Genshin Impact, I, a mere mortal, cannot accompany you to the very end.

They quickened their pace and walked forward, passing one corpse after another, their footsteps echoing in the empty dome.

Finally, we reached the deepest part—a hall that had been salted. The steps, eaves, and dome were covered with grayish-white salt flowers. Grayish-white was the only color here, and the flickering candlelight reflected a grim white light.

"Do not..."

"No...no..."

Wanyan stood directly in front of the hall.

Qing Nuoyan gazed at her and noticed that her cobalt blue eyes had lost all their luster, becoming dull and almost lifeless. Just half an hour ago, those eyes had shone with a proud and radiant light.

Her lips moved slightly, so pale they were almost cracked. Her once eloquent and accusatory tongue... now struggled to utter complete sentences, only murmuring to herself:

"No...no."

The boy followed her gaze and found that she was staring at a salt corpse in a strange posture. It was a man, and although he had been salted, it was still possible to vaguely make out that he was dressed in very rich clothes and seemed to be a salt worker of a very high status.

He held his hands loosely as if gripping a knife, displaying a very forceful posture, thrusting forward with all his might, his features contorted, his lips clenched tightly.

Where did that knife go...?

Where is the weapon in that salt corpse's hand?

Qingnuoyan knew, and Wanyan knew too.

Wan Yan's hands trembled as she slowly... took out the two broken pieces of the knife from her bosom. She had carefully examined these two pieces before, and even broke her oath to obtain them, because they were the Salt God's sword. But now, Wan Yan showed an expression as if she were looking at a devil.

terror, unparalleled terror...

And dizziness.

Wanyan fell backward to the ground, and the two pieces of debris also fell to the ground with a crisp sound—Wanyan frantically moved away from the two pieces of debris.

In her horrified eyes, the blade of the knife seemed to still be dripping with blood, a scarlet and shocking sight, the blood gushing out as if to drown her.

It was not the hateful Fushe who killed the salt goddess, but her proud salt people!

She is not a proud descendant of salt workers; she is the offspring of sinners!

"This is the blade the saltmen used to kill Heulia."

Zhongli's calm voice sounded behind her, "Heureia's body and soul dissipated, and the scene before her death was frozen here. The power of the departed demon god salted the rebels who had not yet escaped."

"The salt people, fearing the curse of the demon god's remains, returned here, broke their swords, and offered them as a sacrifice, hoping to appease the wrath she left behind. But how could a god who willingly allowed herself to be killed by her people curse them?"

No further words are needed; the silent scene before us is the most stark truth.

"Pursuing historical truth and restoring the most authentic history" is a motto this historian always keeps on his lips, but now that the most authentic history is placed in front of her, this righteous lady is unwilling to believe it.

Perhaps what she is pursuing is not the truth, but a truth that conforms to her own fantasy.

This devout believer, whose devotion bordered on blind fanaticism, finally faced the moment when his illusions collapsed.

"What about Fushe... what is Fushe all about, and what about that sinful immortal Fushe?"

She murmured, “He slaughtered the salt workers! He slaughtered the salt of the earth!”

Her faith had crumbled; she needed something else to sustain her, something else to believe in. Fushe had to be a sinner, Fushe had to...

I'll repeat it again.

Mr. Zhongli's voice lowered, and he stared directly at Wanyan, "Fushe has never betrayed us."

silence.

Mr. Zhongli spoke softly, his eyes flickering slightly. After a long pause, he said:

"On the contrary, Fushe may be the only [friend] of the Salt Demon."

Fushe is the only [friend] of the Salt Demon.

Wan Yan's heart seemed to stop abruptly.

My mind was almost completely blank.

what.

What what what...what.

Friends?

friends.

Fushe is the only friend of the Salt Demon God...!

"You call it a massacre, but it's more like 'revenge,' revenge for the death of a friend..."

Zhong Li's voice was deep:

"The salt people he killed were all members of the rebels who participated in the assassination of the salt god, and the rulers who were high above. Apart from them, he did not kill a single innocent person, because Heureia loved her people, and Fushe respected her friends."

