Genshin Impact: Watch me turn the tables and kill my servants at the start!

After lying on the ground for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Phanes finally realized a cruel reality—he absolutely could not get out on his own.

The rope was tied tightly, and his wrists were bound behind his back. There wasn't even a stone on the ground to rub against the rope. The only window was ridiculously high, and there were guards outside.

Fanes tried every method he could think of, including gnawing at the knot with his teeth, rolling on the ground trying to loosen the rope, and shouting outside, "I am the executor of the Fools, how dare you tie me up?" But no one paid any attention to him.

Finally, Phanes lay back on the ground, covered in sweat. The bump on the back of his head was still throbbing, and he lay there panting like a fried fish that had been flipped over.

"This won't do. Let's wait for rescue. The Fatui must have realized I'm missing, and they're probably already on their way."

Yakoda rolled her eyes at him, her starry eyes losing their usual sparkle and turning into two empty circles.

Fanes lay sprawled on the ground, looking half-dead, muttering, "Oh no, oh no, I'm going to be sold to the north. I heard it's so cold there that your ears can freeze off. What am I going to do if my beautiful ears freeze off...?"

Fanes ignored her and turned to look at the little boy with dark blue hair in the corner. Lorne—he had just overheard the children's whispers—was still trying to break free of his ropes.

The child's movements were very light and discreet. His red eyes were focused intently on the knot on his wrist in the dim light, and his fingers were rubbing against the back of his hand, as if he were repeatedly rubbing the same hemp thread with his fingernails.

Fañes carefully observed the rope for a while using the light filtering in through the ventilation window and found that a shallow cut had indeed been worn into the rope, but it was still quite a long way from being completely broken.

Fanes lay on the cold, muddy ground, looking up at the narrow ventilation window above him, and suddenly sighed, "If only I had a divine eye. I could just burn this rope with elemental power and run away."

Lorne paused, his red eyes peering out from the dim light. He opened his mouth, his voice carrying a hint of youthful stubbornness and defiance: "You think the Eye of God is something like that…?"

Before he could finish speaking, a muffled thud came from above Fanes' head.

thump.

Something hit him squarely on the forehead. It wasn't light, and it struck the area right next to the back of his head where he had been hit. Fanes was so hard that his head slammed down, his chin hitting the ground, and he yelled in pain.

Phanes lay on the muddy ground, clutching his head, feeling a round, hard object with sharp edges stuck in his hair, pressing heavily and making his scalp tingle.

Lorne's expression froze. His hand, which was still rubbing the rope, stopped. The emotion in his red eyes changed from "What nonsense are you talking about?" to "What's going on?", then from "What's going on?" to "I don't believe it", and finally settled on an extremely subtle, complex expression that mixed shock and defiance.

Lorne's mouth remained half-open, still in the shape of the Chinese character "容" (rong), and he didn't close it for a long time.

Phanes arched his back, trying to shake the thing off his head, but it was stuck firmly, and no matter how much he shook his head, it wouldn't budge.

Yakoda was the first to react. Her starry eyes, which had been rolling back in her head, instantly regained their brilliance, shining like two small suns. She sprang up from the ground—although her hands and feet were tied, limiting her jump height—but her excitement could be felt even from three meters away.

"Holy crap! Boss! You're amazing! You can do whatever you want! You gave me the Eye of God just like that!"

Fanes lay on the ground, tilted his head, and rubbed his head with his shoulder until he finally managed to remove the thing that had hit him on the forehead.

The object fell to the ground with a crisp sound. By the light from the ventilation window, Fanes could see its full form—an eye of God, with a smooth, warm, oval shell and a sharp ridge at the top. It was that ridge that had struck Fanes on the head.

The surface of the outer shell shimmers with a strange, subtle light, not a single color, but rather a series of alternating rings of red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple, like a kaleidoscope encased in a gemstone shell.

Fanes lay on the ground, clutching his still throbbing head, wincing in pain. Luckily, he had cushioned his head with his hair; if the horn of the Eye of God had hit his scalp directly, it probably would have given him a cut.

It writhed frantically on the ground like a maggot for a while, howling in pain: "Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch—why does this thing have horns?! Does it hurt this much when it hits someone?! Was this how you all got hit when you obtained the Eye of God?!"

