The moment he heard the Qianyan Army say that, Tartaglia immediately panicked.
"How can you falsely accuse us like this? We've been under your surveillance the entire time—how could we possibly have colluded with the vanguard forces?"
"Besides, the vanguard answers directly to the Doctor! How could we give them orders?"
"They were never our people to begin with! Our actual forces have been under your control from the start!"
The surrounding Fatui agents all nodded frantically in agreement.
Only now did they realize why Tartaglia and Rosalyne had kept telling them not to do anything.
So it turns out Tartaglia knew what kind of place Liyue was all along!
In hindsight, that likely saved their lives.
"If you've done nothing wrong, then why did you slip past surveillance to meet with Miss Lumine the other day?" Dashi snorted coldly.
"Every single move you make is tracked in detail by the General Affairs Office."
Tartaglia's expression fell. He looked as if he were on the verge of tears.
"I just wanted to meet her and get to know her, alright? She's the Traveler—I wanted to challenge her to a fight, just to test my own strength. Is that so wrong?"
Tartaglia looked toward Lumine with pleading eyes. She gave a helpless nod and replied:
"That's true. He was trying to pick a fight with me."
"...Is that so…" Dashi nodded slightly.
"Private duels are a violation of Liyue's public security laws. Detain him!"
"???"
Tartaglia was getting irritated now.
"You guys are just determined to arrest us no matter what, huh?"
His Delusion began to emit a dark glow—Tartaglia was clearly getting worked up.
After all, he was a Harbinger—a powerful fighter.
But—
Before he could do anything, a deafening gunshot rang out.
A razor-sharp gust of wind grazed his hair, blasting a large hole into the wall right behind him.
Tartaglia froze on the spot, glancing sideways toward the nearby building.
Four or five sniper rifles were aimed directly at his head.
The situation instantly turned awkward.
Dashi snorted coldly.
Leading a division of thermal weaponry, he wasn't afraid of powerful enemies.
Unless you were on a god's level, no matter how strong you were, you'd still get turned into a sieve by the flood of bullets from their steel arsenal.
Just as he was about to order Tartaglia and Rosalyne taken away, Zhongli sighed and said helplessly:
"Let them return to the Northland Bank. They truly had nothing to do with those vanguard squads—that was the Doctor's doing."
"Lord Zhongli..." Dashi looked conflicted.
"But this was Lady Ningguang's direct order..."
"Just contact her and tell her I said so," Zhongli replied.
Dashi paused for a moment, then nodded thoughtfully. He stepped aside and took out a gemstone to initiate contact.
Back on the Jade Chamber, where Ningguang was still chatting privately with Ryen, she suddenly paused—then looked up and spoke:
"Zhongli wants to protect Tartaglia and Rosalyne? Are the Fatui here under Zhongli's arrangements?"
Ryen shrugged.
"Who should I even ask about that…?"
"But still, letting them go is fine. Unlike certain other Harbingers, these two are loyal to the Tsaritsa. And the Tsaritsa is a firm opponent of Celestia."
"Maybe you'll even cooperate with them in the future."
"Besides, if I'm not mistaken, the Tsaritsa and Zhongli have a contract. They're here to receive the Gnosis."
Hearing that, Ningguang slightly furrowed her brow and turned to look at Venti.
If anyone knew the full story between Zhongli and the Tsaritsa, it would be the Anemo Archon himself—who also acted out a fake Gnosis handover.
Unfortunately...
Expecting a straight answer from Venti was hopeless.
"Ehe~!"
Venti gave a helpless shrug, feigning complete innocence.
Ningguang didn't dwell on it any longer. In the end, it didn't concern Liyue directly.
Zhongli was retiring anyway—he could handle the Gnosis however he liked.
She issued a brief command into the communication gem, then returned to chatting and laughing with Ryen.
Down in Liyue Harbor, Dashi received Ningguang's reply. Without hesitation, he waved his hand.
"Fall back!"
With that, he gave a respectful nod to Zhongli and quickly led his troops toward the foot of Mt. Tianheng.
They had to store their thermal weapons in a centralized location before continuing normal operations in Liyue.
Those weapons were still not ready to appear in public freely.
Still, today had been a good day.
They got to enjoy a taste of being heroes—and tomorrow, they'd return to the MC world and resume their expeditions.
Compared to guard duty in this world, charging into adventure in that world was what really got their blood pumping.
At the very least, there were plenty of monsters to slay there.
As the sense of danger faded, Tartaglia and Rosalyne finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Patting his chest, Tartaglia muttered:
"Mr. Zhongli, you really can't be counted on. If you'd shown up even a minute later, we'd be riddled with bullets by now."
Zhongli didn't argue with Tartaglia's complaint.
"That was my oversight. After the Rite of Parting, I'll speak with Ningguang and the others in detail."
"In the future, I'll also ask them not to deliberately target you—but you must understand: you are you, and the Fatui are the Fatui."
"There are things that must never fall into the Fatui's hands. Otherwise, next time, the Jade Chamber might be heading straight for Snezhnaya."
Tartaglia stiffened, a chill running through him. He nodded solemnly.
"…Understood."
"I'll head to the Northland Bank tonight. The Gnosis will be handed over then," Zhongli added, preparing to take Lumine to gather the final items needed for the Rite of Parting.
Suddenly, Rosalyne spoke up:
"There's no need to rush the Gnosis. Her Majesty the Tsaritsa will soon arrive in Liyue Harbor herself. You can hand it over directly when she arrives."
Zhongli's brows furrowed slightly.
"She's coming here in person?"
"Yes," Rosalyne said after some thought, her voice calm and steady.
~~----------------------
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