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

Two thousand four hundred years later, at the edge of the dried-up abyss, only three silent figures remain.

silence.

A deathly silence.

Xiao stared blankly at the calm mouth of the abyss. There was no filth, no smoke, no monsters; it was as quiet as if it were dead.

What...

what?

His lips moved slightly.

Xiao cannot understand.

All that remained was chaos.

The Taiwei Instrument faithfully recorded everything that happened, including Fushe's last whisper:

'Hey, karmic obstacle. Don't you love to eat? The more you eat, the stronger you become. There's lots of delicious food down there, let's go have a feast together.'

Karmic obstacles... It turns out that what resides deep within one's soul and occupies one's physical body is called [karmic obstacles].

But what does 'eat' mean?

The more you eat, the stronger you become. What does "the more you eat, the stronger you become" mean?

He initially thought that Fushe had lost his mind due to karmic obstacles, which led him to commit the act of betrayal.

But now it seems that the truth is completely different from what he expected!

What exactly happened in the Abyss of Strata?

Fushe killed all the Thousand Rock Army of the Layered Rock Abyss and polluted the ley lines, but the images recorded on the Taiwei Instrument Plate were completely different!

The ground was already contaminated, and Fushe told the surviving soldiers to leave while he himself plunged into the abyss.

Xiao didn't understand. There were still many things he didn't understand. His heart was filled with vast emptiness and many contradictions.

If the surviving Thousand Rock Army escorted the people away, then why... when the Yakshas arrived at the Layered Rock Abyss, were all the soldiers dead?

This is contradictory.

He could only think of one possibility.

Xiao found himself trembling slightly.

There is only one possibility.

After the Thousand Rock Army escorted the civilians to safety... they remained at the cave entrance, refusing to leave, waiting in vain for their commander's return...

So they returned to the battlefield, resumed their fight, and went to find Fushe; the Thousand Rock Army refused to flee.

They all perished in the abyss.

Perhaps this is the truth of history.

It wasn't a massacre, nor a betrayal, but rather the foolish marshal and foolish soldiers who died together in the place closest to the heart of Liyue. As they died, they could hear the heartbeat of this nation.

Xiao swayed slightly, feeling his heart pounding.

There are still many things I don't understand, and many questions I have...

What else happened to the ley lines beneath the abyss?

Xiao stared blankly into the gaping maw of the abyss—he had to go down and witness it.

Qing Nuoyan looked at Xiao, not knowing what to say. He had never seen Xiao like this before. The latter remained silent.

half an hour.

Xiao spoke slowly, but not to Qing Nuoyan:

"You saw this scene too, didn't you?"

Qing Nuoyan suddenly turned around, his pupils slightly contracting.

He had no idea when she appeared, or when she arrived.

That is...

Heuria, the salt goddess, told him about the distant existence again and again.

Gan Yu, a being who is half immortal and half human.

She had bright golden eyes, long light blue hair that cascaded down to her waist, and a pure white robe with golden patterns embroidered along the edges.

That cool and delicate profile showed no superfluous expression. The bright sunlight was divided by the cracks in the scattered rock layers, leaving only a few pale rays that reflected in Gan Yu's eyes.

She took a step back, then another, half her face hidden in shadow. Qing Nuoyan couldn't see her expression. She seemed to pause for a moment before saying:

"It's just a hollow illusion."

Gan Yu stared at Xiao, her bright golden eyes as deep as a still pool. She bit her lip lightly and repeated with unwavering resolve:

"...It's just an illusion."

"The Taiwei Yipan was created by Master, so he naturally knows how to use it."

An almost obstinate tone.

Why believe the illusion of a traitor?

There seemed to be a heavy gloom in the depths of Gan Yu's eyes.

"It's all fake."

-

PS1: The original work does not explain who invented the Taiwei Instrument Plate, but since I Love Invention True Lord is so powerful, it is reasonable to arrange for her to invent it, hehe.

Chapter Ninety-Nine: I'm Not Wrong, ... (Chapter 2.5)

It's all fake.

It is going to rain.

