Passing through the blockade formed by the Inazuman army, Nilou and Dehya finally saw it.
At the foot of Mt. Tianheng, not far away, stood an unremarkable little courtyard.
There was nothing special around it, just ordinary mountain wilderness.
But looking farther out…
Dense, airtight defensive fortifications surrounded the area, and even in the sky, dragon riders, whom they had thought were merely legends yesterday, were patrolling.
The two of them felt dazed.
"Don't look at what you shouldn't see.
Don't say what you shouldn't say.
Don't remember what you shouldn't remember."
Kujou Sara spoke calmly. Standing outside the gate, she glanced sideways at the two who were deep in thought and said softly,
"No matter what you see, don't overreact, and absolutely don't spread it."
They exchanged a glance and nodded.
Kujou Sara pushed open the gate and led them into the courtyard.
Only then did Dehya and Nilou finally have the chance to observe the situation inside.
To be honest, there were many people present, but most of them were unfamiliar.
The only ones they recognized were the relatively famous Ningguang and Jean, the former Fatui Harbingers Tartaglia and Rosalyne, and Kujou Sara herself.
As for Ei, it was only after she acted that they realized she was a god.
After all, they weren't people who frequently moved across the entirety of Teyvat.
Although Dehya was renowned as the Flame-Mane Lioness, her activities were mostly confined to Sumeru.
She rarely left it.
Kujou Sara returned to stand behind Ei, remaining silent.
Standing under the collective gaze of everyone present, Nilou felt timid and hid behind Dehya.
Dehya, on the other hand, braced herself and spoke softly,
"Sorry for the intrusion. This is our fault. But we truly have something extremely important to take care of."
Before she could finish, Yelan took out a notebook and spoke calmly,
"Dehya, the Flame-Mane Lioness. A member of the Blazing Beasts mercenary group from the Sumeru desert.
Nilou. A resident of the Grand Bazaar in Sumeru City, star performer of the Zubayr Theater."
"Specializes in the Dance of Sabzeruz, an art deemed 'worthless' by the Akademiya. She has long been striving to preserve the Zubayr Theater and her art."
"The common ground between the two of you is your conflict with the Akademiya."
"And your point of intersection is Lady Dunyarzad of the Homayani family in Sumeru City."
"Dunyarzad, terminal stage of Eleazar."
Yelan closed her notebook.
These were things she could have easily learned even in the past.
Now that Liyue's intelligence network had been reorganized, the information at her disposal was even more extensive.
Learning all this was effortless.
Dehya was naturally displeased at having her background laid bare so thoroughly.
But under someone else's roof, she could only lower her head for now.
"So," Ryen narrowed his eyes slightly, glancing at Lisa,
"you didn't come for Nahida, you came for Dunyarzad?"
The milk that had previously been sent to Sumeru had been suggested by Ryen himself.
When he had gone to Sumeru earlier and met Collei, he felt that the girl was kind, pure, and warm-hearted.
Watching her suffer under Eleazar didn't sit right with him.
So he had Lisa send the milk in her own name.
It seemed Dehya and the others had learned of this.
The only question was how widely the matter of Collei's Eleazar being cured had spread.
If helping Collei had ended up bringing her trouble…
Then Ryen would personally step in and settle the matter.
"Dunyarzad…"
Nahida, sitting in Ryen's arms, looked momentarily dazed as she recalled the devout yet fragile girl.
She was one of the very few friends Nahida had during those five hundred years of darkness.
Sensing Nahida's concern, Ryen gently squeezed her hand, reassuring her.
Dehya shrugged helplessly.
"The situation was urgent at the time. If we hadn't brought up the Lesser Lord Kusanali, who knows whether Her Excellency the Raiden Shogun would've acted against us."
Ei looked calmly at Dehya and Nilou, offering no response.
"Besides," Dehya continued with a sigh,
"it's not wrong to say we came for the Lesser Lord Kusanali."
Her gaze shifted to Nahida in Ryen's arms.
Among everyone present, Nahida was the only one with Dendro power.
Who the Dendro Archon was… couldn't have been clearer.
But,
The Lesser Lord Kusanali was such a small child?
That was unexpected.
Dehya muttered inwardly, especially after seeing how Ryen cared for Nahida like a child.
The feeling was… strange.
Ryen nodded thoughtfully, then turned his gaze to Nilou.
"And you? Did you also come for Dunyarzad and Nahida?"
Nilou pressed her lips together and nodded.
"Someone told me that Liyue has a way to cure Dunyarzad's Eleazar. They also said that once this matter is resolved, the Zubayr Theater won't be shut down anymore."
"And that art… will no longer be banned by the Akademiya."
Ryen clicked his tongue.
"The Akademiya… Every time I hear that name, I feel sick."
"The pursuit of art is the path that perfects the human soul. Those dogs don't understand a thing."
Guizhong nodded fervently in agreement.
"Exactly! Art is the ultimate pursuit! If the world had no art, what joy would there even be?"
Nilou's eyes lit up with surprise.
"You… you think the same way?"
