Chapter 408: Ch 408 : Set off for Mondstadt
If they wanted to completely eliminate the current version of "Hu Tao," ordinary physical attacks were obviously useless against her soul form...
So now, there was only one viable method left—using Eerie power to destroy her.
Although the Eerie "Qiqi" wasn’t particularly strong, under normal circumstances, a corrupted "Hu Tao" would’ve easily overpowered her without any suspense.
However, Su Yuan had already verified it firsthand: in her current soul state, even with the boost from Eerie power, "Hu Tao" couldn’t unleash much strength.
She stood no chance against Qiqi.
The only thing Su Yuan needed to watch out for was preventing "Hu Tao" from escaping again—using her familiarity with the Border of Life and Death to play cat-and-mouse with them.
That’s why, before entering the Border of Life and Death, Su Yuan had asked Qiqi to place a Command decree on herself—and add a specific clause: to immediately use Eerie power to suppress Hu Tao’s actions.
Even though she was now only a soul, Su Yuan’s instinct told him that the suppressive nature of Eerie power wasn’t limited to just the physical body.
It should also affect spiritual forms.
And once she was restrained, with the massive disparity in Eerie strength between Hu Tao and Qiqi, there was no chance for resistance.
Su Yuan had originally worried: what if "Hu Tao" didn’t show up after they entered the Border of Life and Death?
If that happened, all their efforts would’ve been for nothing.
But surprisingly, as soon as they entered, "Hu Tao" emerged angrily, ranting and raving—and Qiqi immediately unleashed her Eerie power and successfully suppressed her.
Everything was going so smoothly that it didn’t even feel real to Su Yuan.
Maybe it was fate giving him a hand, allowing him to resolve this matter and move on to Mondstadt as soon as possible...
"Qiqi... Zhongli... Baizhu..."
Even while being immobilized by Qiqi’s Eerie power, "Hu Tao" still snarled viciously:
"Qiqi!!! You should’ve died hundreds of years ago. You’ve been living like a half-dead corpse all this time—don’t you feel even a shred of guilt?"
"Zhongli!!! You’re a long-lived god, yet you pretend to be an ordinary man. Surely those fleeting decades of a mortal’s life mean nothing to you, right? A mere blink of an eye?"
"Baizhu!!! You and Changsheng used forbidden methods to revive so many who should’ve died! Their fates were already sealed—you tampered with destiny, upset the balance between life and death! Do you even know how much sin you’ve incurred?"
"And you, Su Yuan!!! You’re just an enabler—don’t act like you’re any better!!"
"You who disrespect life, you who defy death... all of you... will pay the price one day!!"
Watching "Hu Tao" spewing madness, hysterical and deranged, everyone present felt a deep discomfort in their hearts...
This was the terror of Eerie power—it could transform someone as innocent, lively, and mischievous as Hu Tao into this broken, raving shell of her former self.
At that moment, "Qiqi" wrapped her one-handed sword in swirling Eerie power.
Then, she raised it high above her head and brought it down hard—striking directly at Hu Tao’s form.
With that single slash, Qiqi delivered a fatal blow.
Hu Tao’s already-fragile soul body began to dissipate, bit by bit, visibly unraveling before their eyes—until she vanished completely without a trace...
And with that, Qiqi quickly withdrew from her Eerie state and returned to normal.
Hu Tao... had completely disappeared from this world.
Soon after, the young boy Youngtore and Xiangling emerged from within Su Yuan’s body, their spirits returning to the Border of Life and Death once more.
"Su Yuan, Hu Tao’s matter is resolved now..."
Xiangling spoke, her voice tinged with sadness.
"You should set out for Mondstadt. Youngtore and I will stay here—we’ll be fine."
"Big Brother Su Yuan, safe travels!"
Youngtore added cheerfully,
"If you ever have time, come back and visit me, okay?"
"Su Yuan, it’s getting late," Zhongli said as well.
"If you depart now, you should be able to reach Wangshu Inn by dusk."
"Spend the night there, and by tomorrow morning, you’ll arrive in Mondstadt."
Su Yuan nodded.
All good things must come to an end—and now, it was time to leave Liyue.
"When I leave Liyue, please be extra careful regarding the Eerie state Yelan," Su Yuan reminded them.
"Su Yuan, there’s no need to speak like you’re saying your final goodbyes," Zhongli replied calmly.
"There may still be leylines untouched by the Eerie corruption. You could learn from the Traveler and make flexible use of the teleport waypoints."
Su Yuan thought for a moment—Zhongli had a point.
After all, when he traveled from Inazuma to Liyue, he had used a teleport waypoint...
That already proved he could, at least in some cases, use them.
So if that were the case, could he just teleport directly to Wangshu Inn, or even to Mondstadt City?
After leaving the Border of Life and Death, Su Yuan immediately sought out an intact, functional teleport waypoint to test the idea.
But to his surprise, he found himself completely unable to activate it—let alone sense the existence of other waypoints.
"Aww, don’t worry about it, Su Yuan!"
Aether smiled and spoke cheerfully:
"The journey has never just been about reaching the destination. The scenery along the way is part of the experience too."
"Exactly, exactly! Paimon will be your guide, the best in all of Teyvat!"
So, after exchanging simple farewells with the others, Su Yuan, Aether, and Paimon headed north—embarking on their journey toward Mondstadt.
And just as Zhongli had predicted, they reached their midway stop, Wangshu Inn, by dusk.
As Su Yuan looked up at the familiar inn, he couldn’t help but think back on the events that had unfolded here.
He wondered about the innkeeper Huai’an and the proprietress Verr Goldet, who had both gone missing—where could they be now?
But as Su Yuan and Aether stepped into the inn, they were immediately greeted by an unexpected sight: Yanxiao, the chef, holding a steaming dish that looked like it was meant to be served to a guest.
Su Yuan’s gaze was instantly drawn to the plate.
It seemed to be a dish of grilled meat...
But why did the surface of the meat have patterns on it?
Patterns that looked eerily similar to... the Adeptal sigils on Xiao’s arm?
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