Genshin Impact: The Recorder of All Things

"But the great master of the flower understood the deeper meaning—just as she had predicted, just as she had calculated, the most powerful and noble king of the desert and the oasis harbored the most rebellious fantasies."

"The goddess of flowers was persuaded instead..."

"I will keep this a secret for you because I have the same deep affection for you as for the Lord of Wisdom."

4.7 "I will build a bridge for you, and you will be able to fulfill your fantasies, but do not fear the azure crystal nails..."

"I will guide you to that profound knowledge, even though I have already warned you that you will inevitably lose much..."

"Nevertheless, please remember my lesson, remember the severe punishment that the messengers from the heavens suffered..."

"Remember this: if there is still hope in this created world, it lies in ordinary mortals."

"In the darkness, she guided her dearest friend through a secret path leading to all knowledge of the heavens and the abyss. She became the bridge, the oasis the price, and perished in dazzling light for his wild dreams..."

Hearing this, Elhesen and Seno felt a chill run down their spines. It was as if they now knew the source of the Sumeru Catastrophe—a fact that could shatter people's faith.

Chapter 61 Two Gods Collaborate, One Dies, One Is Sacrificed

Thousands of years ago, all sorts of disasters began to occur in Mount Sumeru.

Typical examples include Demon Scale Disease and Dead Zone.

The main reason Tinari came to Liyue this time was to find Zhong Gui to treat Kolai's Demonscale Disease.

And what did they hear now?

All disasters originate from the gods!?

If this news were to reach Sumeru, it would absolutely cause a huge uproar, and faith would absolutely collapse.

In reality, the people of Sumeru have very low faith in the gods due to the influence of the Church, and there are very few devout believers.

Now, if they knew that the disaster of Sumeru originated from the Red King's idea, with the Flower Goddess assisting from the sidelines and the Tree King's tacit approval... they simply couldn't imagine the consequences.

“Sage, you’re not joking, are you?!” Elhesen asked.

"I don't know." Zhong Gui shrugged. "Maybe there's some reason, like it's for the good of the people of Xumi..."

"I don't know exactly what happened either. Maybe one day you can ask them yourself."

Elhesen: "..."

　04 "Haha, let's try something more exciting, but this is just speculation and I'm not responsible for it."

Zhong Gui then voiced his guess—

The Red King's idea shocked the Tree King, but the Flower Goddess remained calm.

She found in the Red King's ideas the possibility of transcending the absurd rules of the world.

In the era that Flora lived through, people could communicate directly with Sky Island, obtain the knowledge they wanted, and satisfy their desires.

But with the arrival of invaders from outside the world, the world order was disrupted.

The master of the sky opposes all forbidden knowledge and breakthroughs; the Crimson King desires to unify the wisdom of all mortals and to unite all dreams and power into one.

To realize this idea, he must seek knowledge from the abyss and the Sky Island.

The Flower Goddess understood the Red King's original intention, but this method was extremely dangerous.

As a messenger of the past, Flora knows the secrets of the Teyvat sky and has the ability to foresee destiny and the future.

She could see the Red King's future clearly: the forbidden knowledge he pursued would corrupt the kingdom he ruled, leading to its destruction.

But the Flower Goddess did not oppose the Red King's crazy idea; instead, she supported him.

Because normal humans only thought about the Red King's defeat, while she only thought about the people after the Red King's defeat.

Only after experiencing the shattering of divine fantasies can mortals have the day of liberation from divine will.

Just as the goddess of flowers had foreseen, after the fall of the Red King's kingdom, people no longer obeyed the gods.

The desert and oasis entered a period of fierce competition and bloodshed as humans fought for power, but eventually the desert returned to peace.

The people of the desert built a village called Aru on the edge of the desert.

Elhesen: "That's terrifying..."

Sino: "For thousands of years, the struggle for supremacy in the desert has been filled with countless conspiracies and chaos, and countless lives have been lost..."

Right or wrong?

They lack the wisdom of gods, cannot see more information, do not understand, and do not want to understand.

All they knew was that Mount Sumeru had indeed broken free from the influence of the gods.

Do the people of the desert miss the Red King? No, they simply oppose the oppression of the Church and seek refuge.

Do the people of the rainforest miss the Little Lucky Grass King? No, they haven't had a "non-existent" god for five hundred years, so who cares?

