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

[The fourth agreement was to go to Mount Aozang in the deep clouds, offer three sacrificial dishes: Pearl White Jade Soup, Mora meat, and Matsutake mushroom stuffed meat rolls, and bow three times and prostrate three times.]

Liu Yun put the fragment down.

The setting sun painted the sky with its colors.

Blood-red afterglow covered the fiery clouds, half the sky was dark and half the clouds were shrouded in twilight, casting a somber and deep shadow on Mount Aozang. Liuyun Jiefeng Zhenjun watched the sun set, the dark red corona slowly fading away on the horizon.

As darkness fell, wisps of smoke rose from the distant earthly realm, turning the green mountains into layers of jade and shrouding countless piles of smoke in crimson clouds.

It was time for the people to rest at sunset and light fires in their stoves.

She stood up, her long, emerald-green hair trailing naturally to her ankles, and slowly walked towards a courtyard. She gazed at the stone benches and tables, now covered in dust, and for the first time in a long time, she wanted to do something.

She wanted to cook.

She felt a little tired.

Perhaps it's because of her age that she always feels tired... With nothing to do, she watched the projection from that day again. Over the past two thousand years, Zhenjun has watched it many times. It was Fushe's parting words, faithfully recorded by the magic array.

I am about to fall into demonic possession; I hope you will take care of yourself from now on.

What exactly happened 2,400 years ago? True Monarch Liuyun Jiefeng already had a vague answer in her heart. She didn't know if the answer was correct, but she liked the answer. And just a month ago, the answer was confirmed.

But Liu Yun was no longer happy.

If being born into this world is only for dying, then what's the point of reincarnation? It only adds to the loneliness.

It only adds to the loneliness.

She gently stroked the stone table, her fair fingertips brushing away the dust. The slightly cold and rough touch of the stone seeped into her skin. Everything was so familiar, everything was just as it had always been. Liu Yun suddenly paused, as if she had caught a whiff of something.

She suddenly sensed that aura, a very familiar aura... The scattered stones turned into sand, but the sand will eventually return.

Liu Yun turned around. As the sun and the horizon touched each other, the boy stood before the setting sun. The sunlight and his hair, which was blowing in the wind, intertwined. The boy had lost his heart, but Liu Yun could clearly hear the familiar heartbeat.

And that...familiar taste.

Unbelievable.

“Floating...floating house?” she said unconsciously.

“Fushe is dead.” The boy shook his head. “He will never come back. And my name is Qingnuoyan.”

He was never a frivolous person.

The floating house can never be returned to.

Fushe is dead.

"I see," Liu Yun said softly.

“I’ve come… to say goodbye,” the boy said. “I’m leaving Liyue.”

Only then did True Lord Liuyun notice... that the young man was carrying a food box, and a faint fragrance was leaking out from the gaps in the box. The bland and elegant taste of tofu and green vegetables seemed to cleanse the surrounding air.

"Isn't Gan Yu here?" Qing Nuoyan asked, somewhat surprised. "I thought she would have gone back to Mount Aozang."

“I made a promise to her in the Abyss of Layered Rocks,” the boy said earnestly. “I would cook her a delicious Jade Pearl White Jade Soup, and that promise still stands. That’s why I’m here.”

Qing Nuoyan is heartless, but when it comes to promises, he is determined to keep them. He will always fulfill any promise he makes.

A promise made lightly, or perhaps it should be called a clean promise, is a promise made to be settled once and for all, clearing away past entanglements and freeing one from all burdens. After this, it will be a final farewell.

“She has never come back.” Liu Yun shook his head gently, his golden eyes reflecting Qing Nuoyan’s face. “Perhaps, she will come soon.”

Oh, I see.

That meant we were destined to miss out.

What's missed is missed, and no one is at fault.

He couldn't wait indefinitely in Mount Aozang, because there were others waiting for him. Dusk was drawing to a close, and he placed the food box on the stone bench.

Actually, it's fine if we missed each other, it's also fine if we don't meet.

Regret can also be a kind of fulfillment.

Since Fushe is dead, he is no longer Fushe, and the past entanglements should be ended here.

The Emperor is right. Everyone needs to move forward, and Gan Yu needs to move forward too. The Emperor prepared this "Trial" not only to sever the past and filth of Liyue, but also to sever the past and filth of everyone.

They are already dead. The spirits of the dead should depart and not form connections, lest they only add to the loneliness of others.

He can no longer stay in Liyue, nor can he dwell on the past of Fushe, otherwise, the [Wearing Away] will erode him.

“I’ll leave the food box here…” Qing Nuoyan said softly. “I’ll trouble you, True Lord, to take care of it for me. I’m already dead, please tell her that.”

"I'm leaving now. There are people... waiting for me."

Liu Yun understood what the boy wanted to express.

The young man coughed lightly, his face somewhat pale.

