Sacrificing Myself: Nine Transmigrations (Genshin Impact)

"What's the point of knowing a sinner's past?"

Xiao said coldly as he ate his almond tofu.

"It's just curiosity. I mean, you guys live for thousands of years."

Elliot Yuan scooped up a spoonful of almond tofu as well.

After much pestering, Xiao had finally given in and brought Elliot a bowl too. The main reason? He wouldn't stop yapping beside him, and it was starting to attract unwanted attention.

So in the end, Xiao didn't really have a choice.

It looked like Elliot was the one begging for almond tofu, but in truth, it was Xiao who'd been quietly cornered. Elliot was thick-skinned—he didn't care how people saw him.

But Xiao couldn't risk others seeing this side of him.

"A few thousand years... it all passes in a blink," Xiao said.

"With lifespans like ours, we probably wouldn't even make a ripple in the river of your time," Elliot said with a faint smile, gazing down at his now-empty bowl, his voice soft and distant.

Xiao paused for a second, then quietly scooped another bite.

"That depends on what's done. Some small things are worth remembering for life. Some people—even if the time spent with them is short—can never be forgotten."

With that, he put the tofu in his mouth and slowly savored it.

But just as he placed the bowl down, his body stiffened. His eyes sharpened with sudden intensity.

"Someone's calling me."

In an instant, he dashed out of Wangshu Inn, heading toward the source.

Elliot looked down at the unfinished almond tofu on the table, frowned, and immediately followed without hesitation.

"Someone calling you? That's rare."

"I'm an Adeptus," Xiao replied proudly.

"Fair enough."

They sprinted through the wilderness like a pair of hurricanes.

Before long, they reached the forest—the source of the call.

"The Treasure Hoarders?" Elliot raised an eyebrow.

"So it was them…" Xiao hadn't expected that either.

It was ironic, really.

Ordinary people rarely dared call his name. Yet the Treasure Hoarders—criminals—were the ones seeking his help.

Still, a call was a call. Even if they were scum, he couldn't ignore it.

Xiao donned his Yaksha mask, took up his spear, and charged into battle.

The Treasure Hoarders were under siege from Blazing Axe Mitachurls, Rock Shield and Wooden Shield Mitachurls, plus a horde of Hilichurls. Over twenty in total.

No wonder they called Xiao. There was no way the Treasure Hoarders could handle that on their own.

Seeing Xiao appear, they all gasped in shock.

They hadn't actually expected an Adeptus to show up.

But when Elliot arrived right after—well, now they were completely stunned.

What the hell?

Another one?

And that height difference… looked more like a dad bringing his son to play a game.

But both wielded long spears, and within moments, the entire Hilichurl group was wiped out.

"Damn… that was amazing!"

"Holy crap! They're monsters!"

"So this is the power of an Adeptus? Terrifying!"

"Which one's the Great Demon-Subduing Xiao?"

"The one with the mask, probably. But who's the other guy? Why's he so strong too?"

"Don't tell me he's also an Adeptus?"

The Treasure Hoarders were completely dumbfounded.

They'd thought the Hilichurls were death itself—but these two had cleared them out in under five minutes.

Their strength was terrifying.

Xiao turned slightly, glancing at the group.

Instantly, every Treasure Hoarder froze like deer in headlights. Their pupils shrank, and they backed away in terror, eyes full of dread.

"Tch." Elliot frowned, face darkening.

Just as Xiao was about to leave, Elliot grabbed his arm.

"Wait."

With a grim face, Elliot strode toward the terrified group, spear in hand.

They kept shrinking back, eyes locked on him like he was some demon.

That only pissed Elliot off more. He stabbed his spear into the dirt in front of them.

They flinched hard, huddling together in fear.

"What the hell are you so scared of? Huh? What?"

"You think we're gonna eat you or something? Are you kidding me?!"

Elliot was livid. He reached out and yanked the guy who looked like the leader straight up by the ear.

Pointing toward Xiao, he snapped, "Look carefully. That's the Great Demon-Subduing Xiao. He's the one you called here."

"He didn't even finish his food—rushed over here to save your lives—and this is how you look at him?"

"What, you scared? Huh? Scared of your own savior?"

"You little punks! Look him in the eye!"

Elliot grabbed the guy by the head and roared.

The leader was frozen stiff, eyes wide, tears welling up from sheer panic under Elliot's glare.

"Tell me—are you scared of him?" Elliot asked, voice low.

The guy trembled, too terrified to speak.

"Answer me!"

Elliot's shout sent a jolt through his body. He started sobbing and shook his head.

"Not scared, huh? Then get your ass over there and thank him!"

With that, Elliot shoved him toward Xiao.

The others scrambled after him in a panic.

They all dropped to their knees in front of Xiao.

"Thank you, Adeptus Xiao, for saving us…"

"We were stupid—we deserve to die—we shouldn't have feared you…"

"You crossed mountains to help us… we shouldn't have looked at you that way…"

"We're sorry… please forgive us…"

They kowtowed as they begged for forgiveness.

Xiao stood there frozen.

He didn't know what to say or do—just stood stiffly in place.

"Alright, now scram. Seriously, ever heard of manners?" Elliot snapped.

The Treasure Hoarders practically wet themselves fleeing.

Even after they were gone, Elliot still looked irritated.

"Tch. What kind of people did we just save…"

Now he understood how Xiao felt most of the time.

He hears someone call out, drops everything—even his beloved almond tofu—and rushes over.

Only to get rewarded with fearful stares instead of gratitude.

Damn it, the more Elliot thought about it, the angrier he got. He almost wanted to drag those losers back and beat the hell out of them.

"It's fine. I'm used to it," Xiao said with a bitter smile, taking off his mask.

"Used to it, my ass! I'm telling you, don't get used to crap like this. What kind of lowlifes are these? You save them and they treat you like a monster? That's messed up!"

Elliot paced back and forth, seething.