He changed Tiwat

Just as Liu Xiu's uprising was in accordance with the opportune time, and the Jin state's conquest of Guo was in accordance with prophecy... For Kanria, "The Past Events of the Sun and Moon" was their "campfire, fox's cry, and a book hidden in the belly of a fish."

—In other words, two thousand years ago, no, perhaps even earlier, Canria had already resolved to rebel against the laws of nature.

"...Then, what's the reason?" Han Fulai asked.

Where did Kanria's determination to defy the laws of nature originate? What were the reasons for Kanria's destruction? What is the truth behind these histories that were destroyed and buried by the laws of nature?

Ye Mingxiang raised her hand and pointed to the "Layered Rock Nail" in the sky that looked like a backdrop.

"Why should I tell you?" he laughed.

"You can say it somewhere else," Han Fulai said with a smile, tapping his temple.

His meaning was very clear—"consciousness space".

Since Ye Mingxiang had previously managed to interrupt his communication with the "Wishing Stone" and enter that consciousness space, similar to signal hijacking, she should also have a way to communicate with him within that consciousness. Communicating within the consciousness space is the most secure method of communication.

In any case, whether through fables or stories, the people of Teyvat have many ways to circumvent the "judgment" of the natural order. No matter how diligently the judgment is conducted, it cannot stop people from "looking at each other on the road".

Without using your mouth, you won't leave any room for gossip. A simple "eye exchange" is all it takes to understand everything. Isn't that wonderful?

Moreover, as a "rebel," he also wanted to try to win over Ye Mingxiang, his "comrade." Maybe if they went into the consciousness space and communicated, they could form a united front? Even if it didn't work out, it would always be good to have more information.

"Heh." Ye Mingxiang shook her head with a smile. "You misunderstood. I'm talking to you about these things not because I want to reconcile with you... There's no possibility of reconciliation between us. You are 'officials,' and I am 'thieves.' What I just said was just me catching up with my former fellow disciples and... colleagues."

"'Colleague'?" Han Fulai looked at Jiang Xue in confusion, but Jiang Xue indicated that she knew nothing about it.

"Yes, you see, history is always covered up. It's like that in Kanria, and it's like that in Liyue."

Ye Mingxiang tapped the hilt of the Thousand Cliff Ancient Sword.

“More than four hundred years ago, I also served as an ‘official’ in Liyue. This sword was forged and given to me by an old friend. Xinghan, you are the bloodline of my old friend Xingxiang. I am passing on my skills to repay him for the kindness he showed me back then.” Ye Mingxiang looked at Jiang Xue.

Jiang Xue was deeply moved.

Four hundred years ago, the Star Clan of Liyue named their star Alkaid Star as Star Soaring. This name was not common, and only members of the Star Clan would have such a name.

The Liyue Star Clan is known for its tradition of combining swordsmanship and literature, and its members are generally named after phrases from ancient poems. Xinghan's name comes from a poem enshrined in the Star Clan's ancestral hall—

"The powerful force of wealth leaves one with no freedom; the soaring dragon and phoenix's momentum is hard to contain."

"A hall full of flowers intoxicates three thousand guests; a single sword, its frost chills fourteen provinces."

"The drums and horns sound to the heavens, the auspicious air is cold; the wind and waves shake the earth, the sea and mountains are in autumn."

"The southeast will forever stand as a golden pillar of heaven; who would envy the marquises of ten thousand households back then?"

Liyue Harbor is located in southeastern Liyue. This poem was a gift from the Geo Archon, meaning "May the southeast forever be a golden pillar of heaven," symbolizing the Asura clan's eternal support of the Liyue homeland. The Asura clan of Liyue has a history of over 3,700 years, and the generational names in the poem are no longer sufficient. Although in modern times they no longer follow the generational order, names are still taken from it.

Four hundred years ago, a man named Xingxiang from Yaoguang Star seemed to have been involved in a major event, which ultimately led to his illness and untimely death. The family genealogy only briefly mentions the deeds of this ancestor, without making any mention of Ye Mingxiang.

Ye Mingxiang sighed and said, "This sword was a congratulatory gift he gave me when I took office, with the message that I would use my sword to slay injustices in the world... Four hundred years ago, I was Tianquan Star of Liyue."

In the study of Qunyu Pavilion, only a few scraps of paper remain on the whiteboard.

By reducing the amount of intelligence gathered, what remains at the end is the most valuable.

The white-haired beauty twirled her pipe a few times, as if she had made up her mind.

"...Return to your respective halls immediately. Pay close attention to any unusual activity, and don't overlook anything, no matter how small," Ningguang instructed her three private secretaries.

She assigned these three secretaries to important positions within the Eight Gates, intending to leverage their influence within the Eight Gates and have them put to good use at crucial moments.

"Raising an army for a thousand days is for using it in one day"—this has always been Ningguang's style.

