(TL/N: 10 chapters left till the end of the novel for patreon members.)
"What did you say?"
"We met five hundred years ago?"
This news was far too shocking.
Su Han was dumbfounded.
He never would have imagined that the two of them had actually met five hundred years ago.
What exactly had happened?
What happened back then?
Had he actually gone to Liyue before?
Seeing Su Han's constantly changing expression, Zhongli knew what he was worried about, so he calmly said:
"Yes, we met before. But at that time, you were merely a traveler, and our meeting lasted only a short hour."
At this point,
Zhongli smiled faintly.
"It truly is strange. Even though our meeting five hundred years ago was brief, neither of us revealed our identities, yet we spoke very happily."
"At that time, I already felt the pressure of erosion upon myself, but you told me that perhaps one day, I would have the chance to rest."
"Since you are curious, why not let me tell you about what happened back then?"
"Perhaps it will help ease your mind."
Su Han nodded lightly and sat down cross-legged.
Meanwhile, Zhongli took out a pot of tea, and atop the mountain, the two began speaking about the past.
Five hundred years ago,
after the battle of The Chasm ended,
both the sky and the earth were shrouded in blackness.
Zhongli felt deeply exhausted.
He had just returned from Khaenri'ah and had not even had time to enter the city and rest when a figure blocked his path.
"Rex Lapis, may we chat for a moment?"
The man wore a straw raincoat as rain poured endlessly from the sky.
Looking at the retreating black abyss along the coastline, Zhongli was unwilling to waste time.
After all, the battle within the city had only just ended.
He still needed to oversee the overall situation.
Thus, Zhongli refused.
"My apologies, but I do not have the time. Besides, as you can see, there are still large numbers of monsters along the coast that need to be eliminated."
The roars of beasts echoed continuously in the distance.
Every minute wasted placed additional pressure upon the front lines.
The heavy rain continued to fall.
Yet not a single drop could touch the Rex Lapis.
The man floated in the air, his aura somewhat unstable.
Zhongli could tell the other party was injured, and severely so.
Despite such grave injuries,
he did not seek treatment and instead wanted to chat with him.
"My time here is very limited, so if you accompany me for one hour and agree to one request, I can guarantee that five hundred years from now, you will truly be able to rest. At the same time, your deceased friends will have the chance to appear once more."
They were clearly strangers.
Yet for some reason, Zhongli felt an inexplicable familiarity from the other party.
It was as if they were destined to be friends.
The man in the straw raincoat,
who was Su Han,
smiled lightly when he saw Zhongli remain silent and said:
"Do not worry. The destruction of Khaenri'ah has already been set in stone. The monsters on the coastline are no longer a threat. If you speak with me for a while, perhaps the road ahead may change somewhat. At the very least, there is a chance you will no longer need to worry about erosion."
Perhaps the conditions were too tempting.
Or perhaps there truly was not much pressure on the front lines.
In the end, the Rex Lapis chose to talk.
Beneath the torrential rain,
Su Han waved his hand and created a pavilion.
The two sat inside, listening to the rain while conversing.
When discussing the future of Liyue Harbor,
Su Han expressed great optimism and suggested that Zhongli gradually relinquish authority.
"The era of human rule will eventually arrive. After thousands of years, perhaps you are already tired. Why not take some rest?"
"I would like to rest as well, but the problem is that the world has only just experienced a great calamity."
Zhongli took a sip of the tea offered by the other party.
A slight gleam flashed through his eyes.
This was tea from Chenyu Vale. Could the other party be from Liyue?
Yet in his memory,
there was no adeptus, illuminated beast, or powerful expert in Liyue with such immense strength.
"The disaster will eventually pass. I wish to make a trade with you, one capable of changing this world."
"What trade?"
"On a certain day five hundred years from now, a man named Su Han will appear before you. At that time, please protect him for a period of time. In exchange, you will gain freedom and peace."
"Five hundred years?"
Zhongli did not understand why the other party kept mentioning this number.
It seemed that many things would happen in that year.
"So that's why your attitude toward me was so good from the very beginning. I was the one who gave myself advance notice?"
All this time,
Su Han had thought it was his personal charm that attracted the old man's care.
Who would have thought that he himself had planted all the foreshadowing beforehand?
Seeing Su Han's depressed expression, Zhongli burst into laughter.
"To see Brother Su feeling troubled is truly a once-in-a-century sight."
"However, you need not care so much about it."
"Back then, we were merely strangers meeting by chance. Even though you said you would appear in the future, I still carefully evaluated you. Only after discovering your talents did I entrust you with important responsibilities."
Zhongli was the Rex Lapis.
He was not a fool.
He had his own judgments and considerations.
The reason he had involved Su Han in the affairs of the adepti back then was the old man's first move.
Because only at that moment did he truly believe Su Han possessed the power to change the world.
"I'm not depressed, just a bit irritated."
Su Han complained softly.
During the period when he had first arrived at Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, he had lived every day cautiously, afraid of exposing some flaw.
Yet Zhongli had known his identity the entire time.
The old man truly had become wiser with age.
If the Oscars did not award this old man a golden statuette, it would truly be a waste.
After drinking three cups of tea in succession,
Su Han finally felt somewhat recovered and asked:
"So did we only chat?"
"No."
Zhongli shook his head lightly as his memories gradually returned to that day.
"So that was the case. No wonder after entering the pavilion, you set up dozens of barriers. Were you afraid the Heavenly Principles would discover it?"
Zhongli glanced at the seven-colored barriers.
He felt Su Han was making too much fuss over nothing.
