Seeing Xiao like this, Yi Chen was momentarily stunned.
"Hey, immortal bro… don't cry, okay?
I mean—this is a bit much, isn't it? You're way too emotional."
Xiao's lips moved slightly, as if he wanted to refute the claim that he was crying.
But before he could speak, what happened next nearly made his already-strained heartbeat slam violently.
Yi Chen raised his right hand, fingers together like a blade, and without blinking, slashed cleanly across the artery on his left wrist.
"You—!"
Xiao's pupils shrank violently. Instinctively, he stepped forward to stop him—
only to be casually blocked by Yi Chen's other hand.
Dark red blood surged out instantly, but under the moonlight it glowed with an unusual golden-crimson hue, brimming with overwhelming vitality.
The pure, auspicious aura instantly drowned out the chill of the night dew over Dihua Marsh.
"If you're gonna get emotional, at least wait until I finish dealing with the junk on your body first."
As Yi Chen spoke, the blood didn't drip to the ground.
Instead, it seemed to gain a will of its own—
transforming into countless fine, radiant golden-red threads, like warm, conscious tendrils or a reverse-flowing rainbow rain, surging directly toward Xiao.
Xiao instinctively tried to resist.
The karmic debt reacted violently, shrieking and boiling as it sensed a mortal threat.
But the aura within that blood was pure, gentle, and utterly free of malice—
a vast, benevolent force that wrapped around him softly yet irresistibly.
A sensation beyond words swept through Xiao.
It wasn't pain.
It was more like…
having an unimaginably heavy shackle forcibly torn away.
Millennia of accumulated karmic filth met that warm golden-red light like snow under the sun—
silently screaming as it was forced out, purified, and erased bit by bit.
What felt like several hours passed in an instant.
When the final strand of golden blood fused back into Xiao's body and the cleansing ended, the light slowly faded.
Xiao stood there, breathing lightly, fine sweat forming on his brow.
He clenched his fist instinctively.
His body felt light.
The deepest karmic roots were still there—
such ancient corruption could not be erased in a single act.
But it was as if his body and soul had undergone a complete system reset.
The suffocating weight that had pressed on him for centuries was temporarily gone.
For the first time in over a thousand years—
Xiao felt clean.
He looked up at Yi Chen, whose face had already returned to a healthy color.
Shock, gratitude, and an even deeper guilt surged violently in Xiao's eyes.
"This grace…
Xiao will remember it for all eternity."
"From this day forth, within Liyue—
if you have need of anything, call my name: Xiao. I will come."
He paused, then added solemnly:
"…But never harm yourself like this again.
Your blood is… extremely precious."
More precious, in Xiao's eyes, than his own life.
Yi Chen, however, clearly didn't listen to that part.
He waved his hand carelessly. The gruesome wound had already healed, leaving only a faint pink mark that quickly vanished.
"It's fine, really. No big deal.
Honestly, before coming to Liyue I crammed a bunch of local legends. I know your story.
You're a good guy. A great one. You've been guarding this place for so long—must've been exhausting.
So this bit of blood? Think of it as…
uh… me buying you a drink? A welcome gift?"
He spoke so casually, as if he'd handed over a bottle of apple cider rather than divine blood.
Xiao was left speechless.
That warmth and ache in his chest threatened to surge back again.
Seeing Xiao's expression starting to go that direction, Yi Chen immediately decided this was his cue to run.
"Alright alright! It's almost morning anyway—I gotta head back and sleep.
If Kaeya finds out I snuck out at night, he'll never shut up about it.
See you around, immortal bro!"
Before the words even finished, Yi Chen was already gone—
vanishing into the fading moonlight with shocking speed, nothing like someone who'd just lost "a lot" of blood.
Xiao reached out unconsciously…
and grasped nothing but a cool night breeze carrying Yi Chen's lingering presence.
He stood there for a long time, feeling the unprecedented lightness in his body, emotions tangled beyond words.
Then—
Space rippled softly, like water disturbed.
A calm, mountain-steady figure appeared beside him.
Brown robes brushed dew-covered reeds. Golden eyes gazed toward the direction Yi Chen had disappeared.
Xiao startled and immediately bowed respectfully.
Zhongli slowly withdrew his gaze and looked at Xiao, instantly sensing the abnormal change in his aura.
The karmic debt remained—but it had clearly been washed and suppressed at a foundational level.
"This much pure, auspicious energy… capable of cleansing millennia of karma.
Xiao—
who was that young man?"
Xiao nodded slightly.
"That child…
He carries an extremely pure Kirin bloodline."
He hesitated, then chose words aligned with his understanding.
"He knows little of his origins. When asked of his parents, he only said they are 'in another world'.
Likely the orphan of a Kirin who wandered to Mondstadt…
raised alone, which may explain his… unrestrained personality."
He paused, recalling Yi Chen slicing his artery like cutting fruit.
"…But his heart is unquestionably good."
Zhongli stood silently.
At the words Kirin orphan and another world, something ancient flickered in his eyes—
a hairline crack of sorrow etched by millennia.
Yet his gaze soon sharpened.
"This 'welcome gift'… was far too heavy."
He looked toward Mondstadt's delegation quarters.
"It seems this young friend from Mondstadt carries a story far deeper than we currently know."
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