The followers of Little Auspicious Grass King are all people she has helped. Many people support her now because she has traveled all over Mount Sumeru and helped many people.

But once they learn that these disasters were intentionally orchestrated by the gods...

The ancient wars are long gone and they can disregard them, but the Dead Zone and the Demon Scale Disease are still there, and they won't silently endure them just because of a "for your own good" excuse.

The possibility of resistance is slim, but the possibility of alienation and disloyalty is extremely high.

Sumeru could not withstand any more turmoil, and Sumeru could not be without deities.

Seeing the look in Elhesen's eyes, Zhong Gui smiled slightly, "These won't be sent out; I just want to keep a record for myself."

"The goddess of flowers wants humanity to take control of their own destiny and future, but humanity may not agree."

"Even though the Flower Goddess and the Red King sacrificed themselves in the process, leaving only the Great Tree King to clean up the mess."

Seno: "Sage, must the gods necessarily be ruled by humans? Must the gods necessarily leave?"

Seno suddenly realized that all three gods had the same idea: to let humanity take control of its own destiny and future.

Zhong Gui looked at Ying, who was taken aback and put down the pastries in her hand. "I don't know. I just feel that I shouldn't interfere so much. Besides, my sister... she did the same thing. I was just referring to some of her actions."

After Ying finished speaking, Nasita, who was in Shen He's arms, smiled and said, "Elhesen, Seno, don't think so much. Humanity will eventually take charge, plan its own destiny, and choose its own future, instead of having gods arrange everything. Just like a fledgling eagle, it must eventually leave its parents' embrace and spread its wings to soar."

Zhong Gui: "Wendy, also known as Barbatos, what kind of god do you think he is? An irresponsible drunkard? Heh, even I don't know how many secrets the ancient, swirling winds have told him."

"Mondstadt is a truly godless realm, and from the beginning it was just a story of a wind spirit and a bard helping his friend."

"Therefore, over the past two thousand years, only Mondstadt has stumbled along the way, and more than once it went in the wrong direction. But the one who truly corrected Mondstadt was not the wind god, but the bard's friend—Vanessa."

"Indeed, Wendy helped her, but Wendy did not offer any ideas or guidance for Mondstadt; it was the Mondstadt people's own choice."

"That's how Mondstadt has developed to where it is today..."

"What the gods do is to protect their people before they leave, acting as their final guardians."

"The other six countries also began to act like Barbatos at different times, gradually giving up their rule over the country."

"Of course, one country did the worst."

Shadow: "Smack~ Smack~"

Zhong Gui hesitated for a moment, then continued, "Next year will probably be the last time Liyue holds its Summoning Ceremony. This year's ceremony might be a bit more interesting~"

Elhesen, Seno: "..."

So, we two outsiders know more about Liyue's policy changes than the people of Liyue do?

Zhong Gui: "Of course, it depends on whether A-Qing cooperates or not~"

With so many things happening lately, I wonder if Keqing will still ask that question.

That's right, this year Keqing is presiding over the invocation ceremony.

If all goes well, Stormterror will awaken soon, and the Travelers should arrive next year.

Chapter 62 Keqing and Ningguang, striving their entire lives for basic necessities.

I am Keqing, Yuheng of Liyue!

Upright and incorruptible, holding a high position and wielding great power!

Cloud-Drawing Sword Technique, Flying Beef Offal!

"Beef offal, hey, beef offal for sale!"

At Liyue Harbor, Keqing was wearing a headscarf and running a small stall selling offal today.

I've worked as a porter in Liyue Harbor, a coal miner, a hauler in the Deep Rock Abyss, a rammed earth worker at the South Wharf, and a waiter in a small restaurant.

It's not unusual for a carving master to sell offal.

However, she still put on a lot of disguise, and the difference between her and her usual self was like the difference between Zhong Li and Zhong Tao. It was obvious that they were not the same person, at most they just felt a little similar.

But it doesn't matter. There are many members of the Ke family, so it's not surprising that someone looks a bit like Ke Qing.

"Boss, a serving of beef offal, please."

"Okay~"

Ke Qing deftly chopped out a portion with her cleaver. "Dad, put it in the pot."

"receive."

The helper, Ke Fu, quickly put the beef offal into the pot and skillfully prepared a serving.

"Father, I usually come out alone, why do you insist on following me?" Keqing said helplessly to her father after the guests left.