"Yunqin just now..." Tartaglia blurted out, but his words were cut off halfway as if forcibly choked. His throat tightened, and even his breath hitched for a moment.
He could clearly feel a mysterious force blocking his throat, preventing him from revealing the truth: "Yunqin is right beside me."
He could only force himself to swallow the second half of the sentence. Looking at Lumine and Paimon's worried expressions, he slowly nodded, "Alright, that's also what I want to do now."
He needed to find Yunqin and ask her clearly why she had vanished into thin air, and why Lumine and Paimon couldn't see her.
Even more, he needed to understand why he couldn't speak about his memories of her, and what this mysterious force was trying to conceal.
"Then what reward do you want?" Paimon quickly leaned forward, almost pressing against Tartaglia's face, afraid he might change his mind at the last moment.
Tartaglia waved his hand, his tone unusually serious, "No reward needed. Finding her benefits me as well."
Lumine and Paimon exchanged a confused glance.
Tartaglia... is he sick today or something?
However, they didn't think much of it. After chatting for a while, they prepared to part ways, agreeing to search for Yunqin separately.
"If you're looking for me, you don't need to go anywhere else!"
Before the three could take even a few steps, a crisp voice suddenly drifted down from above, drowning out their conversation.
Everyone looked up and saw Yunqin standing at the top of the stairs, with Ganyu by her side.
"Yunqin! You're actually in Liyue Harbor!" Paimon cried out in pleasant surprise and quickly rushed over. "Where have you been? We've been looking for you for so long, we were worried sick!"
"Hehe, I just snuck out to play for a bit. I rushed back quickly so you wouldn't worry," Yunqin said as she skipped and bounced down the stairs.
As she passed Paimon, she even reached out and ruffled the other's hair.
Paimon couldn't get away, so she could only let her head be mussed up.
"Sneaking back like that only makes us worry more! We thought something had happened to you!" Paimon grumbled discontentedly.
Yunqin only chuckled without further explanation, then turned her gaze to Tartaglia, who was still standing in the same spot. She tilted her head and asked, "Tartaglia, why are you just standing there?"
Tartaglia didn't reply immediately. His gaze was fixed intently on Yunqin's Geo Vision.
That Vision, which once glowed with a warm golden light, now seemed covered in a layer of dust, emitting only a faint, transparent glow.
His heart sank heavily, thinking to himself that something was wrong.
Looking at Yunqin's appearance and then at that increasingly dimmed Vision, the unease in Tartaglia's heart surged like a tide.
That Geo Vision seemed covered in a layer of indelible dust, its warm golden light so weak it almost melted into the night, making his heart sink.
Tartaglia's gaze shifted away from the Vision on Yunqin's chest: "How come you're hanging out with the Liyue Qixing's secretary?"
"The Tianquan Ningguang needs the Traveler and Paimon for something, so she sent Senior Sister Ganyu to pass along the message. She happened to run into me on the street and asked me to help look for them," Yunqin explained with a smile.
"On the street?" Tartaglia repeated in a low voice, the final syllable trailing off. The suspicion in his eyes deepened.
He and Yunqin had stayed at the pier for nearly an hour, the sea breeze wrinkling the hems of their clothes. If Ganyu was truly searching for someone on the street, how could she happen to stumble upon Yunqin just as she "suddenly appeared"?
He stared at the composure in Yunqin's eyes, the curve of her eyelids when she smiled. She looked no different from the young girl who had just said "I'm so happy today" at the pier.
But the dimness of that Vision and the unconscious fidgeting of her fingertips seemed to hint at something.
In the end, he didn't voice his doubts, but quietly noted these suspicious points in his mind.
"Wow! We've been looking for you for half the day and couldn't find a trace, yet Ganyu actually found you!" Paimon zipped over to Yunqin, her round eyes widening to their full extent. Her tone was filled with astonishment. "Were you hiding in some corner on purpose, refusing to come out?"
Hearing this, Ganyu gently shook her head, offering an answer on Yunqin's behalf. "I also happened to see Yunqin on the streets of Liyue Harbor. I thought her little UFO would be better at finding people from the air, so I asked her to help me search for you."
At this point, the look in her eyes as she gazed at Yunqin softened slightly, but deep within them lay a flicker of imperceptible worry.
When she had seen Yunqin just now, the light of her Vision was frighteningly weak. When asked, she only said she was "tired," but Ganyu always felt it was not that simple.
"I didn't expect Yunqin to be so close with you. Even the Traveler has become your good friend. It seems I underestimated your social skills."
"Hehe, of course!" Yunqin rubbed her nose sheepishly, a trace of pride in her voice.
She leaned close to Paimon and reached out to tickle her. Just as her fingertips touched Paimon's clothes, the latter laughed and dodged.
The two of them messed around together, their crisp laughter echoing across the pier. Even the sound of the waves seemed to soften a bit.
But no one noticed Tartaglia's gaze; he was staring at the sway of the Vision as Yunqin raised her hand, that faint light like a candle flame about to extinguish at any moment.
Ganyu watched this, a flicker of imperceptible relief crossing her eyes. With the Yuehai Pavilion still piled with unprocessed paperwork, she did not linger any longer.
She gave Lumine a slight nod. "Since I've found you and the message has been delivered, I must return to Yuehai Pavilion to attend to official business. I'll take my leave now."
Before her words had even faded, she turned and walked toward the Yuehai Pavilion, her pace a little faster than usual.
"Ganyu's leaving so quickly," Paimon muttered, watching Ganyu's retreating figure.
"What's so strange about that?" Yunqin waved her hand dismissively. "Senior Sister Ganyu is the most reliable secretary in all of Liyue, with tasks piled higher than mountains to deal with every day. It's only normal to leave right after finishing her business."
Lumine and Paimon nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world, not thinking twice about the abnormality.
But Tartaglia frowned deeply.
In his information, Ganyu had always been thorough in her work. No matter how busy her official duties were, after delivering the Qixing's instructions, she would always confirm important matters such as the meeting time and location...
How could she take her leave so hastily today?
He stared at Yunqin's profile, watching the occasional flicker of confusion in her eyes, always feeling as if a layer of mist obscured the truth.
After a moment's thought, Tartaglia suddenly spoke, deliberately softening his tone to lighten the atmosphere: "Since you're going to see Tianquan Ningguang, you can't skimp on the proper etiquette."
"Though I have a preference for fighting, I've traveled to many countries over the years and seen quite a few treasures. I have a discerning eye. I can go with you to help pick a gift."
"The Tianquan's taste is famously high. Ordinary jade pendants and pearl hairpins won't catch her eye. If I help you choose, you won't go wrong."
"Who asked for your help!" Paimon immediately scrunched up her face and backed away, like a wary little ball. "We won't give you any Mora as payment, so don't you go plotting anything!"
Lumine also nodded in agreement. In her eyes, a Fatui Harbinger's "goodwill" always hid an ulterior motive, and she wouldn't trust it so easily.
The smile on Tartaglia's face froze for a moment, and he awkwardly scratched his nose. "Hey, hey, do I really seem that mercenary to you? You even want to discuss payment just for me to help a friend pick a gift?"
The moment the words left his mouth, Yunqin, Lumine, and Paimon all nodded in unison, their movements as synchronized as if they had rehearsed them beforehand.
But seeing Tartaglia's face fall, as if afraid they had truly hurt his pride, they quickly shook their heads. Paimon even mumbled, "You're, uh, not that mercenary..."