"Yunxuan, calm down." Zhongli slowly shook his head, his tone calm yet carrying an unquestionable strength, "Look again, who is standing across from you."
Yunxuan froze, following Zhongli's gaze toward Lydia.
Venti stood firmly in front of Lydia, his eyes filled with vigilance, clearly prepared to do everything in his power to protect her.
Lumine's body was already surging with both Anemo and Geo elements.
The two powers intertwined and coiled as she stared at Yunxuan with a solemn expression, ready to strike at any moment.
Paimon floated to the side, her hands tightly covering her mouth, her round eyes wide with shock.
She instinctively pulled down the hood on her head, the brim obscuring most of her face, terrified that passersby would recognize her face as identical to Yunqin's and draw more unnecessary attention.
But doubts surged in her heart like a tide.
What was going on?
Venti and the others were clearly sworn enemies of the Abyss, so why were they protecting someone radiating an Abyssal aura?
Could they be deceived by the Abyss?
Lydia looked at the surging hatred in Yunxuan's eyes, her hand unconsciously tightening around the Festering Desire.
The dark purple runes on the sword's blade seemed to sense her emotions, flickering with a faint light, as if silently responding to the confusion and heartache in her soul.
She took half a step forward, her voice gentle yet tinged with unquestionable resolve: "I truly do not know you, nor have I ever harmed anyone."
"The Abyssal aura you mentioned might be coming from this Festering Desire, but I am absolutely not the murderer who killed that Yunqin."
Yunxuan's gaze was fixed on the Festering Desire in Lydia's hand, that familiar Abyssal aura clinging to her nose like a bone-deep parasite, making her temples throb.
Her brow furrowed into a knot, and a blurred fragment of memory suddenly flashed through her mind.
That was it!
Before, on the battlefield of the Abyss's invasion, she had seen Lumine wielding this sword from afar.
At that time, a similar Abyssal aura also drifted from the sword, but it was far from as intense and pungent as it was now, as if it were being suppressed by Lumine's power, as docile as a sleeping beast.
Yet this realization did not make her lower her guard. Instead, it added a few more complex notes of rejection to the look she gave Lydia.
She had clearly never seen this white-haired girl before, and in the years she had been dormant within Yunqin's body, she had never had any memories related to the girl.
But in her very bones, a sharp sense of disgust inexplicably arose, as if in some forgotten, blood-stained corner, they had once had an unpleasant clash.
Yunxuan gripped her bow tightly, the bowstave itself growing slightly warm from her hold, and for a moment, she did not know whether to trust everyone's explanations or obey her own inexplicable intuition.
"Yunxuan, listen to me," Venti said, seeing her resolve waver. He stepped forward, his eyes full of sincerity, his voice even softening a bit. "Lydia is truly not the murderer who killed Yunqin."
"Think about it, if she were really colluding with the Abyss, how could the Traveler and I stand by her side? The Abyss and we are sworn enemies; how would we ever protect one of their own?"
Zhongli also spoke slowly, his voice carrying a power that could soothe the heart: "Yunxuan, do not let hatred cloud your reason."
Lumine and Paimon also hurried forward to agree.
"Yunxuan, we've known each other so long, you should know I never lie. Lydia is a great hero of Mondstadt, and her return now is just because she wants to join us..." Lumine took half a step forward, her gaze sweeping over the surrounding crowd, her words pausing.
Paimon nodded along, her voice full of urgency: "That's right, that's right! Lydia is absolutely not a bad person!"
"Lydia..." This name echoed repeatedly in Yunxuan's ears, like a rusty key, suddenly prying open the floodgates of memory.
She suddenly remembered that the first time she met Venti, he had been sitting on a rock, holding a lyre and telling the story of the Abyss's invasion of Mondstadt.
The young heroine in the story, who held a longsword and stood alone before the monsters, was named Lydia!
At that time, after Yunqin finished listening, she cried so much that her face was covered in snot and tears, saying "Sister Lydia is so great" while wiping her face with her paws.
This made her watch from within the seal with extreme impatience, secretly disgusted by Yunqin's willingness to show such weakness and soil herself in this way.
But memory was memory, and the feeling of rejection in her heart and the image of Yunqin lying in a pool of blood were still pulling at her, like two hands tearing her heart apart.
Yunxuan froze on the spot, even her breathing becoming heavy.
Just then, two figures enveloped in water vapor rushed over.
The fluctuations of the Hydro Element spread through the air, carrying a faint salty fishy smell. Osial and Beisht quickly walked to Yunxuan's side and instinctively shielded her behind them, their bodies almost blocking everyone's view.
They had always been both enemies and friends with Liyue, the Seven, and the Traveler, having fought side by side to protect Liyue, but also having had friction due to old grudges.
Seeing Yunxuan surrounded by Venti, Zhongli, and the others from a distance, with several bystanders pointing and whispering, the two instinctively assumed these people were bullying their own daughter.
The Hydro Element surged around Osial's body, his tone carrying a hint of wariness and the impatient protectiveness of a parent: "What are you all surrounding Little Xuan for? Are you trying to bully the few with the many? Do you really think our husband and wife don't exist?"
Beisht also frowned, her sharp gaze sweeping over the crowd, her voice full of displeasure: "If our daughter has offended anyone, you might as well say so directly. There is no need to surround her like this, putting on a posture as if you are about to fight!"
Looking at the two who suddenly appeared to protect their child, Zhongli sighed helplessly: the already chaotic situation had now been made even worse.
Just as he was about to speak to explain and defuse this escalating misunderstanding, a sudden burst of synchronized footsteps echoed from the distance.
A group of armored Millelith rushed forward, their long spears gripped tightly, their armor clanking with a crisp sound, their faces full of gravity.
"Everyone, please step aside!" the Millelith squad leader in front shouted loudly, his voice powerful enough to pierce through the crowd.
The soldiers behind him immediately fanned out, maintaining order while gently yet firmly guiding the surrounding bystanders to leave.
"Please do not gather to watch, leave the scene as quickly as possible!"
Seeing this, the bystanders quickly withdrew their curious gazes and hurried away.
The once-crowded street soon emptied, leaving only Venti, Lumine, Lydia, Paimon, Zhongli, and Osial and Beisht who were protecting Yunxuan.
A gentle breeze swept past, whirling fallen leaves on the ground, leaving only a delicate silence between them.
Zhongli looked at the scene before him and spoke slowly: "Osial, Beisht, you have misunderstood."
"We have no intention of making things difficult for Yunxuan; it is just a misunderstanding that needs to be clarified, so we can prevent an innocent person from being falsely accused." He turned to look at Yunxuan, his gaze softening a bit, as if treating her like a child who needed patient guidance. "Yunxuan, now that there are fewer people around, if you still have any questions, feel free to ask directly. We will answer them one by one for you, and we will not say a single lie."
Yunxuan peeked out from behind Osial's broad back, taking in everyone's sincere gazes.
She also remembered the heroic legend of "Lydia" mentioned by Venti, and the defenses in her heart finally softened a little.