In his first life, Li Mo, as the Thunder Demon, had dug out his own Thunder Demon's heart with his own hands to save the Raiden sisters.
According to the laws of Teyvat, a departed soul should enter the underworld.
But Li Mo's soul did not go to the underworld. With the system's help, it immediately entered the next cycle of reincarnation, beginning the mission of his second life.
Below, the audience was still mourning the death of the boy.
Upon hearing that the boy had entered the cycle of reincarnation, their interest was rekindled.
"In ancient times, there were indeed legends of reincarnation… I've heard that after reincarnation, though the soul remains the same, all memories are lost."
"Could it be that the boy truly entered reincarnation?"
"Storyteller, where was the boy reincarnated in his second life?"
"My guess is that his second life was still in Inazuma… the boy and the Raiden sisters still had unfinished bonds."
"What do you think—could his second life be reincarnated here in Liyue?"
"Now that would be interesting. In ancient times, Liyue Harbor was even more chaotic than Inazuma… If he came to Liyue, maybe he would have become companions with Lord Rex Lapis."
"I hope his second life was in Mondstadt. I'd love to hear stories of ancient Mondstadt… I've heard the god who ruled there was a very mysterious figure."
...
In truth, in ancient times, whether in Inazuma, Liyue Harbor, Mondstadt, or any other nation, the situation was much the same.
Gods and demons waged war like contestants in a battle royale. Whoever emerged victorious would become the ruling archon of that land—one of the Seven.
Not only the audience below but even the Raiden Shogun found herself curious.
What would her brother's second life be like?
Would he still remember the Raiden sisters? Would he go to Inazuma to find them?
At that moment, the Raiden Shogun paused at the entrance.
She glanced at the blade in her hand—Musou Isshin. She could feel that the consciousness of Beelzebul, hidden within the sword, was unwilling to leave this inn.
So she led Yae Miko back to sit across from Zhongli once more.
Her expression cold, she said, "Morax, I heard in Inazuma that you had died. I did not expect you to have deceived everyone."
Zhongli's expression did not change in the slightest. While playing with his bird, he replied leisurely, "Morax is dead. What does that have to do with me, Zhongli?"
Yae Miko: "…"
She understood now.
This somewhat handsome young man before her was none other than Liyue's Rex Lapis.
The ruler of Liyue had chosen to fake his death, abandon his duties, and spend his days idling about, playing with birds.
Absolutely ridiculous.
Yae Miko murmured, "Interesting. Faking one's death for the sake of leisure… that's a great premise for a light novel."
"Hehe, I'll publish it in the next issue. I'm sure many people would love to read it."
Zhongli's expression shifted slightly. "Ahem, be careful not to reveal my identity."
Yae Miko chuckled. "I know."
The Raiden Shogun: "…"
As the Shogun of Inazuma, she had interacted with Zhongli before and knew his character well.
It was not surprising that he would do something as outrageous as faking his own death and arranging his own funeral.
She could not be bothered to say more to Zhongli.
The Raiden Shogun turned her gaze back to the stage, waiting for the storyteller to continue with the tale of her brother's second life.
At that moment, on stage, Li Mo had finished communicating with the system and was ready to continue his storytelling.
This time, the story he chose was from his mission in his second reincarnated life.
In this life, he would become Qiqi's teacher, teaching her the knowledge of herbal medicine, gathering herbs, and saving lives.
"Let us continue from where we left off!"
"To save the Raiden sisters, the boy was willing to give up his own life. He split his Thunder Demon's heart in two and gave it to them."
"But the boy did not enter the underworld. Instead, he was reincarnated in Liyue Harbor during the age of ancient Liyue."
"At that time, Liyue was in the midst of the war between the adepti and the demons."
"The people suffered. Life was unbearable."
"The flames of war burned down villages and destroyed the crops in the fields."
"People fled and migrated, struggling simply to survive."
"The boy, now caught in the cycle of reincarnation, was among those fleeing the chaos. But in this life, he was no longer a youth. He was an old man with hair as white as snow."
...
Under normal laws of reincarnation, anyone who was reincarnated would begin as an infant, born into the world, and grow up slowly.
But under the system's interference, the laws of this world had changed.
In his second life, the moment his soul was reincarnated, Li Mo's consciousness entered the body of an old man with hair already white—an elderly man on the brink of death.
How was he supposed to complete his mission now?
Dissatisfied with this body, Li Mo had argued with the system for an entire day and night.
It was only after the system compensated him with a number of items—training manuals and medical texts—that he reluctantly accepted the body.
On the elevated stage, as Li Mo spoke, powerful elemental energy gathered above Wangshu Inn, forming intricate and lifelike projections.
What appeared were scenes of ancient Liyue.
Adepti soared through the heavens, fighting to protect Liyue. Demons raised their blades, shattering the land.
Chaos reigned.
Witnessing these scenes, the Liyue listeners recalled their own land's painful history:
"In those days, Liyue was at its most difficult. Thankfully, Lord Rex Lapis, strong and invincible, led the adepti to defeat the demons."
"Yes, those demons were terrible. Lord Rex Lapis was incredible!"
"I swear eternal enmity with those demons!"
"When a boy is reincarnated, shouldn't he become an infant? How did he become an old man?"
"An old man fleeing from chaos could never change the course of the war between the adepti and the demons."
"Sigh… if only he had come to Liyue with the Thunder Demon's body from his first life, maybe he could have helped Lord Rex Lapis defeat those vile demons more quickly."
...
Though a thousand years had passed, every time the demons were mentioned, the people of Liyue clenched their teeth in anger.
They wished they could be reborn into that era and fight alongside the adepti against the accursed demons.
Now, through the stories Li Mo told, they could learn more about the war between the adepti and the demons from a thousand years ago.
The audience was thrilled.
In a corner of the inn, Keqing, upon hearing that the story would touch on the war between the adepti and the demons, perked up her ears.
"I recall… Baizhu once mentioned that although Qiqi looks very young, she has lived for over a thousand years."
"She was turned into a zombie by a wicked person during the war between the adepti and the demons."
With that, Keqing glanced at Qiqi.
Who would have thought that this small, soft-looking little girl was a figure from the era of the adepti-demon war?
She wondered if the storyteller's tale would include Qiqi.
Hearing this, Shenhe replied calmly, "I think… the person who turned Qiqi into a zombie might not have been wicked."
Keqing frowned. "How could someone who turned Qiqi into this be anything but wicked?"
Shenhe did not respond.
The truth was often buried in history, rarely seen by anyone.
At that moment, no one noticed that the person listening most intently to Li Mo's story was not the Liyue citizens, nor Keqing, nor Shenhe, nor Zhongli…
It was Qiqi.
She tilted her small head, gazing at the storyteller on stage with curiosity.
The more she looked, the more familiar he seemed.