"You're here."
"I'm here."
"You shouldn't have come."
"But I came anyway."
Xiao's face darkened, and he said nothing more. His hands moved faster as he dealt with the monsters. As the youngest of the adepti, Xiao didn't want Su Bai to have too much contact with these creatures corrupted by karmic debt.
"Stay back. If you get contaminated by the karmic debt, it'll be trouble."
Out of protection for Su Bai, Xiao never let him get too close to monsters tainted by karmic debt. When Su Bai was young, Xiao had even deliberately kept his distance, worried that his own karmic debt might affect the child's development.
Taking the hint, Su Bai could only watch quietly from afar as Xiao cleared out the monsters, occasionally helping by triggering a Swirl reaction with his Electro energy.
Watching the black karmic debt continuously flow into Xiao's body, Su Bai felt not only heartache but also helplessness. He still didn't have the ability to solve the karmic debt problem. Keeping Xiao conscious was already his limit.
"Brother Xiao has persisted in such painful work for thousands of years. Truly admirable."
Su Bai sighed. Cloud Retainer had once explained in detail the dangers of karmic debt and the pain of absorbing it. If an adeptus absorbed too much, they risked losing control. Since Su Bai had always lived in Liyue Harbor, if he lost control, it would be a disaster. So he was strictly forbidden from getting near karmic debt.
As all the karmic debt was absorbed into Xiao's body, the land returned to its usual calm. Though the process was painful, Xiao had long since adapted after a thousand years.
Xiao stretched slightly to ensure no karmic debt remained exposed. Only then did Primordial Jade Winged Spear vanish from his hand in a shimmer of light, and Su Bai was allowed to approach.
"Speak. Why did you come looking for me?"
"If you've offended some adeptus, staying with me for a few days isn't out of the question."
A hint of affection flickered in Xiao's eyes. As one of the strongest among the adepti, if Su Bai hid out in his territory, the other immortals wouldn't drag him away for a scolding.
"Well, I haven't offended any of the elders. Brother Xiao, do you know what's been going on with the three at Jueyun Karst? I noticed Cloud Retainer and Mountain Shaper both seemed injured."
Xiao instinctively rubbed his eye at Su Bai's question. Of course he knew. Azhdaha had vividly demonstrated the principle that raw strength trumps all, chasing a group of them around. Even Xiao, whose skills were among the best, had taken two hits. But could he tell Su Bai that? It was too embarrassing.
What bothered Xiao even more was that when other adepti took human form, their injuries were on arms or legs. His ended up around his eyes. Back when Rex Lapis led them against Azhdaha, he hadn't done anything sneaky like ambushing the dragon.
"Brother Xiao? Brother Xiao? What are you thinking about?"
"Ah, I'm here."
Su Bai's call pulled Xiao from his memories. Seeing Su Bai so close, Xiao stepped back a few paces. He didn't want Su Bai to notice anything amiss.
Su Bai was puzzled by Xiao's reluctance to let him approach. Brother Xiao's dark circles were so heavy. Had he been losing sleep over something these past few days?
"I don't know what happened between those three adepti. If there's nothing else, I'll continue clearing out monsters."
Xiao shook his head, deciding to keep the matter hidden. After all, getting beaten up wasn't exactly glorious. Su Bai didn't need to know the details. Seeing Xiao about to leave, Su Bai felt something was off but still called out to stop him.
"Hey, hey, Brother Xiao, don't go! Besides asking you about that, I actually came to ask for your help."
"Hmm?"
Xiao paused. He looked at Su Bai with confusion. Ask him for help? Other than his martial prowess, he wasn't particularly skilled in other adeptal arts. What could he possibly help Su Bai with? Had someone bullied Su Bai?
Xiao's face darkened. Someone had bullied Su Bai, the one all the Liyue adepti doted on? Unacceptable.
"Let's go. Take me there."
"Huh?"
Seeing Xiao's expression turn sour, Su Bai was completely bewildered. What was going on? Had he said something wrong? Why had Brother Xiao reacted like this? All he wanted was for Xiao to teach him how to control Anemo energy. Why did Xiao look so furious? Su Bai hesitated before speaking.
"Brother Xiao, where are we going?"
"To find whoever bullied you. I'll show them the consequences of disrespecting an adeptus."
Primordial Jade Winged Spear materialized instantly. The overwhelming aura pressed the surrounding grass flat. Anemo energy radiated from Xiao's body, transforming into sharp blades of wind. Clearly, Xiao was genuinely angry.
"No, no, that's not it, Brother Xiao. No one bullied me."
"Hmm? Did some monster hurt you? Let's go. I'll help you get revenge."
"No, no, what are you talking about? I just wanted to learn how to control Anemo energy from you."
Xiao's fierce aura faltered. His eyes widened in disbelief. What? He came all this way just to learn Anemo control? He had thought Su Bai was in some kind of trouble.
"I'm not very skilled at controlling Anemo myself. You should ask Cloud Retainer. Her mastery and application of Anemo far surpass mine."
Xiao wasn't refusing to teach or being modest. He was telling the truth. His use of Anemo was mostly integrated into his combat techniques to enhance their damage.
When it came to comprehensive Anemo application, Cloud Retainer was indeed much better. And her personality made her well-suited to teaching—she would be the best choice to instruct Su Bai.
"Well, Cloud Retainer is a bit busy lately. She doesn't have time to teach me. Brother Xiao, you teach me instead. I believe in you."
Though listening to Cloud Retainer tell embarrassing stories about Ganyu and Shenhe's childhood was entertaining, if she taught him Anemo control, any awkward moments during his learning would definitely be recorded. Then Ganyu and Shenhe would both find out. Su Bai did not want to experience that kind of public shame again.
"Very well, since Cloud Retainer is occupied these days, I'll teach you. So, Su Bai, would you like to learn quickly or slowly?"
"Quickly, of course! I knew Brother Xiao would have a way."