I, the Rock King Emperor with 21 billion in power, have joined the chat group.

The young traveler whispered, "It's when my brother and I are about to leave this world."

“When we fought the god in the sky, I saw many such pillars around the god.”

"Hmm???" Little Paimon squinted, touching his chin with one hand, as if he was thinking seriously.

“I remember… I remember that this pillar of heaven fell from the sky. And speaking of the sky, one cannot ignore the Sky Island that has always been suspended at the highest point of the sky.”

Sky Island is the place where the Eye of God was bestowed...

"Could it be that the so-called guardian of justice who fought you back then was a god from Sky Island?"

"kindness."

The young traveler nodded slightly, remaining silent, but her expression was unexpectedly somber.

It was clear that seeing the Sky Pillar on Sky Island reminded her of her long-lost brother.

"Alright." Zhongli's voice suddenly came, interrupting her sentimental musings in time: "It seems there's nothing more to see on this peak. We can explore the mountains. I remember seeing a sealed cave when we passed by earlier; perhaps there's more information about the ancient Snow Mountain Kingdom inside."

“…”

Ying glanced at the Pillar of Heaven floating high in the sky and nodded slightly: "Okay, let's go."

Paimon simply nodded. She didn't continue her clamor—even she noticed the melancholy and longing in the traveler's eyes.

The team silently continued their journey toward the cave in the mountains.

After walking for less than twenty minutes, the group arrived at the cave that Zhongli had mentioned.

As expected, just as everyone anticipated, the front of the cave was also sealed off by a mechanism.

There are three different square recesses on the mechanism.

"Looks like we're looking for something again." Little Paimon nodded thoughtfully, then turned her gaze to Gui Zhong and asked, "Miss Gui Zhong, did you find any useful clues in the ancient books this time?"

"Do you think I'm some kind of all-powerful ancient book reader?" Gui Zhong rolled his eyes helplessly. "But speaking of which, I have indeed seen the story about this gate."

"Come with me."

Gui Zhong then led the way, and in no time they descended the mountain and arrived at a tombstone.

With a gentle touch, the tombstone, covered in snow and dust, was instantly transformed.

It has ancient writing symbols on it, but it's impossible to figure out what they mean.

"Traveler, do you have any flowers in your backpack?"

Gui Zhong asked.

"As the saying goes," Ying looked at Gui Zhong with some curiosity. "Do you need flowers?"

"Offer three bouquets of flowers to this person who died two thousand years ago," Gui Zhong instructed directly without explanation.

Ying seemed to sense something, and without saying anything more, she took out three Cecilia flowers from her backpack, tied them into a bunch, and placed them in front of the tombstone.

The flowers on the tombstone, braving the wind and snow, slowly emitted a delicate glow, which mingled with the gradually brightening light on the tombstone. Then, a small box appeared in front of the bouquet placed on the tombstone.

“This should be one of the boxes.” Gui Zhong took two steps forward, took the box off, and turned it over slightly to see the inscription on the back of the box.

May the sky, which has been blanketed in ice and snow, burn until there is no more life left in the world.

May we turn to ashes, sail with the wind, and catch up with the stranger who abandoned the princess and will never return.

May the black dragon that blots out the sun, as the princess dreams, paint the detestable earth with crimson poison.

I am the last one; there is no need for me to stay any longer.

I've heard that somewhere, someone is establishing a godless kingdom. Perhaps they also possess the power to oppose the world.

"this...."

Paimon saw the words and immediately cried out in surprise.

“I was wrong about part of it! I never thought that I, the great adventurer Paimon, could make a mistake.” Little Paimon spoke with great arrogance: “What I least expected was that the so-called stranger was actually a treacherous fellow. I thought he had found a way to protect the princess, but unfortunately failed in the end.”

"I never expected him to be just a coward who ran away. What bad luck."

Little Pai spat, expressing his disdain for the stranger.

"Haha, little Paimon, you really are a man of character." Gui Zhong chuckled, blinked, and said, "If your guess is wrong this time, wouldn't you be contradicting yourself?"

"Huh??" Little Paimon turned his head and saw that Gui Zhong looked unhappy.

“This was recorded by people at the time, how could it be wrong? If it’s wrong, I’ll eat this box right now.” Little Paimon’s words were resolute, leaving no room for negotiation.

Gui Zhong laughed and said, "You said it yourself, little Paimon, don't try to renege on your promise later."

After this little incident, Gui Zhong and the others spent about half a day finding the other two boxes.

One of them was called the Sacrifice Box, and it was inscribed with the following words.

I had always believed that my descendants would be as immortal as the white tree.

