He changed Tiwat

[Nothing in Mondstadt is thanks to the wind god; I will now sing praises to all things beautiful—thank you for the west wind that has been so gentle, that spring flowers bloom so delicately.]

finches, wild ducks, rabbits, and wild boars.

Mondstadt is revived, and all things begin to grow.

Lions roam the fields in summer.

I want to praise it, but I can't think of any other words:

Sweating more makes drinking ice wine even more refreshing?

Is it because its mane resembles the sun that it's so hot?

The mountain gate is flanked by two paths, and the canyon resembles a drunkard staggering.

But Dongfeng doesn't need to walk; it flies.

It flew over at about the height of the fruit trees.

Wings carry the harvest and the fragrance of fruit.

The north wind slept quietly in the forest.

Logically speaking, it should be surrounded by a pack of wolves.

But no one has ever seen them, because it knows that no one likes winter.

The wind god knew, and it must have had a warm dream in its heart.

—The four seasons turn, and the four winds never cease.

Of course, the credit doesn't belong to them; it's mainly mine.

If there were no bards, who would sing these songs?

As the song played, the wind picked up again.

Centered on Venti, the powerful wind element transforms into wisps of azure light feathers that surround the oak tree. When channeling the elemental power of wind, Venti often chooses elemental forms that manifest as "feathers"—because he favors things that appear light and airy. This is reflected in his clothing and accessories.

The world fell silent for a moment, with nothing but the sound of the wind.

This is the "Poem of the Wind God," which isolates the inside from the outside.

Sounds from outside cannot get in, and sounds from inside cannot get out—even the earth's veins cannot record the sounds here.

After the song ended, Wendy ran briskly to the roots of the oak tree and dug out his treasure in the "old spot".

Before Wendy falls asleep, he always gets a few bottles of the season's finest wine and buries them under a tree in the Windrise Land—when he wakes up, he'll rush over to taste the long-awaited wine.

Every time he falls asleep and awakens, something new always happens in Mondstadt. For example, a few months ago, after he woke up and entered Mondstadt, the city said that it was forbidden to provide minors with alcoholic beverages! Apart from "Angel's Gift," run by Lord Diluc who recently learned his identity, almost no other place would sell him alcohol...

Fortunately, this good habit of his left him with a lot of savings.

"Look, it's dandelion wine aged for a thousand years!" Wendy showed off, shaking the bottle in her hand.

Zhongli opened his right hand, and an elegant square wine vessel appeared in his hand. The old-fashioned people of Liyue are very particular about their drinking vessels. Although Zhongli usually follows local customs, he prefers to use his own drinking vessels when conditions permit.

Wendy opened the bottle and filled Zhongli's glass.

The glasses and bottles clinked together, and the two men each took a sip.

“It’s been several hundred years since we last met in Liyue… To be honest, I was surprised that you left Liyue… You rarely left Liyue before, and even your gatherings were held in Liyue…” Venti looked up, recalling the gathering of the Seven Gods years ago.

“But you wander aimlessly through the mortal world, even coming all the way to Liyue Harbor just to deliver a bottle of wine.” Zhongli raised his glass to him again.

"Sigh, I originally wanted to go to Liyue when I woke up this time, but then I ran into the Dvalin thing... The gathering... I guess we won't be able to get everyone together?" Venti looked at the small lake next to the tree, where only the two of them were reflected in the water.

"Yes..." Zhongli sipped the wine in his cup, which seemed to have a faint bitterness in it. "I wanted to buy osmanthus flowers and share wine with you, but alas, when will I see my old friend again..."

The two deities were speechless for a moment.

As the flames of the Demon God War subsided, the last seven Demon Gods ascended to their respective thrones, thus ending the era of the Demon God War. Although they had vastly different personalities and were separated by great distances, they all bore the sacred responsibility of "guiding humanity."

Since Venti arrived in Liyue Harbor two thousand years ago, riding the wind, and brought Zhongli a bottle of fine wine, the Seven Rulers of the Mortal Realm have gathered in Liyue every so often to drink together.

Even now, Zhong Lineng can still recall the taste of those wines.

Then, as the world continued to change, everything they were familiar with gradually disappeared.

The positions of the seven gods have changed hands time and again, and to this day... of the original seven gods, only two remain.

Chapter 279 The Secret Pact Against the Heavens (Part 2) [4k]

The wine in the cup was empty, but the enjoyment was still not over.

After a long pause, Wendy started the conversation again with a smile: "Let's not talk about that, old man. I heard you faked your death and abdicated. Tell me how you did it! Oh, by the way, what if I were also at this year's 'Return of the Wind Wine Festival'..."

