The Traveler and the others arrived at the People of the Springs, where they met the lively white-haired woman in the tribe.
"Traveler, Paimon, hello," Mualani greeted with a smile.
"What wind blew you all here? Could it be that you want to experience the hot springs of our People of the Springs?" Mualani asked with a laugh.
"No, it's not that." Paimon waved her hand and explained what had happened.
"Oh——" Mualani drew out her voice. "So you all want to find the person who writes novels."
"Does Mualani know who that person is?" the Traveler asked.
Mualani smiled, then said, "As soon as you mentioned writing novels, I knew who it was. It's just that he's not in the People of the Springs right now."
"If you want to see him, you might have to go to the Stadium of the Sacred Flame."
"We still have to go that far?" Paimon said in surprise. "I thought as long as we came to the People of the Springs, we could find that person. We actually have to make another trip to the Stadium of the Sacred Flame."
"He's a very busy person, after all," Mualani said with a smile.
"Do we still have to walk?" the editor said, feeling a bit weary. "I've walked such a long way already; I'm really tired."
He had originally thought he could rest for a while, but now he had to walk another long distance.
Seeing this, Mualani smiled and said, "If this gentleman feels fatigued and can't travel right now, would you like to experience the signature hot springs of our People of the Springs first, rest for a bit, and then continue on?"
The editor was a bit tempted and turned to look at the Traveler and the others.
He really did want to stop and rest, but this time he was traveling with others. If only he rested, it would be too awkward.
"It's fine," the Traveler said with a smile. "We're not in a hurry anyway. Let's set off after you've rested."
"Thank you so much," the editor said, breathing a sigh of relief. He could finally rest.
"Then no time like the present. Please, sir, go experience the signature hot springs of our People of the Springs right now," Mualani said.
"Wait a moment." At that moment, a woman with a Pyro Vision at her waist walked over.
"Auntie Atea." The girl looked somewhat puzzled at the elder from the People of the Springs.
"Mualani, did you forget that when inviting visitors from out of town to experience the hot springs, they still need to undergo the hot spring trial first?" Atea asked.
"I accidentally forgot," Mualani said embarrassedly, scratching her hair.
"What is the hot spring trial?" the editor asked, somewhat confused.
"Simply put, the temperature of our hot spring water is a bit high. When outsiders come to soak in our hot springs, they first have to experience the lower-temperature pools. If there's no problem, then they can soak in the normal ones," Atea explained.
Then she looked at Mualani helplessly. "I've reminded you so many times already, and you always forget."
Mualani smiled embarrassedly. "It's because I got too excited thinking about going to the Stadium of the Sacred Flame to play later."
"You..." Atea shook her head and said no more to Mualani. Then she led the editor to undergo the hot spring trial.
After the two left, the Traveler asked Mualani, "The author you mentioned... wouldn't happen to be..."
"Exactly, it's him," Mualani nodded with a smile.
"Who are you two talking about?" Paimon leaned in, asking uncomprehendingly.
Seeing this, the two looked into each other's eyes and saw the mischievous intent in them, so they said, "You'll find out when we get there, Paimon."
"You two are so mean!" Paimon stomped her foot in anger. "You clearly know the answer but deliberately won't tell me. This riddle-person behavior is just too hateful."
Moreover, that editor was already so tired he could barely walk. By the time he rested and they set off, it would be at least tomorrow—this was going to kill her with suspense.
Fortunately, the editor didn't even pass the hot spring trial. After soaking in the lower-temperature pool for five minutes, he couldn't take it anymore and had to come out, so they could only set off.
The distance from the People of the Springs to the Stadium of the Sacred Flame wasn't any closer than to other tribes. After walking a long way, the group finally arrived at the Stadium of the Sacred Flame.
Then, under Mualani's lead, they came to the Parley Hall.
"Rios, we've come to find you!" As soon as Mualani entered the door, she shouted to the young man who was working in the Parley Hall.
"It's Rios!" Paimon covered her mouth in surprise. "Could it be that the novelist's true identity is Rios?"
"What's wrong with him?" the editor asked puzzledly. "Although that young man looks very young, writing is all about talent and imagination. A young writer isn't necessarily unable to produce good work."
The poor editor had no idea of Rios's true identity.
Fortunately, the kind-hearted Traveler helped explain.
"He is the Pyro Archon."
The Traveler said calmly.
"What?"
"The novelist I was looking for is actually Natlan's Pyro Archon!" The editor's mouth gaped open in shock.
This was just like finding out that the young man you often had tea with was actually the Geo Archon, or that your frequent drinking buddy was the Anemo Archon Barbatos—utterly unbelievable.
"He really is the Pyro Archon."
"No wonder we had to come to the Stadium of the Sacred Flame to find him."
Paimon had already reacted upon hearing Mualani's words, and after hearing the Traveler's confirmation, it only solidified her thoughts.
"Rios, an editor from Liyue has come to chase your manuscript. Have you written the next parts yet?" Mualani came before Rios and asked.
"Are editors these days so dedicated?" Rios said somewhat helplessly. "They even do cross-border chasing."
"Pyro Archon, are you really the author of those novels?" Even now, the editor still couldn't quite believe it.
What magic did writing novels have, that even a nation's god would pick up the pen?
If the editor voiced his thoughts, Rios would tell him directly: "Bro, your worldview is still too narrow."
"Not to mention a nation's god writing novels—even spies have been exposed because their spy novels were too realistic."
"Those articles were indeed written by me before I became a god."
Rios smiled.
No one would disdain having too much Mora. Long before becoming Natlan's god, Rios had thought of a way to earn a large amount of Mora.
What he came up with was to slightly adapt the novels from his previous world's knowledge to suit Teyvat's tastes and publish them.
This move directly led to him earning an inexhaustible amount of Mora at a young age. However, after becoming Natlan's god, he rarely picked up the pen to write novels again.
"I'm very sorry, Editor," Rios said to the editor. "For the novels you mentioned, I haven't written a single word now."
"I understand, I understand," the editor nodded repeatedly. "After all, you have to govern a nation; you really don't have that much time and energy for creation."
"But this is a bit tricky now," the editor said, troubled. "I can't just say the novelist became the Pyro Archon and has no time to update, right?"
Though it was the truth, no one would believe it.