Gan Yu raised her eyes and looked at the clouds hovering above the towering abyss. The thick clouds spread out along the sky, with occasional gaps revealing glimpses of orange sunlight. It was a sun shower, or perhaps a sunset shower.

The night and day were blurred together, and the pale blue plain in the distance sank into the distance, with the soil showing a slight brownish hue. As you continued to walk forward, the color of the soil became darker.

You can see layers upon layers of rock, and if you continue forward, you will reach the Abyss of Rocky Lair.

Gan Yu recalled that day when her arrow pierced the heart of Fushe, and the same sun shower fell on the Abyss of Layered Rocks.

The hazy sunlight was obscured by thin raindrops. As dusk and night fell, Fushe calmly watched her, then closed his eyes.

Gan Yu hates rain. When the cold raindrops seep into her skin, she can't help but recall her past.

The past that she abandoned.

She recalled the corpses in the cave. The Thousand Rock Army was buried deep in the abyss, their armor shattered, their wounds exuding a filthy and repulsive aura. Following the source of that aura, they found the Floating House in the deepest part of the cave.

It was Fushe who massacred the Thousand Rock Army.

Because she saw that those gloomy and twisted auras came from Fushe—they originated from Fushe.

Gan Yu never regretted her decision back then, because she knew that if Fu She were to leave, many more people would die...

If she had killed Fushe in Liyue, the soldiers in the Deep Rock Abyss would not have died.

He assassinated the Salt God, slaughtered the soldiers of the Salt of the Earth, betrayed and severely wounded four Yakshas, ​​massacred the Thousand Rock Army, and corrupted the ley lines, driving the Dragon King of Ruotuo mad... Fushe should not live on; he is a sinner, a true [Sworn Immortal].

For the past two thousand four hundred years, Gan Yu has been telling himself this: He is a sinful immortal, you did nothing wrong.

He's a sinful immortal, he's a sinful immortal, he's a sinful immortal... You didn't do anything wrong, you didn't do anything wrong, you didn't do anything wrong.

Therefore, Gan Yu didn't know why she had to return to the Layered Rock Abyss again, even though the matter was already settled. She raised her eyes, looked at the Layered Rock under the dim twilight, and suddenly paused.

What is that...?

Her bright golden eyes widened slightly as she saw a sea of ​​fire rising from the mouth of the abyss.

The gloom of gunpowder smoke covered the leaden twilight, and the roars of monsters echoed through the sky, but she blinked again, and the flames and smoke disappeared, leaving only silence in her ears.

Is it...an illusion?

But it's not as simple as an illusion.

Gan Yu was also a disciple of Liu Yun Zhenjun, and he had some knowledge of similar creation mechanisms.

She could clearly sense that what she had just witnessed was not an illusion—an illusion could not be so real; rather, it was more like... a real historical fragment.

She was able to assert that this was not an illusion, but a real projection.

That is...

She continued forward, and more projections appeared around her. Filthy, twisted monsters roared and grotesquely, and the miners fled in panic.

Gan Yu walked through the demons and monsters, scanning her surroundings, which were filled with corpses.

On all the corpses, on the deep, bone-revealing wounds, lingered the filth she had smelled that day.

What's this?

When did this happen...?

Gan Yu frowned slightly, and then, as if she had noticed something, her bright golden pupils narrowed slightly.

It's that person.

His long, gray hair lay scattered on the ground. He leaned weakly against a rock, his robe covered in dust. Blood flowed freely from the wound on his shoulder, soon forming a scab at his feet.

He seemed very tired, very tired.

Is that person... really that old?

Gan Yu still remembers the last time she saw him—which was also the time she killed him. That person was clearly very young, and his purple eyes shone as if they were tinged with purple flames.

Gan Yu had never seen such a... frail floating dweller. The man had his head down, and the silvery rain poured down on his thin shoulders. He looked as lost and dejected as a homeless old dog.

'If you can move... then run away.'

The speaker was a young man covered in blood, his armor tattered, holding a standard longsword, surrounded by countless canine monsters.

Gan Yu could recognize the style of the armor; it was clearly the standard battle armor of the Thousand Rock Army!