To Exorcise a Demon

Chapter 6

The plan was simple.

Xu would take Xingqiu to a secluded spot right outside of Liyue Harbor, where Hu Tao would capture him and take him the rest of the way to the village. Was it a form of kidnapping? Yes, but it was for his own good. It wasn't like the exorcists would willingly teach someone outside their group their techniques, so she couldn't just go there herself and come back. Besides that, Xingqiu would never come on his own after last time.

To Hu Tao, it seemed clear and simple enough that even someone like Xu would find it easy. However, that didn't prove to be the case. When Xu arrived at the meeting point, he looked like he had run the whole way there, with an already tied-up Xingqiu slung over his shoulder.

"I thought I said we'd tie him up once you both got here?" Hu Tao questioned, watching the young hydro user flail around trying to get out of his binds and the older man's grip, which proved to be utterly futile.

"I thought… I wouldn't have to… either," Xu answered, trying to catch his breath and keep a hold on the squirming Xingqiu. "But he saw right through… the best lie I could come up with. Master Xingqiu might have believed it… but not this evil spirit."

"No one would have believed something so idiotic," Xingqiu retorted, pausing in his squirming and resorting to trying to get his hands free. Though, be it trying to untie the knot or wriggle his hands out, no method worked.

"Well, I suppose we'll just have to work with this," the director sighed, turning away and indicating with her hand for the man to follow her. "We best be setting off, then. Wouldn't want a ghost to possess you, too, once night falls."

With that unsettling comment, the two set out with Xingqiu in tow, with the evil spirit finally settling down upon realizing that the mortal body couldn't do anything to escape. Their traveling speed only quickened as the day progressed into the afternoon, Hu Tao's joke still fresh and full of seriousness in Xu's mind.

"Looks like we just have to cross this bridge," the director said, looking at her map and then at what reality revealed.

"I would hardly call it a bridge," Xu commented, gazing at the long-neglected overpass. The wood looked rotten, and there were a couple spots that had completely caved in. However, it seemed that other people were resourceful enough to find a workaround. "There is a path beside it that we can take."

Hu Tao walked over to see what the man was talking about. Once she did, she proceeded onto the first makeshift raft-bridge. It wobbled slightly, but other than that it was pretty anchored. She turned back to Xu and gestured for him to come closer.

"It's safe to cross, and I can take Xingqiu off of your shoulders," she suggested. It couldn't have been easy carrying someone around for hours, much less without switching shoulders. Even if Xingqiu wasn't too heavy, it does add up to be quite the workout, especially for people who don't often train their muscles.

"Wow, I'm sure your friend would love how you refer to him as an object," Xingqiu sarcastically said, finally speaking after their departure from Liyue Harbor. His comment was ignored, however, and the other two continued their conversation.

"This is the last stretch," Xu denied, gently shaking his head. "I can make it."

"Alright, then let us continue."

The two slowly walked and hopped their way to the other bank. Although the people who made the makeshift bridge tried their best to make it secure and sturdy, there were still some spots that weren't as secure as they appeared. Luckily, or unluckily, Hu Tao faced most of those challenges, leaving her lower legs and feet soaked.

"We are so making a fire before we head back," the director complained, physically cringing at the noises her steps made. "The village should be right through this pass," she continued, trying to take her mind off of her predicament.

Xu took the lead through the passageway, most likely looking forward to being able to release Xingqiu and free the weight and tension on his shoulder. However, Xingqiu immediately stopped his progress by frantically squirming.

"Do you really have to make things difficult at the end of-" Hu Tao started to say.

"Let me go!" Xingqiu shouted, his voice full of desperation. "Let me go and I'll leave this vessel alone! I'll even go to the afterlife! Just let me go!" The evil spirit, the one who clearly knew what was going to happen from the beginning, was now terrified and begging to be released. "I don't want to disappear!"

If the two weren't confused before, that last sentence definitely bewildered them. There was nothing in this world that could make a spirit disappear. It just wasn't possible, and even if it was, it wouldn't be morally right to do so.

With enough squirming, Xingqiu fell onto the ground and continued to move around, though it looked much more like a writhing snake than a directional goal. "Let. Me. Go!" With that last shout, the spirit removed its distorted corporeal form and dashed into the air. However, it didn't make it far before letting out a blood-curdling scream and poofing out of existence. Little particles from the spirit floated down to the two scared onlookers, disappearing before touching anything solid.

No one said anything for a moment, as they were too busy with their own thoughts. It was mostly about the terrifying scream and what could scare an evil spirit, but for Hu Tao, she was wondering what could have flipped that fact on its head. There was nothing with the ability to permanently erase spirits. Not even the Conqueror of Demons is capable of doing that. And yet, she saw it - she felt it - with her very own eyes and soul.

"What's going on here?!"

(A lil rushed, but I just really wanted to speed this part up a bit. Mainly because I got stuck on it, but also to get closer to meeting best boy)