The letter from Chayevich read something like this:
"Hey bro. So, good news—Lord Tartaglia said he's willing to rescue me... but only if you take the fall for everything. I thought about it long and hard. We're blood. I could never sell you out. So, I told him no."
Touching, right?
Not really.
When Tartaglia left, he shot Chayevich a look of utter disgust. As a warrior, he preferred throwing punches to playing puppet master in soap opera drama.
Predictably, once Blonde got the letter, he dropped to his knees and begged Tartaglia to save his big bro, swearing he'd shoulder every single charge himself.
Chayevich, now relieved and unburdened, began planning his next moves for when he got out.
First thing? "Thank" his little brother... by swooping in and seizing every bit of his property.
Despite the half-dead state of their theater business, Blonde had left behind a decent amount of assets and underlings in Liyue. With the theater in shambles, it was the perfect time for Chayevich to swoop in and clean house.
He figured that'd just barely cover the losses from the disastrous milk tea war against Xu Zheng.
As for going after Xu Zheng again?
Nah. Not yet. He'd lie low for now and strike when it really hurt.
Besides, Liyue's rice prices had started dropping again while he was locked up. That just wouldn't do. He had an economic sabotage campaign to resume.
The man was busy, alright?
No time for revenge. No time for family reunions.
Especially not with Blonde.
That guy could stay in jail for a bit longer. After all, how else was he supposed to steal his stuff?
A few days later, Chayevich was finally released.
The moment he stepped out of the prison gates, the world looked... different.
The sky was gray. The air was heavy.
But in his eyes?
Sunshine. Freedom. Joy.
He was ready to start fresh.
Then he saw the coffins.
Rows of them. Stacked neatly. Painted a deep, unsettling black.
Not a single lackey waiting to greet him.
Instead, Xu Zheng leaned lazily against Hu Tao's shoulder, waving with the kind of smugness that radiated through his pores.
"Congrats on getting out!" he said cheerily.
"...Charmed," Chayevich muttered through gritted teeth.
"That's it?" Xu Zheng raised a brow. "Bit cold, considering the hospitality we prepared."
Behind him, Hu Tao, Yanfei, and the entire funeral crew from Wangsheng Funeral Parlor stood in full formation.
Xu Zheng had backup. Dozens of people.
Chayevich had... trauma.
Knowing he had zero bargaining power, Chayevich swallowed his pride and bowed slightly.
"I was... short-sighted before. I apologize for offending you."
"Oh no, please don't!" Xu Zheng grinned, stepping aside just in time for the coffin behind him to take the full impact of the apology bow.
"I couldn't possibly accept your apology," Xu Zheng said. "Not after what I did."
"...What did you do?" Chayevich asked, chest tightening.
"I liquidated every last bit of your and Blonde's property in Liyue."
Chayevich's mouth went dry.
"Turns out your businesses weren't just shady—they were radioactive. Tax evasion was the least of it. You were spiking snacks with addictive chemicals to boost sales."
Under Xu Zheng's orders, Ganyu, Keqing, and Yanfei had teamed up to obliterate their empire with terrifying efficiency.
With Liyue's best lawyer, a couple of high-ranking officials, and some solid moral high ground on their side?
The brothers' assets were wiped out faster than you could say "money laundering."
Chayevich fell to his knees, shell-shocked.
I was only gone for a few weeks... How did everything disappear!?
"Don't worry," Xu Zheng said, patting the shiny lacquered wood of a luxurious coffin behind him. "We figured you'd need a place to sleep, so we brought this for you."
This wasn't your run-of-the-mill wooden box.
This was a custom, top-tier luxury coffin—upgraded using Chayevich's own confiscated wealth.
Hu Tao jogged up, handed him a Wangsheng business card, and gave him a cheerful wink.
"You may be broke and ugly now, but don't worry—our funeral parlor never discriminates. When you're ready to die, just give me a ring, okay?"
Xu Zheng snapped his fingers. His whole squad turned and marched off, leaving the coffin—and Chayevich—in silence.
Moments after they left, a cloaked figure slinked out from the shadows.
Face hidden, head down, speaking in low whispers, the stranger knelt beside Chayevich, said a few words, and left something in his hand.
From a nearby alley, Xu Zheng crouched behind a wall, watching through a zoomed-in lens on his snapshot crystal camera.
Hu Tao hugged his arm excitedly.
"Ooooh, whatcha looking at?"
"Hold on," Xu Zheng said, adjusting the lens.
He recognized the hooded man.
It was Levian, a thief-turned-mercenary who'd once tried to ambush Liyue's rice caravans—until Xu Zheng foiled him in humiliating fashion.
He also had a Vision—the kind of guy who got a thrill from armed robbery and zero consequences.
But the thing Levian handed Chayevich wasn't a Vision.
Xu Zheng squinted. The object was dark. Ominous. Radiating a foul energy.
A Delusion.
A fake Vision created by the Fatui—short bursts of incredible power, paid for with devastating side effects.
Like... dying.
Not everyone died, of course. Some got lucky. Some didn't.
Xu Zheng recalled Tartaglia, the Fatui harbinger currently stationed in Liyue, who wielded both a Hydro Vision and an Electro Delusion.
That's why, in the game's weekly boss fight, he could transform into a dual-element monster.
Now the question was: Should Xu Zheng jump in now and bust them both?
Or wait...
And let them dig their own grave.