However, the latter smiled bitterly and replied:
"This concerns the butterfly effect and history. I returned from five hundred years in the future to the present. Right now, the Heavenly Principles may not yet be asleep. For safety's sake, these measures are necessary."
Zhongli expressed his understanding, but his interest toward Su Han's proposed trade grew stronger.
"You said you wanted me to deliver something to five hundred years in the future. May I ask what it is?"
"A treasure that absolutely must be entrusted to you."
When speaking of that item,
Su Han's tone became serious for the first time.
He opened his palm, revealing an extremely special crystal.
"What is this? I seem to sense the aura of the world itself."
The crystal was deep purple.
Inside it, a tiny vortex slowly rotated.
Though the object was small,
Zhongli's expression became extremely serious.
Because within it,
he also sensed danger.
"This thing, I cannot tell you about yet. In fact, I cannot tell anyone in Teyvat, because it hides a secret."
"If you trust me, and if you hope your old friends may one day return, then keep it safe for me."
"Wait until the day I go to, forget it, the day we go together to Inazuma."
"At that time, all the answers will naturally be revealed."
An object that could not be revealed.
Something that could not be spoken aloud.
Although Su Han's identity was questionable, Zhongli truly believed his words and personally kept the item on him.
Until today, five hundred years later.
Looking at the crystal Zhongli handed back to him, Su Han asked in confusion:
"You were never curious about what was inside?"
A treasure containing such a strong aura beyond this world.
Even Venti would probably have wanted to investigate it.
Hearing this, Zhongli smiled as he looked into the distance.
"Since I promised you, I naturally kept my word. As for curiosity, of course I had some. But Su Han, do you know something?"
"After the disaster of Khaenri'ah, all of us received warnings from the Heavenly Principles."
"Excessive exploration beyond this world may invite destruction."
"Orobashi is the best example."
At this point,
Zhongli sighed softly. Back then, the other party had truly been a remarkable figure.
Although they had not interacted much,
as one of the few gods who ventured beyond this world, Zhongli still held some admiration for him.
No matter what kind of personality the other party possessed,
the courage to explore beyond this world despite the danger was enough to earn everyone's respect.
On this matter, Zhongli felt the current Electro Archon would deeply agree.
Otherwise, why would she allow the people of Watatsumi Island to continue worshipping him?
That did make sense.
"But what exactly is this crystal?"
Su Han attempted to investigate it.
As a result,
an invisible force directly repelled his consciousness.
"..."
Su Han was speechless.
Was this considered him blocking himself?
Just what was hidden inside for it to be so guarded?
Unwilling to give up so easily,
Su Han increased the intensity of his probing.
When his consciousness finally pierced through the crystal's outer layer, he obtained a piece of information.
More accurately,
it was a coordinate.
[141.367]
Aside from that,
there was also a sentence.
"Her existence cannot be known by anyone."
"So I placed the opportunity to save her in that place."
"Before your strength reaches the level of a god, do not explore it, and do not go there."
This...
Su Han was shocked by his own arrangements.
He completely understood the core of the problem now.
He also understood why Zhongli and the others could not be allowed to know.
Because her existence,
to the world itself,
was a deadly poison.
"No wonder I went to such lengths to hide it. So this was the reason..."
Five hundred years.
The timing had been set with terrifying precision.
And his body had been covered in exhaustion.
Based on the current clues,
Su Han boldly guessed that he had likely saved Sumeru's god, the former Dendro Archon, Greater Lord Rukkhadevata.
Only her existence could not be known by anyone.
Tempted by the Goddess of Flowers, the desert god had opened the gate to deadly poison.
Thus, the three gods perished.
Even in the future, if one wished to save Sumeru, Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's existence had to be completely erased.
Yet his future self had apparently found a way to save her.
How impressive.
Su Han could not help but praise himself a little.
"Although I still do not know exactly how to do it, for now, increasing my strength remains the highest priority."
Having finally understood the root of the issue,
Su Han withdrew his consciousness from the crystal.
Seeing him return to normal, Zhongli smiled and asked:
"Have you figured it out?"
"Yes."
Su Han nodded lightly before saying seriously:
"Although it may be somewhat late to say this now, I truly must thank you, Zhongli. Thank you for trusting me. Whether it was your support or safeguarding this item for me."
"You and I are friends. There is no need to be so distant. Besides, without you, how could Liyue possess its current prosperity?"
Compared to before Su Han's appearance,
the changes in Liyue were simply enormous.
Zhongli had never imagined that mortals could possess such astonishing creativity.
After all, even the Traveler Lumine, despite being a Descender, could not bring about such massive change.
This kindness was worthy of remembrance by every person in Liyue.
As for trust,
Zhongli had always trusted his instincts.
A person who cared for the world as a whole could not possibly be evil.
Besides, if the other party truly intended to scheme against him,
he would notice immediately.
This could only be said to mean that Su Han had chosen the right person.
Had he chosen Venti instead, the crystal might already have been traded away for wine.
As for Furina...
Well...
It was not that he looked down on her.
The problem was that she was merely a mortal girl forced to act every single day. Entrusting her with such a task would have been inappropriate.
As for Ei, there was even less need to mention her.
Meanwhile, Nahida of Sumeru had still been in the form of an infant at that time.
After thinking everything through,
the only person who could truly be trusted was the old man himself.
"Since there is nothing else, shall we head back? Today's gathering will probably be especially lively."
"No problem."
Zhongli stood up, but before leaving, he suddenly remembered something.
He looked at Su Han and voiced the doubt in his heart.
"Something that cannot be spoken of, does that mean it would affect us? That even gods cannot escape it..."
Su Han paused mid-motion and nodded helplessly.
The old man truly was sharp.
He had guessed the core of the issue so quickly.
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