"After the God of the Hearth's departure this time, Guoba was born."
"On the day he awoke, he ate the spicy meat rolls made by the girl in yellow. Although he couldn't remember his past, he was still touched and decided to follow this girl."
"After the God of the Hearth disappeared, every morning, merchants began setting up their stalls and calling out early."
"People went out to buy goods, live their lives, and cook, no different from any previous day."
"Because Liyue, has always been like this—"
The scroll changed again, not just the image, but its size as well, transforming into a panoramic view.
And the people on it, Shiki could name almost all of them.
Azhdaha, Guoba, Slasher of Mountains, Carver of Valleys, Liu Yun Borrowing Wind, Pervases, Xiao, Morax, and...Granny Ping?
Shiki was a bit uncertain about the last person in this scroll, as she had never seen her before; if not for the girl Immortal's Cleansing Bell in the painting, she wouldn't have even thought of Granny Ping.
The main reason was the vast difference between them: one was an ordinary old woman seen everywhere in Liyue Harbor, while the other was a heroic and dashing girl Immortal.
As for why Shiki was so sure it was an Immortal...because what was displayed in this scroll were the Immortals of Liyue.
Next came the transition between Immortals and mortals—the Half-Immortals.
Ganyu and Yanfei, both of whom were descendants born from the union of Immortals and mortals; Ganyu was a qilin, as for Yanfei...
Shiki really couldn't tell, maybe a deer?
Also, those two horns shaped like green onions, wouldn't they be uncomfortable when sleeping?
Finally, there were the most numerous and ordinary people of Liyue.
Shiki saw Xingqiu and Chongyun playing and bickering, and Hu Tao watching from the rooftop.
Judging by their size, they seemed to be in their childhood, with Qiqi nearby, and Xiangling and Xinyan in the distance.
Beidou and Ningguang also appeared, both indispensable forces of Liyue.
One was in charge of commerce, the other of maritime armed forces.
'Hmm...another person I don't know, but looking at the clothes...a performer?'
Shiki had never seen Yun Jin, so she naturally didn't know who this person in the scroll was.
However, to her surprise, in the final scroll, there were even figures of herself and Ayaka.
Also, Traveler, haven't you always used the Dull Blade? Why is it the Skyward Blade here?
"Wind and rain still bless, mountains and seas rejoice together, receiving the grace of heaven and earth."
"Stars shift and constellations turn, the vast sea changes, but the human world's fireworks remain."
"Fame and merit are mine, for a hundred years and a thousand autumns, never forget to roam by night with a lit candle."
"Ancient and modern affairs, surging in the current, a grand vision awaits new talents."
As the poem entered her ears, Shiki savored it, and before her eyes, the prosperous Liyue Harbor seemed to emerge.
"Good poem, good poem, and I didn't expect that we two Inazuma people would also be in this scroll."
"Hehe, what's wrong with being from Inazuma? Liyue Harbor embraces anyone who comes with good intentions, not to mention you are friends of this Traveler."
Granny Ping chuckled, she thought highly of these two young people.
Indeed, young people are vibrant; she, on the other hand, was old and lacked motivation!
Of course, it wasn't that her lifespan was about to end, but that her mindset had aged.
She had lived for over three thousand years, and living for another three thousand years was not a problem.
The main thing was that her mindset no longer had the youthful vigor it once did; she had watched Liyue grow from its early establishment to the present, and as its elder, she naturally wanted to enjoy her golden years.
All Immortals could be considered elders of Liyue, but her mindset was simply the oldest.
Perhaps, this was related to her once being human? Although she was a long-lived species, she ultimately didn't have the mindset of one...
"Guoba...such an important matter, why didn't you tell me...?"
Xiangling looked downcast; she had never imagined that her usually silly and adorable family member had such a heavy past.
"Lu?"
Facing the girl's somewhat pained question, Guoba only returned a silly smile; his mind was no longer sufficient for him to understand human speech.
"Alas...even if he wanted to speak, he couldn't, could he? Guoba is no longer the God of the Hearth, Markosius, of the past; all the past events have vanished from his mind like smoke."
Shiki's expression was complex; Liyue truly was the most tragic region of the Archon War, to the extent that this land required a Archon to exhaust his power to quell disasters.
Thinking back carefully, Liyue indeed had many Archons.
The Chi of Qingce Village, Osial of Yunlai Sea, Havria, Morax, Guizhong, Markosius.
These were just the ones that could be named; Liyue also had many unnamed Archons who died from the Geo spears Morax cast down.
For example, the Archon who enslaved the Yaksha clan, the Archon who killed Guizhong.
