He changed Tiwat

"Yes. The Codex of Favonius. It is the collective wisdom of the magic scholars in the Knights of Favonius, the eighth squad, the 'Magic Squad,' where Lisa almost became the captain."

"You see that precious jade? It's a crystal formed from the accumulation of elements. Only scholars who have truly mastered the mysteries of the elements can refine it, and only those with elemental power can open it. In other words, only the holder of the Eye of God is qualified to read and write this book, which is why this book is special."

"This book is quite valuable; it's not supposed to be taken out of the library. But, I have permission now..."

A temporary worker at a library downplayed his or her violation.

She opened the book of records left by the knights' exclusive archmage.

Chronologically, it begins nine hundred years ago, shortly after the founding of the Knights.

The archmage, who chronicles history, recorded the library's completion with great excitement—

Since the founding of the Knights of the Dawn, and the transformation of the old nobles' indoor bathhouse into a library by the Dawn Knight Lygenfender, the contributions of countless poets, scholars, and travelers have made Mondstadt the largest collection in the Northern Continent.

Mona quickly flipped through the pages, reaching the middle section of the book, which was about five hundred years ago, titled "The Return of the Wind and the Fine Wine Festival".

That page contained only one sentence.

[A devastating fire during the Autumn Equinox destroyed five-sixths of the library's collection.]

Chapter 194 The Autumn Equinox Fire

Mona pointed to the record and said in a deep voice, "The Knights Library we see now is only one-sixth of its size at its peak, but it is still the largest library on the Teyvat continent... Can you imagine how many secrets were recorded in that 'five-sixths' that was burned down?"

Han Fulai pondered for a moment and asked, "Are there any other records related to that 'Autumn Equinox Fire,' such as someone accidentally knocking over a lamp while drunk, causing the fire...?"

He knew, of course, that Mona was implying that the fire was arson, but a single sentence in the book was not enough to confirm the whole story.

The West Wind Codex is a book written by magic scholars within the Knights Order. It can be considered the Knights Order's "internal reference material," and such internal reference materials should theoretically contain a wealth of details.

How could a major fire that burned down the largest library in mainland China destroy so many rare and precious books and cause such significant economic and cultural losses? It's impossible to record it in just one sentence.

According to Liyue's usual practice, such a major incident should at least require the establishment of an investigation team to investigate the incident, followed by a series of investigation reports, accountability, and reflections on the incident. Finally, the establishment of a system should be emphasized—just like Ningguang's Silverwood Investigation Office.

The corrupt officials at Yaoguang Saltworks knew to attribute the illegal salt trade to a faulty scale from hundreds of years ago. In ancient China, corrupt officials who emptied granaries would fabricate a story of a "fire dragon burning the granary." Surely the fire at Mondstadt Library should have some reason, right? Even if it's just made up?

Han Fulai could come up with more than a dozen reasons to fill in just by rolling his eyes.

Take, for example, the "Returning Breeze Wine Festival" that took place during the fire.

Mondstadt people love festivals the most, and Mondstadt has the most festival celebrations among the seven Teyvat kingdoms—the official explanation is that the free people of Mondstadt are inspired by the wind god and love poetry and celebrations... but the real reason is probably because festivals allow for drinking and having fun, since all of Mondstadt's festivals eventually turn into "beer festivals".

The "Return of the Winds Wine Festival" is an event held every autumn equinox to share the joy of the harvest with the wind god, and incidentally, to brew fine wine from the harvested grains. Well, in reality, it's just the Mondstadt people gathering to drink merrily under the guise of "welcoming Lord Barbatos"... After all, it is the wind god Barbatos who is said to have taught people the art of brewing, so drinking more wine in the land of the "god of wine" is a sign of respect for the deity.

Of course, everything has two sides, and drunken mistakes happen from time to time in Mondstadt. Given the nature of Mondstadt people, it wouldn't be surprising if someone got drunk, went on a rampage, and burned down a house. Blaming the drunkard is a unique Mondstadt phenomenon of "temporary scapegoats."

But there has to be at least one "temporary worker," right?

However, Mona showed the book to Han Fu—the next page jumped to several years in the future…

A fire that burned down a library was completely silent about its causes and consequences, and no one was even willing to take the blame—you could say that the dry weather caused the fire elements to accumulate and the books spontaneously combusted, and people might believe it... But the Mondstadt people were so stingy with even this little bit of information, which is really strange.

Mona's tone was slightly excited: "It's strange, isn't it? I also went through other books from the same period in the library those days... and not a single one mentioned this fire. But I found traces of the fire in the library, and that's how I discovered the hidden truth behind the fire."

