Fang Qiu swept up her hand, and a longsword of dark ice tore through the air, driving hard into a Hilichurl whose body was wreathed in black mist.
In the past, a single stroke like that would have been enough to run the Hilichurl clean through.
This time, though, the ice sword sank only halfway into its body before it jammed to a stop.
The Hilichurl seemed to feel no pain at all, roaring as it charged straight at them.
Fang Qiu drove two more strokes into it, and only then did the Hilichurl fall.
But in the next instant, the Hilichurl hoisting the huge rock shield suddenly bent its body, like an arrow drawn taut against a bowstring, and shot forward, ramming toward them behind that massive stone shield.
Fang Qiu's crimson pupils contracted. She whipped out two ice swords in a flash, but under the impact of the rock shield they shattered into icy mist almost the moment they landed.
Hu Tao caught Fang Qiu around the waist again, weaving and darting to dodge the attacks of several Hilichurls.
At the same time, the Stonehide Lawachurl gathered itself, kicked off with its hind legs, and came barreling toward them.
Fang Qiu swept up her hand, and a giant sword took shape once more, while the Staff of Homa in Hu Tao's hands erupted with sudden flames.
Just as the two of them were about to strike, a streak of green fell like a meteor crashing to earth, landing atop the Stonehide Lawachurl's head.
The Stonehide Lawachurl dropped where it stood.
Having wiped out the Lawachurl, the green blur did not pause for even a heartbeat. It flickered and wove among the Hilichurls, and in the span of a few breaths, the many Hilichurls wreathed in black mist and that single Abyss Mage had no chance to resist, no time even to react, before every last one of them was cut down in an instant.
Then the dark green figure came to a stop and revealed itself.
It was a green-haired youth wielding a green longspear.
He looked no older than sixteen or seventeen, about the same height as Hu Tao.
Fang Qiu gazed at him, brimming with envy.
Wasn't this far too strong?
And he was so young too…
Just as Fang Qiu was about to thank him, Shenhe finished her own fight and hurried over from a distance.
"Fang Qiu, Hu Tao, are you two all right?" Shenhe asked at once.
"We're fine. Good thing this expert stepped in to help," Fang Qiu said.
"Thank you, Conqueror of Demons, for coming to our aid." Shenhe turned to Xiao and spoke respectfully.
The Conqueror of Demons?
This youth was one of the Adepti?
For a moment Fang Qiu felt rather awkward — thank goodness she hadn't just blurted out something like "thanks for the help, little brother."
Otherwise this Conqueror of Demons might well have slapped her dead on the spot.
"Subduing demons and slaying evil is my duty. No thanks are needed."
Xiao nodded to Shenhe, then turned his head toward Fang Qiu. A flicker of surprise crossed his still, unruffled eyes as he asked, "Your name is Fang Qiu?"
Who knows me?
Fang Qiu was still caught in her embarrassment, and hearing the Conqueror of Demons' question left her startled too.
"I've simply heard that name many times at Wangshu Inn. It must just be a coincidence — who would ever use their real name as a pen name?"
Without waiting for Fang Qiu to answer, Xiao went on evenly, "Things have been unsettled around here lately. Try not to come too close. I have other matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave first. You'd best hurry back to Liyue Harbor as well."
With that, Xiao vanished from where he stood, leaving Fang Qiu standing dazed in the wind.
It wasn't as if she'd wanted to use her real name as a pen name either!
It really wasn't her fault!
By the time she'd realized the problem, it was already too late.
Still, since even one of the Adepti had said the area was dangerous, and with the sky gradually darkening, they set sail and made their way back to Liyue Harbor.
Along the way, Fang Qiu asked Shenhe about that Conqueror of Demons.
Shenhe told her that the Conqueror of Demons was one of the five great yaksha under Rex Lapis, and that his name was Xiao.
Hearing Shenhe's explanation, Fang Qiu drew a sharp breath.
So he was a direct subordinate of Rex Lapis himself.
No wonder he was absurdly strong.
The snow over Jueyun Karst had stopped by now, and a thick mist hung in the valleys.
The wind carried it in dense, roiling waves, washing through the mountains like drifting clouds.
Two figures robed in dark yellow pierced through the mist and alighted upon Mt. Aocang.
Streaming light scattered away.
Moon Carver and Mountain Shaper revealed their forms.
"Cloud Retainer, let's get going," Mountain Shaper said.
They had originally meant to finish watching Weathering With You and then head to Liyue Harbor to see Splitting the Mountain to Save Mother.
But who could have guessed it would snow heavily for several days straight, so that the Reflection Pictures Studio in Liyue Harbor hadn't even opened its doors.
They'd had no choice but to postpone, all the way until today.
"Mm."
Cloud Retainer put away the mechanism she had been puzzling over and nodded.
Just as they were about to set out, a dark green figure came cutting through the air and landed on Mt. Aocang.
The dark green glow faded, and Xiao revealed his form. At the sight of the newcomer, Cloud Retainer and the other two Adepti were all momentarily taken aback.
"Conqueror of Demons, what brings you here?" Moon Carver asked.
"By the look of you three, are you heading out on some errand?" Xiao asked.
"Nothing of great importance. We're only making a trip to Liyue Harbor," Moon Carver said.
"To Liyue Harbor? Has something happened there?" Xiao asked, puzzled.
"No, nothing like that. We simply had time on our hands and thought to go watch a play at the picture studio Ningguang founded," Cloud Retainer said.
"Watching a play at the picture studio? You mean Fang Qiu's Splitting the Mountain to Save Mother?" Xiao asked.
"The Conqueror of Demons knows that child Fang Qiu as well?" Cloud Retainer said, blinking in mild surprise.
"I merely heard of her at Wangshu Inn," Xiao said. "From your tone, Adeptus, it seems you're quite familiar with this Fang Qiu?"
During the Lantern Rite, everyone at Wangshu Inn had entrusted Jiangxue with going to Liyue Harbor to buy books, and she'd ended up returning a whole day late.
When they asked why, it turned out Jiangxue had watched Splitting the Mountain to Save Mother in Liyue Harbor and missed the time to return to Wangshu Inn.
"She's a very interesting little girl," Cloud Retainer said with a smile. "I entrusted Shenhe to that child, so she could help Shenhe settle into Liyue Harbor. In a sense, I suppose I owe her a favor."
Shenhe?
Xiao paused slightly. "Does this Fang Qiu look almost exactly like Shenhe?"
"How does the Conqueror of Demons know that?" Cloud Retainer said, blinking again. "Their appearances truly are remarkably alike. But there seems to be some mystery veiling her relationship to Shenhe, one we haven't yet been able to unravel."
Xiao told them everything that had happened out in the wilds earlier.
"So that's how it was." Cloud Retainer said, "We have the Conqueror of Demons to thank for stepping in."
"Even without me, they should have managed on their own," Xiao said, shaking his head.
"It's rather amusing, really — that child Fang Qiu actually writes her books under her real name. No wonder the Conqueror of Demons was led to a misunderstanding." Cloud Retainer smiled. "Come to think of it, if the Conqueror of Demons has any free time, you might read Fang Qiu's books too."
"Mm."
Xiao nodded and agreed to it.
But in truth he felt no real interest.
Mountain Shaper smiled and said, "Indeed. After all, even Rex Lapis is very fond of Fang Qiu's books, so they must have their merits."
Xiao, who had originally been about to bring up his real business, was caught off guard by Mountain Shaper's words. He paused and asked, "Rex Lapis enjoys reading Fang Qiu's books too?"
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