Original God's Dark Priest

Liyue Harbor, docks.

Saffir was using the Holy Night Traveler's Scroll to collect information and evaluations about Beidou, the captain of the Southern Cross fleet. The most information about her was available here.

Just as I finished questioning one person and was about to go find the next one, the Cave Heaven Pass issued a communication request.

Saffir walked aside to answer the communicator, and then heard Firefly's frantic voice: "Saffir, something bad has happened!"

"Why am I not feeling well?" Saffir was stunned, thinking that Ying might have acted too aggressively.

But the next second, Ying continued, "Sydralli found me and said she foresaw Mavica's death."

Upon hearing this, Saffir's eyes narrowed slightly. She knew about this matter; Sitraly had mentioned it to her before, but at that time they both believed that the so-called death should come from this war.

Beidou shielded Mavica from a fatal blow, and the danger of her death should have been averted, but it now seems that this is not the case.

Saffir patiently said to Ying, "Don't rush, tell me slowly."

Then, Ying told Saphir everything that Sitrali had deduced.

"To use the power of the Death Ruler, so one must pay the price of death?" Saffir stroked his chin. "It's like a ritual that exchanges one's soul for power, which is common in many places."

"At a time like this, you're still in the mood to analyze this? Shouldn't the most important thing right now be how to avoid it?" Ying was still very anxious; she didn't want Mavica to die.

Saffir sighed: "If this is something written into the Teyvat rules, then it's unavoidable, and there's not much we can do about it."

"Huh? Can't you avoid it either?" Ying originally had a lot of confidence in Saffir, believing that as long as she could protect Mavica, nothing would happen.

But Saffir shattered her illusions: "It has nothing to do with danger. In fact, since the Abyss has already been severely damaged, the rest are not to be feared. Mavica's power alone is sufficient to handle it. Therefore, her death did not come from harm. Rather, it came from... the contract."

"!" Ying's breath hitched. "The contract..."

Saffir nodded slightly: "Tell Cetalli to leave this matter alone. Your most important task now is to quickly fill up the Holy Night Journey Weave, then forge your own Ancient Name, and assist Mavika in dealing with the rest of the Abyss."

"Aren't you going to help?" Ying asked with some regret, listening to Saffir's words, it seemed that she didn't intend to get involved.

Saffir pondered for a moment, then said, "Whether I help with the rest or not won't affect anything. I have other things to do. Ying, her safety is in your hands until Mavica becomes that price. Can you do that?"

"Absolutely!" Ying immediately perked up. She understood that no matter what happened later, she had to help and protect Mavica now, at least to prevent her from being caught off guard.

Having received Ying's reply, Saffir chuckled, "Okay, that's all then, bye."

After ending the communication, Saffir fell into thought. Mavica used the power of the Death Rule, so she had to pay with her life.

So, if they want to protect Mavica's life, they must first find out what the contract between the Reign of Death and Shibarak actually contained, and whether there are any loopholes that can be exploited.

When it comes to contracts and exploiting loopholes, if Saffir claims to be second, then the only first place belongs to that man.

After a while, Zhongli and Safiel sat facing each other in a private room on the second floor of the Rock Tea House.

The old man remained calm, gently blowing on his teacup before taking a small sip: "Mr. Phil, it seems you've finished dealing with your business?"

"No, Beidou is so badly injured that I have to travel to various places to record all the things related to her. I'm almost done here in Liyue Harbor, and then I have to go to Inatsuma Kamiyashiki."

There is also Haizhi Island, and the Vimo City of Sumeru (Omo Port has been bombed flat, forming a huge inland port. The port city is Vimo Village, which has now developed into Vimo City due to the large flow of people).

There's also Jingfu Port in Mondstadt, and Baida Port, which is closer to Fontaine, etc. There are so many places to travel to.

“Saving a dying life is never easy. Boss Phil possesses incredible power, but he has forgotten that life is an incredibly heavy thing, and the current complexity is the normal phenomenon.” Zhong Li put down his teacup, his tone calm.

Looking at the man before her, Saffir calmed down. No matter when, she always felt relaxed as long as she was by his side.

She mimicked the other person's actions, holding the teacup with both hands and sipping it slowly.

Watching her charmingly sipping tea leaves, Zhong Li suppressed a smile and coughed lightly, saying, "I suppose Mr. Phil didn't come to see me just for casual conversation. Is there something important?"

“There really is.” Saffir gently set down his cup, his face serious. “You are the God of Contracts, you should know the contents of all the contracts in this world, right?”

Zhongli almost choked on his tea. He felt that Saphir trusted him too much. He was indeed the God of Contracts, but he wasn't omniscient or omnipotent. How could he possibly know the contents of all the contracts in the world?

But Zhongli didn't want to appear useless in front of Sapphire, so he asked, "There's no need to know about some simple contracts. Mr. Sapphire, why don't you tell me which specific contract you'd like to know about?"

"The pact between Nata, the Reign of Death, and the First God of Fire, Shibarak." Saffir stared intently at Zhongli.

Zhongli's right ring finger, which was holding the teacup, trembled slightly, then he calmly put the teacup down: "That contract..."

