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Returning to Liyue Harbor as soon as possible was a must.
Heading to Mt. Aocang to find Cloud Retainer, or going to Bubu Pharmacy for Baizhu…
Baizhu's medical skills were extraordinary; for injuries like these, it was better to let a professional doctor evaluate first.
He quickly made his decision. Victor Wang tried to equip the [Endless Thirst] back into the artifact space, but found that because it was carrying other living beings, it could not be equipped.
This wasn't a serious issue, yet when he prepared to use the teleport waypoint to bring everyone directly to Liyue Harbor, he discovered that the teleport waypoint was rejecting the [Endless Thirst], making teleportation impossible.
With no alternative, he had to release everyone.
"Really… out?" Paimon rubbed her eyes. "We really got out. I thought we were gonna die in there…"
"We really returned to The Chasm…"
Lumine looked at Zhiqiong—still unconscious, her condition worsening—this junior who kept calling her 'senior, senior.' "Let's talk about everything else later. Saving her comes first."
Victor Wang immediately asked Xiao for help: "Xiao, can you carry Zhiqiong and get her to Bubu Pharmacy?"
"Carrying someone that far is difficult, but I can try…" Xiao glanced at the karmic debt only he could see, hesitating. "But if possible, don't let her come into contact with me. She's an ordinary person and heavily injured—too easily affected by my Karmic Debt… Yelan's other ancestor likely went mad due to Bosacius' Karmic Debt."
"Then I'll do it. I'll take her to Bubu Pharmacy as fast as possible. Lumine, you—"
"My injuries can recover with a bit of rest. Go on ahead. We'll follow shortly."
Victor Wang silently nodded. Passing by Yelan—whose vigilance hadn't yet faded—he carefully lifted Zhiqiong, stood upon the Dragontooth Sword Armor, and rose with the wind.
The speed of the wind was never fixed. That was the advantage of the Anemo element—stronger wind meant faster movement. As long as one invested into it, one could erupt with astonishing speed for a short time.
Everyone only felt a violent gust sweep past them; when Victor Wang had pulled some distance away, sand and gravel swept up behind him, and the gale let out a shrill whistle, echoing endlessly within the enclosed space of The Chasm.
The consequence of such forceful outburst was that his mental strength exceeded its safe limit in a short span—accordingly, the speed was truly frightening.
Standing atop Mt. Tianheng, Victor Wang felt dizzy, nearly fainting. He looked at the unconscious Zhiqiong in his arms. "Sorry… I wrongly blamed you."
Then he dove toward Bubu Pharmacy.
As a renowned pharmacy even abroad, Bubu Pharmacy was rarely without customers. Today was no exception, but before Victor Wang could speak, the customers were first startled by the sudden arrival of a man swooping in through the air, and then even more shocked by Zhiqiong's terrifying wounds. They quickly moved aside on their own.
"Sorry—thank you—sorry—thank you…"
After cutting the line and stepping inside, Victor Wang saw that it was Herbalist Gui at the counter. His heart tightened. "Is Doctor Baizhu here? Someone needs urgent treatment!"
Herbalist Gui was stunned by the severity of the wounds, then immediately regained his senses. "Wait right here—I'll call Master!"
Standing on tiptoes to peek over the counter, Qiqi—who had been quietly present the whole time—ran over with thud thud thud steps. "Let me see. Mm… bleeding has already been stopped. Then I wonder if this will help… Life… ever-flowing."
An ice construct—or perhaps a guided spirit—wrapped around Victor Wang and Zhiqiong. As it rotated, a cool but not chilling sensation seeped into the skin, soothing even his exhausted mind. It pulled Victor Wang back from the brink of fainting.
"You should rest too. You… seem very tired. Don't worry. Mister Bai is very capable. These injuries can be healed."
"Thank you, Qiqi."
"You're welcome. That… that coconut milk you invented was very good. I can't taste things, but I like the texture."
"You… actually remember me?"
"Mm. Because if I forget again, you'll be sad."
Before long, Baizhu hurried inside. One glance, and he frowned deeply. Changsheng, coiled around his neck, sighed: "How did the little girl get so injured… Ah. Well, at least the cause seems clear. And good thing it's on the right side—it didn't reach the heart."
Taking some medicine from the counter, Baizhu motioned for Victor Wang and Qiqi to follow him into the side room.
"Lay the patient on the bed. Qiqi, clean the wound first. Then apply these ointments. For the necrotic parts, use this medicinal powder."
After giving his instructions, Baizhu told Victor Wang: "I'll prepare a prescription to awaken her. It may take some time, but her vital signs are stable. Don't worry—be patient."
"Okay… thank you, truly."
While Qiqi treated Zhiqiong's wounds, Victor Wang temporarily stepped out of the room.
He remembered entering The Chasm in the afternoon; now it was afternoon again. After confirming the date, he realized with shock—they had spent twenty days inside that mysterious space… Paimon had been right…
Later, Zhiqiong was treated and given medicine. Her pale face regained a hint of color, but she still didn't wake.
Victor Wang couldn't hold out any longer. Sitting in a chair beside the bed, he fell asleep until his friends—having returned from The Chasm—woke him with their voices.
"Actually, we gained a lot from this trip. Yanfei found the Fantastic Compass… even though she didn't retrieve it; Zhiqiong, Xiao, and the rest of us successfully found the missing Yaksha in The Chasm; Yelan also learned about her ancestor; the cowherd and Shinobu had no real reason to go—they just got caught up in it all. Thankfully, they're fine."
"I went to protect my benefactor…" Arataki Itto muttered softly.
"Alright, alright, let's drop that. And don't call me 'benefactor.' Just call me Yanfei."
"It's just that Zhiqiong suffered the most… Ah—Victor's awake!"
Opening his eyes, Victor Wang saw everyone except Xiao. Lumine rested in another chair, Yelan leaned against the wall with her eyes closed, and the others whispered at the door.
Victor Wang took a slow, deep breath. "Sorry… maybe without me, this operation would've been smoother."
"What are you talking about? Without you, we wouldn't have made it out at all!"
"Exactly!"
Victor Wang quietly sighed. The fake Zhiqiong's words still echoed in his ears…
"Alright, alright… I guess I did help, after all. But it's already late. Everyone should go rest. I'll stay here and watch over Zhiqiong."
"That's true… We should rest. Then we'll… go for now? We won't disturb you anymore. We'll come again tomorrow."
"Bye-bye! Lumine, you rest well too."
Only Yelan remained. After the others left, she turned to Victor Wang:
"I've always known my ancestors fought calamity beneath The Chasm. Two of them—Boyang and Rongzhao—one disappeared, the other returned mad. 'What exactly happened back then?' That question in my bloodline kept drawing me toward The Chasm.
"When I received my Vision, I decided that extraordinary matters should be entrusted to extraordinary people. I saw Zhiqiong's talent for uncovering secrets, so I worked with her. That's my responsibility.
"And in that space, failing to see through your duplicate—also my responsibility. I shouldn't have blamed you. I spoke too harshly."
Victor Wang shook his head. "No… that was my responsibility. Forget it. It's fine… At least nothing irreversible happened, right?"