Worried something might go wrong, Keqing brought more than thirty Millelith with her to the Northland Bank.
She stayed close to Ryou, gripping Lion's Roar so hard her knuckles went pale.
They reached the bank.
"Stay on me," Ryou called as he moved to the front.
"Yes, Ryou-sama!" the Millelith answered, tightening formation behind him.
"Ryou, let me go first," Keqing said, grabbing his arm.
"It's fine."
Ryou kicked the Northland Bank's door open.
Bang!
The door blew off its hinges and slammed into the far wall.
[Ding! Ever-Bolder in Battle triggered!]
[Ding! Ever-Bolder in Battle trigger count: 7. All attributes +700%!]
The moment he heard the notification, Ryou knew there were a lot of people inside.
Something also seemed to be smothering the room. Even with lamps lit, the light wouldn't spread—like the darkness itself was swallowing it.
"It's the Millelith!" a Fatui shouted.
"Kill him!" someone barked.
A middle-aged man rushed in with a blade.
Ryou stepped in, slipped the swing, and drove his palm into the man's chest.
Pfft!
The man flew into the wall and punched straight through it, leaving a human-shaped outline in the masonry.
In the next breath, seven people screamed as they were launched backward.
One of Hand's effects: through-the-mountain shock strike.
Hand had slipped out before and caused plenty of damage around Liyue Harbor. Now it was showing off again.
This time, Ryou kept the power under control—otherwise, those seven palm shocks would've blown the entire bank apart.
Several Millelith gaped, speechless.
One palm strike… and he sent a man through a wall. Was that even human strength?
And the strangest part was that Ryou didn't look like someone who could do that. He looked refined, almost gentle.
For a second, a few of them even wondered why they were here at all.
They'd come expecting to help arrest a suspect, thinking they might be useful.
But now it felt like the Fatui were the ones who needed saving.
Keqing stared blankly from behind him.
What is this?
My husband is that strong?
That strike was absurd. Against hilichurls, it would've been a clean instant kill.
Tabibito's expression sharpened.
Ryou's situation reminded her of something too familiar.
Not long ago, seven palm prints had appeared in Liyue Harbor and caused an uproar. Ryou had issued a public notice blaming the Fatui, and with Childe showing up afterward, everyone pinned it on him.
But now…
Tabibito was starting to feel like those palm strikes had been Ryou's doing all along.
"Move!" Ryou ordered.
"Yes, Ryou-sama!"
The Millelith snapped out of it and surged forward to arrest the remaining Fatui.
In the next instant, a blast of air burst from deeper inside the building, and a corpse shot out into the open.
Ryou met it with another palm.
Pfft!
Several Fatui nearby went corpse-white as they were flung back, dead before they hit the ground.
Ryou's base stats were already boosted by over forty percent. His strength and stamina had been reinforced again and again.
Now, with a seven-hundred-percent all-attribute increase stacked on top?
That single palm would kill even a Vision holder outright.
"Tch. So it's you." La Signora stepped out from the darkness.
She stared at Ryou with icy contempt. "Your Ministry of Civil Affairs announced those palm strikes were done by the Fatui."
Her eyes narrowed. "So explain something to me. Why can you use through-the-mountain shock strike—and why did it hit seven people at once?"
Keqing's eyes widened. Instinctively, she turned to look at Ryou.
"La Signora," Ryou said coldly, "we're here to arrest you. Save the chatter."
"I'll admit you're strong," La Signora said, voice sharp as glass. "But that doesn't mean you can beat me."
Her expression hardened. "I still haven't settled the last score with you. Perfect. We'll clear old grudges and new ones together."
She moved.
Two streams of elemental power gathered around her, and she lunged straight for Ryou.
Boom!
Ryou met her head-on with a palm. The impact hit him like a double wave—biting cold and scorching heat at the same time. His vision blurred for a moment.
"I'm helping!" Keqing shouted, sword flashing as she charged in.
"Move!" Tabibito joined in, striking from the other side.
With both of them pressuring her at once, La Signora's momentum faltered—just enough.
Ryou seized the opening and slammed his palm down.
Crack!
It felt like his strike hit a barrier. A chain of shattering sounds rippled outward, and eerie forces erupted around them.
The Northland Bank split apart in an instant.
Stone and timber collapsed in roaring waves.
Ryou was about to press the attack—
[Ding! Ever-Bolder in Battle status updated!]
[Ding! Trigger count: 1. All attributes +300%!]
The sudden drop—from +700% to +300%—caught Ryou off guard for half a beat.