The three accepted the order and departed.

Bai Shi, with her hair in a single ponytail and wearing black-rimmed glasses, was the last to leave the study.

"By the way, Baishi, stay behind for a moment." Ningguang called out to Baishi.

A slight smile appeared on Bai Shi's face—she was probably the one least willing to leave Ning Guang's study. As Ning Guang's former personal secretary who took care of her daily life, she was the closest to Ning Guang among the three private secretaries.

"Before you return to Heji Hall, do me a favor," Ningguang said.

"Please speak, Lady Ningguang," Bai Shi replied respectfully, bowing his head.

She is currently serving as the Deputy Chief of the Heji Hall, one of the Eight Gates. Compared to the Dali Hall and Baishui Hall, which are important places for law and finance, the Heji Hall is in charge of transportation affairs, and there is nothing particularly important for Ningguang to do in this arrangement.

Ningguang took a booklet out of the desk drawer and handed it to Baishi.

The booklet's cover was somewhat damaged, and the binding style looked old; it must have been quite a few years ago.

Bai Shi took it and saw four characters written on the cover of the booklet: "Pearls and Gems".

At Ningguang's prompting, Baishi opened the book.

All industries and commerce, like springs and streams, originate from mountain cliffs and flow into the vast ocean. The concerns of the people are nothing more than small sums of money; by guiding the flow of resources, they can move freely and easily. Power is influence; it curbs injustice, establishes contracts, and guides all benefits; it does not use the strong to bully the weak, nor does it use the weak to suppress the strong. It should be understood that the way of trade and the smooth flow of money is the way of fairness and justice.

Someone asked: "The people have lost their livelihoods, have no stable property to eat, no roof over their heads, their fields and houses are destroyed, and they are forced to work as laborers, while wealthy merchants have halls filled with gold and jade. What is the way of this?"

This statement is utterly wrong. The pursuit of profit is like waves washing away gold dust, with many being eliminated; it is also like a torrent in a valley, constantly flowing and evolving. If the poor do not remain poor forever, and the rich do not hold onto their wealth indefinitely, then the treasury will be full, and the country will be secure and safe.

Therefore, lifting the ban on private trade, expanding public markets, and reforming government offices are inevitable tasks. Relief efforts are prone to breed laziness and should not be excessive; they should be reduced. The army of Qianyan, responsible for suppressing injustices, pacifying bandits, and bringing peace to the people, should be expanded.

……

Though the Emperor lives long, we should be prepared and have no worries. The eternal stability of Liyue and the well-being of humanity should proceed gradually according to this grand plan. Reforms should be undertaken slowly and deliberately, not hastily. Just as carving with a candle at the bottom of a rock eventually yields pearls and gems, so too should the complex affairs of Liyue be pursued in the same way.

Actually, aside from the hard cover, the book itself is very thin, only a dozen or so pages, and a hundred pieces of knowledge can be glimpsed in a flash.

After reading it, her face was full of doubt. Rather than a book, it was more like a "policy essay"—like the kind in the Liyue civil service exam. The proposals in it were all about institutional reforms in Liyue, and the tone suggested that it was written by someone in a high position.

Especially the suggestions regarding lifting the ban on private individuals, reducing aid, and expanding the army... Liyue is already working on expanding the army, and Bai Shi certainly knows how much resistance it has encountered—and the first two are things that most people wouldn't even dare to think about.

Even if it were Ningguang herself, if she dared to propose such a policy, she would definitely be criticized and condemned by the people of Liyue Harbor.

Bai Shi looked at Ning Guang, not understanding Ning Guang's intention in showing her this book.

Ningguang smiled and said, "I need you to help me spread this book throughout Liyue Harbor, so that within a few days, people will be talking about it everywhere. Also..."

She picked up the calligraphy brush on the table and added her signature to the back cover of the book—

Tianji Star, Rouran.

Chapter 289 A Major Case from Four Hundred Years Ago [4k]

“I grew up in Liyue, and I’ve lived there much longer than I have in Kanria. If it weren’t for this ‘undying curse,’ I would almost forget that I am a Kanria native.”

Ye Mingxiang pointed to her face.

With a withered appearance, a full head of white hair, a single horn on her forehead, and scarlet eyes, Ye Mingxiang now looks more like a demon than a human.

“My name was given to me by my mother. My mother was a tea merchant in Qiaoying Manor. The Ye family of Qiaoying Manor was a prominent family five hundred years ago, producing and selling tea for generations. Five hundred years ago, Kanria also traded with various countries. It was in Kanria that my mother met my father. My father was a member of the Kanria royal family. I don’t know who he is because I have never met him. I am an illegitimate child.”

