Aether decided to pay Xiao a visit. Since he had finally unlocked one of his unique skills, he wanted to see if his skill could relieve Xiao of his karmic debt.

Teleporting to the roof of the Wangshu Inn, Aether couldn't find Xiao anywhere, so he called out.

"Xiao! Where are you!"

Almost instantly, the Yaksha appeared next to him in a green mist. "You called?"

Aether fidgetted for a bit, then asked. "Can you bring me with you to subdue demons?"

Xiao was surprised. What is with the Traveler today?

"Why do you suddenly want to come with me? This is not something fun or easy, but I think you already know." Xiao gave him a suspicious look. "It is highly dangerous, and I wouldn't recommend for mortals to come with me."

Aether averted his eyes from Xiao's piercing gaze. "U-Uh, y-you see, I have recently learned a new technique to exorcise demons, s-so I wanted to come with you."

After saying so, Aether gazed right back at Xiao with fire burning in his eyes.

Finally, seeing that the Traveler would pester him all day if he didn't get what he wanted, Xiao relented.

Before they set out, Xiao warned him one last time.

"This will be dangerous and I will not be able to protect you at all times, so if I see that we might be in potential danger, you must evacuate quickly."

Aether nodded. Only then did Xiao say, "Let's go to the first location", and after he grabbed the Traveler's shoulder, they teleported to the place.

Opening his eyes moments later, Aether realized he was in Jueyun Karst. Xiao had already began walking.

Aether hurriedly followed behind the green-haired Yaksha. Before long, they reached an ancient tree at the foot of one of the stone mountains. Xiao brandished his spear and striked an inconspicuous boulder, revealing a Geo Elemental Monument underneath.

"Let me help you with this one." Aether offered.

Xiao stood aside so that the Traveler could see the monument. Aether used Geo to attack the monument, and it lit up, revealing a cave entrance.

"Woah! I didn't even realize that this existed!"

"The demon hiding in there did a great job, then, if even the famed Traveler couldn't find it."

Aether heard that but decided to let it go. To him, this was an absolute win. Xiao learned to make a joke, and that was something worth celebrating. But he was here to subdue this demon, so he didn't say anything.

On the way in, Aether asked Xiao about how he usually light up monuments that are not Anemo, to which the Yaksha replied, "I used the slimes."

Upon hearing this, Aether told Xiao to let him do it some times. Xiao agreed.

"We have reached our destination."

Before them were a whole family of demons. They took the form of wolves. Normal people might mistake them for wolves, but there was a thin veil of darkness surrounding each of them. There were at least 10, from what Aether could see.

'If only they weren't demons… Razor might love to welcome them to his pack.'

The head of the pack was growling. He realized that the Yaksha was here to vanquish them.

"I will make quick work of this. You will begin at the next place."

Aether stepped back a bit. Xiao donned on his mask, and instantly lunged at the pack. The wolves dispersed to surround him, but Xiao wasn't fazed at all. The first wolf to jump at him was instantly struck down by his spear, and disintegrated. 3 wolves joined the fray, only to disappear at a moment's notice.

Aether, the audience, was secretly applauding inside. It's not like he will get to see this marvelous scene everyday.

Soon, there were only 1 wolf left, the head. He was slowly backing from Xiao. The Yaksha leapt in and swung his spear, wanting to end the whole ordeal quickly. To his surprise, the wolf reappeared behind him and went straight for the Traveler. It probably figured that if it was going down, someone would come with it.

Xiao shouted to Aether to watch out and was also right on the wolf's heels.

Aether wasn't terrified. If anything, he had already anticipated this after inspecting wolf head.

Before the wolf could bite at him, Aether used Dendro to bind it down. Since it was a demon, it wasn't inflicted with poison, but that was not what Aether intended to do in the first place.

Seeing that the Traveler had gotten things under control, Xiao stopped to see what he was going to do.

Aether reached out to touch the wolf's head, then used his [Light] element.

His hand glowed brightly, and the wolf whimpered. After a few seconds, it turned into particles of light and disappeared.

Xiao was surprised. It seemed that the Traveler really wasn't lying when he said he learned to exorcise demons.

Aether glanced at Xiao to see his reaction. The Yaksha was just standing there with his eyes wide open, something that was uncharacteristic of him, which meant he did a great job.

Breathing a huge sigh of relief, he tried to break Xiao out of his trance, but the Vigilant Yaksha was not so vigilant this time.

'What's wrong with him?'

Aether reached out to grab his shoulder, only to get a jumpscare when the Demon Vanquisher suddenly dashed back.

"Woah, you nearly killed me with a heart attack there! What's wrong?" Aether asked worriedly.

Xiao didn't reply, and instead told him to get ready for the next location. With his hand on the Traveler's back, after mere seconds, they were at the next hideout of the demons, a cave in Nantianmen.

"Wait, we're not fighting Azhdaha, are we?"

"No. There's another secret cave near there. The demon is leeching on the Dragon-Queller tree to grow stronger."

'Hmm, it's sucking energy from that tree…'

"Does that mean the demon can also draw out the power of the ley lines? Since Azhdaha did the same?"

"Maybe, maybe not. We'll find out when we see it with our eyes."

Xiao walked up to the stone monolith under the tree, with Aether observing him closely to see what he was up to. He reached out to touch something behind it, and the words on the tablet started glowing. Before long, an entrance opened up under the tree roots, with stairs decending down a seemingly-endless darkness.

Without saying anything, he signaled for Aether to come with him, and started taking the flights of stairs to who-knows-where.

And with that began their descent into the hidden domain.

After what felt like hours, they finally arrived at their destination. This time, it was Aether's turn to be flabbergasted.

What appeared before him was a vast space, with the clouds floating underneath their feet. There was another flight of stairs leading up to a small plot of land, with an ancient tree growing tall. Under its shade, a table with 4 chairs were visible.

The light illuminating the place felt just the same as the Sun, and at the same time it wasn't. Beyond the small island, the clouds seemed to stretch on forever.

Right when he stepped down from the last step of the staircase, it disappeared, but Aether was too absorbed in the melancholic scenery to notice.

They ambled forward, with Aether looking excited, and Xiao was somewhat restless. It was as if the green-haired Yaksha was already familiar with this place.

Walking up the steps, there was already a woman sitting at the table waiting for them. Her face looked like she was meeting an old friend.

The blonde boy peeked at his companion questioningly, but Xiao was unresponsive. If anything, he was weirdly… fidgety.

The woman smiled warmly, and spoke up. "We have finally met again, dear. Have you finally come to finish your promise with me?"

Xiao just stood still instead of replying. He was gritting his teeth and clenching his fists until his knuckles were white. Aether was going to call out to him, but Xiao, finally calming down, spoke with a pained voice.

"I have come, Merasias. I'm sorry to keep you waiting."

Author's note: I normally write at least 1600 words as a rule, but as for this chapter, its less than that so that in the next chapter, Xiao could some reminiscing. Thank you for reading.