Dottore bent down, picked up the stomach and intestines lying beside Diona, stuffed them all back into his abdominal cavity in one go, then continued speaking to Su Yuan:
"Su Yuan, you thought Diona came to help you, didn't you? But now, it turns out she's actually helping me."
"Right now, I have both Albedo and Diona as bargaining chips in my hands. If you refuse to be my friend and exchange research on the Eerie with me, well… I can't guarantee what will happen to them."
At this moment, Su Yuan didn't even know what to say.
He had thought Diona's arrival would help him escape from the predicament Dottore had placed him in.
Yet now, not only had Diona fallen into the trap herself, she had even become a bargaining chip for Dottore to threaten him with…
Could it be that he really had no choice but to pretend to go along with Dottore and play this so-called "friendship game"?
But just then, Su Yuan keenly noticed that on Diona's waist, where Dottore had pinned her to the ground, there seemed to be several small pouches filled with liquid.
If he guessed right, those should contain alcohol, shouldn't they?
Su Yuan thought he could first pretend to agree with Dottore, then get close to Diona, grab one of the wine pouches from her waist, and drink it down!
That way, he could induce Diona into entering her Eerie state again, and then have Diona kill him, thereby triggering his death rewind!
Today, he had already used up one rewind to uncover Mona's Eerie conditions.
Su Yuan could only hope that his refreshed death rewind count for today wasn't limited to just that one…
"All right, Dottore. Look at the situation—I don't really have a choice, do I? I can only submit to you…" Su Yuan put on a helpless expression, waved his hand, and slowly walked toward Dottore.
"Su Yuan, the word 'submit' isn't very accurate here. I've always seen you as someone worthy of equal exchange. Between us, there should be no hierarchy, only a bond of equals, a true friendship." Dottore spoke with a smile.
"Dottore, since I've already agreed to your request, shouldn't you also honor your word and release Albedo and Diona, granting them freedom?"
Saying this, Su Yuan naturally moved closer to Diona, pretending he wanted to pull out the spikes that pinned her to the ground…
"Su Yuan, don't mind me. Don't agree to Dottore. Just get out of here…" Diona, enduring the searing pain with tears in her eyes, forced herself to speak.
"Please tell my father, that in the days I'm gone, he should drink a little less…"
"Don't say that, Diona. I won't abandon you and Albedo just to save my own life…"
The next instant, Su Yuan's hand, which had been reaching for the spikes, suddenly changed direction.
With lightning speed, it shot toward the wine pouch on Diona's waist—his intent clear: to snatch one and pour it straight into his mouth!
But very quickly, Su Yuan felt his wrist seized by Dottore.
It seemed Dottore had already seen through his intention and had been on guard from the start.
He spoke slowly:
"Su Yuan, what do you think you're doing?"
"From the looks of it, you were trying to sneak a drink, weren't you?"
"Don't you realize that drinking would trigger Diona's eerie state condition and draw her attack?"
"You're not like me. If your chest is ripped open, your organs torn out, you'll actually die, you know?"
"Or is it that everything you just said to me was a lie? That you'd rather die than become my friend and share your insights with me?"
Even though Dottore had stopped him, Su Yuan didn't give up.
He immediately tried to use his other hand to reach for the wine pouch at Diona's waist.
But since Dottore already knew his intention, how could he possibly allow it?
Dottore quickly seized Su Yuan's other hand as well, preventing him from getting anywhere near Diona.
Just as Su Yuan was feeling cornered with no way out, a sudden gale swept through the surroundings.
Snow was lifted high into the air, swirling ever more violently until everyone's vision was nearly completely obscured…
"This doesn't make sense. In terrain like this, how could such a sudden strong wind appear out of nowhere…"
Dottore muttered in confusion.
But the next instant, his expression changed sharply!
Because he realized that the wrist he had been holding—Su Yuan's—had suddenly vanished from his grasp.
No, more precisely, not just Su Yuan, even Diona who had been pinned before him, and the Chalky Soil he had kept in his pocket, were all gone without a trace!
The wind soon died down, and the snow it had lifted settled quickly back onto the ground.
Dottore's vision cleared once again…
"To wield Anemo with such precision, and to whisk people away right under my nose…"
Dottore's face twisted with faint irritation as he spoke, "Who else could it be, if not you?"
"The Anemo Archon… Barbatos…"
Within a deserted cave in Dragonspine, the gust of wind carrying Su Yuan and Diona finally came to rest.
Immediately after, a familiar figure appeared before Su Yuan—his appearance was none other than Venti!
"Venti! Barbatos! I knew it—you really weren't dead!" Su Yuan exclaimed with joy.
Truth be told, Su Yuan hadn't expected that at such a critical moment, Venti would suddenly show up to rescue both him and Diona.
"Su Yuan, what did you just say?" Diona, too, stared in shock at the figure before her and asked, "This is Lord Barbatos?"
"Su Yuan, I had my own plans and hadn't intended to reveal myself so soon. But in order to pull you out of Dottore's hands, I had no choice but to step in."
Venti smiled as he spoke:
"Besides, why should only old man Morax over in Liyue get to fake his death and slip away? Am I, Barbatos, not allowed to pull the same trick?"
"Ahh…" Su Yuan sighed softly.
"I don't even want to say much right now—just knowing you're safe, Venti, is enough…"
"It's only a pity that Albedo is still in Dottore's hands…"
"You mean this?" Venti replied, holding up a glowing clump of white soil for Su Yuan to see.
"I picked this up when I was pulling you out just now."
"This isn't the so-called immaculate 'Chalk' that supposedly created Albedo at all. It's just ordinary soil, with a bunch of white fluorescent agents mixed in…"
"Su Yuan, you've been tricked by Dottore again! That sly old fox must have hidden the real Albedo away somewhere no one can find."
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