The "Return of the Winds Brew Festival" is an annual autumn festival for Mondstadt residents to share the joy of the harvest and savor fine wines. Just like the "Sea Lantern Festival" in Liyue, it is a day of reunion for Mondstadt residents, and for those who cannot return home, the Brew Festival is also a time when they miss their hometown and loved ones the most.

Every year, a westerly wind blows through Mondstadt. Legend has it that this is because the aroma of wine brewed during the harvest season is so enticing that it attracts the wind god, who loves to drink. Wherever he is, he transforms into a gentle breeze and returns to his homeland.

Therefore, the Mondstadt people also call the westerly wind "the returning wind," and the "Returning Wind Brew Festival" was originally established to welcome Lord Barbatos.

At this time of year, every household brews new wine, which is then sealed and stored until at least the "Returning Wind Day" of the following year's wine festival. Opening the aged wine signifies an invitation to the wind god to drink together. Legend has it that if the wind god is satisfied with the taste of the wine, he will gladly summon a gentle breeze to bring precious blessings to the people.

On the day of "Return of the Winds," a toasting ceremony will be held to welcome the return of Barbatos, the god of winds.

Zhongli actually thought about it seriously for Wendy, then shook his head and pointed to the Statue of the Seven in the distance: "I've heard that not many people in Mondstadt know what Barbatos looks like, and no one has ever seen Barbatos in his true form..."

Wendy slammed her fist in her hand. "Damn it! Grandpa, you must have been planning your retirement for a long time! That's why you hold these 'Invitation to the Immortals Ceremony' every year, and with those cool, no, exaggerated incarnations..."

"No, that's just the rule. I'm not like you," Zhongli denied outright. "Besides, your current state is practically the same as retirement, isn't it?"

"Hmph, stubborn old man, you've missed out on over three thousand years of retirement pay. Retiring now is a huge loss..." Wendy muttered to herself, then suddenly leaped up lightly.

A gentle breeze lifted him up and placed him on an oak branch. This was his "special seat" in this place.

If you can sit, don't stand; if you can lie down, don't sit. That's the style of Barbatos, the second oldest god of Teyvat.

"Alright, I know you're definitely not just here to have a drink. You can say what you want to say now." Wendy patted the empty seat next to her. "Let's make this clear first, I can't do anything too complicated. I've already given the Heart of God to Barnabas."

“Me too.” Zhongli raised an eyebrow.

Zhongli heard the detailed account from Wendy yesterday—but he didn't expect Wendy to use such a tragic method, having her heart ripped out by a "lady" in front of the West Wind Church.

The gods of Mondstadt getting beaten to a pulp by the Winter's Executioner right in front of their own temple... well, even if it's acting, shouldn't they at least pay attention to their image? Or at least their acting skills?

Even Zhongli had a hard time figuring out what was going on in Barbatos's mind—after all, he wasn't a drunkard.

Without any visible movement from Zhongli, a golden light flashed, and he was already sitting down next to Wendy.

“Actually… I’m here to collect a debt.” Zhongli said something Wendy hadn’t expected.

"'Debt collection'? With whom?"

Zhongli pointed to the bard in front of him.

"Huh? Me?"

Venti rolled his eyes, thinking that the incident of him trying to pin the wine bill on Zhongli back in Liyue Harbor had indeed been exposed... but he did return the wine to Zhongli! This old man isn't that petty, is he?

Zhongli nodded seriously.

“You know I am the ‘God of Contracts,’ and the reputation of the ‘God of Contracts’ is very important.”

“Mm.” Wendy nodded.

“Damaging the reputation of the ‘God of Contracts’ will have serious consequences.”

“…Hmm?” Wendy suddenly hesitated to nod.

"'The Secret Pact with the Wind at Your Side,' you know what that is, right?" Zhongli said slowly, his golden eyes fixed on Wendy, and in an instant, the air was filled with pressure.

"Oh dear, I just remembered I forgot to feed the cat today!" Wendy instantly flew away from the oak tree.

But they didn't completely leave.

Someone grabbed his green cloak and lifted him into the air.

"I remember seeing you sneeze at the cat yesterday?" Zhong Li smiled and squinted.

Wendy's nape hair stood on end like a cat's.

He tilted his head slightly, "Eh?"

Zhongli used his arm to pull Wendy up, and Wendy sat obediently and properly beside him, not even daring to swing her legs.

"That all happened more than a thousand years ago..." he said softly.

“But I have a very good memory,” Zhongli said.

That happened 1,600 years after the founding of Mondstadt, a thousand years ago.

Mondstadt's "freedom" has fallen into an unprecedented and terrifying abyss.

