"Kid, how's your scarecrow practice coming along?"
On the streets of Chihu Rock, Yu Jin and Dugu Shuo were "sparring" with tree branches.
Upon hearing this, Dugu Shuo dropped the wooden stick in his hand, leaned closer to Yu Jin, and whispered, "Brother Yu Jin, are you an Adeptus?"
"Why do you think that?" Yu Jin also tossed his wooden stick into the nearby green belt and clapped the dust from his hands.
"Shouldn't the Adepti here all be ethereal and detached from the mortal world? Would they wander around like me, and even come to guide you from time to time?"
Yu Jin poked Dugu Shuo's forehead. This kid, he doesn't want to be a great hero anymore, he wants to be an Adeptus?
"No. Although Brother Yu Jin, you don't look like an Adeptus, those scarecrows you made can move! Even a Vision can't do that!"
Dugu Shuo's eyes still shone as he looked at Yu Jin. Those five scarecrows carrying him home almost scared him to death.
Fortunately, his parents were very busy and didn't see their son being carried home by scarecrows, otherwise, who knows what big trouble might have arisen.
"What's so strange about scarecrows moving? Instead of worrying about that, why don't you think about how to break those scarecrows."
"As long as you break all the scarecrows, you can collect all the cuneiform fragments and turn your small dagger into a real weapon!"
Yu Jin said, even waving his fist in encouragement.
"Really?!" Dugu Shuo looked incredulous. Although he didn't know what cuneiform fragments were, that wasn't important. What was important was that as long as he broke the scarecrows, he could have his own weapon!
"Absolutely true. When you can really break those scarecrows, it means your control over your body has reached a certain level, and you can have a weapon." Yu Jin nodded.
"Goodbye, Brother Yu Jin! I'm going to break scarecrows now!" Upon hearing this, Dugu Shuo immediately ran home like a flash.
His path to becoming a great hero could finally take a brand new step!
"Hasty hands burn the soup!" Yu Jin shook his head, successfully using a new proverb he learned in Liyue.
And he thought he used it quite well.
After Dugu Shuo left, Chihu Rock became completely quiet. But the quietness of Chihu Rock itself was very abnormal!
"Something's wrong!" Yu Jin looked at the sparsely populated street, with only two or three people, and stroked his chin.
He had seen the original bustling scene of Chihu Rock. Such desolation, in the past, could only be seen late at night.
So Yu Jin was eager to see what exactly happened in Liyue.
Thus, he jumped onto a rooftop, after all, the higher one stands, the farther one can see.
Looking out over the entire city from the attic of Chihu Rock, Yu Jin saw nothing—the buildings in Chihu Rock were too short to offer much of a view.
However, although the view below was not expansive, the view above was unobstructed.
Yu Jin looked up and discovered a figure standing on a large flower of the Northland Bank… "This thing…" Xiao looked at the fleshy red flower beneath his feet, instinctively feeling a sense of disgust.
Why was the color of this flower so close to flesh and blood? Could it be that Liyue's style had become so bizarre after so many years of not seeing it?
Xiao looked around, not seeing any more large flowers, so it seemed this was just an isolated case.
He squatted down and touched the somewhat eerie large flower with his hand. Its texture was like stone yet not stone, like gold yet not gold; in short, it was very peculiar.
Seeing this, Xiao no longer hesitated. A long jade-green spear appeared in his hand, followed by a powerful thrust.
"Om—"
"This thing is so tough?!" Xiao looked at the rebounding spear, and at the same time felt the recoil force from his arm, he couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
Although he had only used three or four tenths of his full strength, that was enough to cut through metal, yet it only left a white mark on this large flower.
"Brother, that big arm tattoo looks good, where did you get it?" A curious voice came from behind Xiao, instantly making his hair stand on end.
He hadn't even noticed someone approaching from behind!
"Who are you?!" Xiao suddenly stood up and turned around, instantly putting distance between himself and Yu Jin.
