"As the red light in Feixiao's eyes faded, her consciousness finally returned to clarity."

"She saw Yunli and Yanqing doing their best to withstand her attacks, while March 7th was desperately holding back her legs."

"As if all the strength in her body had been squeezed out, Feixiao collapsed toward the ground—luckily, the others were quick-eyed and nimble-handed, rushing to support her."

"“You're awake, General!”"

"With that, the Wolf Hunt operation finally came to a successful conclusion."

"Following the death of the Warchief, the wolf soldiers were unable to resist and were all suppressed by the Cloud Knights. Stelle and Moze found the dying Jiaoqiu."

—

Genshin Impact.

“No way? He survived even that?!”

In the Knight of Favonius camp by Lake Advantini, Varka thumped his chest repeatedly and coughed violently. The burning Dandelion Wine choked his throat, instantly turning his face red.

“Incredible. Is it because Jiaoqiu himself is a Physician, or could it be that he can use some power of 【Abundance】 to some extent?” Albedo rubbed his chin, suddenly finding the Foxian physiology quite miraculous. In his impression, if a poison could stun Hoolay, who possessed the abundance plague scourge, then its toxicity should have killed a Foxian as easily as flipping a hand.

After all, this medicine could even poison an Xianzhou native blessed by Abundance to death, yet it couldn't kill a Foxian. It was simply too bizarre.

“But regardless, it's worth celebrating that Mr. Jiaoqiu didn't die. I imagine he's also very happy that General Feixiao has been relieved of her Moon Frenzy state, right?” Little Durin said from the side.

“You're right.” Varka raised his wine cup and excitedly announced to the Knight of Favonius sitting around the campfire: “To celebrate... uh, Mr. Jiaoqiu getting his life back, tonight's Dandelion Wine is bottomless! Drink until you drop!”

“Hooray—!”

Seeing the knights in the camp already moving wine from the wagons filled with 'essential supplies,' Albedo sighed helplessly: “Grand Master, you're just looking for an excuse to drink your fill tonight, aren't you? It's fine, I can play the role of the'sober one' tonight.”

—

"“I want to hear their explanation.”"

"Arriving at the Scalegorge Waterscape, Lingsha looked up and saw the familiar High Elder Statue, but beneath the statue, another person was also looking up at it."

"He seemed to have been waiting for Lingsha and Dan Heng for a long time."

"“Dragon Master Taoran welcomes Lady Lingsha here,” said the single-horned Dragon Master with a bow."

"“Lingsha greets Elder Dragon Master. It has been a long time. I have brought a friend with me this time; strictly speaking, he shouldn't be considered an outsider.”"

"Dan Heng looked at the Dragon Master in shock, feeling it was unbelievable: “Elder... Taoran? When I was exiled, you were already approaching the limit of your reincarnation life. But... how did you end up like this?”"

"Taoran said coldly: “This is all thanks to your previous incarnation. If you hadn't acted so recklessly back then, why would I have needed to seek a dangerous path to shoulder the salvation of our entire race, turning myself into this half-human, half-ghost form?”"

"“...”"

"Dan Heng heard the resentment in his words, but he only frowned and did not reply."

"Taoran continued: “Mr. Dan Heng, you have returned twice, yet you never deigned to meet with us old fogies. It is truly a pity. To meet under these circumstances now is truly a twist of fate.”"

"“I came with Lady Lingsha today not to reminisce about the past.”"

"“Quite so.” Taoran nodded and looked at Lingsha. “When the Head of the Alchemy Commission sends an invitation, how could a Dragon Master not keep the appointment?”"

"“I humbly serve as the Head of the Alchemy Commission. The Alchemy Commission has been in a state of neglect, and it's only today that I can speak with you. Please forgive the delay, Elder. Regarding the jailbreak in the The Shackling Prison, I have found some evidence to send over; the Dragon Preceptors must have seen it.”"

—

Zenless Zone Zero.

In an outdoor hot spring inn in the Outer Rim, the four masters and disciples were comfortably soaking in the hot spring.

“So that's the bad guy!” Ju Fufu clenched her fists and waved them in the water, splashing everywhere. “...This guy knows he committed a crime yet didn't sneak away. I bet he's here to turn himself in and ask for leniency, right?”

“Hmm... a crime like trying to subvert the Xianzhou seems useless no matter how much leniency you ask for.” Belle sat by the edge of the hot spring. “But even if this guy wanted to flee, it would be impossible. Even Hoolay failed; how could a mere Dragon Master succeed? And was he really the only one who assisted the Borisin escape?”

“Junior sister means...”

“The Vidyadhara Preceptors should more or less know about Taoran's plan. But now that the matter is exposed, once they start implicating each other within the Vidyadhara, the Xianzhou could probably send the entire Luofu Vidyadhara leadership to reincarnation.” Belle looked down at the clear water of the hot spring. “...I think this Dragon Master came out to take the fall.”

“Hmm, Belle has a point.”

Yixuan picked up a tea drink from a floating tray on the water and took a light sip. “If assisting the Borisin was only Taoran's plan, it couldn't have been done so perfectly, providing both identities and maps. If he can shoulder all the blame alone, the loss to the Preceptors won't be great... It's just that these Dragon Preceptors, who only know how to fight amongst themselves, are ultimately a festering sore on the Xianzhou Luofu. If they can't be cut out all at once this time, I'm afraid they'll cause more trouble for Jing Yuan later.”

—

"“Yes, you sent the ‘Remains of the Mara-Struck,’ the ‘Map of the The Shackling Prison,’ and a ‘Dust-Returning Form-Stabilizing Pill’ to the estate.”"

"Lingsha explained: “Those remains were of an assassin who used the Cloud Hymn Technique to hide their tracks, helping the Borisin move unimpeded through the The Shackling Prison. That marked map is the escape route for the prisoners. Vidyadhara craftsmen once advised on the construction of the The Shackling Prison, so Mr. Taoran must also possess a copy of that map. This pill—”"

"“It is the ‘Dust-Returning Form-Stabilizing Pill’.” Taoran admitted openly, showing no intention of hiding anything. “Correct. I did indeed help plan the jailbreak in the The Shackling Prison.”"

"Lingsha was stunned for a moment but quickly regained her composure and continued to press: “So the appearance of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus and a Lord Ravager in the Alchemy Commission, the chaos there, the introduction of the Stellaron, and the rebirth of the Ambrosial Arbor... none of that can be separated from the Vidyadhara either?”"

"Taoran nodded: “Correct.”"

"Dan Heng hadn't expected him to be so straightforward: “You admit it?”"

"Taoran asked back coldly: “Is it surprising? You two were sent by the Seat of Divine Foresight as messengers; aren't you here precisely to hear my confession?”"

"“Since the The Sedition of Imbibitor Lunae, the Vidyadhara population has dwindled daily. With the High Elder exiled, several Dragon Preceptors and I had to struggle to hold things together and save the situation. The methods may have been radical, and perhaps they are not understood, but in the end, it was for one thing—the ‘survival of the Vidyadhara’.”"