He changed Tiwat

He began to question whether his belief in exorcising demons was wrong, whether there was really no justice in this world, and whether he was "exorcising demons and defending the righteous" or "aiding and abetting evil."

He began to wonder, if the Hilichurls were transformed from humans, were all of them, these demon-slaying warriors, these soldiers of the Thousand Rocks Army, covered in blood? He also began to wonder, why did Heaven do this? Why did the Emperor hide this from his people?

And... could there come a day when the people of Liyue will encounter the same thing?

He finally realized that humanity's fate had always been in the hands of the gods in heaven—when the gods were angry, humans would be transformed into demons. Humans and demons, good and evil, were merely separated by a single thought of the laws of heaven.

"If one day you also become a monster, who will seek justice for you?"

He could never find the answer to the question his senior asked him.

Jiang Xue faced two choices: stand with her senior brother, or use the power of the immortals to bury him.

But he didn't want to make a choice.

His senior brother had been kind to him. Not only was it the kindness of teaching him, but it was also the kindness of giving him a second chance. If his senior brother had not appeared back then, he might have become an unknown person who died on the road to pursuing the Eye of God, and turned into a wandering ghost.

He was by nature a carefree and detached person, and if it weren't for family responsibilities, he wouldn't have inherited the title of Yao Guang Star. For him, enjoying the scenery from the top of Tianheng Mountain and fishing by the river was far more enjoyable than listening to the chaotic clatter of people's inner thoughts on the Yujing Terrace.

But due to a series of coincidences, he became entangled in a web of grudges and entanglements. His senior brother avenging his family was his justice, and he avenging Shaoyuan was his justice. Above all, however, there was a Heavenly Dao whose very existence was uncertain.

Such conflicts left him physically and mentally exhausted.

So Jiang Xue avoided this choice; he retired from public life so he wouldn't have to make a decision.

But he could never escape the guilt of choosing to run away.

"After I returned to Liyue Harbor that year, I submitted my resignation at the Seven Stars Conference, but they rejected it because there was no suitable successor on Yaoguang Star."

Jiang Xue sighed softly.

"I left the seal of Yaoguang Star in my office, and asked Uncle Tian and Fengyan to help take care of Jiang'er. Then I left Liyue Harbor... Over the years, I've seen that child from afar a few times, seen Uncle Tian feeding him candy and snacks, and seen the brothers of the Thousand Rock Army playing hide-and-seek with him..."

"Actually, I did think about adopting that child, but... I always felt ashamed to face him."

"In one more day, it will be the anniversary of Shaoyuan's death. In the past few years, every year on this day, I would bring a pot of wine and a bouquet of flowers and sneak down to their graves at night to pay my respects. It seems I will miss it this year."

Han Fu looked at Jiang Xue, and Jiang Xue looked back at him, her eyes no longer showing any confusion.

"Don't worry, Brother Fulai, thanks to you, I've figured it out. The key to eliminating demons and protecting the righteous path isn't eliminating demons, but protecting the righteous path. You're right, 'The Way is one.' I clearly haven't finished what I should have done, but I always lie to myself that I have... It's really embarrassing. A man should follow his own path."

“I’ve made up my mind. After this battle, I will return to Liyue Harbor and continue doing what I’m supposed to do. Oh, and if I have some free time, I’d like to play hide-and-seek with that kid… You see, my surname is Jiang, and his surname is Jiang too, so wouldn’t it be quite appropriate for me to adopt that kid?”

Han Fulai smiled.

"I think it's quite suitable. If Brother Jiang Xue is willing, let me be that child's uncle too."

Jiang Xue breathed a sigh of relief, and a smile appeared on her face.

"That depends on whether you know how to soothe a child."

The two looked at each other and smiled again.

Han Fulai patted the staff in his hand and said, "Actually, there is something else I want to tell Brother Jiang Xue. I believe you will feel more at ease after hearing it."

"What?" Jiang Xue raised an eyebrow.

“Every wrong has its perpetrator, and every debt its debtor. The tragedy of Shaoyuan and the deaths of those Hilichurls were all the result of a scheme orchestrated behind the scenes—and I think that mastermind is the ‘Cult of the Abyss,’” Han Fulai said.