His body was still very weak. Although the karmic obstacles had been removed, the filth had indeed been there, and the body still contained traces of filth. He was truly a heartless person.

The fiery clouds burst into flames, spreading across the land. The heavy clouds reflected the fiery sunlight. Qingnuoyan respectfully bowed to Liuyun Jiefeng Zhenjun, then turned around and headed down the mountain.

Liu Yun watched Qing Nuoyan's receding figure. Only now did she truly feel that Fu She was gone, never to return. Time, like the setting sun, slowly swallowed everything in its desolate afterglow. Even though she knew, even though she understood, she still called out to the departing Qing Nuoyan.

"juvenile..."

They've always lacked a proper farewell.

She paused, then said, "...Could you call me 'Master' one last time?"

Qing Nuoyan stopped, lowered his head, and after a long while, turned around in the afterglow of the setting sun, just like he did three thousand years ago when he first descended the mountain after making the pact with Emperor Fushe—so full of youthful vigor and spirit, his whole being seemed to radiate light.

"Master."

Qingnuoyan clasped his hands in a respectful bow, lowered his head, and said earnestly, "Disciple has descended the mountain."

"Hmm, okay...okay." True Monarch Liuyun said softly, "Go forward, don't look back."

Keep moving forward, don't look back.

Qingnuoyan walked down the mountain.

-

I don't know how much time has passed.

Dusk has faded, and evening has arrived.

The jade, pearl, and white jade soup has gone cold.

"But the method of making Jade White Jade Soup is very simple. You have a long life ahead of you, and you will always meet the next... you will always meet the next apprentice who can make Jade White Jade Soup."

...

Gan Yu stared blankly at that last 'record'.

She eventually returned to Mount Aozang, but suddenly felt that she should come back. A strange impulse stirred within her, and that feeling moved her to leave Liyue.

When she returned, she happened to see her master watching this scene.

In fact, Liu Yun had no intention of avoiding Gan Yu anymore. Now that all the truths had been revealed, there was no need for her to hide it any longer.

Liu Yun gazed at Gan Yu, unsure of what words to say to comfort her. Even the usually eloquent Zhenjun found herself at a loss for words. In the end, she simply patted Gan Yu's shoulder gently and whispered:

"This is Fushe coming to say goodbye. It was recorded by the magic array... Do you remember that stone bench? When he was little, he loved to put food on that bench. This was the last dish he made... Really..."

Fushe is dead.

"I need some quiet time," Gan Yu said softly.

So she was left all alone in the huge cave. The cold and damp stone walls were filled with a desolate atmosphere. As the last rays of sunlight faded away, the stone shadows piled up in a daze. Gan Yu pursed her lips and lowered her head.

"Gan Yu, I'm entrusting her to you. Please tell her to eat more."

"Please take good care of her."

"I'm a useless senior brother. I'm also a useless disciple."

"I'm sorry, I apologize."

"But I don't regret it. If I could do it all over again, I would do it again."

If I could do it all over again, I would still do it this way...

Gan Yu carefully pondered the last sentence.

It turns out that the foreshadowing of all the stories was laid at the very beginning, and the ending of the stories was also determined at the very beginning, so no matter how much regret there is, one can never escape the outline of fate.

At this moment, Gan Yu was still clutching a letter in her hand—a letter from Fu She. But this letter was not addressed to her; it was addressed to Morax. When the Salt of the Earth was destroyed, Fu She sent this letter to the Emperor, requesting that the Emperor take in the survivors.

In other words, this is the last letter left by Fushe.

This letter wasn't for her; it was for Zhongli.

Just like the final farewell... it wasn't for her either.

Hello, Zhongli.

[The salt flats are cooler than Liyue, and the summer sun is just right. As I write this letter, I have just planted a seed and buried a bottle of sea salt. I believe that one summer in the future, the refreshing sea salt will once again cover this land.]

But sea salt covered the earth... Gan Yu gently clutched the letter... Where did that seed go?

The seed withered and died.

By the time you receive this letter, I might already be dead, haha... I've finally retired and can finally get some rest.

But you can't retire yet, haha.

The remnants of the salt of the earth are entrusted to you. As for those matters, just leave them to me. The reputation of the dead is worthless. I'm leaving many things to you as well.

[The people of Liyue, the inhabitants of the Salt of the Earth, those Yakshas, ​​my master... and my junior sister, Ganyu, I entrust them all to you. Please remind them to eat properly.]

[Especially Gan Yu, I know her well, she's prone to getting stuck on things, that's what I worry about most, she's so stubborn... she's really a worry-free junior sister.]

I hope... I hope she can stay strong.

I hope she can forget me and move on.

Gan Yu lowered her head. She wanted to say something, but couldn't say anything. She might have felt sad, but her emotions were blank.

True death is being completely forgotten, but if my death would bring pain to those I love, then let me die completely.

I don't know what to do; maybe I've already failed.