He sighed softly: "The current Vulcan, Mavica, used the power of the Death Ruler in the recently concluded war, and paying the price of death is one of the terms of the contract."

It will be difficult for you to change this outcome.

“Then there’s hope, right?” Saffir didn’t care how difficult it was; she only cared about whether it was possible and whether there was any possibility.

Zhongli did not speak directly, but Safiel had already seen hope.

Her eyes brightened slightly: "Do you remember the specifics?"

“I can’t reveal the specifics, but if you’re looking for loopholes, they do exist.” Zhongli rested his hands on his knees. “The contract states that once that power is used, the price must be death.”

Furthermore, to prevent anyone from exploiting loopholes, the contract was not specified when it was established; it was only stated that the person paying the price needed to possess a significant soul.

Such a soul possessor is usually the Vulcan who uses this power; otherwise, Nata could exploit the loophole in the contract by changing the Vulcan.

The purpose of the Death Ruler's actions was simple: to make the Nata people, and especially the Vulcan himself, understand that this power should not be used lightly, and that the price they would pay was unbearable.

"In other words, it doesn't necessarily have to be Mavica who dies; it would be fine to have someone else of sufficient stature die instead?" Saffir immediately realized this.

Zhongli nodded slowly: "That's the theory."

It's a loophole that can hardly be called a loophole. According to the contract, the person who dies must be of sufficient importance, but such people are few and far between. How can such a person be sent to die in place of Vulcan? Nata cannot offer equivalent benefits and conditions.

Unless someone does it voluntarily, but... who would do that?

Saffir thought of the captain and Chen Xi; those two were acting strangely, hiding something from her.

Saffir suspected that the two were likely planning to die in place of Mavica, but was Vulcan's rank so high that it required the captain and Chenxi to exchange for her?

But she quickly dismissed the idea. The two didn't seem like they were going to work together; instead, they were arguing. So it wasn't one plus one, but rather a choice between two.

Saffir didn't know exactly what the captain and Chenxi were arguing about, but she couldn't let it go.

"Judging from your expression, you must know. You can pretend you know nothing about it and wait and see how things develop. That's the best outcome for you," Zhongli advised earnestly.

Saffir gave a bitter smile: "If I really knew nothing, I could accept the outcome, but I knew beforehand, and I can't just watch my comrade die."

"But we all have to make a choice eventually, Mr. Phil. Life is a journey that must come to an end. Life has weight and length. Every life has an end, and no matter how much we try to postpone it, it will always come."

All we can do is accept it. Zhongli's voice was low.

He had already accepted this kind of thing before, more than once.

Looking at Zhongli, and thinking of the two who had fought so fiercely in Kustak, Saffir felt a strange emotion: "What if I say no?"

“It is foolish to refuse to accept the correction of a wrong result,” Zhongli suddenly said, his words carrying a heavy weight.

With a "bang," the teacup in Saffir's hand shattered. She stared intently at Zhongli and said, word by word, "You... you decided this from the very beginning, didn't you? But you didn't tell me."

"This is Miss Chenxi's wish. I respect her choice and I promised her..." Zhong Li remained calm, his gaze towards Saffir still peaceful.

Saffir crushed the fragments in his hand into powder: "You promised her that you would stop me then and not give me a chance to stop her."

"But where do you get the confidence to restrain me? Morax, that's arrogance!"

"You are arrogant, Hagentos. We have no second chances. This time, we will do everything in our power."

"So, if you insist on going, you will face the combined obstruction of me, Barbatos, Baal, Balzeb, Buyer, and Banabas." Zhongli said, his aura fully unleashed, an inexplicable pressure enveloping the entire Rock Tea Room, even making Saffir feel breathless.

She tried hard to read Zhongli's expression, but couldn't find a trace of a joke in it: "How ridiculous, the Seven Gods' alliance is once again aimed at me..."

You all know perfectly well that I've always wanted to unite you all to fight a more powerful enemy, and now, you've united, but only to stop me.

“You’re very considerate, Boss Phil.” Zhongli’s tone softened considerably. He slowly poured out the tea from his cup, then picked up the teapot, poured himself a fresh cup of tea, and handed it to Safiel. “Take, give.”

Many things in this world cannot be achieved simply by wishful thinking; we face choices and trade-offs every moment.

Just as you once said, wanting both isn't kindness, it's greed. You were so insightful before, so why are you so attached now, unable to let go?

Saffir took the cup from Zhongli and watched as Zhongli slowly poured tea into it. The golden tea rippled in the cup before settling into stillness.

She tilted her head back, took a sip of tea, and slammed the cup down on the table, splashing tea and wetting the surface.

Zhong Li's expression remained unchanged as he looked at her calmly: "Leaving?"

“Hmm.” Saffir stood up and opened the door behind him.

Zhongli asked again, "Where to?"

“Inazuma, on Umijima Island, Hokuto is still waiting for me to save her.” Saffir lowered his head and took a deep breath. “I will protect what I can protect.”

"Have you thought it through?" A smile appeared in Zhongli's eyes.