In an instant, a sense of mutual understanding spread among Ryen, Guizhong, and Nilou.
The atmosphere eased considerably.
Dehya felt both amused and exasperated.
She never would've thought that this would be how the tension was defused.
"The Akademiya people understand nothing about art," Ryen snorted.
"Just because they worship rationality, does that mean human nature should be discarded?"
"If you ask me, those who don't understand art and won't allow others to understand it should just be wiped out entirely."
Nilou stiffened, embarrassed.
"Um… that might be a bit…"
Ryen waved his hand.
"Enough. I understand why you're here."
"If I'm not mistaken, Alhaitham was the one who sent you, wasn't he?"
Nilou and Dehya nodded.
Ryen chuckled softly.
"When we last met, I already knew he wouldn't be the type to tolerate this once he learned the truth. Still, his progress was faster than I expected."
Then, with a disinterested tone, he continued,
"The thing that cures Eleazar isn't some priceless treasure. And Dunyarzad is also a good friend of my Nahida."
"I won't let my Nahida be sad. Before you leave, just take the milk with you."
"However, while curing Eleazar is simple for us, we have no interest in saving the world, nor do we want to deal with unnecessary trouble."
"You understand what I mean, right?"
Dehya and Nilou nodded repeatedly.
Even if Ryen hadn't said it outright, they already knew they had to strictly control the spread of news about Eleazar being curable.
Not to mention how many Eleazar patients there were in Sumeru, once such an incurable disease was suddenly solved, they would immediately be thrust into the eye of the storm.
Worse still, there might be deranged researchers who would abduct Dunyarzad for experimentation.
After spending so long in the desert, Dehya had long since abandoned naïveté.
She knew very well that the Akademiya was not a benevolent institution.
There were countless experiments that could never see the light of day.
Moreover, if this news spread, large numbers of people might flood into this place.
Although she hadn't known Ryen for long, Dehya's instincts told her one thing clearly,
Ryen was not a merciful man.
If those people came here trying to morally coerce him or cause trouble…
The most likely outcome was that Ryen would find them annoying and casually wipe them out.
In short,
The news that Eleazar could be cured must never spread.
That said, after receiving Ryen's assurance, the tension visibly eased from their expressions.
Their primary goal, finding a way to cure Dunyarzad's Eleazar, had already been achieved.
What remained was inviting the Traveler to take action.
"Besides that," Ryen said leisurely, without waiting for them to speak,
"Alhaitham probably asked you to do something else as well, didn't he?"
Dehya and Nilou exchanged a glance, then nodded and spoke softly,
"We… want to ask the Traveler to go to Sumeru with us."
"Huh?!"
Lumine, who had been watching quietly, sat up in shock.
"Why does this suddenly involve me again?!"
"I just got back from Inazuma not long ago!"
She grumbled with a face full of resistance, while Paimon immediately shrank back into Ryen's arms.
She hadn't been petted enough yet.
They had barely returned, hadn't even rested, and now it was time to work again?
Although Dehya and Nilou were asking Lumine, Paimon didn't believe that if Lumine left, she'd be allowed to stay behind.
Sumeru was indeed the next destination sooner or later, but,
Surely they weren't expected to leave without even a month of rest?
Dehya smiled bitterly and said helplessly,
"You should already know what's happening in Sumeru right now… the Akademiya, Azar, and what he's planning…"
At those words, Zhongli and the others' expressions darkened slightly, casting a cool glance at Dehya.
This left Dehya momentarily confused.
Ryen rolled his eyes and teased,
"They finally managed to forget about that matter, and you bring it up right in front of five Archons and seven gods?"
"???"
Dehya stood there completely stunned, glancing around in confusion.
Ryen laughed and shook his head.
"I haven't introduced myself properly yet. My name is Ryen, Alhaitham should have mentioned me."
Dehya nodded.
"He said you were the god who smashed the Akademiya not long ago."
Before Ryen could say anything, Guizhong brightened up, grinning as she patted his arm.
"So you went berserk for a beauty? How touching! Keep it up~ If I get bullied by other gods in the future, you'll avenge me, right, boss?"
Ryen rolled his eyes.
"I'm not a god… whatever."
Not bothering to explain further, he pointed at the others.
"This is Morax, he's retired.
This is Barbatos, currently slacking off.
This is Beelzebul, the second Electro Archon of Inazuma, also retired."
"You already know Nahida. She's your Lesser Lord Kusanali."
"And this last one is the second Cryo Archon of Snezhnaya, Tsaritsa."
As Ryen finished the introductions, Dehya and Nilou finally understood what kind of people were seated here.
Their scalps tingled.
Now they understood why this place was guarded and sealed off layer after layer.
Inside this courtyard…
Was an entire gathering of gods and adepti.
Across all of Teyvat, aside from the Hydro Archon and the Pyro Archon, every remaining Archon was present here.
Nilou felt completely at a loss, not knowing what to do with her hands or where to look.
As for Dehya,
She felt numb.
Because just moments ago…
In front of five Archons, seven gods, and countless adepti,
She had mentioned the creation of a god.
~~----------------------
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