Genshin Impact: I, the Winter's Executor, am forced to work.

"Let's talk about our own things; you naturally have people to meet."

Qin Ye pointed downwards, where an elderly man with white hair was walking forward with his hands behind his back.

"That's... Ah Ping?" Even though she had completely changed her appearance, he still recognized her immediately.

"Yes, and remember to visit Liu Yun and the others often."

"They're not in a hurry, I'll go and make fun of A-Ping first." Completely forgetting his dissatisfaction at being ignored, Zhenjun took a few quick steps and leaped off the cliff.

"How long do you think it would take A-Ping to kill him now?" Qin Ye rubbed his chin, judging in his mind.

"..."

Zhongli stood with his hands behind his back, watching the two meet, remaining silent for a long time.

Qin Ye looked up at the sun and felt inexplicably dazzled: "Really, the sun is so strong today. My eyes feel a bit uncomfortable."

When Columbia first saw her sisters, she cried for an entire afternoon. Qin Ye was also saddened for a while, but he didn't expect this to happen so soon.

"But now comes the real highlight. The fact that Yi Xiao was able to be resurrected has given me some confidence."

"Brother Qin, what do you mean by this?"

Qin Ye raised the corners of his mouth and reached out to Zhong Li, asking, "Take out your Worldly Lock."

Chapter 306 Side Story: Return (2)

Qin Ye looked at the gradually darkening sky and stopped on the somewhat bare grass of Guili Plain.

He turned around blankly and looked at Zhongli, who was following him slowly with a worried expression.

"I know you value the things Gui Zhong left you, but there's a question: have you solved the puzzle we set for you?"

“Well, from a generally rational perspective,” Zhongli said calmly, “no.”

So what are you so proud of?

"Another question: since you haven't solved the puzzle, why did you use the power I stored in the Heart of God, your own power, and the power left behind in the finality to create a cover for the Lock of the Mortal World?"

Why make things worse if you can't even solve one layer?

We really shouldn't have let Gui Zhong set up such a difficult problem in the first place; it's not something that can be solved with a stupid method.

Furthermore, the power I left you with is for you to protect Liyue, not for you to protect your deceased wife's belongings.

Since it is difficult to solve, it is better to keep it as a memento.

"..."

The Emperor must have a serious illness to do this.

"Because I know that Brother Qin must have a way to solve this, I will lend you a hand first, which will also facilitate the equivalent exchange later."

Qin Ye shook his head helplessly, took the Lock of the Mortal World and examined it, giving Zhong Li a heads-up in advance.

"Let me make this clear first. I'm good at managing the big picture. When it comes to governing Liyue, I mostly just come up with plans. The specific implementation and fine-tuning are up to the local people to adapt to the local conditions. Similarly, when it comes to solving puzzles, with Gui Zhong's intelligence, he definitely knows that you will seek my help. There will inevitably be questions that are specifically designed to make things difficult for me. Even if you asked me to unlock this mortal lock, I couldn't."

Even if he could actually solve it, he wouldn't do it. What if a couple of sweet nothings popped out of his mouth? Wouldn't that be incredibly awkward?

Ultimately, it is known that Zhongli would find it difficult to decipher. Even if she were to decipher the two lines of love and some knowledge within, Zhongli would silently remember them and seal them away in the deepest part of her heart because she does not want to touch upon her painful past experiences.

But if you give him a lock of the mortal world, it's a different story. Seeing this lock reminds him of the end, and the more he looks at it, the more he wants to open it to see what's inside. Once he opens it, he wants to open it again, and once he wants to open it, he wants to open it again. This is like the Demon God of the Dust using the Demon God of the Rock for thousands of years.

The light penetrated the outermost protective shield and quickly erased it.

"This may take a long time, so please don't be impatient."

Qin Ye offered a kind reminder.

"Brother Qin, what are you saying? If it weren't for your help, there wouldn't be the past of the Rock King Emperor. Even if we failed, there are other ways, aren't there?"

Zhongli crossed his arms, but his fingers pressed down on his arms more forcefully than usual, which was enough to show his anticipation and nervousness.

However, this action only lasted for a moment. Zhong Li quickly realized her state and, in order not to add unnecessary pressure to Qin Ye, she deliberately suppressed her emotions.

"We've been through thick and thin together. To be honest, if we fail, there probably won't be a next time."

Qin Ye held the Lock of the Mortal World in his palm, gradually pouring his power into it. The Lock of the Mortal World slowly rose up, surging out a power of the same origin as Qin Ye.

"If I were to ask Brother Qin a question, would it disrupt our progress?"

"No, rather, talking to me would actually ease my tension."

Zhongli remained silent for a long time, memories of a thousand years ago constantly surfacing in his mind: "When you gave me this item, it meant that it contained the power of both you and Guizhong. Were you already prepared from that time onwards?"

He understood that Qin Ye and Gui Zhong were plotting something back then. On the surface, it was said that Qin Ye could remove Gui Zhong's godhood later, but perhaps the plan of sacrifice was the truth of everything, and he needed to find out.

