“What… what are you planning to do?!”
The Celestial Lord of Starcatching looked at Jia Changjiang with growing fear. Instinctively, he reached for the [Sigil of Permission], only to clutch at empty air—his current state as a soul left him powerless.
“What do I plan to do?”
Jia Changjiang stabbed his blade into the ground, cracking his knuckles with a wicked grin. “I’m going to beat you up!”
“Lumine! Paimon! Let’s go—time to teach this money-grubbing con artist a lesson! Together now!”
With a swift kick, Jia Changjiang sent the unprepared Celestial Lord sprawling to the ground, signaling the start of a familiar scene of retribution.
For a fraud like this, weapons were unnecessary.
Lumine caught on immediately, her excitement rising as she joined in, raining blows on the downed man.
“Huh? I’m supposed to help too?”
Paimon hesitated but quickly scooped up some small stones from nearby, clutching them to her chest. She fluttered closer to the action, carefully timing her throws between Jia Changjiang and Lumine’s strikes.
“Take this!” Paimon shouted, pelting the fraud with her makeshift projectiles.
From a distance, Xiao watched the chaotic scene with quiet exasperation. What should have been a dignified display of Adepti ritual had devolved into something resembling a street brawl.
In the end, Xiao looked away, choosing not to involve himself in this farcical affair.
Mortal matters should be resolved by mortals.
“How dare you scam people? Pretending to be an Adeptus? Playing at exorcism? And calling yourself the Celestial Lord of Starcatching? Please—I’m Taixuan Xingjun!”
“Stealing money! Do you even know how important Mora is?! I earn mine one coin at a time!”
The Celestial Lord of Starcatching, even as a mere soul, felt the full brunt of their blows deep in his spirit.
“Stop! Stop! I was wrong—I admit it! If this goes on, I’ll be completely destroyed!”
Eventually, Jia Changjiang and Lumine relented, stepping back before the man’s soul dissipated entirely.
“How unlucky to run into you two… Please, mighty Adepti, spare my life,” the fraud pleaded.
“Impersonating an Adeptus and swindling people… You’re lucky this is all you’re getting,” Jia Changjiang scoffed, brushing the dust off his hands. “Do you realize how much effort it took to fend off the Archons and preserve Liyue? The fragile trust between mortals and Adepti that we’ve worked so hard to restore—you’d ruin it all.”
“The Archons…”
The Celestial Lord of Starcatching froze, staring at Jia Changjiang in shock. “Wait—you… Are you the Taixuan Xingjun who defeated the Ancient Gods?”
“You’re actual Adepti?!” He looked between them in disbelief. “This… this state I’m in—is it really because of Adepti magic?!”
“Well,” Jia Changjiang scratched his chin. “I am Taixuan Xingjun, but no, we’re not Adepti.”
“Only he is.” Jia Changjiang jabbed a thumb over his shoulder at Xiao, standing silently behind him. “This here is the real deal—a true Adeptus who has protected Liyue for thousands of years.”
“A true Adeptus… To think I would be brought here by one…” The Celestial Lord stammered, overwhelmed.
“Pretending to be an Adeptus, deceiving others, performing hollow exorcisms—it was only a matter of time before your sins caught up to you,” Xiao said coldly. “Such foolishness.”
The presence of the true Yaksha left the fraud stunned. After a moment of hesitation, he cautiously asked, “May I… dare I ask your name, O Adeptus?”
“The Conqueror of Demons, Guardian Yaksha, Golden-Winged King… Which title do you prefer?” Jia Changjiang answered with a grin, stepping proudly beside Xiao. “He’s no fake like you. And that ritual that summoned you? Guess who taught us how to do it?”
“It’s… really you!” The Celestial Lord gasped in awe. “I never imagined I’d meet the Conqueror of Demons in person…”
“Oh, so you’ve heard of Xiao?” Jia Changjiang crossed his arms and leaned slightly closer. “Then you must know how he deals with monsters and evil spirits. Care to guess what happens to con artists like you?”
Lumine mirrored his pose, standing on Xiao’s other side. “You’re lucky this is just a scolding. If you’d done more than steal money, we might not have stopped at your soul.”
“Exactly!” Paimon perched on Xiao’s head, arms akimbo in her best attempt at intimidation. “From now on, turn over a new leaf and live an honest life, or we’ll come after you again!”
Xiao remained silent, watching the odd trio surrounding him with growing bemusement.
Why are they acting so… familiar around me? Is my demeanor still not distant enough?
Is this my fault? Or theirs?
“I understand! I’ll return all the money I took from my followers and never deceive anyone again!”
The Celestial Lord declared fervently, “I grew up listening to my grandfather’s stories about the Conqueror of Demons. To meet a real Adeptus… I’ll take this opportunity to swear an oath: I will abandon my evil ways, live a peaceful life, and never tarnish the reputation of the Adepti again!”
“That explains why you’ve been collecting books on the Yaksha,” Jia Changjiang noted. “Find an honest trade, and stop these scams.”
Xiao turned away. “I’ll remember your oath. You may leave.”
“Thank you, Conqueror of Demons. Thank you, Taixuan Xingjun…” The Celestial Lord bowed deeply. “Thank you for sparing me, and for all you’ve done for Liyue.”
Xiao didn’t respond. As the man’s soul began to fade, returning to his body far away, Jia Changjiang called after him.
“Hey, Liyue has more than just Guardian Yaksha shrines.”
“If you have time, visit some of the forgotten ones. Pay your respects.”
The Celestial Lord nodded before vanishing completely, his soul returning to his resting body.
“I need to continue hunting demons,” Xiao said, turning to leave. But Jia Changjiang grabbed his arm.
“What about the [Sigil of Permission] we’ll bring back tomorrow? How do we return it to you?”
“I’ll be at Wangshu Inn tomorrow,” Xiao replied simply before disappearing into the night.
“Xiao only wears his mask when facing monsters…” Paimon murmured, watching him go. “I wonder what it means to him?”
“Who knows… Wearing a mask against enemies…” Jia Changjiang mused, his tone thoughtful. “Maybe it’s Xiao’s way of hiding his human side.”
—
T/N: oh! right for you guys who don’t know Xingjun is a way to say Lord!
This is a fan translation of 武器大师在原神绝不死于徒手 by 徐人双 All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!
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