At Wangshu Inn in Liyue Harbor, Li Mo slowly recounted the experiences of his fifth life.
In that life, he had been reincarnated as a young child. Orphaned at a young age, he had grown up as a street urchin in Liyue, without a single friend.
It was little Shenhe's appearance that brought him a touch of warmth, a bit of joy. Doing commissions together, washing dishes together at Wanmin Restaurant, brewing tea together for the leisurely bird-keeper at the teahouse, and searching for Ganyu together in the haystacks on Tianheng Mountain.
So he had always cherished little Shenhe as his closest companion, wanting to protect her with his own strength. Even if the enemy before him was a monster, Li Mo would risk his life to kill it and protect Shenhe.
Now, in the projections above the inn, the Electro-formed images began to move again as Li Mo spoke.
Little Li Mo had appeared, interrupting the monster's attack on Shenhe. Not only that, he had picked up Shenhe's exorcism dagger and was fighting the monster with all his might, protecting the unconscious Shenhe.
Though little Li Mo was born with extraordinary strength, a natural prodigy for martial arts, he was still just a child. No one had taught him any martial skills. He could only rely on raw strength to fight the monster.
But he had to fight the monster and protect the unconscious Shenhe at the same time, preventing the monster from attacking her.
Under these circumstances, the monster easily dodged every one of Li Mo's attacks. Worse, the monster quickly discovered Li Mo's weakness: the unconscious Shenhe lying on the ground.
So it stopped attacking Li Mo and turned its claws and fangs toward Shenhe, attacking her with all its strength.
Li Mo had anticipated this and was ready to protect Shenhe. But the monster's sudden burst of speed exceeded his expectations.
He could only throw himself in front of Shenhe, using his body and arms to shield her from the monster's claws and fangs.
With a crash, the monster's claws struck Li Mo's arm. Blood splattered. One of Li Mo's arms was severed cleanly.
The searing pain made him collapse, clutching the wound with all his might. But he was neither a healer nor could he use elemental power. He could not stop the bleeding.
Gritting his teeth, he tore off a strip of his sleeve with his other arm and wrapped it around the severed stump. He pulled it tight, using crude physical means to stop the blood.
Drenched in sweat, he nearly blacked out. But then, the blood splattered from his wound landed on the monster, making it even more excited.
"Delicious blood. Become part of me."
The monster showed no mercy because its opponent was a child, nor did it give him a moment's respite after he was wounded. On the contrary, seeing Li Mo's severed arm, it pressed its attack even more fiercely, forcing Li Mo to protect Shenhe.
With no room to dodge, forced to shield the unconscious Shenhe, Li Mo was wide open. The monster exploited his openings again and again.
Its long claws struck him repeatedly. Its sharp fangs nearly pierced his chest. More and more wounds accumulated on Li Mo's body.
Though he was born with extraordinary strength, a prodigy in combat, and a genius at martial arts, under these unfair circumstances, he could only take the blows, accumulating injury after injury.
At this rate, not even a Vision wielder, not even one of the Qixing, could have done better.
Li Mo looked down at Shenhe, unconscious on the ground, barely showing any signs of life. Then he looked up at the fierce monster before him. As if making a decision, he clenched his teeth and gripped the dagger tightly.
The next moment, when the monster charged again, Li Mo did not defend. He held the exorcism dagger and charged straight at the monster.
Facing the monster's extended claws and bared fangs, little Li Mo did not slow down. With a crash, he collided head-on with the monster.
The monster's long claws struck his severed shoulder, destroying it completely. Blood splattered, staining the walls.
His shoulder destroyed, Li Mo was flung dozens of meters by the impact, crashing heavily against the wall.
He had suffered fatal injuries. An ordinary person would have died long ago. But Li Mo kept his eyes open, refusing to close them.
He looked at the monster and smiled—a grim, determined smile.
Seeing this, the monster threw back its head and laughed. "What does your stubbornness matter? You are sacrifices. Fodder. Offerings."
It had taken so much effort to defeat two children. Just as it was about to devour them, its smile suddenly vanished, replaced by pain.
With a wet sound, it spat a mouthful of black substance onto the cave wall. The monster looked down at its chest with difficulty.
There, buried deep in its heart, was the exorcism dagger—the bane of all monsters.
Even the arrogant, terrifying monster widened its eyes in disbelief.
What had happened? It had defeated the children. It could devour them and regain its former power, becoming the ruler of this land again.
But how? How had two children managed to kill it?
Under the monster's disbelieving gaze, a faint, holy light began to emanate from the dagger. Then, countless rays of holy light burst forth from within it.