No one answered him. Lorne crouched in the corner, his red eyes fixed on the Eye of God lying on the ground, his composure completely gone. He had struggled for ages to make a small hole in the rope, while the person in front of him had only said one sentence before getting the Eye of God, and had it smashed right on his head.

Lorne looked down at the hemp rope on his wrist, which had only developed a white mark after being worn for so long, then at the Eye of God on the ground, still shimmering with seven-colored light. His lips tightened into a thin line. He was indignant. He was extremely indignant. Why?

Fanes writhed on the ground for a while, feeling the sharp pain in his head gradually turn into a dull ache before it slowly subsided. He used his foot to hook the Eye of God toward him, and with great effort, he managed to flip it over by pinching it with his toes.

The ever-changing outer shell emitted a soft fluorescent glow in the dim light, changing its elemental symbols every second—fire, water, thunder, ice, grass, rock, and wind—seven patterns alternating in turn, like a never-ending carousel.

Fanes squinted for two seconds, his mind not really on why the Eye of God had seven elements.

All Fanes knew was that before Lorne could finish speaking, the Eye of God had struck down, which meant that the thing was responding to his needs.

As for whether it involves seven elements, whether it can be used, and whether it will explode after use—let's burn the rope first and then talk about it.

Fanes held the Eye of God between his toes and tried to get it closer to the rope. "Never mind, let's burn the rope first."

Fanes focused his attention on the Eye of God, silently chanting "fire, fire, fire, fire, fire." Perhaps because he was chanting so devoutly, the light on the outer shell of the Eye of God indeed stopped at crimson. A warm feeling came from the tips of his toes, and then a thin flame sprang out from the surface of the outer shell and precisely licked the hemp rope on his wrist.

The rope burned through in seconds, the charred ends emitting a burnt smell. Fanes finally freed his hands and quickly used his left hand to pick up the Eye of God and burn the rope around his ankle, severing it just as cleanly. He sat up and rubbed his wrists and ankles, which were marked with red welts, feeling as if he had come back to life.

Yakoda, standing nearby, excitedly twisted and turned, shouting, "Boss! Boss! Burn mine too! Burn mine too!"

Fanes crawled over and burned her rope as well. The moment the rope snapped, Yakoda sprang to her feet. Although she was still crouching a bit awkwardly, her starry eyes were bright enough to illuminate the entire hut. She leaned closer, staring at the Eye of God in Fanes' hand that was constantly changing color, her mouth agape: "Boss, why does your Eye of God keep changing color? My god, it's so cool!"

Fanes tucked the Eye of God into his coat pocket, feeling the heavy, warm object inside; he could almost feel its heat through the fabric. Before he could ponder what it was, he heard a very soft, suppressed sigh from the corner.

Turning his head, he saw Lorne with his head down, his red eyes staring at the hemp rope on his wrist that had been worn for a long time and only had a small tear.

The child's shoulders were slightly slumped, and his lips were pursed even tighter than before. There were no tears in his eyes, but there was something more complex, muffled, and indescribable than tears.

Fanes stared at him for a moment, then walked over and squatted down in front of him: "Don't worry, I'll burn it for you."

Lorne looked up at him, a stubborn glint flashing in his red eyes. He didn't speak, but slightly raised his wrist.

Fanes took out the Eye of God, which was still changing color, from his pocket, and silently uttered the word "fire." A small flame shot out and burned through the rope.

After Lorne's wrists were freed, he lowered his head, rubbed the reddened area, and mumbled, "Thank you."

Fanes waved his hand, stood up, and looked around at the children still sobbing quietly in the room. He held the Eye of God in his hand, thought for a moment, and then made a decision—to burn all the ropes binding everyone first, and then find a way to get out of the room.

When Fanes knelt down in front of the first child, the Eye of God in his pocket turned back to its aquamarine color, its warm glow reflecting off the fabric onto his hem. Fanes paid it no mind, and began to burn the rope.

Faint sounds drifted from outside, like someone shouting in the distance. Fanes' ears twitched, and a slight tension eased in his heart—it sounded like Shui Pang's voice. Rescue must have arrived.