There was one more thing Zhongli didn't say.

At that time, Fushe was already close to becoming a demon and had been corrupted by karma, but even so, he did not harm the weak or the kind.

On the contrary.

Zhongli said, "The women, children and the elderly who have lost the protection of the demon god need to seek the protection of a new god. He wrote the letter of introduction and gave it to Morax after the remaining salt people came to Liyue."

There was one thing Zhongli didn't say: this letter was the last one he received, a book written with his last bit of reason.

In other words, it is Fushe's last testament.

When Zhongli received this letter from the salt workers who had traveled from afar, Fushe was already dead.

Zhong Li still remembered the contents of that suicide note. It was clearly his last will and testament, yet it made no mention of himself, offered no greetings, no lamentations, no regrets. The language was simple and plain, and every word and phrase contained only...the people.

The people Heureia loved.

The people of Liyue.

The tone suggests a letter of introduction, but it's more like a will.

Rather, this is what that man felt for Heureia, the people, and the world before he became possessed by demons.

—The Last Love Letter.

"He has never betrayed anyone. He has done right by everyone."

Zhongli gazed at Wanyan, who had fallen to the ground, at her almost crazed eyes, and calmly said:

"Wanyan".

"He even did right by you, as a descendant of the Salt of the Earth. Wanyan, he did right by you."

Perhaps, you can become a scholar, you can study carefree in Liyue, grow up without discrimination or prejudice, you can join the Silver Plains government as an official, you can stand here and denouncing Fushe as a traitor—all of this may be thanks to him.

what.

It’s ridiculous.

This is all so absurd.

Wan Yan murmured.

Zhongli calmly said, "Because he knows that people who betray their faith and kill the children of the gods will find it difficult to move an inch in any country. Even if Morax accepts them, it will be difficult for the people of Liyue to accept them."

“They may face ostracism and discrimination, and even the descendants of their crimes may be despised—but you haven’t, Wanyan, you haven’t.”

Zhongli slowly exhaled, paused, and continued.

The voice wasn't loud, but it struck Wanyan like a thunderbolt, shattering everything she believed in and causing her worldview, the foundation of her life, to collapse in an instant.

—“Because he made a new contract with the salt workers.”

The floating dwelling devours karmic obstacles, and the floating dwelling also devours sins.

"He was made to bear all the blame; he killed the salt god, and he destroyed the salt in the earth. He made the salt workers keep this testimony, and in his letter of recommendation to Morax, he wrote this unreasonable and stubborn statement!"

"This is the historical truth you've been seeking."

Zhong Lican's golden eyes were fixed on the trembling girl as he uttered his final words:

"Morax did indeed alter history, and Fushe did indeed alter history. You're right, they did."

"They twisted the hero into a sinner, and half a month later, Fushe died."

Zhongli paused, then said softly:

"No one will weep for him anymore."

The punishment of eating rocks has ended.

不 ...

No...no, that won't happen.

Fushe... has not betrayed anyone.

They are the ones who betrayed us.

They are the despicable ones.

Fushe... helped them.

Fushe bore all the blame, insults, and contempt for the remaining people.

And yet, while enjoying the benefits brought by the floating house, he was arrogant and conceited, and presumptuously believed everything he thought he had... and, harboring a selfish 'righteousness,' he cursed the benefactor.

How selfish.

Arrogant and selfish...like the rebels who, two thousand years ago, turned their swords against the salt god who loved the people.

ugly.

She is not fit to be a historian.

This was the punishment of eating rocks, the cruelest punishment, which destroyed everything Wanyan believed in in an instant.

Wan Yan's heart almost stopped. Her lips trembled uncontrollably. Her chest was filled with nothing but overwhelming confusion and helplessness, with no other emotions to spare.

She trembled, and her cheeks suddenly became damp. She instinctively touched them with her hand, and the touch was icy cold.

What's this...