Under Barbara's puzzled gaze, Yun Fan took out a chess piece emitting a cyan light and casually tossed it to her.
"What is this?" Barbara asked, confused. She could feel that this chess piece resonated with her faith, but she had never seen such an item before.
"This is the Gnosis, the symbol of the Anemo Archon's divine authority," Yun Fan explained calmly.
"The Gnosis?" Barbara was stunned. She then recalled the description she had read in the Favonius Archives and nearly dropped the Gnosis in shock. Fortunately, she managed to catch it in time.
"Mr. Yun Fan, how do you have Lord Barbatos' Gnosis? Did you...?"
"Don't misunderstand. Barbatos himself gave it to me as part of a deal. As for the details, it's not something you need to know," Yun Fan shook his head, briefly explaining the situation to avoid any misunderstandings.
"Then, Mr. Yun Fan, can you tell me who Lord Barbatos really is?" Barbara mustered the courage to ask.
"Are you sure you want to know?" Yun Fan didn't plan to keep it a secret any longer. After all, Venti's identity would soon be exposed by Dvalin, and it wouldn't be fair if Barbara remained in the dark.
However, would Barbara's faith truly crumble upon learning that Venti was Barbatos?
"I'm sure. Please tell me, Lord Yun Fan," Barbara nodded firmly.
"Fine. Actually, you've already met him. He's that bard named Venti."
Boom!
It was as if thunder had struck.
Indeed, these words were like a bolt from the blue, causing Barbara to tremble and freeze in place.
"Hey, Barbara! Barbara!"
Yun Fan shook her vigorously, but she remained unresponsive, still in a daze.
"Really? Such a strong reaction?" Yun Fan realized he had underestimated the depth of Barbara's faith.
Seeing the girl on the verge of a breakdown, Yun Fan made up his mind. He wrapped his arm around Barbara's waist and kissed her soft, pink lips.
"Mmm..." Barbara's eyes widened in shock, but soon clarity returned to them. Feeling the warmth and moisture on her lips, she instinctively responded in her inexperienced way.
A few minutes later, Barbara and Yun Fan walked side by side on the road back to Mondstadt, as if nothing had happened. However, upon closer inspection, one could still see the blush on Barbara's face.
When they reached the gates of Mondstadt, Yun Fan stopped and affectionately tapped her delicate nose.
"Alright, Barbara, go back and rest well. I need to continue with the unfinished business."
"Okay, Mr. Yun Fan," Barbara replied shyly, lowering her head.
"From now on, just call me Fan. After all," Yun Fan leaned close to Barbara's ear and whispered softly, "you're already mine."
Barbara covered her face and ran off, but she didn't object to Yun Fan's words.
Yun Fan couldn't help but marvel at the unpredictability of fate. He hadn't expected that the first person he would establish a relationship with wasn't Shenhe, whom he had spent countless days with, nor Keqing, who had followed him as his apprentice.
Instead, it was this idol whom he had only met twice. Although he had taken advantage of the situation, he harbored no ill intentions toward Barbara—only affection.
"I wonder how Venti and the others are doing?"
"Wahhh! You good-for-nothing bard! Why didn't you tell us there were Ruin Guards here?! Are you trying to get us killed?!" Paimon shouted, fleeing desperately alongside Lumine and Venti, wishing she could fly even faster.
"I didn't know either!" Venti genuinely had no idea why Ruin Guards had appeared in Dadaupa Gorge, and not just one—there were several. Shouldn't these things be in the Thousand Winds Temple?
"Let's just focus on escaping for now!"
...
"So, you're the only ones who didn't manage to get a tear crystal?" Yun Fan looked at Venti with exasperation. You really outdid yourself this time, Barbatos! Slacking off to this extent? Dvalin must have drawn the short straw having such an unreliable master.
"Ehe..."
"Ehe my foot!" Yun Fan punched Venti on the head, interrupting his carefree demeanor.
Yun Fan then turned to Lumine and Paimon, who looked somewhat embarrassed, and sighed.
"I'll go to Dadaupa Gorge myself and retrieve the tear crystal. As for Venti..."
"There really are Ruin Guards here, and it's the same lineup as the Guyun Stone Forest's 'F4.' Why have so many gathered here all of a sudden? Were they deliberately sent here?" Yun Fan thought to himself as he watched the Ruin Guards aim their missiles at him.
Could it be Aether? No, if it were him, he wouldn't put his sister in danger. Could there be something like a Ruin Guard research facility here, similar to the Fatui's toy research institute in Liyue?
"Lightning Flash!" Yun Fan transformed into a bolt of lightning. In an instant, he severed the tails of hundreds of missiles, causing them to lose power and explode upon hitting the ground. Then, using the super speed granted by his Electro abilities, he swiftly struck the cores of each Ruin Guard, dismantling them one by one.
After dealing with the Ruin Guards, Yun Fan retrieved the tear crystal from a treasure chest behind them.
Why was this thing inside a treasure chest? Could it have been placed there by Venti? After all, he was the one who provided the clue about the tear crystal.
Thinking about it, it seemed plausible. Otherwise, what kind of coincidence would make Dvalin's tear land in such a small chest?
After obtaining the tear crystal, Yun Fan began investigating the area. The sudden appearance of such a large number of Ruin Guards in Dadaupa Gorge required thorough investigation to determine whether it was the work of Aether or the Fatui.
After a careful search, Yun Fan arrived at the entrance of an abandoned ruin and kicked the door open.
Inside the ruin was a vast space, more accurately, an independent dimension. Looking up, the ceiling was hundreds of meters high.
Looking down, rows of Ruin Guards came into view. Most of them were dismantled, but about a dozen were still intact.
Don't ask how Yun Fan knew—the moment he entered, the Ruin Guards began to reactivate and quickly entered combat mode.
Yun Fan didn't immediately engage them. He noticed research materials on the Ruin Guards scattered on nearby workbenches. Since the Ruin Guards moved slowly, he decided to collect the materials first before dealing with them.
If he accidentally destroyed the materials later, it would be a great loss.