Yue Liuli shook her head.
"This is simply the fulfillment of the Path of Abundance. It benefits me as well. There is nothing worth thanking me for."
Lin Yi answered seriously.
"If you ever need help in the future, just call for me."
"I will definitely come."
Yue Liuli smiled faintly.
"Oh, I won't stand on ceremony with you."
"These past few months nearly worked me to death."
"If Abundance Emanators weren't as hard to kill as turtles, I'd have died who knows how many times already."
"That's good to hear."
Lin Yi then added apologetically,
"Herta and I still have matters to discuss, so I won't be able to personally see you off."
Yue Liuli waved dismissively.
"It doesn't matter."
"I came alone, and I can leave alone."
"Freedom suits me."
Lin Yi turned toward Zhuxing.
"Zhuxing, escort our guest for me."
"Deliver the gift I prepared earlier."
"And ensure the Moonlight Bodhisattva returns safely to the Xianzhou. Do not be careless."
"Yes, Teacher."
Zhuxing hesitated slightly, but in the end accepted the task.
(Another successful exile.)
(Just kidding.)
In truth, Yue Liuli had helped Lin Yi enormously.
Without her assistance, the Panacea would have been nearly impossible to complete.
He had personally welcomed her when she arrived.
Failing to personally send her off already felt discourteous.
Fortunately, Zhuxing's status was enough to represent him.
Yue Liuli shook her head again.
"That won't be necessary."
"Traveling alone is more convenient."
"As for the gift, if you truly wish to send it, simply ship it to the Xianzhou."
Lin Yi smiled.
"Proper etiquette must be observed."
"It is the minimum respect owed."
"These gifts are only tokens of appreciation."
"As for logistics..."
"The Interastral Peace Corporation would probably not dare handle that shipment anyway."
"And regarding convenience, you needn't worry."
"Zhuxing is an Emanator as well."
"An Emanator of Elation."
"She can travel freely even through regions not covered by the Silver Rail."
"And she carries plenty of useful equipment."
"She won't slow you down. She'll make the journey faster."
Yue Liuli looked genuinely surprised.
"She's an Emanator of Elation?"
She glanced at Zhuxing again.
The girl looked obedient, harmless, and entirely unthreatening.
"I suppose appearances can be deceiving."
"Very well."
"In that case, I'll be on my way."
Lin Yi and Herta watched as Yue Liuli and Zhuxing departed.
If Lin Yi had not become an Emanator of Abundance, and if he did not possess the branch capable of summoning Yaoshi, he would never have allowed Zhuxing to leave his side.
But now his safety was assured.
It was time for the girl to go out and see the universe for herself.
More experience would only help her grow.
Meanwhile, Herta felt a sudden unease.
When Yue Liuli mentioned that "the door wasn't locked," something about those words stirred an instinctive alarm.
She could not explain why.
But it felt... ominous.
As a genius, Herta would never dismiss intuition so easily.
If something felt wrong, there had to be a reason.
She decided to investigate it later.
After Yue Liuli left, Lin Yi asked,
"Didn't you say you came for three reasons?"
"And that checking whether I was dead was only incidental?"
"What about the other two?"
Lin Yi smiled faintly.
"Checking whether I was dead wouldn't require three months."
"With your personality, you wouldn't waste time on meaningless things."
"And yet you came here in person."
"You even waited patiently for three full months while I was unavailable."
"That means you need something from me."
"And it's probably something I wouldn't easily agree to."
"I'm right, aren't I..."
"Miss Herta~"
Lin Yi was no fool.
If someone invested effort, they wanted something in return.
For Herta to willingly wait three months just to speak with him face-to-face—
Whatever she wanted had to be important.
Lin Yi even suspected she had been observing Polka Kakamu's assassination attempt for quite some time.
Allowing him to die just to seize his inheritance was never something she would truly do.
That remark about checking whether he was dead was likely just sarcasm.
Her real plan had probably been simple:
If Lin Yi fell into mortal danger, she would rescue him.
Then use the favor as leverage.
And present her request.
Under those circumstances, refusing her would be difficult.
Unfortunately for Herta—
Lin Yi had survived.
He had nearly killed Polka Kakamu.
And now he had become an Emanator of Abundance.
Polka Kakamu would never get another chance.
At this point, only an Aeon could truly kill Lin Yi.
Without anyone noticing, the balance had reversed.
Now Herta was the one in an awkward position.
Zhuxing had been sent away.
Only the two of them remained.
At last, they could speak openly.
Lin Yi was genuinely curious what Herta wanted so badly.
After all, nothing like this had ever appeared in Honkai: Star Rail lore.
Which meant—
This was likely a new development caused by him.
As expected, once Zhuxing left, Herta visibly relaxed.
Which raised an interesting question:
Why did adults always send children away before serious conversations?
Herta fell silent for a moment.
"You're right."
"I do need something from you."
"But believe me—"
"I never came here with bad intentions."
Lin Yi shook his head.
"We've known each other for years."
"I would never doubt our friendship."
"You don't need to say things like that."
Herta seemed to weigh her words before finally speaking.
"Let's start small."
"We'll deal with the less important matters first."
"I did come here for three things."
"First, as I said before—"
"To see whether you were dead."
"It would have been better if you were."
"But unfortunately, you're perfectly fine."
Lin Yi gave her a thumbs-up.
"Straightforward as always."
Herta crossed her arms.
"Didn't you just say we've known each other for years?"
"Of course we know each other well."
"Fair enough."
Lin Yi laughed.
"Go on."
"What's the second reason?"
Herta coughed lightly.
"The second reason..."
"I was planning to take some time to rob—"
She immediately corrected herself.
"Ahem. I mean..."
"To pay a visit to Fuli in the Garden of Recollection."
"And if I couldn't meet Them..."
"I would 'incidentally' visit the Garden of Recollection."
"And exchange some academic insights."
Lin Yi's expression turned strange.
"When did you start talking like this?"
He mimicked her tone perfectly.
"Didn't you once say—"
'If it's robbery, just call it robbery. No need to dress it up with fancy words.'
Seeing Lin Yi imitate her so smugly, Herta suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to hit him.
Maybe she should grab a hammer from one of her puppets.
Or perhaps...
The staff in her hand would do nicely.
So she acted at once.
Negotiation time was temporarily suspended.
It was now physical attack time.
Herta leaned back and swung her staff with impressive force.
A graceful movement.
Excellent waist control.
THUD.
The sound came from the top of Lin Yi's head.
Solid head.
Plop.
Lin Yi dropped to the floor.
Completely unable to rise.
Zero startup frames.
No warning whatsoever.
He did not even have time to react.
The damage from this single strike exceeded everything Polka Kakamu had done earlier.
Apparently, even Qlipoth's protection did not apply here.
Herta snorted.
"Stop pretending."
"Get up."
"I barely used any strength."
"And even if I had, I couldn't knock out an Emanator of Abundance with a stick."
Lin Yi sprang back up.
"Eh-heh."
"Just trying to lighten the mood."
Herta glared at him.
"Enough."
"The second reason is exactly that."
"The Garden of Recollection has something I want."
"My original plan was to negotiate later and exchange benefits."