Just as everyone was congratulating Diluc on obtaining a powerful weapon, he stumbled and collapsed to the ground. Su Bai keenly noticed that the amount of blood seeping from Diluc's body seemed excessive. This likely indicated internal organ damage. He remembered seeing cases like this in the medical books Baizhu had written. If not handled properly, this kind of injury could actually be fatal.
"With this much blood loss, this isn't good. I'm taking Diluc back to Mondstadt now."
Boreas also sensed Diluc's life force rapidly declining. He gently breathed a gust of Anemo toward Su Bai, enveloping him in dense wind energy. Su Bai felt his body become much lighter.
"Fox boy, take him quickly for treatment. His internal injuries mean I cannot freeze him with Cryo. That would cause secondary damage."
Su Bai hoisted Diluc onto his back and sprinted toward Mondstadt. Along the way, he tried using adeptal energy to stabilize Diluc's internal injuries, but it had almost no effect.
"Dammit, you nearly killed yourself for a sword. What do you want me to say?"
Though muttering complaints about Diluc, Su Bai had pushed his speed to the limit. His legs, long stimulated by Electro energy, were beginning to ache with a sharp pain.
"Sorry for the trouble, Su Bai. I might need to rest for a while..."
A weak voice came from behind. Diluc lay limply on Su Bai's back. Su Bai's heart jumped. He knew this was the moment he absolutely couldn't let Diluc fall asleep, so he started teasing him.
"You know it's trouble? Next time something like this happens, tell me beforehand. As my friend, you can get a thirty percent discount on customized packages at Wangsheng Funeral Parlor."
"That's something I won't need. If you want to order some, I can help you get a few hundred."
Diluc mustered some energy at Su Bai's words. Knowing exactly what business Wangsheng conducted, he weakly retorted.
"Hey Diluc, want to make a bet?"
"If you can stay awake until we reach the cathedral, next time you visit Liyue, I'll treat you to a meal personally cooked by our Director Hu."
"If you fall asleep, you have to use that new Wolf's Gravestone of yours to grill me some meat."
"I'll take your silence as agreement."
Hearing that Su Bai wanted to use Wolf's Gravestone for grilling meat, Diluc perked up a bit more. This sword was now his second life, his other half. Using it for cooking was completely unacceptable. Unfortunately, blood loss had left Diluc too weak to speak, so he could only reluctantly agree.
Seeing the flat terrain of Windrise ahead, Su Bai gritted his teeth and added his own Anemo energy to his legs. With a mild Swirl reaction, his speed increased further. From a distance, if one wasn't paying close attention, he might have been mistaken for an Electroculus racing across Windrise.
As the sun set, it offered the land its last warmth. People who had labored all day finally had time to rest. Some sat wearily on chairs outside Good Hunter, enjoying this rare moment of peace. Others gathered in groups heading toward Angel's Share. Everything seemed so tranquil.
Inside the cathedral, Barbara was cleaning. With so many nuns having gone missing, the cathedral no longer opened at night. As a devout follower of the Anemo Archon, Barbara never forgot to keep the cathedral clean before leaving.
"Barbara, Barbara, are you here?"
"Anyone? Barbara? Barbara?"
Su Bai pushed open the cathedral doors with force. Looking at the empty, clean hall, anxiety gripped him. If Diluc's injuries were delayed any longer, he might bleed out. With no other choice, Su Bai shouted Barbara's name at the top of his lungs.
"Su Bai, I've told you before not to shout in the cathedral. It shows disrespect to Lord Barbatos."
Barbara emerged from the basement holding a broom. Cleaning such a large space alone was difficult even with a Vision, so she only cleaned rarely used areas like the basement every few days.
"Barbara, forget about Barbatos for now. Treat Diluc quickly. If we don't stop the bleeding soon, he might bleed to death."
Su Bai stepped aside, revealing Diluc covered in blood. Barbara jumped in shock. She couldn't imagine who could have injured someone even her sister respected so badly.
"Quick, Su Bai, go to the infirmary and get medicine! There's hemostatic medicine and bandages there."
Forgetting about her nun's habit getting stained with blood, Barbara knelt beside Diluc and channeled Hydro energy to stabilize his condition.
As Barbara continued treating him, blood soaked into her habit. Her white stockings turned an ominous red. Her once rosy face grew pale from elemental exhaustion.
Several times Su Bai wanted to tell her to rest, but seeing her determination, he held back. With nothing else to do, he transferred some adeptal energy to Barbara to alleviate the emptiness from elemental depletion. But this was only a temporary fix.
"Cough, cough. Su Bai, I won. I'll remember that meal."
After receiving treatment for a while, the corner of Diluc's mouth curved slightly. With his last bit of strength, he finished the sentence, then his head lolled to the side as he completely lost consciousness.
"Still worried about that even now. Fine, fine. When you visit Liyue, I'll let you try Hu Tao's special dish."
Su Bai joked while clenching his fist. There were many healing techniques among Liyue's adeptal arts, but he had only wanted to learn offensive ones. He hadn't studied healing much. Now he realized his vision had been too narrow.
"I really need to learn some healing techniques. I never want to feel this helpless again."
During treatment, Barbara tried to move the greatsword from Diluc's hand. No matter how hard she pried at his fingers, Diluc, completely unconscious, refused to let go.
Barbara asked Su Bai for help. He also struggled mightily but couldn't pry it loose. With no other option, they carried Diluc still gripping the sword, to the infirmary. During the move, they bumped into something, and the sharp Wolf's Gravestone accidentally sliced through the cast on Bennett's leg.
Barbara, who had just finished treating Diluc, had to put a new cast on Bennett without any rest. While she worked, Su Bai updated Bennett on what happened in Wolvendom. Bennett finally relaxed, relieved that Razor was safe.