"Huh?" Jiang Xue's lips parted slightly, as if she had been struck by lightning, and she froze on the spot.

He had thought it was all a cruel twist of fate, but Han Fulai's words just now had left him trembling.

There are four suspicious points regarding Shaoyuan's death.

Han Fulai held up four fingers.

"First, that Hilichurl tribe is located deep in the mountains and is quite hidden. Ye Mingxiang also said that he had kept his relatives under control for more than ten years, and even if some mountain people accidentally wandered in, he would scare them away... So who discovered that Hilichurl tribe and reported it to the Thousand Rock Army?"

"Secondly, according to Ye Mingxiang, he has lived for at least four hundred years. That Hilichurl tribe must have also lived in Liyue for more than four hundred years... Brother Jiang Xue, do you think that the immortals and the Emperor have been unaware of their existence for the past few hundred years? Is it a coincidence that they have been able to exist in Liyue for several hundred years?"

"Third, Ye Mingxiang discovered Shaoyuan's whereabouts and knew that the Qianyan Army was targeting that Qiuqiu tribe. Why didn't he take precautions against the Qianyan Army's extermination? Why didn't he take his family to move? Most importantly, where was Ye Mingxiang when Shaoyuan was wiping out the Qiuqiu tribe?"

"Fourth, who benefits the most from killing his family? Ye Mingxiang has not joined the 'Abyss Order' for hundreds of years, so what prompted him to suddenly join the 'Abyss Order'?"

Han Fulai clenched his four fingers into a fist.

"Finally, Ye Mingxiang brought us two outsiders into the game. Guess why he needs us, and who he wants to get rid of?"

He stretched out his fist and gently punched Jiang Xue in the chest.

This punch seemed to shatter a boulder that had been lodged in Jiang Xue's chest for five years.

Two lines of tears involuntarily slid down Jiang Xue's face.

"So...that's how it is? That's why he later joined the 'Abyss Order' to investigate? Then why didn't he say anything? Why didn't he say anything?!"

In fact, Ye Mingxiang had said that when he met Jiang Xue, he said that he had not joined the "Abyss Order" and implied to Jiang Xue that he had his reasons... However, he was wearing the armor of the "Black Serpent Knight" and had previously sent his subordinates, the "Dark Shells," to fight alongside the Abyss Apostles, so Jiang Xue did not believe him.

And Ye Mingxiang herself...

“Because he’s no longer willing to trust anyone…” Han Fu looked southwest, towards the location of the “Gate of the Rock Hall.” “In any case, after we deal with the ‘Abyss Order,’ we’ll have a chance to talk to him, and perhaps… there’s still a possibility of mutual understanding.”

However, the possibility is very low... Han Fulai knew that the deaths of those Qiuqiu people, as well as the deaths of Shaoyuan and his wife, had formed a chain of hatred, lying between the two brothers. Moreover, Ye Mingxiang had already gone too far down that path.

After a long while, Jiang Xue suddenly got up and walked out of the tent.

Han Fulai followed him out.

Most of the exploration team members had already gone to sleep, except for Jinwu and Haidifu, whose tents were still lit. Jinwu was working overtime to make a new "Lumenite" catalyst, while Haidifu and Husseini were urgently repairing the "Pulsina Light Nail".

Jiang Xue drew his bladeless sword from the open ground.

Then he began to practice swordsmanship.

A sky filled with silver light, and sword energy crisscrossed.

Suddenly, stone chips fell from the distant rock face.

Han Fulai stared intently and discovered that as Jiang Xue moved, characters carved by sword energy gradually appeared on the rock wall, each stroke imbued with a chilling sword intent.

After Jiang Xue finished her sword dance, a poem appeared on the rock wall.

By the light of the campfire, Han Fulai softly recited the poem.

"Cultivating both books and swordsmanship for a hundred years, amidst countless rights and wrongs. As the sun and moon change, the lone star remains, and the world is a place where every corner is a piece of sky."

The most famous bar in Mondstadt is called "The Gift of the Angels," and bartender Charles serves many guests every night.

He has been working as a bartender here for over ten years, and like the other employees, he is directly employed by Dawn Winery. He doesn't actually love wine itself; he prefers seeing the satisfied expressions on the faces of customers after they drink the fine wines he has personally mixed.