"The nobles of Kanria are notorious for their philandering, and, well, it seems Krodal also has a bastard child... Anyway, my father never gave my mother a proper title, but she still waited for him, and even moved the whole family to Kanria for him. She may have thought that when I grew up a little, she would take me to find him... But she didn't live to see that day, Kanria was destroyed."

“My mother and some relatives were lucky to escape that devastating disaster, but now I think it might have been a blessing in disguise to die on that day.”

Ye Mingxiang's tone carried a hint of sadness, "...that way, they won't have to watch themselves turn into Hilichurls."

"Depending on their constitution, the 'Curse of Undying' will have different effects on different people—this is what Krodal told me. The people of Kanria are not all Kanria; their advanced technology and civilization have attracted a large number of immigrants from the Seven Kingdoms. Those who are not of pure Kanria blood will gradually lose their sanity and human form under the influence of the 'Curse of Undying,' transforming into Hilichurls. It is said that this is a punishment for their betrayal of the Seven Gods."

"And those pure-blooded Kanria will not become Hilichurls. They will only be worn down in endless suffering, without the salvation of death... Unfortunately, my royal bloodline seems to be quite strong, so I have also inherited this special trait... I have watched my relatives turn into monsters bit by bit."

Ye Mingxiang's lips parted in a strange arc, a smile that seemed to be both a cry and a laugh.

"Most of the Hilichurls living on the continent of Teyvat are descendants of the seven gods from the ancient kingdom of Kanria... and some are descendants of even more ancient civilizations... Yes, this is not the first time the Sky Isles have done this."

Han Fulai nodded. As a transmigrator, he knew that the Hilichurls existed long before the destruction of Canria.

Hilichurls do not use vehicles and obviously do not have the ability to travel long distances. How did the cursed remnants of the people from faraway Canria spread throughout the entire continent of Teyvat?

The answer speaks for itself.

“My mother fled back to Liyue with the family, but Qiaoying Manor refuses to take them in. After all… in the calamity five hundred years ago, who didn’t have a few relatives and friends who died under the claws of monsters?” Ye Mingxiang patted the hilt of her sword.

The rock strata beneath his feet were once stained with the blood of the soldiers of the Thousand Rock Army five hundred years ago.

In that dark calamity, the Thousand Rock Army made enormous sacrifices to hold the line and prevent the disaster from spreading throughout Liyue. The mountain people who were not evacuated and the miners of the Deep Rock Abyss also suffered the same fate.

It's perfectly normal for the families of the victims to view these survivors of the Kanria massacre as enemies—even though they were also victims.

“I was very young then, and I don’t remember Kanria, only my relatives who lived in seclusion in the mountains. They lived in huts and tried to avoid contact with the outside world. My mother was lucky, perhaps because she died soon—she was probably the only one of all my relatives who left this world with human dignity.”

"But my maternal grandparents, my uncle and aunt... they weren't so lucky... their physical strength gradually declined, they became bedridden, and slowly their bodies changed..."

"I've seen them smash mirrors, overturn basins of water, and plunge into streams, trying to strangle the monsters reflected on the water's surface... In the end, they silently put on masks to hide the inhuman selves beneath them."

Ye Mingxiang, no longer resembling a human, raised her hand and touched her cheek.

"Relatives kept disappearing into the mountains and wilderness—I later learned that they were using their remaining sanity to distance themselves from their loved ones, not wanting their transformed selves to harm their most cherished family members. My grandfather realized that one day he too would become a Hilichurl, and tried to abandon me in a nearby village at night..."

“Hey, but I always know the way home, so I always manage to find my way back.”

"Later on... they gradually stopped recognizing me, and I could understand less and less of what they were saying."

“I think that was probably within a year of our return to Liyue… Time flies in the mountains, I don’t remember very clearly. It was around that time that Krodal found me. He was a survivor of the Albury family, a branch of the Regent of Kanria, the founder of the ‘Order of the Abyss,’ and also my adoptive father.”

"It was only after meeting him that I learned about my origins, why I couldn't become a Hilichurl, and why I could grow up like a normal child... I also learned about the curse in my bloodline."

“He once asked me if I wanted to go with him, but I insisted on staying with my family. So he stayed too. He taught me a lot: languages ​​and histories of various countries, Kanria’s martial arts and arcane arts, and even the special language of the cursed, the so-called ‘Hicrucian’… I am able to live a normal life in this world thanks to him. Although I know he trained me to help the ‘Order of the Abyss,’ I am very grateful to him.”

"With his help, we established a camp deep in the mountains, taught my family how to make tools, and provided them with safe hunting grounds so they wouldn't die at the hands of the army and adventurers... cough."

Ye Mingxiang coughed suddenly as she finished speaking.

When Ye Mingxiang mentioned Krodal, Jiang Xue merely raised an eyebrow slightly.

In the past, he might have hated himself for being associated with the "Abyss Order," but now he no longer cares about such things.