"Ah."

Qin Ye closed his eyes, his smile bitter, unsure how to answer for a moment: "I underestimated the God of Dust."

"The resurgence of demon gods is different from that of ordinary people and immortals. I can collect information about them through the earth's ley lines, but you must know that after a demon god dies..."

There were only two possibilities: leaving behind so-called karmic burdens or merging the power into the earth. Maxius chose the latter, and even Qin Ye would find it difficult to revive him with such an outcome.

However, this was the choice that Maxius made from the beginning, and now... in a sense, he is living a relatively happy life.

Gui Zhong was killed by an external force, but Qin Ye collected her power in time and stored it in the Lock of the Mortal World. This is a necessary condition for the revival of the Demon God—namely, faith, power, and existence.

There's no need to worry about faith. The title of the Dust Demon God is not so easily erased. Her existence means that her information has existed in the world, which means that someone can record all of this.

Finally, strength.

This must be the original power that was not tainted during his lifetime, a part of which was sealed within the lock of the mortal world. However, Qin Ye was not sure if he could be resurrected at the beginning, and even now he is not 100% certain.

But in order to win the war against the demons, he still used this method to deceive Gui Zhong.

To his surprise, the other party accepted without any doubt.

At the time, he was overwhelmed with various things, and when he felt Gui Zhong's sincere response, he naturally didn't delve into the reasons behind it; as long as the goal was achieved, that was enough.

Looking back now, it seems that Gui Zhong probably foresaw and accepted this ending from the very beginning.

From the very beginning, she was determined to sacrifice herself for Zhongli and Liyue.

Qin Ye was going to fight against the laws of nature, and the difficulty of her survival was unimaginable. She agreed to the method of losing her godhood in the end, not because she agreed with or expected it, but because she didn't care.

Regardless of the method, her goal was simply to have the Geo Archon protect Liyue, to ensure the people lived a happy life, and to allow Zhongli to live on—nothing more.

That sincere response must have allowed Qin Ye to better focus his mind on important matters.

"What a wonderful woman, how could she fall for such a thing?"

Qin Ye muttered to himself, "Looking at it this way, it's actually her who's at a disadvantage because she's using PUA on my brother."

"?"

What is Brother Qin lamenting about this time?

"Brother Zhongli, you don't have much to do now, remember to spend more time with Guizhong in the future."

Zhongli was taken aback by the sudden remark, and then smiled, saying, "I understand."

"She understands you so well, so you should understand her too. I once heard a saying: When does a person die? When a bullet pierces their heart? When they get an incurable disease? When they drink poisonous mushroom soup? No, it's when they are forgotten."

"Brother Qin always manages to say such thought-provoking things."

"..."

In the end, I really did my best. Whether things go well from now on depends entirely on you. You have to seize the opportunity.

As for the outcome, that's not so important anymore. He just hopes that nothing will leave any regrets, that's all.

Time passed by, second by second.

A bright moon hung in the sky, and the power of the mortal lock was no different from before; it seemed turbulent but had no qualitative change.

Qin Ye frowned. His fears had come true; despite integrating the power, there was no sense of solidity...

Zhongli also noticed Qin Ye's sudden change in mood. He stopped lingering and quickly stepped forward to check the condition of the Lock of the Mortal World.

"Brother Qin, is there anything I can do to help?"

Qin Ye did not respond and fell into deep thought.

Seeing that the surging power was gradually diminishing, he finally spoke softly.

"Brother Zhongli, you must be prepared. It's not that I cannot resurrect her, but rather that she has some strong unfulfilled desires, making it difficult for her to revive. Do you have any clues?"

"A wish? A wish..."

Zhongli murmured softly, his anxious thoughts, which had not surfaced for a thousand years, suddenly erupted.

He was pondering whether her resurrection was truly her own wish, or whether she had planned to leave from the very beginning and was already exhausted both physically and mentally.

This was what worried him. He had met with Piero and even Dainesreb and talked about Canria. From what the two men said, perhaps it would be a better outcome if Canria did not restore its kingdom.

So, in the end, would you be willing...?

He didn't understand.

Unlike Brother Qin, he always felt relaxed and could talk about anything with Brother Qin, but he sometimes felt awkward when he was with Gui Zhong.

Ultimately, he had no idea what Gui Zhong wanted...

The light of the Lock of the Mortal World suddenly dimmed, startling even Qin Ye.

"Quickly use your invincible Heavenly Manifestation Technique to think of a solution!"

"...Brother Qin, I hope to respect Gui Zhong's choice, however..."

"?"

They've been buried for over a thousand years, where are they going to get any respect?

"Hey..."

Qin Ye sighed with some regret, stopping the input of power, and the Lock of the Mortal World fell to the ground with a thud: "Since Brother Zhongli thinks so too, then let it be. Perhaps from the very beginning, sacrifice was the best ending."

"..."

Zhongli stared silently at the Lock of the Mortal World, watching it turn to ashes from the top down.

Is sacrifice the best outcome? Is that what I think?

He looked up at the bright moon, and memories surfaced in his mind.