In the end, Ryan didn't leave. He decided to bet that Lord Rex Lapis wouldn't tell Cloud Retainer about what he had done.
If he lost the bet… his master wouldn't really beat him, would she?
At worst, he still had a Sweet Sweet Pill to heal his injuries… Ryan thought to himself.
It's worth mentioning that Ryan also took the incense burner and balm with him.
Maybe he could use them again later when paying respects to Lord Rex Lapis.
"This way, there's even less chance of getting the Gnosis… It seems I'll have to use the backup plan."
Tartaglia had been interrupted by Ryan, but after realizing he had no other clues about the Gnosis, he still made this decision.
Although this plan was a bit extreme, since the Geo Archon was feigning death and wouldn't show himself, it seemed unlikely he could force him out without resorting to drastic measures.
"Backup plan?"
Hearing Tartaglia's words, Ryan, who had walked back, subconsciously asked.
"I originally didn't want to use this plan, because it would affect the innocent."
"But as a Fatui Harbinger, one cannot be picky about methods, just like children sometimes have to learn to eat carrots they don't like."
Tartaglia shrugged, speaking as he retreated.
At this point, Lumine no longer had time to stop him.
The next moment, a large number of golden Talismans of All-Encompassing Evil appeared around Tartaglia, rotating around him.
"Those are… Talismans of All-Encompassing Evil?!"
Having obtained one from Tartaglia before, Paimon quickly recognized the talismans surrounding Tartaglia and exclaimed in surprise.
Before coming here, she and Lumine had followed clues from the Jade Chamber to investigate a Fatui camp, where they found that the Fatui seemed to be replicating the Talisman of Abiding.
Now it seemed the Fatui had succeeded?
"Just wait and see. Will a nation without its God be swallowed by ancient malice?"
Tartaglia slowly retreated two steps with his hands raised, then, enveloped by Hydro element power, disappeared within the Golden House.
The entire process was actually very short; after he made his decision, he retreated a few steps and it was done. Ryan and Lumine had no time to stop him.
…After Tartaglia unleashed the power of the Talisman of Abiding, the sky above Liyue Harbor instantly became overcast, and the impending storm filled the air with a suffocating atmosphere.
The seal beneath Guyun Stone Forest in the sea was affected by the power of the Talisman of Abiding, causing an ancient being to slowly emerge from its confinement.
The massive body in the sea didn't break the surface, but just the five heads that did emerge were like giant serpents piercing the heavens.
Even though there was still a long way from the Golden House to the harbor, Ryan and Lumine, who had just rushed out of the Golden House, still had to look up slightly to meet its gaze.
This showed just how enormous it was.
"W-What is that?!"
Paimon's eyes widened in shock as she stared at the terrifying behemoth emerging from the sea.
Before this, the biggest scene she and Lumine had witnessed was fighting Stormterror in Mondstadt, but Stormterror's size was dwarfed by the behemoth in the sea.
"I heard my master say that the Geo Archon defeated a God who is sealed beneath Guyun Stone Forest. This guy… seems to be the Vortex God Osial?"
Although Ryan had never been to Guyun Stone Forest, he had heard many stories about Lord Rex Lapis from Cloud Retainer, and he guessed this as he looked at the giant in the sea.
"A God?! So Young Master's goal is… to destroy Liyue Harbor?!"
Hearing that it was actually a God, Paimon exclaimed.
After all, the God War was a widely known historical event in Teyvat, and everyone knew that most of Teyvat's first Seven Archons were the victors of the God War.
Therefore, in most people's minds, the power of a God was incredibly strong.
"He wants to force the Geo Archon to appear…"
Lumine frowned, looking at the giant God in the sea, and combining it with Tartaglia's previous words, she quickly understood.
Although this God in the sea was a defeated foe of Lord Rex Lapis, two thousand years after the end of the God War, unless Lord Rex Lapis personally intervened to suppress it, Liyue would indeed have no good way to deal with it.
And since Lord Rex Lapis was feigning death, he would never watch his people suffer, so Tartaglia's plan had great potential.
"To force the Geo Archon to appear, huh… Eh? That's the Jade Chamber! The Jade Chamber is flying towards the sea!"
Paimon nodded, but just then noticed something huge flying across the sky.
"It must be Ningguang going there."
Lumine guessed as she watched the Jade Chamber fly towards the God in the sea.
While Ryan was secretly going to the Golden House to "pay respects" to Lord Rex Lapis, Lumine and Paimon had already successfully boarded the Jade Chamber. Now seeing the Jade Chamber fly by, she knew that Ningguang must be going to the front lines to help deal with the God in the sea.
"Let's go help too."
Thinking this, Lumine immediately decided.
She didn't know if Lord Rex Lapis would appear directly, and she couldn't just watch the people of Liyue suffer, so she immediately wanted to rush over to provide support.
"I'm going too!"
Ryan looked at the giant God in the sea, and his ears involuntarily twitched. For some reason, he was even more excited than he had been earlier in Liyue Harbor.
"Hmm? Do you seem a bit excited?"
Lumine only then noticed Ryan's tail wagging behind him. Although he tried his best to hide his excitement, she still clearly saw it.
"Cough, cough, d-did I?"
Noticing Lumine's observation, Ryan awkwardly coughed.
"It does seem so, Ryan! Your tail is almost spinning like the large windmill in Mondstadt!"
Paimon, flying at a higher position, hadn't noticed, but after hearing Lumine's words, she observed closely and found that Ryan's state did seem a bit strange.
It was like a dog discovering a favorite toy.
"Alright… To be honest, I don't know why, but seeing Osial appear and feeling the pressure he released, my body suddenly started to get excited, as if my bloodline was calling…"
Finding that he couldn't make his tail calm down, Ryan, whose secret had been exposed, could only scratch his head and explain.
'Although materials from a God are also very precious, I haven't even brought up that idea yet, so it shouldn't be related to this…'
'And my tail is completely out of control. Could it be… that Ganyu's child also wants to choke the opponent to death with itself?'
Ryan secretly guessed in his heart.
Cloud Retainer often told him these interesting stories from Ganyu's childhood, and he could recite them by heart.
"Excited after seeing the God in the sea, and a call from his bloodline…?"
Hearing Ryan's explanation, Paimon tilted her head, then seemed to think of something and immediately widened her eyes.
"I got it, I got it! Paimon knows! Yesterday, after we finished preparing for the Rite of Parting, the Traveler and I bought a few Liyue novels to pass the time. I saw a plot like this last night."
"Cough, cough… The great villain of the world, defeated by an older generation of masters and forced to flee Liyue's central plains, returns years later for revenge. The protagonist, who is determined to defeat the great villain, eventually discovers that he is actually the illegitimate son the great villain entrusted to the righteous side years ago."
"For the sake of justice and the common people, the protagonist resolutely abandoned kinship and drew his sword against his own biological father."
"So, Ryan, you might be the child left behind by that God in the sea. After he was defeated by the Geo Archon, the Adepti took you in."
As Paimon spoke, she also pulled out a wuxia novel from Lumine's backpack.
"…I think the most important thing for you right now is to read fewer novels."
Before Ryan could even speak, Lumine, standing beside him with her arms crossed, looked at Paimon speechlessly….