Shao Yun's body stiffened slightly. He couldn't believe what he had just heard.
He had thought Lumine's hesitation came from compassion, from her unwillingness to witness the deaths of Venti and Zhongli at his hands.
"Lumine, go back and be with your brother."
Shao Yun wanted to convince her—this was no time to give up halfway! As long as he killed Venti and Zhongli, no one would have the power to stop his plan!
"Just two bullets, and we'll succeed. We'll have a future. What was the original purpose of your journey? Have you forgotten? It was to find your brother! Not to act as some errand girl delivering messages for these centuries-old immortals, nor to be manipulated like a pawn on their board!"
However, Lumine only tightened her embrace.
"I said—we're continuing our journey."
That sentence was like a sharp blade, severing the final thread of hope in Shao Yun's heart.
He felt all his efforts, all his sacrifices, crumble into nothing. A wave of sorrow and fury surged within him.
"You said! You said you'd trust me! You said this would all be over!" Shao Yun nearly roared the words, tears welling up in his eyes.
"Do you love me?" Lumine suddenly asked. "Answer me—do you love me?"
Shao Yun froze, and finally, the tears slipped down his cheeks.
"I love you! I'd do anything to reunite you with your brother! I'd become the enemy of the world—I'd even sell my soul!" His voice cracked, full of desperation and helplessness.
He still couldn't believe she'd choose to keep traveling. Kong was already found—the journey was over!
"If you love me," Lumine said softly, "then listen to me. We're continuing the journey."
That sentence completely shattered Shao Yun's mental defenses. Everything he had done was now meaningless.
"Ah!" Shao Yun collapsed to his knees, raising his head to the sky with a long, anguished howl, pouring out all his grief and frustration.
He cried out, pounding the snow with his fists, venting all his rage and despair.
"Lumine! One second! Why couldn't you be one second later! Just one second and I could've ended all this! I could've killed those bastards—Venti and Zhongli!"
Watching Shao Yun sobbing in the snow, Lumine's eyes filled with tears as well. She had never seen him this broken, this hopeless.
She took a deep breath, forcing her voice to sound firmer.
"I'm sorry I didn't stand with you. But please believe me—this isn't the end. Our journey is far from over. Let's move forward together."
Lumine watched as Shao Yun drowned in despair, kneeling in anguish and sobbing uncontrollably. Her heart twisted in agony.
Yet she still held her emotions in check, turning to Venti and Zhongli. "Venti, Zhongli… Once I've seen my brother off, I'll bring Paimon and Shao Yun. We'll continue our journey."
With that, Lumine turned away. In this most critical moment, she had denied everything Shao Yun had done. She too was on the verge of collapse.
Venti looked at Shao Yun, who was kneeling and drowning in a mix of tears and wails. He lowered his head and spoke sincerely to Lumine.
"I'm sorry, Lumine. We manipulated you. If there's anything you need us to do, just say the word. No matter how difficult, we'll agree to it."
Lumine returned to Albedo's laboratory, tears finally spilling from the corners of her eyes. Choking up, she said, "This matter… talk to him yourselves."
Venti slowly approached Shao Yun, who was now consumed by pain and fury.
"Shao Yun…" Venti called his name gently, trying to offer a thread of comfort.
"Is there anything we can do to make it up to you?"
At those words, Shao Yun's sobs halted abruptly. A fierce light flashed in his eyes—he had an idea.
"I want your blood!"
Then he raised his head and stared daggers at Venti and Zhongli, repeating word by word, "I want your blood—both of you! Right now!"
Venti was shocked by the sudden demand. He asked, puzzled, "Why? What is this for?"
Tears streamed down Shao Yun's face, his features twisted, yet he still forced down his fury and snapped, "Didn't you just say—no matter how harsh the terms, you'd accept? Are you going back on your word now?!"
Saying this, he pulled two small bottles from his Legend of the East satchel, and unsheathed a dagger from his waist, tossing them at their feet.
"Bleed! Fill the bottles!" Shao Yun shouted furiously. "Fill them to the brim!"
Venti and Zhongli exchanged a knowing look and crouched down to pick up the small green bottles.
Zhongli took the dagger first. A flash of cold light, a light slice across his skin—crimson blood trickled slowly into the bottle.
Once it was full, he handed the dagger to Venti, who repeated the same action.
Finally, Venti placed the two bottles filled with their blood before Shao Yun.
"Here. Is that good enough?" His voice held a touch of resignation, and a faint unease toward the unknown future—for he had no idea why Shao Yun needed their blood.
Shao Yun's system popped up two notifications.
[You have obtained a bottle of the Anemo Archon's blood.]
[You have obtained a bottle of the Geo Archon's blood.]
Shao Yun stood up and wiped the tears from his face. What remained was only cold determination.
