"Stop right there!"
Seeing Su Bai was actually about to leave the Golden House, Childe quickly called out to him. What was this? If you can't win, you just quit?
"If you stay in the Golden House, I'll tell you some Snezhnayan intelligence!"
"Oh? You're serious?"
Su Bai pretended to be intrigued. Childe was delighted and quickly confirmed. To ease Su Bai's doubts, he added.
"As long as you don't leave the Golden House, we can talk right now. I promise I won't lie."
"Of course, it can only be about Snezhnaya, nothing else."
With the whale about to come down and Su Bai deep in thought, Childe slowly deactivated Foul Legacy. In that state, the Delusion's influence on him was too strong, turning a prodigy into a fool.
Watching Su Bai deliberate, Childe breathed a long sigh of relief. 'Think all you want. Just a few more seconds, and I'll have the Geo Archon's Gnosis and a new fox coat for the Tsaritsa. Two birds with one stone.'
Speaking of the Gnosis—if it wasn't on Rex Lapis's body and wasn't with Su Bai, then among the three people here, the only one left who could have it was the Traveler. Wait... where was she now?
Behind Childe, Lumine, who had been waiting for an opportunity, noticed him drop his guard and deactivate Foul Legacy. Her eyes narrowed. She found her opening and struck, thrusting her sword into his back.
Shhk.
A blade tip emerged from Childe's chest. Gritting his teeth against the pain, his eyes were filled with disbelief. When had the Traveler gotten behind him? He hadn't sensed a thing.
"Cough... when did you... cough... I never expected you to be the one to take me down."
Childe lunged forward, pulling the Blackcliff Longsword from his chest. Lumine watched him coldly. Given her friendship with Su Bai, if he hadn't wanted information from Childe, she would have aimed for the heart.
High above, the Hydro whale, now uncontrolled, let out a mournful cry before dissolving into water and crashing down.
"Adeptus Su Bai, as a Liyue adeptus, not only do you lack martial virtue, but you're also this despicable. Hmph, did you earn your reputation through ambushes?"
Looking at the smiling Su Bai, Childe finally understood. He had been played. Su Bai had been buying time for Lumine. He raised an Anemo barrier to protect her and Paimon.
"It seems you have some knowledge of Liyue culture, Lord Childe. You even know about martial virtue. But let me tell you, in Liyue, we only talk about martial virtue when the opponent's goal is friendly exchange. For invaders like you, embracing the earth is the best ending."
Even inside the Anemo barrier, Childe's defiant expression was clear. Facing his accusations, Su Bai could only say this was a case of sheer outsmarting.
"Since I didn't leave the Golden House, shouldn't you hold up your end of the bargain, Lord Childe?"
"Hmph, what would you like to know, Adeptus Su Bai?"
Childe slumped to the ground. Whether he had accepted his fate or not, his expression was blank, as if he had given up.
"I don't have many questions. First, why are the Fatui collecting Gnoses? You took the Anemo Archon's Gnosis, and now you're after Rex Lapis's. There must be a reason, right?"
"Adeptus Su Bai, you're certainly sharp. But I can't answer that. I don't know."
"Don't know?"
Su Bai raised an eyebrow. He thought Childe was lying. The position of a Fatui Harbinger was one of immense power. How could he not know something like this?
Even as Su Bai's killing intent flared, Childe remained uncooperative. Su Bai couldn't prove he was lying.
"It seems you've broken our agreement, Childe."
"Adeptus Su Bai, don't jump to conclusions. I genuinely don't know. If I did, I would have told you by now."
Childe wore a look of helplessness. But Su Bai no longer cared whether he knew. Since Childe wouldn't cooperate, he would just capture another Harbinger. Apart from Childe, there were still ten more Harbingers out there.
"Don't worry, Childe. I picked up a few skills at Wangsheng. I can't send people to the afterlife, but I know some basic preservation techniques."
"With this heat, you won't have to worry about your body rotting. You can go in peace."
With that, Su Bai charged at Childe with his sword. A man like Childe was only good when he was dead. Childe knew this was the end. As Su Bai closed in, he gritted his teeth against the pain and pulled out a stack of Hundred-Eyed Talismans from his pocket.
"Hundred-Eyed Talismans? Childe, what are you doing?"
"Hahaha! Didn't see that coming, did you?"
A manic grin spread across Childe's face as he activated the talismans one by one. Though these talismans weren't crafted by the adepti, their aura made Su Bai's brow furrow. They seemed capable of breaking certain seals.
"Childe, we can talk about this. Put down the talismans, and I'll let you go."
"Let me go if I put them down? Too late! The talismans are already activated. Since I'm going to die anyway, why not take all of Liyue Harbor with me?"
No sooner had Childe finished speaking than Su Bai's narrowed fox eyes flew wide open. The Hundred-Eyed Talismans could unlock seals on adeptus abodes, but they seemed capable of breaking the seals that held the suppressed gods. Was Childe trying to release the gods that Rex Lapis had sealed away?
"No. I can't let him continue."
Realizing the severity of the situation, Su Bai channeled every ounce of his adeptal energy and swung at Childe. He would use this method to drain the power within the talismans.
But Childe had anticipated this. He used some of the talismans to shield himself from Su Bai's strikes, while continuing to activate the rest.
The sword, wrapped in Su Bai's adeptal energy, struck the talismans with a sharp ring. Though the talismans dimmed slightly, they were still activated. A beam of golden light shot into the sky. In an instant, the sky darkened with clouds, and a storm brewed on the horizon.
"This is really bad."