Finally, under Lumine's fist, Ryan had no choice but to admit his mistake and apologize, promising never to lay a hand on Paimon again.
However, Paimon's anger and fear towards Ryan had not subsided, and she hid behind Lumine the entire time, not even daring to look at Ryan.
Ryan, though, didn't mind.
Actually, there was a real answer to Lumine's question earlier.
The only reason he let Paimon go was that Cloud Retainer had taught him since childhood not to kill indiscriminately.
Except when eating, Ryan mostly remembered this teaching, and he never killed monsters when collecting materials from them.
This was also one of the reasons he chose to raise Limes instead of capturing a group of Electro Slimes as consumables to overcome his tribulation.
However, compared to these monsters, Paimon was smarter, and with Lumine present, he couldn't use force, so he chose to trick her, following his instincts.
After Lumine helped Paimon vent her anger, Ryan finally turned his attention back to the pill for his tribulation.
At this moment, the lightning tribulation had ended, and a pill emitting a colorful halo floated quietly in mid-air.
["Rock Longevity Pill (4-star · Rainbow): After consumption, one can live as long as mountains and ancient rocks, but after death, one will transform into an endless mountain range, with the coverage area of the mountain range expanding according to the duration of one's life."]
"Oh my god...!"
Seeing the effect of the Longevity Pill after its rainbow plating, Ryan's eyes widened, and he instinctively let out an exclamation.
This was the first time in his life he had seen a four-star pill... Hearing Ryan's exclamation, Lumine and Paimon, who had walked some distance away and were discussing something, turned their heads back in confusion.
"What should we do? Should we go ask him?"
"Wow! No, I don't want to talk to him, and I don't want to get close to him. If you want to go, Traveler, you go yourself."
After glancing at Ryan, Lumine turned back to Paimon, but Paimon quickly shook her head in refusal.
"Alright, then I'll go ask. You wait for me here."
Lumine nodded. She knew Paimon had been scared and didn't force her.
After Paimon nodded, Lumine walked back to Ryan's side.
"Hehe, now Vanquisher of Evil will truly live as long as the mountains..."
Ryan chuckled foolishly as he put the pill, which shone like Lord Rex Lapis's divine marrow, into his Bolsa Qiankun.
As an alchemist and also an immortal's disciple, Ryan was not fanatic about the pursuit of longevity, so he had no interest in keeping this Rock Longevity Pill for himself.
However, this Rock Longevity Pill further confirmed one of Ryan's suspicions: that pills after a tribulation would, to a certain extent, enhance the effects of the consumed medicinal ingredients.
Previously, the Qilin Pill had gained the power of Yaksha and zombies after its tribulation.
"Ryan, have you seen Ganyu these past few days?"
After Ryan put away the pill, Lumine patted his shoulder, attracting his attention and asking.
"Senior Sister Ganyu? No, I've been busy refining pills these past few days... And isn't he living in Liyue Harbor?"
Hearing Lumine's question, Ryan turned his head, a little confused.
"It's like this: a few days ago, Ganyu came to Jueyun Karst to deliver a letter, but he hasn't returned since. We were entrusted to come and check on his situation."
Lumine knew Ryan was Ganyu's junior brother, so he explained it to him.
It was precisely because they were entrusted to check on the situation in Jueyun Karst that Paimon refused to come no matter what, and after much questioning, Lumine finally found out what he had experienced that day.
To appease Paimon, she chose to come to Ryan to help Paimon vent his anger, but the main purpose was still to find Ganyu.
As soon as she arrived at Jueyun Karst, she saw the tribulation lightning, and she immediately knew it was Ryan, having witnessed this during the last battle against Osial.
"Did Senior Sister Ganyu get lost, or did he accidentally fall asleep somewhere...?"
"I'll go back and ask Master. If Senior Sister Ganyu has returned, Master will definitely know."
Ryan mumbled in confusion, then made this suggestion.