—There are righteous and evil techniques, but the principle is the same.

What he was more concerned about now was why his senior brother was telling them so many secrets.

Was he simply trying to reveal a secret he had kept hidden for many years? Or... is it that a dying man's words are always kind?

The "True Art" is not a secret technique without a price, and Ye Mingxiang has clearly paid a huge price.

"...After several years, once I had completed my studies, he arranged for me to enter Liyue Harbor. He told me to work hard, rise to a high position, and gain power for the restoration of Kanria... Ha, perhaps there are quite a few people like me in the seven kingdoms of Teyvat."

Ye Mingxiang chuckled as she finished speaking.

"Then he left, saying he was going to find a way to break the 'curse of immortality.' He said he would send someone to summon me when needed."

"But unfortunately, I don't actually want to restore the country. As I just said, I have no memory of Kanria. My Liyue bloodline made it easy for me to integrate into Liyue Harbor. The funds provided by Krodal and the knowledge taught by him allowed me to quickly make a name for myself in Liyue Harbor. My 'Mingxiang Tea House' was the most famous tea house in Liyue Harbor at that time... And I also really like the country of Liyue, it is my mother's hometown."

“I regularly returned to the mountain to visit my family, and later I met Xingxiang, who was cultivating in the mountains—yes, it was the training ground where I met you.” Ye Mingxiang looked at Jiang Xue. “We became friends after a fight, and our friendship is unbreakable. When we were awake, we sang songs; when we were drunk, we danced with swords. We talked about current events and made a promise to do good for Liyue and eliminate its evils… At that time, I really considered myself a Liyue person, and I hoped that I really was a Liyue person.”

"Later, he inherited the Yao Guang Star, and I became the Tian Quan Star."

"Then, I encountered something that would change my life... So I killed someone in Liyue Harbor."

Bai Shi pursed her lips, but still asked the question—

"Lady Ningguang, are we... going to take action against Tianji Star?"

Generally speaking, secretaries shouldn't ask so many questions. Just do what your boss asks; the more you know, the more dangerous it is. But Bai Shi and the other two have been with Ning Guang since before she became Tianquan Star, so their relationship is much closer than that of a superior and subordinate.

Ningguang's glory is their glory, Ningguang's interests are their interests, and their lives are inextricably linked to Ningguang's.

Ningguang never shied away from expressing her expectations for them, and she consistently taught and guided the three of them by example, even entrusting them with many tasks to handle independently, thus honing their abilities. To them, Ningguang was not only a good boss, but also a mentor and a helpful friend.

Therefore, Bai Shi dared to ask questions, and Ning Guang also encouraged them to ask themselves questions.

Ningguang nodded without hesitation. “It’s time. I had Baiwen and Baixiao keep a close eye on the Jiang family in Dali Hall and the Song family in Baishui Hall, precisely to prepare for the next step—they’ve been in those positions for too long.”

"Then... what is this book, 'The Gemstone Treasure'...?" Bai Shi looked at the old book in his hand.

Bai Shi had previously hosted auctions for Ning Guang, and the auction items naturally included rare and ancient books, so she had long since developed an exceptional eye for quality. Just by touching the paper of this book, she could determine that the paper used for "Pearls and Gems" was parchment.

Bark paper is made from the bark of the paper mulberry and paper mulberry trees. Due to its high production cost, only the most discerning collectors use bark paper to print books. Bark paper is tough, insect-resistant, and whiter and smoother than ordinary hemp paper. Books printed on it are white with black ink, the text is clear, and it can be preserved for a long time.

Book collectors like Master Chang Jiu and Yan Fei usually look at the paper first and then the content when collecting books—because good books are usually printed on good paper.

In Liyue, most books are printed on hemp paper, which is yellowish-brown in color, feels rough to the touch, and is far less durable than leather paper, making it difficult to preserve. However, it is inexpensive. Therefore, most printed materials commonly found in Liyue are printed on hemp paper.

The book's cover is a style popular in Liyue a hundred years ago; you can't find such a hardcover, thin booklet on the market now—it's such a waste.

Those who could afford to print books on parchment were either extremely wealthy or powerful, and such binding was even rarer. This book was clearly not a mass-produced item, but rather resembled a private collection from a collector. Tianji Star could certainly have printed such a book—but the age wouldn't match.

In fact, Bai Shi had already discovered that this book was probably older than Ning Guang and the three of them combined. Rou Ran of Tianji Star was about the same age as Ning Guang, so this book couldn't have been written by Rou Ran.

Moreover, if this book belongs to Rouran—why did it end up in Ningguang's hands?

Ningguang knew what Baishi was wondering about. She smiled slightly and said, "I have kept this book for more than ten years. This book is older than you think... It is evidence of a major case from four hundred years ago."

"That case involved seven Seven Stars from four hundred years ago, and even led to the deaths of two of them."