But the white tree is about to wither and die, and their voices will no longer be heard; my hopes, and their hopes for this life, are about to be dashed.

I will once again ascend the summit to seek guidance. By the time I descend, my daughter's second painting should be finished.

[The third painting would be a depiction of melting snow and ice.]

The third item is called the Princess Box, which also has inscriptions on it.

The mural will likely never be completed.

I haven't seen a sunny day or green fields in a long time. I don't know what kind of blue or green to use to paint the scene of melting snow that my father wanted.

[When he comes back, everything will be back to normal. But it's too cold; I can't take it anymore.]

I'm sorry, Dad. I'm sorry, Uku, for watching us make a fool of ourselves.

[Imonlona, ​​I wish I could see you one more time...]

After examining the three boxes, both Paimon and the Traveler were somewhat stunned.

Little Paimon, in particular, felt an increasing, heartfelt dislike for this stranger named Imronona.

"What kind of guy is this? He actually toyed with the princess's feelings like this, took away the legendary greatsword that belonged to the princess, and then just ran away without coming back? How disgusting! If the princess had given the greatsword to someone else instead of this guy, perhaps this Snow Mountain Kingdom could have been saved."

Her words resonated deeply with the travelers.

After nodding deeply, Ying, the girl, also looked indignant.

Gui Zhong looked at them, pondered for a moment, and then said, "Alright, I won't keep you in suspense any longer, I'll just tell you directly. Actually, there's another version of the story of Snow City by the bards of Mondstadt."

Gui Zhong gently clapped his hands, and then sang the story of the snow capital.

When the lush capital was sealed away by the mountain mists

The relentless snowstorm blocked out the cool moonlight.

[The stories of life and each interruption]

[They were all pierced by long nails that fell from the blue sky...]

The priestess entrusted the greatsword forged from star silver to a warrior from a foreign land.

Amidst the howling wind and snow, her words failed to reach the other person.

"The fourth mural here is for you; your image will remain on this wall forever."

"For this mural, for everyone, I will stay here and wait for you, praying for your return..."

When the daughter of the snow-burial city withered away along with the ungrafted silver branches,

The stranger destined to wield this sword to cut through the ice and snow is seeking answers in a distant land.

Her beauty, as radiant as moonlight, ultimately failed to convey her final longing to the traveler far away.

"I haven't seen clear skies and green fields in a long time. I don't know what kind of blue or green to use to paint the scene of melting snow that my father wanted."

"And then, if only I could see you one more time..."

This is the answer he found.

The warrior from afar has finally ended his futile journey.

Black, foul blood dripped from the blade of the greatsword.

[Heavy feet tread the now unfamiliar snow path]

When the weary stranger finally returns to the mountain kingdom's palace,

Those who came to cleanse him of his dust only received the empty echo of news of his death.

"Even here, is there nothing left that I should protect...?"

As the beautiful and moving melody faded into the distance, a complete story unfolded before Paimon and the traveler.

They were so engrossed in the story that they didn't come back to their senses for a long time.

After a few seconds of silence, the traveler sighed, "I don't like this kind of story, and I don't like this kind of ending."

“Yes, I don’t like it either.” Zhongli nodded slightly.

"This is disgusting." Fu Hua looked at the Frost Nail floating in mid-air and said with a slightly annoyed expression.

Little Paimon, however, was lost in sadness for a short while when he seemed to suddenly remember something, and his expression became tense.

She looked up, glanced left and right, and found that no one was paying attention to her; everyone was captivated by the story and the history contained in these documents.

She breathed a sigh of relief, put her hands behind her back, and started whistling.

Gui Zhong, who was standing to the side, had already seen her like this, but Gui Zhong did not explain directly. Instead, he waited until Paimon relaxed his guard before suddenly moving closer to Paimon.

A sly smile curled at the corner of his lips: "Little Paimon, do you... do you remember what you said?"

"Huh?? What...did I say?" Little Paimon pretended to know nothing, looking left and right again: "Did I say anything?"

"You've already forgotten?" Gui Zhong took out the [Notes Box] from her backpack and placed it in front of Little Paimon, waving it left and right.

Do you remember what this is?

Gui Zhong smiled even more brightly: "Do you need me to help you remember?"

"Ugh... ugh..." Little Paimon helplessly clutched his head, then jumped onto the Traveler's shoulder, feigning a headache: "My head hurts so much, my head hurts so much, I think I've lost my memory. Was I attacked?"

"Hahaha." Gui Zhong laughed loudly.

He put the box away: "Little Paimon, even if you want to eat the box, I won't give it to you. This is an important key."