Barbatos left because he did not want to become a tyrant. He never imagined that the people who had been granted freedom would create "human tyrants" on their own.

The nobles ruled Mondstadt brutally, bringing slavery to the land and utterly ignoring the cries of the oppressed people.

Sixteen hundred years later, the wind god returned to the former "City of Freedom." He heard the cries of Vanessa, a slave girl, and together they launched a revolution to overthrow the nobility.

—The above is the standard history of Mondstadt that everyone knows today.

However, a little-known episode occurred during this period of history:

The heroine Vanessa united the people of Mondstadt in the struggle. What caused many of the nobles' soldiers to defect was a "secret pact hidden from the wind."

The secret pact was a treasonous deal—"The high-ranking nobles betrayed the Anemo Archon and sold everything in Mondstadt to the neighboring Geo Archon."

At the end of this secret covenant was engraved a sacred seal that could only be created by a deity, named "Rock King Emperor".

The soldiers who oppressed the slaves shuddered at the thought that they too would become slaves of a foreign land.

Vanessa, a slave girl from Nata, the Land of Fire, launched a sacred war representing freedom and resistance. The war raged like fire, devouring the nobility.

Mondstadt has finally become the "City of Freedom" once again.

But in fact, Zhongli, who has a very good memory, does not remember signing any "secret pact with the Mond Lawrence family".

He also remembered that a prankster bard had practiced a very realistic fake signature so that he could get someone else to pay his bill when he drank in Liyue.

Although Wendy's fake signature could never fool the god of wealth and trade in person, it was still very easy to fool humans.

"I demand that you restore my reputation, is that alright?" Zhongli still had a smile on his face, but Wendy felt like a mouse being watched by a cat.

This is indeed a very simple request.

The problem is, Wendy can't agree to Zhongli's request...

First, as Zhongli said, the Mondstadt people had never seen Barbatos' true form. Even if he were to help Zhongli explain, it would just be the bard Wendy making things up on the spot.

Secondly, this "covenant with the wind at its back" is the foundation of Mondstadt's liberation from noble rule, and also the righteous cause for Vanessa to create the Knights of Favonius and establish the new order of Mondstadt—a kingdom ruled by the wind god actually betrayed the wind god and joined the rock god, which is a betrayal even more serious than betraying "freedom"!

Although Mondstadt under noble rule became a slave-owning state, it was ultimately an internal conflict among the Mondstadt people. However, selling Mondstadt to Liyue and making the Mondstadt people slaves of Liyue was not only treason but also annihilation! No Mondstadt person with any sense of righteousness would accept such a thing.

That's why Vanessa, despite being a slave, was able to unite most of the Mondstadt people, overthrow the rule of the nobility, and become the "Liontooth Knight" who won the hearts of the people.

This "secret pact with the wind at your back" has not only become a part of history, but is also the foundation of Mondstadt's millennia-old knightly order system, and the "legal authority" by which the Knights of Favonius rule Mondstadt.

The legend of the great hero Vanessa must not be tainted by any deception of the public.

The "secret pact with the wind at your back" must be true.

Wendy's face fell, and she complained softly, "You didn't object at the time, which meant you tacitly approved..."

“I only found out about this yesterday when I came to Mondstadt for tourism,” Zhongli said with a stern face.

“You’re lying! You knew that a thousand years ago!” Wendy protested.

"How can you prove that I knew this a thousand years ago?" Zhongli retorted.

He certainly couldn't prove that Zhongli had never expressed any opinion on this matter in the past thousand years. Like Gan Yu, Zhongli also left no evidence when he lied.

“…Well, old man, look, we’re so close, we’ve drunk so many drinks together…” Wendy began to talk about their friendship.

"How could you bear to slander such a close friend!" Zhongli exclaimed in anguish.

Wendy fell silent. He knew that this old man had made him owe this favor for a thousand years, and now that he had almost forgotten about it, he was finally coming to collect it. There was absolutely no way he could refuse to repay the favor.

"Okay, okay..." Wendy finally gave in, "Name your terms, anything I can do..."

Zhong Li's lips curled slightly; the investments of the God of Business were always sure to make a profit.

Instead of immediately stating his terms, he brought up other matters: "How is your East Wind Guardian Dvalin recovering?"

"Thanks to the traveler, everything's fine now. He just needs some rest. Sigh... those guys from the 'Abyss Order' are truly lawless." Wendy sighed as he mentioned Dvalin, feeling he owed Dvalin a great deal.

While Dvalin was corrupted by the poison and controlled by the Abyss Mage, Venti remained asleep, unable to reach Dvalin when it needed help most. Although Dvalin was eventually restored to normal with the help of the Traveler, Venti still felt guilty.