Lumine also had no objection. In fact, they had directly teleported to Mt. Aocang, but they hadn't seen Cloud Retainer. Immediately noticing the lightning tribulation, they quickly descended from Mt. Aocang to intercept Ryan.
And so, Ryan put the Electro Slime, which was too full from being struck by lightning to walk, back into his Bolsa Qiankun.
"..."
The Electro Slime slowly opened its eyes, then saw Osial's giant head.
"!!!"
Startled, it quickly fled into the distance... "That child Ganyu, yes, he did return a few days ago."
"However, he went out again two days ago and came back to rest over there."
"He used to love napping there, and although he has been sleeping for a few days this time, This Immortal thinks he might be too tired, so This Immortal didn't disturb him."
At Ryan's inquiry, Cloud Retainer nodded and explained Ganyu's situation to them.
Because Ryan's return time was different from Ganyu's, and he had been busy luring Paimon and refining pills, Ryan did not yet know that Ganyu had returned to the mountain.
"Alright, thank you, Master. We'll go check on Senior Sister Ganyu's situation."
Ryan nodded, then led Lumine towards that direction.
Along the way, Ryan asked Lumine the reason why they were looking for Ganyu.
Only then did he learn from Lumine that Ganyu had suddenly left without a word, and the affairs of Yuehai Pavilion had to be temporarily handled by Ningguang's three secretaries.
However, there was too much work, and as mere mortals, they did not have Ganyu's abilities. These past few days had left them exhausted and complaining incessantly, forcing them to ask Lumine to check on the situation.
If Ganyu didn't return soon, they might collapse from exhaustion at their posts.
"I see... Well, if Senior Sister Ganyu really doesn't want to go back, I'm quite familiar with the director of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, so I could introduce them."
Understanding the reason why Lumine was looking for Ganyu, Ryan nodded.
"It wouldn't go that far, would it...?"
Lumine responded a little speechlessly.
She naturally understood what Wangsheng Funeral Parlor did.
Soon, Ryan arrived at the location Cloud Retainer had mentioned, and Ganyu was curled up, fast asleep on the grass.
The warm sunlight after the lightning tribulation shone on him, and it seemed the previous thunder had not disturbed him at all.
And according to Cloud Retainer, he had been sleeping for two days.
Clearly, the effect of the Ice Soul Tranquility Pill from before had not yet worn off.
And after Lord Rex Lapis's passing, he had many things to attend to, and he probably hadn't rested since that day.
"Ganyu... he looks like he's sleeping so soundly. Should we wake him up?"
Seeing Ganyu curled up on the grass, Paimon, who had been hiding from Ryan, finally poked his head out from behind Lumine's shoulder.
"Cloud Retainer said Ganyu has been sleeping for a few days. We should still wake him up and check... What do you think?"
Lumine hesitated for a moment, then finally looked at Ryan, who was Ganyu's junior brother.
"I think we should wake him up. Otherwise, Senior Sister Ganyu will be starving if he sleeps for too long."
Ryan nodded affirmatively, then pulled out a few Qingxin flowers.
These were plucked along the way while going up and down the mountain these past two days; they were very fresh.
Ryan pulling out the Qingxin made Lumine a little confused, but then she saw him holding the Qingxin, squatting beside Ganyu, and bringing the Qingxin to Ganyu's nose.
Ganyu's nose instinctively sniffed, then he opened his mouth, bit the Qingxin in Ryan's hand, and began to chew.
"Mmm... This Qingxin of yours wasn't picked at dawn. Qingxin picked under the midday sun tastes spicier and lacks that fresh flavor of dawn..."
Ganyu mumbled while chewing the Qingxin, then sat up from the grass.
Opening his eyes, he saw Ryan, Lumine, and Paimon looking at him.
"Eh... I, did I fall asleep in a strange place again...?"
Ganyu's face instantly turned red, and he clutched the hem of his clothes, hanging his head a little embarrassed.
Because he had once napped in a haystack and been transported to Dihua Marsh, nearly being considered missing by the Liyue Qixing, he was very concerned about being discovered napping in strange places...