Late at night.
On the road from Yuheng Mountain to Liyue Harbor.
At the top of a tree several meters high, Yilan stood firmly on a fragile branch, his red priestly robe fluttering in the night wind.
With his arms folded across his chest, he waited for the signal to act. The conversation from earlier at the Qunyu Pavilion resurfaced in his mind.
——
"We're going to act tonight?"
Although Yilan had also wanted to resolve the matter as soon as possible, he hadn't expected Ningguang to be so decisive.
"It's obvious that the Fatui are secretly planning something. The longer we delay, the more prepared they'll be. It's better to act quickly and seize the initiative!"
Ningguang explained, "In fact, we had already made preparations before you, Mr. Yilan, arrived. Now, the timing is perfect."
Yilan agreed with Ningguang's approach. After all, he was also someone who preferred taking the initiative.
In the main storyline of Liyue, Childe had been given too much time to prepare, which eventually allowed him not only to invade the Golden House but also to summon the fallen god Osial, nearly causing a catastrophe.
In the end, it was Ningguang who sacrificed the Qunyu Pavilion to suppress the disaster.
Later, when dealing with Baizhu (Ba Che), the losses were much smaller because Ningguang had planned ahead and acted proactively.
Thus, seizing the initiative was crucial.
"So what's the plan?" Yilan asked.
"In theory, the Seven Nations are allies. Even though we know the Fatui are secretly scheming, we can't expel them without evidence. But… aren't they after the black stone?"
Ningguang smiled slyly. "We can use the 'black boulder' as bait to lure the Fatui out."
——
Atop the tree, Yilan rested his chin on his hand, deep in thought.
Ningguang's plan was to send a team up the mountain at night to "dig away" the black boulder — not truly remove it, of course. No one knew what the thing was, and rash contact might cause a disaster.
Instead, the immortals of Liyue would arrange an illusion inside the cave to make it look like the black boulder had been taken.
Meanwhile, they would transport a fake black boulder all the way to Liyue Harbor.
The hope was that the Fatui would intercept them en route, since once the black stone entered Liyue Harbor and was hidden, the Fatui's chances of retrieving it would drop dramatically.
Naturally, Liyue would set up an ambush along the way, lying in wait for the Fatui to spring the trap.
The whole plan seemed flawless.
The adepti were masters of both mechanical contraptions and magic arrays. Yilan had personally inspected the illusion; even with his strength, he could not detect any flaws.
The fake black boulder had also been crafted to look nearly identical to the real one.
But there was still an element of risk.
What if the Fatui didn't take the bait and didn't intercept them? What if they saw through Ningguang's plan and seized the real black boulder on Yuheng Mountain instead?
If the former happened, it would just be a waste of effort — no big loss.
But if the latter occurred, the consequences would be disastrous.
To guard against this, Ningguang had arranged for someone to stay behind at Yuheng Mountain — not to stop the Fatui, but to signal immediately if they showed up, so that the ambush could pivot and rush to defend the mountain.
Even Yilan couldn't find fault with this plan.
Still, considering that their opponent was the Doctor — a Harbinger who had never been defeated in the lore — Yilan felt it was better to be extra cautious. He volunteered to stay and guard Yuheng Mountain himself.
However, Ningguang and Keqing rejected his proposal.
Yilan, being one of their main combat forces, had to stay with the main escort team.
Ultimately, Keqing was assigned to garrison Yuheng Mountain.
Yilan could only accept the arrangement, albeit reluctantly. After all, at the end of the day, he was just a high-level mercenary hired by Liyue, without a say in the strategy.
However, he had positioned himself centrally — from his location, he could rush to reinforce wherever the situation required.
——
Whoosh—
A firework soared into the night sky and exploded in a flash of blue.
Upon seeing this, Yilan finally exhaled in relief.
They had agreed beforehand:
If no enemy showed up until the escort team entered Liyue Harbor, they would light red fireworks.
If enemies appeared but not as many as expected, they would light yellow fireworks.
If all expected enemies, including the Doctor, showed up, they would light blue fireworks.
Now that blue fireworks had been lit, and there was no signal from Yuheng Mountain, it meant that all the enemies were with the escort team.
"It seems I was worrying too much," Yilan thought.
He lightly pushed off the treetop and shot toward the escort team at incredible speed.
——
Watching the blue fireworks in the distance, Keqing, stationed at Yuheng Mountain, also sighed in relief.
"It looks like all the enemies appeared at the escort team's side. I should be safe here."
