Furina, watching in awe, unconsciously opened her small mouth in surprise. This punch was full of vigor! If it landed on me, I'd probably cry for a long time, wouldn't I?
According to Lucian's words, Arlecchino was even stronger than Arataki Itto. Doesn't that mean she's even more terrifying!?
The story hadn't even mentioned "The Knave," yet Furina's fear of "The Knave" skyrocketed.
Readers had already seen Arataki Itto's story and held him in high regard. Now, they were even more impressed.
But the problem now was that in the story, Arataki Itto had collapsed from exhaustion in this wretched place where bodies couldn't recover. If everyone couldn't escape, Arataki Itto might actually die!
He had chosen to become a "hero," preventing others' sacrifices, but he couldn't prevent his own.
[Kuki Shinobu: "Speaking of which, the boss hates it when others make sacrifices, yet he unconsciously does similar things himself… But there's one difference between him and others."]
["He does these things not to give up on himself, but because he believes he can overcome all difficulties."]
In other words, while Arataki Itto was also making sacrifices, he wasn't sacrificing for the sake of sacrifice. He sacrificed to survive, and he believed he could survive.
This was vastly different from Xiao. When Xiao made his decisions, he hadn't even considered his own life or death.
In the story, Kuki Shinobu even praised Arataki Itto a couple of times—though he couldn't hear it anyway.
In reality, Arataki Itto looked at Kuki Shinobu in surprise. "Shinobu… you actually praised me?"
Kuki Shinobu sighed. The me in the story probably said it while you were unconscious so you wouldn't hear it, but you still ended up hearing it.
She knew her boss well—he'd get cocky easily. Just a couple of compliments, and he'd be wagging his tail.
Sure enough, Arataki Itto was already smug. If he wasn't worried about disturbing everyone, he'd probably have climbed onto the table by now.
Everyone chuckled. Arataki Itto's performance was indeed praiseworthy, but they also feared he'd get too full of himself, so they didn't say anything and continued reading.
[Paimon, surprised: "He's way too confident… And honestly, isn't this the same as what Xiao said? He's an idiot too!"]
Paimon's comment was amusing—she insulted two people in one sentence, calling Xiao an idiot as well.
[Traveler: "Don't you want to stop him?"]
[Kuki Shinobu replied: "The boss isn't someone who listens to advice. Besides, he's always been the type to act first and think later. He probably thought he could easily solve everything just now."]
Indeed, Arataki Itto had swung his fist with the mindset of shattering the entire space, only to open a path instead. He hadn't expected that outcome himself.
Speaking of which, it's definitely the Ei Virus—always resorting to super muscles when faced with problems. Have you caught the Ei Virus? Do you know what happens to people who catch the Ei Virus?
In the story, Xiao also spoke up to apologize.
Xiao took the blame upon himself, feeling that if he hadn't suggested a sacrifice, Arataki Itto wouldn't have done what he did.
In the end, Xiao still saw this as his responsibility. He was truly taking on too much.
[Xiao, apologetic: "…Sorry."]
[Kuki Shinobu: "It's nothing, please don't apologize. Everything you and Miss Yelan said was correct."]
["Everyone is important, and we need to support each other to escape this place. Your survival surely means a great deal to some… no, to many people."]
This was well said—it resonated deeply with the readers, exactly what they wanted to say.
Kuki Shinobu's words were likable, measured, and emotionally intelligent, carrying a hint of "teaching" without being off-putting. Truly befitting the "mama-san" of the Arataki Gang.
It was like Yanfei's line—something the readers desperately wanted to say to Xiao.
Conqueror of Demons, you are truly invaluable to us in Liyue!
Putting other things aside, if you died, who would eat Yanxiao's Almond Tofu?
How many fewer plates of Almond Tofu would be made in a year? What if his skills got rusty? Isn't that your responsibility too? Go back and eat that Almond Tofu.
Ahem, speaking seriously, Arataki Itto's gallantry inspired many. The path he opened naturally prompted everyone to explore it.
The space beyond the breach didn't lead to the outside but deeper into the space's interior. Yelan, skilled in reconnaissance, went ahead to scout.
The others were still listening to Yanfei's analysis and arrangements. As soon as Yanfei finished speaking, Xiao vanished.
Without a word, Xiao used Anemo Wheel Stance and disappeared from the spot, following Yelan to scout ahead and face any dangers.
The readers and Lumine reacted in sync, collectively facepalming in exasperation. No wonder Lumine would say, "No Anemo Wheel Stance allowed."
Yanfei, meanwhile, apologized for Yelan's words. Unfortunately, Xiao had run off too quickly, so she could only express her apologies to Lumine.
In Yanfei's view, while Yelan's words weren't wrong, they might have been too "blunt," potentially upsetting Xiao.
But in truth, Xiao wouldn't get angry over this.
As Yelan's friend, Yanfei understood her and explained to the Traveler the reason for Yelan's anger and her past experiences.
It turned out that Yelan had once been saved by a comrade during a mission, becoming a survivor. But the comrade who saved her remained there forever.
[Yanfei said: "Can a life that's been saved live on without any burden? Bearing such a favor is no simple matter."]
Everyone agreed with this, and the reason was simple—they had all read Venti's story.
Wasn't Hans the survivor saved by Stanley?
Looking at Hans' reaction, Yelan's mindset was already remarkably strong in comparison.
No wonder Yelan had been angry back then—she definitely didn't want to experience something like that again.
After their conversation, Yanfei left a protective array for Arataki Itto and joined the Traveler to venture into the inner space.
She planned to act alongside the Traveler since she "wasn't skilled in martial arts."
Lucian had also drawn an illustration for this inner space. The most striking feature was the massive disk suspended in the air, absolutely enormous.
Everyone understood the logic, but why was this disk so big?
[Traveler said: "It's bigger than all our heads combined…"]
Thankfully, Lucian had drawn the illustration. Otherwise, Lumine's line alone wouldn't convey how massive the disk was, especially since no one present had an unusually large head—they were all rather short.
The tallest, Arataki Itto, was currently unconscious due to "not fitting in." Now, the tallest was Yelan.
As for this disk, it might be the Fantastic Compass that Yanfei was searching for. The question now was, how could they take such a massive compass away?
Was there still time to fetch Shenhe, the "burly woman" capable of lifting cauldrons?
They'd have to escape first to do that. For now, they could only investigate. Conveniently, a bunch of Treasure Hoarders had appeared in this space—time to see what was going on.