“Alright, my esteemed Tri-Xuan Society… have a nice cup of cappuccino, on me!”
With a smile that was anything but friendly, Gu Sanqiu pulled out his latest masterpiece—a two-meter-wide keg packed with explosive slime essence. Scarlet-hued and rippling with each gust of wind, the volatile substance promised quite a show.
And one keg? No, Gu Sanqiu had crafted over a dozen of these, forming a precise line in the air with the help of anemo energy.
Xiao, observing from the ground, and the surveillance operator inside the golem both saw the array, though their reactions couldn’t have been more different. While Xiao’s expression was something between intrigue and exasperation, the operator inside the golem was in full panic, relaying desperate orders for reinforcements.
In response, a spectrum of shields shimmered around the giant turtle-like puppet, a hodgepodge of minor formations layered into a defensive matrix.
“Oh? Patchwork barriers, huh…” Gu Sanqiu raised a brow, his interest waning. “They must not have invested in real cultivators for these shields. If this were the Minlin gang, they’d have seamlessly fused the defense with the golem itself. But this just makes things… easier.”
Suppressing his urge to kick the kegs down, he reminded himself these were traditional Teyvat explosives, not the plastique kind. One kick might look cool, but it’d also be incredibly stupid.
(Cue the sound of descending bombs)
Boom boom boom! (Insert several more booming noises)
Through a series of carefully controlled drops, each explosive landed right at the junctions of the formation’s defenses, striking the weak points in the layers of elemental energy. As detonations tore through the defenses, Gu Sanqiu wondered if any of the occupants were actually going to survive the shocks.
But his answer came swiftly as a few figures ejected from the golem, emerging in spherical escape pods that bounced a couple of times before cracking open to reveal dazed, queasy faces.
“Impressive. An emergency escape mechanism? You’ve outdone yourselves,” Gu Sanqiu remarked with a sly smile as he touched down, spear in hand, methodically going from one disoriented survivor to the next, ending each with a swift, lethal jab to the throat.
“Such talent! You’d be naturals in a kaiju film—parachuting from monster bellies and all.”
“Gu Sanqiu, don’t push your luck!” shouted a voice, as the few remaining members sprang to their senses, scrambling to put distance between them. One reached into his cloak, pulling out a talisman that emanated a faint yet undeniable power.
“We possess the Omniguard Talisman! This can summon the protection of an adeptus—you can’t kill us!”
“Huh?” Gu Sanqiu snorted. “An Omniguard Talisman? So what? You think that stops me from ending you? You honestly think you can match my family’s connection to the adepti?”
“The Omniguard Talisman, in your hands? My sister already foresaw this. Do you think this trinket can hold me back?”
“Or,” he sneered, “are you just throwing out desperate last-minute gambits because that little explosion rattled your brains?”
The Tri-Xuan operative leveled a shaky gaze at Gu Sanqiu.
“We know the importance of your Gu family. We wouldn’t have been watching you this closely otherwise.”
“But it’s exactly because of your family’s role that, as holders of the Omniguard Talisman, you cannot harm us without defying the very rules your family vowed to uphold!”
“As a guardian of Liyue’s laws, do you intend to betray your oaths?”
“Hm,” Gu Sanqiu mused, scratching his chin thoughtfully. “You make a fair point. I could argue that a little bending here and there is sometimes part of guarding the rules, but… I’ll give you credit for a decent speech.”
He dispatched another one with a single thrust. “But as far as I can see, only you hold the talisman. I just need to kill the others. If they want to live, they can always… take it from you.”
At this, the survivors froze, wide-eyed, before crowding closer to the talisman-bearer, their intentions suddenly all too clear.
“Don’t be deceived by him!” the leader hissed. “If we start brawling over the talisman, he’ll just finish us off the second it’s airborne!”
This seemed to sober them, at least for the moment.
“Oh revered adepti of Liyue!” the talisman-bearer wailed, raising his talisman aloft. “I beseech you, with the Omniguard Talisman, grant us your protection!”
A blazing column of golden light shot into the sky, radiating energy that had even Gu Sanqiu retreating a step.
“Damn,” he muttered. “Why is there still such a pristine Omniguard Talisman in circulation? And how did these bottom-feeders get it without any record in the official registry?”
The talisman might not be a miracle cure, but the energy it held was enough to pull off some impressive feats. For most people, its true value lay in being able to establish a connection with an adeptus. In this case, they’d activated it in a manner similar to Lord Ping’an’s technique, borrowing from the talisman’s stored energy.
“No.”
A voice, cold and unwavering, rang out, cutting through the air. The defiant golden light retracted into the talisman with blinding speed, leaving it a colorless scrap of parchment.
No—at this point, it was practically just trash.
Gu Sanqiu spun around in shock. That voice—Xiao’s? What was going on?
Turning, he saw not the typical Xiao but a figure wearing the fearsome yaksha mask, bearing a green spear, his stance radiating raw hostility.
“The Omniguard Talisman. To summon an adeptus’ protection?” Xiao sneered. “I refuse.”
“You don’t deserve such mercy.”
As an adeptus, Xiao could see things beyond Gu Sanqiu’s sight. Without the golem shielding them, his yaksha gaze saw all—too much, perhaps. He felt the repulsion of the very land beneath these men’s feet, of elemental energies recoiling from their presence.
For once, Xiao was inclined to trust Gu Sanqiu’s words. These wretches had indeed done things worthy of disgust—crimes against the natural order of Liyue itself.
This world may have tolerated their existence, but Liyue’s earth and elements would no longer abide them.
To the very land, they were already exiled.
Raising his arm, Xiao’s spear, the Primordial Jade Winged-Spear, pointed to the heavens. Dozens of emerald spears began to materialize, floating in formation and aimed squarely at the petrified Tri-Xuan members.
“An adeptus with the title of Vigilant Yaksha, appointed by the Three-Eyed Five-Manifestations of Wisdom.”
“Today… I hunt demons.”
Boom!
Gu Sanqiu could only watch in astonishment as Xiao’s spell ignited the sky, a slow grin spreading across his face.
The feeling? Priceless.
One: getting carried by the real big guns was an undeniably satisfying experience.
Two: Now he knew what they meant by “final judgment belongs to our side!” Strategic recline.
—
T/N: Switched to Tri-Xuan it sounds cooler… def not because im lazy.
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