Looking at the "Hu Tao" emanating eerie power, Su Yuan couldn't help but feel a bit emotional…
Hu Tao had been corrupted and controlled by the eerie power while she was still alive—yet even after death, she still fell victim to the same fate…
However, there was one thing Su Yuan couldn't quite figure out: if "Hu Tao" had already been corrupted by the eerie power a long time ago, and her goal was to gain control of his body to do something evil, then why wait until now?
Why not take action earlier, when the timing might have been better?
"Since you were able to enter the boundary between life and death without my help,"
"Hu Tao" looked at Su Yuan and slowly spoke,
"Then naturally, you can also leave without my help…"
"Su Yuan, I have no interest in you. You're free to leave…"
"But the three souls inside your body—no, if Tartaglia is no longer with you, then it's two—they must stay here!!"
"When someone dies, they're dead. How can they continue to exist in this kind of gray area between life and death??"
"A place like this… it's a sign of disrespect toward death!!!"
"Those souls who refuse to move on are defiling death!!!"
"If they won't leave willingly, then I'll gladly send them on their way!!!"
Hearing those words, Su Yuan suddenly understood everything…
The reason "Hu Tao" chose to stay here alone earlier was to hunt down and eliminate the souls lingering in the boundary between life and death…
In her eyes, perhaps death was absolute—once someone dies, that should be the end.
Existing in a half-dead, half-living state was nothing but disrespect toward death.
That might be the reason why "Hu Tao" fell into eerie state once again…
But then, Su Yuan quickly realized something:
"Hu Tao" herself was also in a soul state—a state of being dead, but not completely gone.
So now, the question was…
How does she view herself?
So, Su Yuan looked at Hu Tao and asked:
"Hu Tao, if you think the souls lingering here don't deserve to exist in this world…"
"Then how are you any different from them?"
"As the Director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, if you want others to respect life and death, shouldn't you also lead by example?"
"But of course…"
Facing Su Yuan's question, "Hu Tao" nodded and replied:
"Once I've dealt with all the souls that shouldn't be here, I'll naturally end myself as well. That's nothing for you to worry about!!!"
"Enough talk—hand over the two souls inside your body, now!!!"
"Sorry, but they're my companions now. I won't betray them!" Su Yuan declared righteously.
"In that case, don't blame me for being ruthless!!!"
As "Hu Tao" spoke, a surge of eerie power burst from her body and surged toward Su Yuan!
Although, according to the intel, this version of "Hu Tao" didn't have a physical form and—even though she was corrupted by eerie power—shouldn't be capable of unleashing any overwhelming force…
Su Yuan still stayed on guard, fully prepared for combat…
But what happened next caught him completely off guard.
Even though Su Yuan could feel that "Hu Tao" was using all her strength, trying to control his body with eerie power…
His body only felt slightly heavier—there wasn't even the slightest sense of being suppressed.
The next moment, "Hu Tao" formed a butterfly-flame spear with eerie power and hurled it straight at Su Yuan's chest!
But when it hit him, Su Yuan only felt a slight sting—his skin wasn't even broken…
The whole situation honestly caught Su Yuan by surprise…
This eerie-possessed, soul-state "Hu Tao" seemed… unbelievably weak.
He had never faced such a weak eerie before…
"Damn it… damn it!!!"
At that moment, "Hu Tao" seemed to grow frantic and agitated, shouting furiously:
"You're only acting high and mighty because you still have a physical body! Bullying me like this!!!"
Watching this unfold, Su Yuan thought to himself—although most of an eerie's power comes from negative emotions…
Without a proper body as a vessel to channel that power, it seems they're unable to unleash any true strength…
That probably explains why killing someone who's been corrupted by eerie power causes the eerie presence to vanish on its own…
Seeing that she couldn't overpower Su Yuan, "Hu Tao" no longer bothered to fight.
She swiftly slipped away and disappeared, and Su Yuan didn't hesitate at all—he immediately gave chase…
But this was, after all, the boundary between life and death—familiar ground for "Hu Tao," her home turf.
After several twists and turns, Su Yuan quickly lost track of her and couldn't figure out where she had gone…
"Big Brother Su Yuan, we should leave this place for now…"
The young boy, Youngtore, spoke up:
"Even though Big Sister Hu Tao has been corrupted by eerie power, she's still in soul form, which means she can't leave the boundary between life and death at will—she's not really a threat…"
"Is that really the case?" Su Yuan asked, somewhat skeptical.
"Then how did you leave the boundary and come find me?"
"Even if Hu Tao is weak now, that's only because she has no body…"
"If she ever escapes the boundary and takes control of someone's body, she might be able to unleash terrifying power…"
"I used some special methods," Youngtore replied, "ones Big Sister Hu Tao probably doesn't know about."
"I think, just to be safe, we should go back and find Zhongli and the Adepti of Liyue, and set up a seal at the entrance and exit of the boundary between life and death—to prevent Big Sister Hu Tao from escaping and wreaking havoc in the mortal world…"
"…It looks like that's our only option now."
Su Yuan nodded in agreement, then handed control of his body over to Youngtore.
Youngtore began chanting an incantation, formed a series of hand seals, and brought Su Yuan out of the boundary…
Afterward, Su Yuan immediately set off for Bubu Pharmacy to seek Zhongli's help…
But when Su Yuan returned to Bubu Pharmacy and saw Zhongli, he noticed a familiar figure…
"Eh? Su Yuan! You're finally back!" said someone with yellow hair, tied in a long braid, as he called out to Su Yuan.
Floating beside him was a small white sprite, who also chimed in eagerly:
"Yeah, yeah! Su Yuan, hurry up and explain things to Zhongli and Baizhu—they still don't believe that I'm Paimon and that he's the Traveler, Aether!"
Su Yuan stared at the scene before him in utter confusion.
What was going on now?
Was this Traveler really Aether?
Or… was this still Lumine in disguise?
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