In that half beat, he felt La Signora's gaze lock onto him.
Like she'd figured something out.
She lunged for him again.
Boom!
Right as she was about to reach him, an icy force stopped her cold.
And that cold wasn't just air—it was a tiny figure, no bigger than a doll, with a small hand clamped around La Signora's arm.
"Enough."
A voice cut in at Ryou's ear.
A talisman shot through the air and burst into countless arcs of lightning, slamming into La Signora.
"How dare you make a move in Liyue Harbor, La Signora." Cloud Retainer arrived, her adepti energy flooding the area.
Power rolled outward, sealing off every possible escape route, tightening the net with relentless precision.
Ryou exhaled and shook his head.
With Cloud Retainer, Shenhe, Tabibito, and Keqing all present, La Signora's expression twisted with fury.
Elemental power flared around her—fire and ice shaping into two wings. The air around her churned like the eye of a storm, warped and unsettling.
"Stop forcing me!" La Signora roared.
"You're not leaving," Keqing said, sword leveled at her. "Surrender."
"Dream on!"
La Signora's aura spiked, wild and violent, like she meant to smash her way through the encirclement at any cost.
Then—
Light erupted from Guyun Stone Forest, shooting into the sky in countless beams.
In an instant, it was as if night vanished, replaced by bright, clear daylight.
Everyone's attention snapped toward the horizon.
"That's… a god awakening," Cloud Retainer said, her face tightening.
Boom!
The glow over Guyun Stone Forest spread outward, and the aura rolling off it felt wrong—twisted, oppressive, unnatural.
"If you keep wasting time on me," La Signora shouted, "you won't make it to that fight at all!"
"That doesn't stop me from arresting you," Ryou sneered.
He turned his head slightly. "Cloud Retainer, please. Take her."
"Very well." Cloud Retainer nodded.
Adepti energy surged in from all directions, far stronger than anything Shenhe and the others had been using. La Signora struggled, but it didn't matter.
Even at full strength, she couldn't break free.
And in that moment, she sensed a presence—an unseen gaze. Her expression flickered, as if something clicked into place.
She looked once at Cloud Retainer and the others.
Then, finally, she was bound.
The moment La Signora was secured, Ryou let out a long breath.
He glanced toward Guyun Stone Forest. "Didn't expect things to happen this early. Childe probably moved ahead of schedule to help her."
"Maybe," Keqing said, giving him a quick look.
"Ryou. Keqing." Cloud Retainer's tone turned brisk. "This woman is now in your custody."
"This situation at Guyun Stone Forest is serious. Liyue Harbor will panic if we don't act fast."
She shifted her gaze to Keqing. "You must soothe the citizens and keep order."
"I understand," Keqing said, nodding firmly.
As Ryou held La Signora, that familiar feeling returned—just like the first time he'd arrested her.
Her figure was… ridiculous.
And some reactions were hard to stop.
"You…" La Signora glared at him like she wanted to tear him apart.
Not again.
Can you not control yourself for once?
And your wife is right there!
La Signora wanted to kill him, but she couldn't do anything in her current state. She could only swallow the humiliation.
Once they reached the entrance, she suddenly jerked her body backward, twisting like she was trying to slip out of his grip and bolt for the prison exit.
"La Signora, you—" Keqing started, startled by the movement.
"Not a chance." Ryou yanked her back.
In the process, his posture dipped instinctively, and he grimaced. "I'm not the one with a problem."
Keqing's cheeks reddened, but she still nodded. "Mm."
La Signora shuddered with rage, staring at Ryou as if her eyes could kill.
Her clothes were in disarray—messy, marked, and it was all because of him.
If Cloud Retainer's adepti energy hadn't been sealing her down, she would've ripped him apart on the spot.
This man actually dared to treat her like this.
Unforgivable.
Ryou noticed her murderous stare. He coughed, dragged her into the prison, and locked her up.
Even then, she kept glaring.
Ryou snapped, irritated, "You're the one to blame. You kept staring at me like that!"
"You—!"
La Signora pointed at him, furious, but no words came out.
Ryou walked out.
He was still shaken by what had just happened. He'd been completely out of control—way too far gone.
Then a colder thought hit him halfway down the corridor.
How was he going to explain this when he went back out there?
And worse—La Signora had brought up through-the-mountain shock strike in front of everyone.
How was he supposed to explain that to Keqing and Tabibito?
Most importantly, he didn't know when Cloud Retainer and Shenhe arrived.
If they'd heard that exchange…
He was finished.
[End of chapter]
[200 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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