But just as this thought crossed her mind—
An overwhelming pressure descended from behind her.
It felt as if a meteorite were about to crash down, or perhaps some vast "giant" was silently approaching.
Keqing's instincts screamed at her. She whirled around —
Only to find a man in elegant light-blue aristocratic clothing standing less than ten centimeters behind her, smiling faintly.
"Good evening, Miss Yuhengxing of Liyue," he said.
A sinister, oppressive aura flooded the space.
"Doctor—!"
Without thinking, Keqing raised the signal flare in her hand.
But the next instant, a blast of wind pressure struck her abdomen, launching her backward until she slammed into a stone wall.
The signal flare slipped from her grasp and clattered to the ground.
"That won't do, Miss Yuhengxing," the Doctor said leisurely. "If all of Liyue's adepti came rushing over, even I'd find it troublesome."
He strolled forward, and as he walked, his body subtly shifted.
A roulette-like magical sigil appeared behind him, with seven elemental "eyes" embedded into it.
The "eye" representing Anemo — the Wind element — was currently open.
cough!
Keqing, coughing blood, barely managed to stay conscious. She had no time to worry about her injuries.
The moment she regained her footing, she hurled a Lightning Stiletto toward the signal flare.
However, before it could land, the Doctor casually neutralized it with a blast of wind.
Yet, using the moment of contact between the two elements, Keqing split into three lightning clones, converging on the signal flare from four directions.
The Doctor only smiled.
The Geo eye opened on the roulette behind him.
With a light stomp, four stone walls burst from the ground, blocking three paths.
Keqing's lightning clones smashed into the walls and dissipated into sparks.
Only her real body — coming from the left — slashed through the stone barrier with her Lion's Roar sword and reached for the signal flare—
But the next moment, the Electro eye opened.
A prison of lightning materialized and seized Keqing violently.
"AAAHHHH—!!"
The searing electric currents burned her skin raw.
It was a one-sided massacre.
Against the Doctor, even Keqing, the Yuheng of the Liyue Qixing, couldn't put up a fight.
This was no mere clone she was facing — this was the real Doctor.
"Enough entertainment," the Doctor said flatly.
"You're one of the Qixing. I can't kill you — it would displease Morax."
As he spoke, the Geo eye closed, replaced by the Cryo and Hydro eyes.
The freezing reaction triggered instantly.
Keqing, collapsed on the ground, was encased in thick ice.
The Doctor, without slowing, stepped past her, crushed the signal flare beneath his foot, and entered the cave.
Inside, the adepti's illusion array immediately attacked.
"As expected," the Doctor said lightly.
The four open elemental eyes behind him shone brightly, and with one burst of power, the formation shattered.
He was about to reach the black boulder — that cocoon-like object—
Crack!
The sound of shattering ice came from behind.
The Doctor turned around.
Standing there, bloodied and battered, was Keqing.
She panted heavily, wisps of smoke rising from her torn clothes and scorched skin.
Even now, she could barely stand.
What could she even do against him?
Could she injure him? Stop him?
Probably not.
And yet.
Even so…!
"I vowed to create an era of human rule that rivals the power of the gods. If I can't even protect what the adepti left behind — wouldn't that betray everything I stand for?"
If she ran now, all her ideals would become a joke.
Electric light burst from her broken body.
She charged like thunder toward the Doctor, cutting through the stone walls he summoned.
But just before reaching him, a stone pillar crashed down from above, striking her back.
CRACK!
Bones shattered.
Keqing fell hard, coughing blood.
"It's over," the Doctor said.
He lifted his foot to finish her.
But — he couldn't move forward.
Looking down, he saw a small, battered hand gripping the hem of his trouser leg.
Keqing, her face smudged with dust, glared up at him with unwavering determination.
"I won't… let you succeed!"
The Doctor was silent for a moment.
"…Very well," he said at last.
Raising his free foot high over her head, he said coolly:
"I don't want to offend Morax, but if I let a child trip me up, my dignity would be worth nothing."
He began to bring his foot down.
BOOM!!!
A shockwave exploded through the cave!
Keqing, closing her eyes to accept death, opened them in confusion.
Two feet were now crossed above her head — blocking the Doctor's strike.
Before her stood a young man in red priestly robes, radiating unstoppable energy.
——
Despite all the pain she had suffered, Keqing hadn't shed a tear.
But now, tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.
She whispered the name of the one who had come when she called for help:
"Yilan…"