The middle-aged man spoke with nostalgia and gratitude:
"I still remember when I was a child… I fell asleep while playing at Feiyun Slope, too carefree for my own good."
"When I awoke, it was already deep night… Darkness surrounded me. I panicked as dozens of evil creatures prepared to attack."
"Just when I thought I was doomed, the Conqueror of Demons saved me!"
"That Yaksha mask—I can never forget it… I fainted in terror and awoke to find myself safely back home. If I could meet him again, I would truly want to thank him in person."
As he spoke, the man couldn't hold back his tears.
His childhood story stirred memories among other Liyue residents as well. Many recalled times when Xiao had saved them, suffering injuries in the process.
Yet no one knew how they could repay the Conqueror of Demons... Ordinary folk dared not even think of it. Just seeing him from a distance was enough to drive them back in awe.
Xiao believed that in this life, he might never be able to coexist normally with humans, destined to endure the endless corrosion of karmic debt.
Perhaps one day he would perish like the other Yakshas...
Zhongli, who had been quietly absorbed in the Yu-Gi-Oh! manga, shifted his attention to the freshly forged card [Conqueror of Demons – Xiao].
He remembered his own encounters with Xiao.
Though Xiao appeared youthful, his true age exceeded two thousand years.
No one who met him could ever mistake him for an ordinary youth.
A single meeting revealed the truth: he was a formidable being.
Among the Adepti, Xiao's rank and renown were exceptional, yet among mortals his name was little known.
He was neither a bringer of wealth and prosperity nor a lofty immortal dwelling in the heights of Jueyun Karst.
Those who saw Xiao display his power were always in mortal danger.
Not because Xiao sought to harm them, but because he was forever battling the darkness that threatened to engulf Liyue Harbor and its countless lights.
Any mortal who witnessed such battles risked being caught in the crossfire.
In his youth, Xiao had been deceived and bound by a malevolent god, forced to act as a mighty demon's servant.
Under its control, he committed countless cruel and bloody deeds, crushing ideals and devouring the dreams of the defeated. Xiao suffered deeply but was powerless to resist.
Fortunately, Zhongli freed him and gave him the name "Xiao."
In gratitude to the Geo Archon, Xiao took upon himself the endless burden of guarding Liyue for thousands of years.
The atrocities of his past had scoured away his gentleness and innocence. Now his heart contained only the skills of slaughter and the scars of karmic debt.
Battle was all he could still offer humanity.
Exorcising demons posed no challenge for him, but the power of the defeated gods—their hatred and obsessions—was immense.
Each time Xiao destroyed the foul remnants born from dead gods, their hatred fragmented and sought to corrupt his mind.
To eradicate such malice, he had to bear it himself. Thus was born the karmic debt.
Years of accumulated karma burned his heart and gnawed his bones, yet Xiao never felt hatred.
In his two thousand years, all grudges and favors alike had become as fleeting as mist.
No millennium-long grudges, no debts impossible to repay. Through endless ages, Xiao had only himself for company. His battles always had meaning: to fight the karmic debt that weighed on his soul.
Luya gazed at the card in his hand—[Conqueror of Demons – Xiao].
It radiated both Anemo energy and the aura of evil spirits, green light intertwining with black.
[Conqueror of Demons – Xiao] Level 7│WIND│Adeptus│2500 ATK│1400 DEF
╵During your Main Phase, if you control no monsters and your opponent controls two or more monsters, you can Special Summon this card from your hand.
This effect made it ideal for counterplay, just like Xiao arriving to save others in moments of peril.
In an environment filled mostly with vanilla monsters, Xiao was sure to become a highly sought-after card!
And the cost was not high—only Ghostly Embers and Vayuda Turquoise Fragments were needed to craft it.
Compared to pulling cards from packs, Luya could already imagine how popular this one would be!
Meanwhile...
At Pervases Temple, Xiao sat with eyes closed, his face twisted in agony.
A splitting headache wracked him, sweat beading in his teal-streaked hair.
It felt as if countless needles pierced his skull, a torment nearly unbearable.
Once again, the karmic debt gnawed at his body.
Born from the sins of his past, each flare of karma brought immense pain and threatened to consume his consciousness.
He tried to resist with his own strength, but found it increasingly difficult.
He did not know when his endurance would fail, when he would collapse and fade away—the karmic burden tightened its grip, and his mind began to blur.
At that critical moment, Xiao suddenly felt the pain in his head lessen—just slightly!
That small relief allowed him to regain control, overcoming this bout of karmic torment.
For a thousand years, Xiao had suffered under the weight of karma.
The burden grew heavier, the headaches sharper.
Once, the flute music of the Anemo Archon Venti had eased his pain.
Venti's pure melody had traveled across mountains and waters, carried by the wind to Dihua Marsh.
With the first light of dawn and the startled flight of distant birds, the flute song became clearer, soothing Xiao's restless mind and granting him a moment of peace.
The last one able to help him had been the Geo Archon Morax.
This time, the unseen aid surely came from the Wind God.
Regaining composure, Xiao murmured to himself, "What... is happening?!"
"There is no flute song nearby..."
"It wasn't the Wind God's doing, yet this karmic torment truly lessened... and it seems to be a permanent easing."
"Could it be the Lord of Geo...?"
Xiao was deeply puzzled. What could have lessened his karmic debt?
He suspected Zhongli, who now served as a consultant at the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
Thus, Xiao straightened his robes, donned his Yaksha mask, and decided to head for Feiyun Slope and the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor to investigate.
...
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