Genshin Impact: I am the Great General of Liyue

"The murder weapon...? No! It's fake, everything you're saying is a lie, you're trying to deceive my faith in the gods!"

Seeing Wanyan waver so much, yet still believing in the answer in her heart, Zhongli shook his head slightly.

"I have said that I only state the facts."

"Outrageous! You...you're also a follower of Morax, don't try to fool me!"

After saying this, Wanyan couldn't accept Zhongli's words and angrily left, running deep into the ruins...

After Wanyan's figure disappeared into the darkness, Paimon finally reacted and shouted, "Hey! Hey, don't run away!"

However, she did not obediently return despite Paimon's attempts to persuade her to stay.

Just one story caused Wanyan immense emotional distress.

The damage Zhongli's "Punishment of Eating Rocks" inflicted on her was no less than the physical pain he caused Clement.

Seeing this, Ying spoke up: "What Zhongli said is indeed the 'truth,' isn't it?"

“Yes, otherwise she wouldn’t have used the ‘truth’ as punishment. I didn’t want to tell such a cruel story either. Let’s continue deeper into the area. There… there, I’m afraid, there will be something that will force her to accept the ‘truth’ no matter what.”

After Zhongli finished speaking, the group continued to advance deeper into the ruins.

The deeper you go, the more eerie the atmosphere becomes.

It wasn't because the light was too dim; on the contrary, it was quite bright, and at least the surrounding space was clearly visible.

So what exactly is this sense of atmosphere?

From a sensory perspective, the temperature, humidity, and air freshness all feel normal.

Nothing seemed different around here, except for one thing... the salt statue.

Looking at these statues with similar expressions but different postures, Paimon stated, "These 'statues,' are they... running away? What lies ahead...?"

What lies ahead? Or rather, what is the truth ahead?

Zhongli's answer was this: "It's salt, and betrayal..."

The statues are in different poses, but they all appear to be doing the same thing: they are running away.

They escaped by rolling down the steps, by crawling on all fours, or by throwing their companions aside and fleeing by any means necessary.

Without exception, their poses were frozen in the last moments of their lives.

They were desperately trying to escape something, as if they sensed something big was about to happen.

Heading in the opposite direction from where the statues had fled, the group gazed at the somewhat magnificent stone gate above and climbed up the steps.

Having climbed to the front of the giant gate, they finally caught up with Wanyan.

Wan Yan wasn't panting, but her whole body was trembling, as if she was afraid of something, dreading something, or wavering.

"What was it along the way? What did they see...and do? And then...what happened?"

These three questions came from Wan Yan's mouth.

These questions were clearly asked by Wanyan because she was eager to know the answers after seeing Zhongli's arrival.

Zhongli knew that even if she gave the answer, she wouldn't believe it.

Since that's the case, let her witness the answer.

"Since you can't trust me, let's move on. Everything that happened back then, the traces left behind this door, will be recorded truthfully."

As soon as Zhongli finished speaking, the enormous stone gate in front of him suddenly emitted a golden light.

It was Zhongli who infused his magic power to activate the patterns on the door, thus opening this mechanical door.

There were no rattling or creaking sounds from the passage of time; the door opened smoothly and without any noise.

After the giant gate opened, Wanyan went inside.

The others followed closely behind, cautiously observing the room.

In the center of the room, on the floor, it was as if something had exploded, and salt was spreading outwards.

Without exception, all the statues here are trying to move away from the epicenter of the explosion.

It's clear that these statues depict people who were salted before they even had a chance to react.

There are two statues that look like brothers, running towards each other, but they are quite far apart, and they are both in the starting position.

The white salt stains on the ground all tell the same story: these salt mounds are Heureia's flesh and blood.

Upon arriving here, Huiyuan finally realized where this feeling of atmosphere in her heart came from.

It sounded like a woman weeping, and the air was filled with the sorrow of salt.

It was as if a man was struggling, and the moonlight shone down from above with pity.

It was as if life was withering away, the loneliness of the pure white blood of the gods.

Grains of salt slid down from the ceiling, like the last heartbeats of a life, causing excruciating pain.

"This is the scene. Herria's body disintegrated, leaving only traces of salt. Her final moments are frozen here."

As Zhongli recounted the facts of the place, Wanyan gasped again.

Seeing that the other party was on the verge of a mental breakdown, Zhongli pointed to the salt statue in the center and continued his explanation.

The story continues: "Among her people, some finally realized that this kind but weak demon could not protect anyone in the war. The war between demons is very cruel. Rather than letting her suffer the torment of defeat, it is better to grant her a relatively easy release."

The salt figure in the center is in a pose as if attacking something with a sword.

In front of the statue is a pile of salt.

What happened is self-evident.

Even after learning the truth of history, Paimon still couldn't understand what these salt statues were all about.

So Paimon asked Zhongli, "But what about these 'statues'?"

If statues are actually living people, then why did they become statues in the first place?

Zhongli answered in this way.

"Even the weakest demon god, the power lost upon death is beyond the capacity of a mortal body. Those who could not escape all became like this. The people of the Salt Goddess, untouched by this calamity, left her territory for Liyue, seeking the protection of the Geo Archon. Their descendants fear the remnants of the demon god left behind by Heureia, fear the eternal curse she has bestowed upon them..."

At this moment, Zhongli turned his gaze to Wanyan's back and delivered the fatal blow.

"So they risked returning here, breaking the sword and offering it as a sacrifice, hoping to appease the anger she left behind. But in reality, they were futile. How could this demon, who never resisted until the very end, possibly harbor resentment towards her own people?"

That's right, the broken sword we saw earlier was the murder weapon used to assassinate Heureia.

The assassins were Heureia's people.

The final pose of the salt statue before its death, along with the murder weapon on the altar and everything else here, all testify to the truth Zhongli spoke of.

"I...I...even so, I won't accept...a lie...a false history...nothing...can shake...my faith..."

As she spoke, Wanyan's narrowed eyes glared at Zhongli, then she rushed out again in despair...