Despite not liking to drink, he possessed excellent bartending skills, a trait he shared with Diona, the young woman at "Cat's Tail Tavern." However, work is work, and with the generous owner of Dawn Winery, Mr. Diluc, Charles was quite satisfied with his job.

Of course, since it's work, there will be unpleasant things. For example, the bard who is currently fast asleep at the bar is the most troublesome thing for him.

The reason... of course, is that this bard named Wendy is always in debt. Although Wendy has a good voice and plays the piano well, if he performed diligently every day like "Six-Fingered Joseph," he would never be short of money—but Wendy is just too good at wasting his time. He spends at least six days a week drinking, but he doesn't necessarily take a day off to work, so his money always runs out quickly.

Including tonight, Wendy has already racked up debts for over thirty cups of apple beer this week, yet he hasn't mentioned paying them back. Despite owing money, he has the audacity to sleep on the creditor's bar counter, even drooling in his sleep—forcing Charles to wipe the table again.

Although Lord Diluc tacitly approved of Wendy's credit, Charles really wanted to grab Wendy by the collar and throw him out.

Just as Charles was considering for the third time throwing the drunkard out while he was asleep, the bar door was pushed open.

The guest who entered was an unfamiliar face. He was tall and well-proportioned, with an exceptionally handsome face and a refined and approachable demeanor. He exuded an air of nobility in every gesture—in short, he looked very wealthy.

What was particularly striking were his golden eyes. Charles had known countless people, but he had never seen anyone with such calm eyes, as if he had seen all the facets of human nature and nothing could move him anymore—even though this man looked to be only around thirty years old, not even as old as Charles himself.

"What would you like to drink?" Charles asked, wiping his glass.

Before the visitor could answer, the drunkard who had been lying on the bar suddenly sprang up as if he had risen from the dead.

"Hey, old man, what brings you here?" Wendy's voice didn't sound drunk at all.

The man referred to as "Old Man" raised an eyebrow and sat down next to Wendy.

“A glass of dandelion liqueur,” he said to Charles, then pointed to the drunkard beside him. “Put it on his tab.”

Chapter 265 The Moonlight Is Beautiful Tonight [6k] (Bonus Chapter 15/20)

Dihua Isle, Wangshu Inn.

The traveling merchant Landa tried everything he could to finally get his daughter Tia to sleep.

He tucked Tia in and finally breathed a sigh of relief. The child was at an age full of energy, running around all day, and even at night she was restless. Getting her to lie still was incredibly difficult. Landa racked his brains and told her every fairy tale he knew before finally getting Tia to sleep—probably because his stories were so boring.

Landa stretched and walked to the table to blow out the oil lamp, but there was a sudden knock on the door.

Two soft "thump-thump" sounds were followed by two more soft "thump-thump" sounds a second later, this time slightly louder.

Landa stopped moving, looked at the door, and his expression instantly turned serious—this was the agreed-upon signal.

He glanced at Tia, who was fast asleep and the knocking had no effect on her.

Landa put on her coat and opened the door. A stranger stood outside, wearing a straw hat and coarse clothes, looking like a fisherman from the neighborhood.

“My daughter is already asleep, let’s go somewhere else,” Landa said softly.

The person simply nodded and said, "Come with me."

His voice sounded somewhat old.

Landa followed the newcomer out of the guest room with a slightly nervous expression, climbing the steps to the top floor of the Wangshu Inn.

If we don't count Ningguang's Jade Pavilion, Wangshu Inn is probably the tallest building in Liyue. Standing on the top floor, you always feel an urge to raise your arms to the sky, because even the stars seem within reach.

The moonlight was bright tonight, revealing every detail of the plants, trees, and rocks in the bonsai. The visitor stopped in front of the bonsai and finally raised his straw hat.

Beneath the straw hat was a face with white hair and beard.

"You are...?" Landa tilted his head, he really didn't recognize the person in front of him.

If Philgoldette and the others were here, they would recognize him at a glance—this person is Tian Shu Xingyun Tian, ​​one of the current Liyue Seven Stars.

"Who I am is not important; who you are is more important," Uncle Tian smiled.