And there wasn't only Osial beneath Guyun Stone Forest; Osial...was merely one of the Archons.
Leaving Inazuma aside, let's talk about Mondstadt, right next to Liyue.
There were only two Archons in total: Decarabian, the Archon of Storms, and Andrius, the Archon of the North Wind.
It's easy to imagine how chaotic Liyue must have been during the Archon War.
Just listen to Morax's voice line: 'In this world, all Archons rise together.'
Looking at it this way, Inazuma is really quite weak; not only is it all islands, but it also borders the Dark Sea.
When the Abyss invaded Five hundred years ago, Inazuma faced the fiercest assault.
There was nothing to be done; unlike other regions that only opened a single portal for troops, Inazuma opened a portal on every island for you—how could one possibly cope with that?
"Guoba...you, sigh..."
Xiangling sighed with a complicated expression; over the years, she had long considered Guoba her family, and with such a past, how could she not feel sad?
"Xiangling..." Keqing also didn't know how to comfort her; the most benevolent Archon, now forgotten by people, was truly a pity.
"Don't be sad, Xiangling." Granny Ping said slowly, "Everything has two sides. Although Guoba is not as powerful as before, he has also cast away his worries and achieved true carefree happiness."
"Unlike us old folks, who worry about this and that every day?"
"Tell me, in this world, where is there a person without worries?"
"As long as you can think, you will inevitably encounter problems. Guoba is now carefree, which can be said to be completely at ease!"
"I agree with that; the more you know, the heavier your worries become." Shiki's expression was somber: "Especially when you don't have the strength to match your knowledge."
"In a sense, ignorance is also a kind of happiness."
"Shiki..."
Seeing the girl's furrowed brows, Ayaka worriedly took her soft hand.
She knew, of course, why Shiki sometimes didn't tell her the truth of things, but she didn't know what kind of secrets the girl held in her mind.
The Traveler listened to the girl's heavy words thoughtfully; she always felt that the other party was reminding her?
She had no idea what had happened Five hundred years ago, only that after waking up, her brother had pulled her, wanting to leave this world.
Then, just as they were about to leave, an unknown Archon abducted her brother and sealed her powers, until she woke up on a beach a few months ago and fished out some Emergency Food.
The Traveler felt that Shiki definitely knew something, just like Venti and Morax, but couldn't tell her for some reason.
And the words she was speaking now were to tell her that she didn't yet have enough strength to know all of it.
Shiki: I'm not, I didn't, don't talk nonsense!
If Shiki had telepathy, she would definitely deny it three times over.
How could she know the truth of Khaenri'ah Five hundred years ago? Saying these words was purely because her strength was too weak.
Whether it was the ancient Seven Dragon Sovereigns or the primordial Phanes, these matters were too heavy for her.
The Great Serpent was ordered by Celestial Principles to commit suicide because of these matters; although it was unknown why the Celestial Principles Sustainer had not reacted yet, she didn't dare to speak of these things.
Because she didn't have the strength to flip the table.
Teyvat now was a huge chessboard, Celestial Principles was the player, and they...were all pieces on the board!
Heh heh, the Gnosis are all shaped like chess pieces; doesn't that say something?
Presumably, the Cryo Archon collecting the Gnosis was to try and escape this chessboard, right?
But speaking of which, have the Fatui not gotten the Electro Gnosis yet?
'No, they should have gotten it, right? Otherwise, they wouldn't have withdrawn from Inazuma so decisively, so...did Yae the fox give away the Gnosis in that transaction?'
'Hmm, it should be like that, but why didn't she tell me, making me guess?'
'And I feel...20 billion was sold too cheaply...'
Of course, Shiki had no right to decide; this Gnosis was given to Yae Miko by Ei to handle, and she could sell it for whatever price she wanted.
But Shiki believed that Yae Miko could have demanded more; Snezhnaya could afford it, 20 billion was ultimately too little.
"Alas..." Granny Ping also sighed softly at the sight.
'So young, yet already bearing such heavy responsibilities; she must have many worries, right? That's why she would say ignorance is also a kind of happiness.'
'Perhaps only when one knows everything in the world and has the power to change everything will one be free from worries?'
'But who can reach such a state of omniscience and omnipotence?'
'Even Emperor Morax, he has his own worries!'
The atmosphere became heavy for a moment; Xiangling naturally noticed the change in atmosphere; she was just an optimist, not stupid.
Xiangling felt she should do something to break this gloomy atmosphere.
And what chefs are good at is precisely this kind of thing.
Bringing joy to people with food.
"Everyone! Do you want to come to my place for dinner later? And something very interesting happened at my house yesterday!"
"My dad told me that our house was haunted yesterday!"
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