"Ahem. Might I ask you to grant me a bit of leniency, sir?"
Seeing that the situation was about to turn lethal again, Zhongli couldn't help but speak up once more, trying to protect them.
"That's fine."
Just as it seemed the group might be swallowed by the swarm at any moment, Su Ran casually changed his tune, leaving them a narrow path to survival.
"But Ningguang is currently working for me. She's my person now.
After you return to Liyue, I hope Mr. Zhongli can offer her some… convenience.
Preferably while you're still the Geo Archon."
He had only been gone for a short while, yet one of the Liyue Qixing had already been taken under Su Ran's banner.
Zhongli didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
But reality was harsh.
His position at the moment left him no room to refuse.
With a terrifying enemy hovering overhead, this wasn't a negotiation—it was coercion by force.
Having lived for countless years, this was the first time Zhongli had ever been compelled to submit under threat of violence.
A rare sight indeed.
"This matter was our fault to begin with.
Offering compensation is only reasonable."
Zhongli agreed.
Helping Ningguang in the future?
Granting her a bit of convenience while he was still the Geo Archon?
That was hardly a loss.
He was planning to retire anyway.
If not for all these complications, he would've stepped down long ago.
Sooner or later, Liyue would have to stand on its own.
At that point, it would no longer concern him.
So agreeing to Su Ran's terms was, in truth, painless.
The contrast was obvious.
The Geo Archon of Liyue dared to clash head-on with the Raiden Shogun yet when facing Su Ran, he could only retreat again and again.
The gap was unmistakable.
And it etched Su Ran's danger deeply into everyone's minds.
At the very least, Yelan silently added a note to her mental records:
The Fatui Harbinger "Genius" is unfathomably deep.
If conflict arises, yield at every step.
Remember: even the Geo Archon cannot oppose him.
Ei watched as the group narrowly escaped death.
Her displeasure was written plainly on her face.
But since this was Su Ran's decision, there was nothing she could do.
She could only glare at them with killing intent— staring at those death-row inmates who had been inexplicably pardoned.
In her hands, none of them would have seen tomorrow's sun.
She hated Morax more and more by the second.
Zhongli noticed the hostility in her eyes.
But even he was powerless to change it.
As one of the culprits who had destroyed the dream, he knew full well that he bore responsibility.
There would likely be no future interactions between them.
So he took out a small vial, intending it as a token of apology.
"This is a Heart-Calming Pill I've preserved for many years.
It's quite effective in nourishing the spirit.
If you don't mind, Shogun, please accept it."
It had originally been prepared for Raiden Makoto.
Zhongli knew she had returned— but given their opposing positions, he hadn't dared to meet her in person.
Even now, everything already settled, he still hadn't seen her.
So he could only entrust the gift to Ei, as a belated congratulation to a fellow Archon's return.
"Hmph. No need. I have no use for such a thing."
Ei rejected the offering outright.
Morax had already been firmly written into her mental blacklist— the never forgiven category.
Besides, if she wanted something better, she could just ask Su Ran.
Why would she need Morax's consolation?
Zhongli didn't dwell on her refusal.
He glanced instead at the swarm filling the sky.
"Then… may I take my people back to Liyue?"
In his perception, even the newly spawned insects possessed terrifying strength.
They might not rival demon gods, but they were still deadly.
A demon god might escape if faced with them— anyone below that level would simply die.
"Go, go. Nobody's stopping you."
Since Su Ran had already let them off, Ei wanted nothing more than to see these people gone.
She hated them— but provoking Su Ran for Morax's sake simply wasn't worth it.
Golden light wrapped around Beidou and Yelan.
Zhongli departed with them, leaving Narukami Shrine.
Across Inazuma, threads of golden light rose into the air, following Zhongli back to Liyue.
They were all Liyue citizens who had entered Inazuma and ended up trapped here.
Over a hundred of them.
It was great enough, no prohibition could truly stop people.
Ei could only regret that she hadn't re-established the thunder barriers after awakening—
otherwise these trespassers would never have entered her land and drawn Morax here in the first place.
"Hey! Why didn't you take us with you!?"
Paimon stretched her hand toward Zhongli's departing figure.
Inazuma was terrifying right now!
Why were she and Lumine staying behind?
Waiting for Lumine to be cemented into a statue?
Lumine nodded vigorously.
She hadn't even gotten on the ride yet!
Kokomi forced a bitter smile.
She hadn't been taken either.
Among those present, Yelan and Beidou were practically nobodies— Ei didn't even recognize them.
But Kokomi and Lumine?
One was the strategist who had openly declared she would destroy the dream.
The other was a frontline fighter who had personally obstructed the Raiden Shogun.
The two people Ei hated the most—
left behind.
How could Kokomi possibly smile sincerely?
At this moment, Ei was still in Su Ran's hands.
Lumine knew she couldn't just cling to Su Ran for protection.
So she turned— and grabbed Yae Miko's leg instead.
"Lady Guuji! I've helped you! I've bled for you!
You can't just watch me get built into a statue by the Raiden Shogun!"
Paimon instantly understood and latched onto Yae Miko's other leg.
Ei looked at Yae Miko in surprise.
She hadn't expected this matter to involve her as well.
Yae Miko smiled sweetly on the outside—
While cursing furiously on the inside.
She'd originally planned to protect these two little troublemakers.
But now?
Looks like the fire had spread straight to her.
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