"One day from now, we leave Dragonspine. For now, get out of my sight."
Zhongli furrowed his brow, a mix of confusion and concern.
"Shao Yun, we know you're a man of your word, but… why wait one day?"
Venti, ever more direct, asked, "I feel like this is strange. Why not just leave now?"
Shao Yun gave them a cold glare, gritted his teeth, and growled, "I don't need two bastards like you giving orders. Get lost!"
Zhongli and Venti exchanged one last glance, then silently turned and vanished into the blizzard of Dragonspine.
Shao Yun turned to Dainsleif beside him, speaking with firm resolve. "Dain, I'll be back soon. Don't ask me where I'm going!"
Dainsleif stared into Shao Yun's cold, unreadable eyes, then glanced naturally at what lay behind him. A sense of dread crept into his heart. He asked, horrified, "Are you really going to do it?"
Shao Yun gave a slight nod. He was going to summon that demon using the blood of Venti and Zhongli. Last time, the Lawrence family were mere mortals. This time, Shao Yun would use the blood of gods.
"One last chance. I have to try."
To avoid affecting Lumine, he stepped resolutely into the raging snowstorm, his figure swallowed by the wind and ice, vanishing entirely from Dainsleif's view.
…
Shao Yun walked with heavy steps through the storm-ravaged Dragonspine. His eyes burned with madness and determination—this was his final challenge to fate.
Far from Albedo's lab, he killed a snow weasel along the way, its bright red blood glaring against the whiteness.
He picked up the weasel's corpse and continued climbing Dragonspine. At the summit, under the shadow of the Skyfrost Nail, he stopped.
In this snow-ravaged sanctum, Shao Yun slowly knelt, his hands trembling. He used the blood of the two Archons to trace a reversed pentagram in the snow.
Then, he placed the weasel's organs at the five corners of the star.
"I know you've always been there…" Shao Yun's voice rang hollow against the storm.
"You've hidden in the dark, watching me spiral into despair. Now the whole world's against me. Even Lumine has given up. You're all I have left! Come out. Grant my wish—I'll offer my soul in return!"
But there was no reply, only endless cold wind and devouring silence.
Shao Yun couldn't believe it. The Man with a Top Hat—the one who had toyed with him time and again—was now silent at the critical moment.
Just then, the system issued a sudden notification in his mind.
[You will not see that mysterious figure for 'a long time'.]
The message struck like lightning. Shao Yun collapsed completely, letting out a despairing howl to the heavens.
"Why! You used to twist words however you liked! You played me like a puppet—so why now?! Why so obedient now?! Have you abandoned me too?!"
But only the icy wind answered, and the boundless snowstorm.
Shao Yun knelt in the freezing snow, shouting to the sky, "System, you'll help me, right?! Do something—I can't give up now!"
[Legend of the East Challenge V: Learn to Let Go]
[You must learn to let go. Sometimes, what you think is a ray of hope may just be the lure of a deep-sea anglerfish.]
[Reward: Legend of the East Set Fragment ×1, Algernon's Revolver.]
"Damn you! All you do is give me stuff to shut me up! I don't want weapons—I just want to take Lumine away from all this! She shouldn't be used like some dumb pawn—she should be with her family!"
Shao Yun roared in fury, fists clenched as he swung at the invisible screen before him.
Eventually, exhausted, he lay in the snow, letting the storm bury him.
Everyone told him to give up—but how could he?
Seven days! He'd run around Dragonspine for seven whole days! Scared out of his mind, starving, sleepless—all to keep Lumine from being endlessly deceived by those damned bastards!
But now everyone said everything he did was pointless. He was filled with hate.
But all that anger did nothing. His mind wandered back to what the system had once told him by the beach.
[Host, keep moving forward… but don't walk too fast.]
And he remembered what the demon had once said:
「"Even if all reason fails, and all truth turns to lies, you will persist. Loyalty is your salvation—and your curse."」
…
He slowly stood up, using his shoe to erase the pentagram drawn in blood.
Each stroke he wiped away felt like letting go of a piece of his obsession, a burden lifted.
"If Lumine wants to travel, then I'll go with her. Whatever she wants to do, I'll stay by her side."
With those words, Shao Yun finally accepted his fate. Even offering divine blood and his soul, the demon clung to the phrase "a long time"—meaning no matter how much he held on, there was no hope.
Now, only one thought remained in Shao Yun's mind—he would stay with Lumine. Otherwise, without her, he was nothing but a murderous fugitive.
[Legend of the East Set Fragment ×1 and Algernon's Revolver have been granted.]
Shao Yun pulled from his pack a revolver inlaid with a Tahitian pearl, gently running his fingers over it.
"At least now Paimon has a weapon…" he murmured, then gave a bitter laugh. "But me… I'm still so damn unwilling…"
Once again, his vision blurred with tears…