He stared intently at this strange fellow, not daring to relax even a bit. To be approached so easily, he who was born only for battle, was something Xiao had never experienced before.
"Why so agitated? Yu Jin." Yu Jin looked at Xiao, who was like a startled bird, and reached out to grasp the spear tip, pushing it down.
"Xiao." Seeing Yu Jin's action, Xiao knew the person meant no harm, and while letting go of his weapon, he uttered a single word.
"You seem a bit overly vigilant." Yu Jin raised an eyebrow, speaking to Xiao, whose muscles were still tensed.
"It's just my nature. Goodbye." Xiao glanced at Yu Jin, then wanted to leave.
As a Yaksha, he was burdened by karma. Although this fellow in front of him was powerful and mysterious, Xiao was still worried that he would be entangled by resentment.
The power of the remnants of a god was something even he, an Adeptus, could not withstand, let alone ordinary people.
Unfortunately, Yu Jin was not an ordinary person.
Xiao's figure transformed into a dark cyan mist, adhering to space and rapidly traversing. This technique, almost akin to space-time travel, was what he relied on to purge the lingering resentment of the God throughout Liyue.
However, this time, he had only just begun to traverse when he encountered enormous resistance. For some reason, the space here was countless times more solidified than before; traversing through it was as difficult as digging through rock.
"Why are you leaving so fast? This is my first time truly seeing an Adeptus, let's chat!"
Yu Jin looked at the Sky in the distance, and with a grab of his hand, green smoke began to emerge from the seemingly empty Sky in the distance—Xiao was pulled out by him.
Looking at his re-emerged form, Xiao was silent for the first time. Although he wasn't very eloquent before either.
"You are very strong, but it's better if we don't interact." Xiao was silent for a while, then slowly said to Yu Jin.
"Why?" Yu Jin remained persistent.
"I am a Yaksha. Though an Adeptus, I preside over slaughter. Seeking blessings, wealth, or the path of the Adepti, you will find no use in me."
Xiao turned his face away, looking expressionlessly at the towering buildings below.
"Preside over slaughter?" Yu Jin raised an eyebrow, sizing up Xiao, "No wonder your aura is a bit similar to mine from before."
"Similar to you?" Xiao rarely chuckled a few times, as if Yu Jin had said something boastful.
He looked at Yu Jin, dressed strangely, with a restrained aura. At most, he was a master hidden in the bustling city, with no hint of the murderous aura of someone who had experienced prolonged slaughter.
In fact, Xiao even felt that this fellow named Yu Jin was rather frivolous, somewhat similar to the Anemo God he had met before.
"Deep in slaughter, entangled by karma—this is a misfortune that even an Adeptus Yaksha cannot bear. Although your strength is formidable, you may not have experienced the kind of battles I have. It's not good to speak so boastfully."
Xiao shook his head. It was the first time he had heard someone say he was somewhat similar to a Yaksha. Although surprised, he didn't quite believe it, taking it as Yu Jin trying to get close.
As he said, endless slaughter would eventually lead to disappearing within the slaughter.
Xiao raised his hand and looked at his palm. It was very clean, but Xiao knew how much blood had stained this palm.
Of the five Yakshas who originally quelled demons, four were now gone, and Xiao himself felt that his days were numbered.
"Hehe, kid, you're not tall, but your Vision shouldn't be as short as your stature." Yu Jin looked down at Xiao. One look and you could tell he hadn't eaten well; if it weren't for his sturdy arms, you'd think he was malnourished!
"My height is just like this. And, that was advice, not looking down on you." Xiao crossed his arms. Towards a strong person like Yu Jin, Xiao still maintained basic respect.
If it were an ordinary person, he would have turned and left; would he still be here chatting with Yu Jin?
"Tsk tsk tsk, I told you, you're very similar to me, but, it's similar to the old me."
Yu Jin reached out and touched Xiao's head.
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