"Wait, wait, brother! Let me think!" Under the threat of death, the Treasure Hoarder racked his brain, recalling anything on him that could be used as a bargaining chip.
Mora, artifacts, information, weapons...
"I'll give you ten minutes!" Ryan left, holding his sword, whistling to call his horses.
Seven minutes later, the two tall horses appeared from the rain and mist, trotting happily back, side by side.
Ryan comforted them, led them into the shed, and shook the water droplets from their manes.
"Have you thought it through?" After he finished, Ryan dragged each Treasure Hoarder out individually, pulled them aside, and interrogated them.
After they finished speaking, he didn't say whether he was satisfied or not, just told them to wait.
He questioned all of them.
He did get something valuable.
Besides a tiny bit of Mora, they handed over artifacts to save their lives.
The most valuable thing was a piece of information.
The leader of the Treasure Hoarders in the Mondstadt region, "Strange Bird," seemed to be preparing to steal an artifact from Mondstadt City.
He had notified his subordinates in advance to provide assistance.
If necessary, they were to cooperate in providing cover and obstructing the pursuit of the Knights of Favonius.
These new Treasure Hoarders didn't know the specific orders or action times; this bit of information was revealed by the Senior who recruited them.
Ryan had heard of "Strange Bird"; he was a habitual offender who frequently stole in Mondstadt, and the Knights of Favonius had never caught him once.
Sometimes, even when they were so close, the opponent still managed to escape.
These Treasure Hoarders mentioned a very interesting speculation: their leader had two Wind Gliders on him; if one was damaged, he could use the other.
The usual one was an ordinary Wind Glider.
The one on his person, not outwardly visible, was a genuine Alchemy item, the Legacy Wing of the organization "Treasures Under Raven's Wings" through generations, extremely precious and ancient, originating from the earliest ruins.
It was equivalent to an artifact.
This sentence made Ryan's thoughts run wild.
"Equivalent to an artifact, what does that mean? The Crystalize of will and dreams?"
Seeing Ryan not speaking, a few Treasure Hoarders grew anxious.
Under Ryan's scheme, they already knew what each other had said.
"Look, I only want to let one person go, and this is the price he offered. What you're offering isn't enough at all!"
He said this to each person in turn, constantly raising the stakes for their confessions.
Indeed, a few of them were practically giving up their last secrets.
Unfortunately, the money they had combined wasn't enough to even eat one meal at Good Hunter; Ryan found them too poor to bother with.
The few of them could only continuously sell various pieces of information to demonstrate their value.
Until they betrayed their boss...
"The information we've given is enough for you to report to the Knights of Favonius and receive a reward."
"Don't worry, we won't tell 'Strange Bird' about today's events. Our status doesn't allow us to even contact him."
"If this betrayal were known by others within the Treasure Hoarders, we would have no place to hide."
"The loose Alliance, though it doesn't demand loyalty, will never let traitors go."
Seeing Ryan's expression, which implied "only dead men can keep secrets," the Treasure Hoarders eagerly swore and made promises.
They truly would not go back and report to "Strange Bird" or change the plans and arrangements.
Ryan rested his hand on his chin, looking at the pale-faced Treasure Hoarders.
"My horse is sick. Who can cure it?"
As if a glimmer of hope for survival appeared, one of the Treasure Hoarders volunteered, saying, "Just give him a human feast."
"It's that simple?" Ryan felt cheated.
The Treasure Hoarder quickly explained, "Actually, the food we normally eat, more or less, has different effects."
"Among chefs, some are called dietitians."
"Items perfectly cooked with special techniques can unleash the characteristics within the ingredients, gaining various miraculous powers."
"Replenishing blood, replenishing Qi, replenishing stamina... In Liyue, this is called Immortal Plant spiritual flowers, Immortal Plant medicines, and spiritual meals."
"However, preparing a dish takes a long time, and the duration of the buff is very short, causing people in Teyvat to not care, completely ignoring it in everyday life."
"Some people want to use it for combat like Alchemy potions, but you can drink several Alchemy potions, but you can't eat several dishes."
"The enemy watches you finish eating, your stomach full and bloated, the effect mostly lost due to time, and when you start fighting, you'll be the first to throw up from being too full."
Ryan thought of the way he described it and felt a little like laughing.
A chicken leg in one hand, a sword in the other, occasionally taking a bite, then fighting—it was indeed unbearable to watch.
The Treasure Hoarders saw the Liyue person amused and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
"The effect is mediocre, but in a safe situation, without medicine, cooking a few dishes to eat is still very helpful for healing and recovering stamina."
"Different combinations of ingredients, different orders of adding them, and different cooking temperatures represent different powers."
"Food can be eaten by people, and it can also be fed to horses, strengthening their vitality for a short time to recover from common colds."
Ryan felt this person seemed to know a bit too much; Liyue was mentioned, which wasn't something an uneducated drifter should say.
Those drifters were the main members of the Treasure Hoarders; this person didn't seem like one?
"Who told you that? Don't tell me you read it in a book?"
Ryan asked curiously.
The man scratched his head.
"I used to be a miner, and I met a Liyue person. They saw I was often out of strength, so they told me about the effects of food."
"It's just that my boss back then was too cruel; he never let me eat enough, so knowing it was useless."
"Finally, I couldn't stand it and quit my job. During the chaos of the Dragon Calamity in the wilderness, I joined the Treasure Hoarders, disguising myself as a Hilichurl to steal and rob goods."
"So that's how it is..." After listening to the other party, Ryan nodded.
He expressed sympathy for his difficult background but could not help. At most, he could advise him to surrender early, turn himself over to the Knights of Favonius, and get a stable prison meal.
After getting out, he could reform and find a better job.
Ryan focused his attention on the magical animals and plants of Teyvat and the medicinal effects of dishes.
He had indeed felt something unusual before.
But it was short-lived, and he didn't care about that slight buff; the effects brought by his body's evolution far surpassed food.
Others were used to it and wouldn't discuss it with him.
This led him to never clearly realize the special nature of these dishes.
Now that he thought about it, this world full of elements, besides the seven Anemo, Geo, Hydro, Pyro, Dendro, Cryo, and Electro elements, also had other elements.
Perhaps there were elements related to animals and plants.
Making animals exceptionally plump, and plants bloom and bear fruit all year round.
Some plants could even grow in any harsh environment, such as: sweet flower, Mint...
He wondered if there used to be a sweet flower God, a Mint God, or a cat God who liked Mint, who died in Teyvat and merged their power into the entire continent.
And other Gods who blessed living beings, which made many ordinary things possess strange powers.
Vision holders could even extract their essence and use it as resources for Breakthrough and enhancement.
As Ryan's thoughts wandered, he combined the game and reality, feeling as if he had seen the secrets of Teyvat.
Was it the God War, or traces of a civilization from an even more distant past?