"Impossible? Nothing's impossible."
Gu Sanqiu smiled coldly. "Do you think you're superior? That speaking with you requires permission?"
"Who do you think you are, little girl?"
With that, the massive Geo handprint came crashing down, smashing La Signora deeper into the ground.
"And someone of your level dares to criticize Liyue? Are you joking?"
Landing softly, Gu Sanqiu nonchalantly picked at his ear and blew imaginary debris off his finger, his voice dripping with scorn.
"I won't deny your contributions in the Chasm or the beneficial collaboration between Snezhnaya and Liyue. You've done some good for our people."
"But that doesn't give you the right to run your mouth."
His tone turned icy.
"Liyue has stood for thousands of years, protected by the Geo Archon, who has safeguarded its people through countless trials. Do you have any idea what it took to achieve that?"
"Be glad you didn't say this in the middle of Liyue Harbor. If you had, Snezhnaya would be feeding the fish. Next year's seafood haul from Guyun Stone Forest would increase by sixty percent at least."
"No one from Snezhnaya would escape because challenging Liyue's foundation is an unforgivable crime."
Gu Sanqiu raised his right hand, and a Mountain-Shattering Vajra began to take shape, radiating pure elemental power.
Then, as if a switch had flipped, his demeanor softened, his face lighting up with a warm, neighborly smile.
"But I'm a generous person. Since you said it to me, I'll only take eighty or ninety percent of your life. Fair, right?"
"Whether you survive afterward isn't my concern. You're not worth the effort to worry about."
"Mountain-Shattering Vajra!"
Gu Sanqiu swung his arm down, unleashing the Vajra from the air.
Boom!
The ground trembled violently, the area quaking like gelatin, but Gu Sanqiu stood firm, arms crossed, his Geo energy suppressing the shockwaves within the immediate vicinity.
In other words, La Signora absorbed the full brunt of the attack.
"Ha... Haha... A servant of Morax, hidden this deeply..."
La Signora emerged from the crater, her black-and-red robes aflame, her surroundings cloaked in a menacing dark aura.
"Feel the pain... and share it!"
She swung her arm, sending waves of fiery instruments of torture and blazing meteor-like orbs hurtling toward Gu Sanqiu.
"Sorry, but this kind of fun isn't my style."
Gu Sanqiu smirked. "Want to compete with fire? Let's see what you've got!"
Boom!
A surge of dark red flames erupted around Gu Sanqiu, coalescing into a towering humanoid figure with folded arms and curved horns.
The figure slowly turned its head, and every flame aimed at Gu Sanqiu faltered, trembling as if sentient, before retreating into harmless embers.
"The King of Flames, Naldoreth."
Gu Sanqiu's expression turned cold as he charged through La Signora's fiery Delusion-infused onslaught. Seizing her by the head, he barreled toward the nearest rock wall.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Using her as a makeshift battering ram, Gu Sanqiu plowed through solid stone, carving out a narrow tunnel.
"Listen carefully," he growled as he came to a halt. La Signora slumped to the ground, barely conscious.
"Say one more bad word about Liyue, and next time, your fate will be worse than this."
Crouching, he grabbed her by the hair and forced her to look at him.
"Anything else to say, loyal servant of the Tsaritsa?"
"To worship gods... is the mark of weakness," she rasped.
"Oh, is that so? Then it seems this weakling has defeated the great Lady Signora."
Gu Sanqiu straightened up, a dark red gemstone floating behind him, caught in the hand of the fiery humanoid figure.
"Well then, I'll just take your frost from you."
"Without your cryo abilities, let's see if hatred alone can keep you from being consumed by the flames. Good luck seeking vengeance, Rosalyne."
La Signora's eyes widened in shock. "You..."
But before she could say more, the fiery apparition seamlessly absorbed her Delusion's energy, drawing out its purest frost power.
"Ah, so my theory was correct," Gu Sanqiu mused aloud. "A genuine Delusion can absorb life energy to strengthen itself without overly taxing its wielder.
"It stands to reason they should also be able to consume each other."
He chuckled, feeling the Delusion's growing power coursing through him.
"If the power disparity is wide enough, I can absorb across elements like this. Though efficiency is an issue... It'd probably work better within the same element."
Whoosh!
A sharp arrow of water shot forth, striking the fiery apparition and disrupting its absorption of La Signora's power.
"Enough, Sanqiu," Childe said, drawing a ragged breath as he aimed another water arrow at Gu Sanqiu's chest.
"I can fire another, and this time, I'll aim for your heart."
"Oh? I thought relations between you Harbingers were strained. You're protecting her now?"
"I can't just let her die."
His firm declaration left little room for argument. Gu Sanqiu regarded him silently before tossing La Signora's limp form to Childe, who scrambled to catch her.
"Fine, she lives," Gu Sanqiu said, pointing a finger at Childe. "But tell her this: if there's a next time, every citizen of Snezhnaya will become fish food for Guyun Stone Forest."
"I owe you one," Childe replied solemnly.
As Gu Sanqiu walked away, Childe glanced at the barely conscious La Signora and sighed deeply.
"I told you not to provoke him. Even I can't take him on."
"That was... my mistake," she rasped, coughing up searing blood. "I owe you a favor."
"This Gu Clan... If their servant is this strong, how powerful must the rest of them be?"
"We'll need to reevaluate everything: the Gu Clan, the Archon's other servants, even our information on Liyue's gods. All of it needs to be reclassified."
"For now, let's get you healed."
Childe grimaced. Even with the Tsaritsa's secret life-saving measures, her injuries were severe.
"Let's hope Bubu Pharmacy is willing to help. Just pray he hasn't blacklisted Snezhnaya from medical services."
As Childe sped through the forest, his instincts told him Gu Sanqiu had pulled his punches. Even this "light punishment" was overwhelming.
---
"You seemed to enjoy that fight, kid," came a raspy voice.
Turning, Gu Sanqiu saw the Medicine Furnace Elder standing nearby.
"But well done. While Morax is forgiving, no outsider has the right to criticize Liyue's gods."
Gu Sanqiu smiled faintly, but his tone turned serious. "Elder, I wasn't just punishing her—I was saving her."
"Saving her?" The Medicine Furnace Elder raised a skeptical eyebrow.
"That level of injury would take me a week to heal, even with my skills."
Gu Sanqiu's expression remained serene. "Of course, I was saving her. The old man wouldn't care about her words, but I couldn't let her run her mouth unchecked—it's bad optics."
His smile widened. "And besides, now she'll think twice before challenging anyone from Liyue. Isn't that what matters?"
---
T/N: sheeeeeeeeeeesh
...
Huh. You really stuck it out all the way to the end.
Didn't think you had the patience. Guess I was wrong.
WiseTL's the one who actually made all this come together. I'm just here putting a bow on it… or, well, shoving it in a backpack and calling it a day. Same thing.
If you had fun, you know what to do:
👉 [patreon.com/WiseTL]
Heads up—Patreon's 50% off for all tiers during May. So if you were on the fence? Now's the time.
And if you're the social type, there's a Discord too. Pretty decent spot to hang out—no battles required.
👉 [discord.gg/wisetl]
Alright. That's enough standing around. Go on—before you make it weird.
—Leaf