally speak with you properly…"
Everyone stared in shock at the scene before them.
Could it be—Zhongli hadn't been fully taken over by the Eerie?
Could it be that Zhongli, to some extent, had managed to control the Eerie power?
Su Yuan stared at the unfolding scene, lost in thought…
Then what exactly was Zhongli's current condition?
Zhongli didn't seem like the type of person to have gone mad, so… was it the second possibility?
That kind of absolute calm and indifference—utterly devoid of any emotions tainted by impurity?
And yet… Su Yuan couldn't shake the feeling that something still felt off…
Also… what did Zhongli mean when he mentioned someone watching?
Could it be that just now, "The Doctor" — Dottore — had been secretly observing all of them?
But in the very next moment, something completely unexpected happened!
Zhongli, who had just said he wanted to speak properly, suddenly erupted with a violent outburst.
Gripping a stone spear coiled with Eerie power, he lunged straight at Yelan, who stood at the front!
Su Yuan stared in shock — what was going on?
Could it be that Zhongli was still under the control of the Eerie?
Had what he just said about wanting to talk peacefully merely been an act?
Zhongli's speed was terrifyingly fast.
Not only Su Yuan, even Yelan hadn't had time to react!
Su Yuan realized he had let his guard down again — once more, deceived by the honeyed lies of the Eerie!
The Eerie… they could disguise themselves!
However, among everyone present, there was one person who had been prepared all along and managed to react in time—
That was Jiang Xue!
Ever since arriving at the Dragon-Queller Tree, his hand had never left the hilt of his sword—always ready to draw it at a moment's notice!
Jiang Xue rushed forward and held his longsword horizontally, shielding Yelan from the attack!
Because the situation unfolded so suddenly, Jiang Xue didn't even have time to pull out his fishing rod to initiate his Eerie transformation!
But to his surprise… Zhongli's strike didn't seem powerful at all.
In fact, Jiang Xue was able to block it quite effortlessly…
It was as if Zhongli hadn't used any real force at all.
At that moment, everyone noticed Zhongli's face had become horribly twisted and contorted.
One of his eyes was already beginning to look… unnatural.
Gritting his teeth, he forced a few words out through clenched jaws—
"Go… quickly…"
"Stay away from me…"
"Protect… Liyue…"
Seeing this scene, Su Yuan began to form a clear idea in his mind.
The Eerie power might be capable of suppressing a person's actions and controlling their body—but as with all things, there are exceptions.
Just like before, under the oppressive force of Eerie-Focalors, when everyone else was completely immobilized, Melus and Silver were still able to break free and step forward to protect Navia.
Su Yuan assumed that the emotions in their hearts back then were utterly pure—free of even the slightest impurity.
They simply wanted to protect Navia.
Of course, it's also possible that Focalors hadn't undergone full Eerie transformation at the time, so her suppressive force wasn't as overwhelming.
And now, it seemed that Zhongli might be in a similar situation…
Even though he was being controlled by external Eerie corruption, Zhongli was still able to retain a shred of clarity…
Was it because of his deep desire to protect Liyue?
To protect its people?
"Jiang Xue, what are you spacing out for?! Take out your fishing toy—now!"
Su Yuan shouted toward Jiang Xue.
Jiang Xue nodded, quickly sat down cross-legged, pulled out the fishing toy, and swiftly entered a focused state…
"You all… need to go…"
Zhongli's face was contorted and strained.
As he stared at Jiang Xue—who seemed to be doing something incomprehensible—his own consciousness looked like it was already nearing its limit…
The next moment, "Zhongli's" face twisted completely, and a flood of crimson, foul-smelling fluid began pouring from him…
In his hand, the Eerie-infused Geo spear materialized once again, and he charged straight at Jiang Xue, who was closest to the front!
"What the hell are you making such a ruckus for…"
"Jiang Xue" looked at the charging "Zhongli," wearing a somewhat irritated expression.
"You're scaring off the fish!"
The next instant—"Jiang Xue" vanished from everyone's sight!
No one could see his figure anymore.
All they could make out was a storm of gleaming swordlights dancing around Zhongli!
"Zhongli" kept swinging his eerie-infused Geo spear to defend himself, but it was clear he was struggling to keep up…
Moments later, "Zhongli," apparently having had enough of Jiang Xue's attacks, swung both hands and summoned an incredibly sturdy Jade Shield around himself!
Only now, the Jade Shield was no longer golden and radiant—it was pitch-black and blood-red, formed entirely of Eerie power…
Su Yuan understood well—activating this kind of shield for defense was one of the fastest ways to drain Eerie energy!
As long as "Jiang Xue" kept up this relentless assault, it wouldn't be long before all the Eerie power remaining in "Zhongli" was completely drained!
However, at the same time, Su Yuan realized a serious issue…
What if, once Zhongli's Eerie energy was exhausted—how would they get Jiang Xue to stop?
The real concern now was—would Jiang Xue only stop and return to fishing after he had killed Zhongli?
But before Su Yuan could come up with any solution, he saw that Zhongli's Jade Shield was already starting to crack—and in the next instant, it completely shattered!
Zhongli's face also seemed to have fully returned to normal…
But "Jiang Xue's" blade didn't stop at all—it was still swinging directly toward Zhongli's neck!
Looking at Jiang Xue's unstoppable, fierce momentum—was there anyone who could stop him now?
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