Landa unconsciously pulled his coat tighter around himself; the wind was always strong at such heights, and he felt a chill. Or perhaps it wasn't just the wind that made him cold. He had a premonition that this person might not be the one he was thinking of.

"Landa is your pseudonym. Although you are of Mondstadt blood, you are not a Mondstadt person."

Upon hearing this, Landa took a step back.

"I'm sorry, I don't understand what you're saying. You've probably mistaken me for someone else, sir." Landa said, then turned and left.

But Uncle Tian's next words made him stop in his tracks.

“You come from Winterfall, from the ‘House of Hearths’, your surname is Schneitzevich, and you are a ‘nail’ planted in Liyue by the ‘servants’ of the Executive. Tia is not related to you by blood; she is an orphan you adopted, used as a disguise for your identity as a traveling merchant—people with children have attachments and usually won’t do risky things, so they are less likely to be suspected.”

Landa slowly turned around and stared at Uncle Tian. There was already a hint of coldness in his eyes.

Uncle Tian continued unhurriedly: "The mission you received some time ago was to take charge of a hidden trade route left in Liyue by the Executor 'The Rich,' and to resell 'Radiant Essence' to Liyue. Although very little of the goods flowed out from your hands, a careful investigation would reveal that many of the merchants reselling 'Radiant Essence' got their information from you. Well, of course, you did more than just that."

"Who exactly are you?" Landa asked again.

He gripped the collar of his coat with one hand, while his other hand reached into the inside pocket of his coat for a letter opener.

As a businessman, you always have a lot of business correspondence to receive, and a good letter opener is an essential item to carry with you. The one that Landa is carrying now is... very useful.

"Don't be nervous. I've said it before, who I am isn't important."

Uncle Tian still had a gentle smile on his face.

"Also, you should know that there are Liyue Immortals on the top floor of Wangshu Inn. I advise you to calm down."

That's why he brought me here to talk... Landa's grip on his knife tightened. He could roughly guess that the old man before him wasn't from the Winter Solstice Kingdom. But this made the old man's identity even more important. If the other party wasn't someone sent by the Winter Solstice to contact him, then which side was he on?

Landa's face gradually tightened.

Ignoring Landa's nervousness, Uncle Tian continued his narration in his unhurried manner: "About ten days ago, Yuheng Star Ke Qing and Yuehai Pavilion Vice Minister Han Fu came to Wangshu Inn. You saw him that day. I believe you should still be able to remember the target's portrait clearly, so after seeing him, you carried out the assassination mission, right?"

“When Vice Minister Han and Yuhengxing went to Guili Plain for investigation, their whereabouts were uncertain, so of course you couldn’t track their movements. Moreover, you are well aware that there is an immortal guarding this place.” Uncle Tian raised his hand and pointed to the roof of the inn. “You have lived here for so long, so you must be very familiar with the rumors about this immortal. With an immortal here, of course you can’t make a move.”

"After meeting with Vice Minister Han, the girl you adopted, Tia, came to see you. I guess you should have secretly told her that there is an immortal living on the top floor of Wangshu Inn, and she naturally wanted to see the legendary immortal. So you brought Tia here and watched her climb up and down in search of the immortal."

"Immortals certainly don't show themselves to people casually, especially this 'Great Sage Who Subdues Demons,' who is notoriously unapproachable. Actually... this 'Great Sage Who Subdues Demons' is gentle by nature. He avoids contact with humans for fear that the 'karmic burden' entangled on him will harm the innocent. If children come looking for him, he will flee to avoid them—while you are playing in Tia, the immortals guarding Dihua Island will temporarily leave, thus giving you ample time."

"So you seized the opportunity and released a carrier pigeon to inform your companions of Vice Minister Han's presence here. Subsequently, Vice Minister Han was attacked at Dihua Island. Have I omitted anything from my account?"

Landa's grip on the letter opener tightened and loosened repeatedly, his shadow trembling slightly in the moonlight.

After a long while, he took his right hand out of the inside pocket of his clothes, but he wasn't holding a knife in his hand.

“Nothing was missed,” he replied softly.

"Very good." Uncle Tian nodded with some satisfaction, seemingly pleased with Landa's cooperation.

“The child is innocent,” Landa said.

Uncle Tian nodded again. "I know."