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******
"You..." Before the Abyss Herald could react further, Albedo calmly withdrew his sword with unwavering composure. It seemed as if the blade was still absorbing blood from above.
Xingqiu stood stunned; wasn't Chalk Teacher merely an artist? How could he wield such lethal force?
Several Abyss Heralds then charged towards Albedo, attempting to rescue their unfortunate comrade.
Unfazed by the impending danger, Albedo slowly extended his palm towards the sky. Moments later, a massive stone flower materialized overhead. With a swift motion of his hand, Albedo crushed the incoming Abyss Heralds instantly.
Lin Feng and Xingqiu were taken aback; they hadn't realized Albedo possessed such raw power.
"Done!" Albedo clapped his hands and turned to Lin Feng, speaking calmly.
Xingqiu's admiration for Albedo soared to unprecedented heights. Being both a skilled painter and a formidable warrior made him akin to a quintessential protagonist straight out of a novel!
"Thank you! I'll take Eula for treatment now!" Lin Feng nodded gratefully towards Albedo, wasting no time before carrying Eula back towards Mondstadt.
***
"Miss Barbara, what happened to Eula? Is she alright?" Lin Feng looked at Barbara with concern and asked anxiously.
"Hmm... Nothing serious, don't worry too much!" Barbara smiled reassuringly at Lin Feng.
"Phew... Thank you!" Finally able to breathe a sigh of relief, Lin Feng expressed his gratitude to Barbara.
After administering some herbal remedies, Eula's complexion gradually improved, regaining its healthy glow.
Lin Feng stepped outside the church, muttering under his breath, "Abyss Heralds, huh! The Abyss, I see!"
He clenched his fists tightly, feeling a strong urge to give Aether a sound beating, but alas, his strength fell short. Nevertheless, the deaths of those Abyss Heralds did bring him some satisfaction.
Despite this, Lin Feng still set up a bounty on his phone:
"Bounty for eliminating any member of the Abyss Order - One Million Mora!"
***
After a strenuous effort, Lumine and Paimon finally finished cleaning Madame Ping's Serenitea Pot, earning themselves the coveted Cleansing Bell as their reward.
On their way to find Zhongli, Paimon took out her phone and noticed something new.
"Hey, Traveler! There's a one-million Mora bounty for killing an Abyss Herald!" Paimon exclaimed excitedly, eyes fixed on the zeros at the end of the reward amount.
"Oh, so Paimon wants to make money now?" Lumine teased with a smile, looking at Paimon.
"No way! But think about it, Traveler, those Abyss Heralds are all villains anyway. If we could take down just one, we'd get a million Mora!" Paimon shook her head and cheerfully explained to Lumine.
"A million Mora... Just imagine how many Sweet Madame chickens we could buy! It makes my mouth water!" Paimon started counting on her fingers, nearly drooling at the thought.
"Paimon, always thinking about food..." Lumine crossed her arms, exuding a helpless expression.
Paimon scratched her head sheepishly, grinning. "Eating is the most important thing; you can't survive without food!"
"One day, I might just eat you instead..."
"Zhongli, what's wrong?"
***
"Zhongli, what's going on?" Paimon couldn't help but shout loudly over the wailing sounds of a clarinet coming from Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
Lumine quickly followed suit; if Zhongli were gone, her plans to find the Geo Archon would be dashed.
"Venti, why are you here?" Paimon asked, puzzled at seeing Venti playing the clarinet.
"Eh hehe, it's you two!" Venti blinked and grinned at them cheerfully.
From his reclined chair, Zhongli slowly opened his eyes. It was truly baffling how he managed to remain composed and meditate amidst this commotion.
"Venti, since you know the Geo Archon, could we see that thing—the Yanwang Emperor's..." Paimon scratched her head, struggling to remember the term.
"The Exuvia!" Lumine looked at Paimon, slightly speechless but still provided the word.
"Yes, yes, exactly that!" Paimon nodded, turning to Venti for clarification.
"The Exuvia? But aren't you looking for Rex Lapis himself? Isn't he just—" Before Venti could finish, Zhongli interrupted with a cough.
"Cough, cough. According to universal reason, aside from the Seven Stars and those involved in the Rite of Parting, no one can approach the Exuvia!" Zhongli explained mildly after clearing his throat.
"Hmph!" Paimon placed her hands on her hips, unconvinced. She knew Zhongli couldn't possibly understand; after all, Venti is Mondstadt's Anemo Archon—surely there must be a way!
"Uh...that, let's discuss this over here!" Venti, feeling slightly exasperated, glanced at Paimon with a smile.
Zhongli gave him a mild look and said no more, hoping that Venti would take the hint. His retirement had just begun, and he didn't wish to be disturbed.
"Well...never mind, I'll tell you both right now!" After hesitating briefly, Venti continued with a grin. "I've met Rex Lapis on several occasions; what a fine person he was. How could he just disappear like that!"
Venti then picked up his suona and began playing a heart-wrenching melody.
"Sigh, our old friend is gone. I truly hope that assassin will..." He sighed again, unleashing a barrage of vicious curses.
As Zhongli sipped his tea, he nearly choked. Could you at least improve your indirect insults?
"Erm, so even you can't help?" Paimon sounded disheartened as she turned to Zhongli. "Zhongli, we borrowed the Cleansing Bell. Can we approach the Exuvia now?"
"There's one final step." Zhongli shook his head, speaking calmly.
"Oh...there's still more?" Paimon crossed her arms, clearly growing impatient.
"All right, let's hurry then!" Lumine nodded towards Zhongli, preferring not to complain. They'd overcome numerous tasks already, and this seemed manageable.
***
"Welcome to Yanfei's live stream—this is Liyue Law 101," Yanfei waved at her phone with a smile.
"Yanfei, lawyer extraordinaire, I'd like to ask: If Baizhu cured my mental disability, does that count as depriving me of my rights as a disabled person?"
"Yanfei, here's my question: While tomb raiding, I found funeral money produced by Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. Does this count as counterfeiting, and can we sue them for it?"
"Yanfei, Tianquan Star Ningguang is constructing buildings in midair—isn't that considered illegal construction? Can they be demolished?"
"Over here, over here, Yanfei! Regarding Qiqi being kidnapped, would that constitute a crime? She's a little zombie; do human protection laws not apply to her? Heh heh!"
"And one more thing: When Baizhu had Qiqi gather herbs, was that considered corpse manipulation? As a zombie, isn't she unlawfully occupying societal resources...?"
Hu Tao held up her phone, grinning wildly while bombarding Yanfei with questions about Qiqi.