"What is it?" Han Fulai asked hurriedly.

“The restricted section.” Mona smiled smugly. “You’ve been to the library, but you’ve never seen that ‘restricted section,’ have you?”

Han Fulai nodded.

Admittedly, he had visited the Knights' library several times, both in the game and in real life, but he had never actually seen that restricted section. In his memory, the library did not have a designated "no unauthorized personnel allowed" area.

“The forbidden books section is in the basement,” Mona laughed. “Push open the bookshelf at the far north end of the first floor of the library, and there’s a trapdoor underneath. The basement is right there. This library actually has a basement level. Walk along the dark passageway, and you’ll see a pair of sturdy poplar wood doors. The forbidden books section is inside those doors.”

“Long before the library was built, no, long before the Knights were built, those wooden doors stood here, and the fire didn’t even manage to blacken those two magically protected doors.”

"The fire didn't blacken the door...? Isn't the forbidden library in the basement...? Wait, you mean...?" Han Fulai's eyes widened suddenly.

Mona smiled and nodded: "That's right, the fire started underground. I later discovered that the blackening of the underground passage walls wasn't due to light, but rather from the fire. The fire was originally intended to burn down the Forbidden Library, but it couldn't break through the magically protected gate."

"You mean, someone tried to set fire to the Forbidden Library to completely bury the secrets hidden in Mondstadt's history, but failed? And the library above was affected by the fire?"

"Correct."

"If that's the case..."

Han Fulai stroked his chin, slowly sorting out the strange aspects of this "Autumn Equinox Fire".

"First, it was arson, but there's no historical record of this person, or even a definition of the fire. The Knights seem to have either not conducted any follow-up investigation, or, after investigating, decided to cover it up for the arsonist..."

"Secondly, the fact that the arsonist knew about the existence of the forbidden library and its location suggests that the arsonist held a high position in Mondstadt and had access to some of the Knights' secrets..."

"Then, judging from the current size of the library, the library before the fire must have been quite large. The alchemy workshop on the upper floor of the library was likely part of the library before it burned down... And to burn down such a large library, even if it was arson, it would require carefully setting up several ignition points, as well as the corresponding fuel, etc..."

"Finally, and most strangely, why wasn't the fire brought under control? The library is right across from the Grand Master's office!"

Han Fulai found it hard to believe that the Moon Sea Pavilion was on fire, and the fire could have spread to the Rock King Emperor's Yiyan Palace next door, yet the patrolling Thousand Rock Army did nothing and waited for the fire to burn the Moon Sea Pavilion down... No matter how free and undisciplined your West Wind Knights are, they shouldn't be this lax, right? This is your Knights' headquarters on fire!

“We should add something else,” Mona interjected. “The library was originally converted from a noble bathhouse, so there are actually underground water pipes. Moreover, the fire prevention facilities inside the library are quite complete. And we know that Mondstadt is surrounded by Cider Lake, so you can see the water source as soon as you open the window of the library.”

"...Was it the Knights who set the fire?" This was the only conclusion Han Fulai could draw.

“That’s right.” Mona nodded. “I’ve done the divination. The one who burned down the library was Erendel, the ‘Lion of Light’ who was the Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius five hundred years ago and returned from the expedition to Kanria.”

Chapter 195 "Lion of Light" Erendelin

"'Lion of Light' Erendel...?" This was the second time Han Fu had heard the name of this Grand Master from five hundred years ago since he arrived in Mondstadt.

The last time I heard this name was a few days ago in the laboratory in the snow-capped mountains. When Abedo mentioned his connection with Kanria, he also mentioned the expedition five hundred years ago.

The Grand Master and Vice Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius have been "Lion" and "Wolf" for thousands of years.

A thousand years ago, the commander and deputy commander were Vanessa, the Lion Fang Knight, and Ravenwood, the North Wind Knight.

The current commander and deputy commander are "North Wind Knight" Falgar and "Lion Fang Knight" Jean.

The captain and vice-captain for five hundred years are "Lion Fang Knight," "Lion of Light of the West" Erendelyn, and "North Wind Knight," "Young Wolf" Rustan.

"Lion Fang" and "North Wind" are the highest honors for knights who symbolize "Guardians of the Four Winds," but the two names that people remember are "Lion of Light" and "Young Wolf"—which shows that the legendary status of these two captains and vice-captains five hundred years ago was no less than that of the divine beings, and perhaps even more so.

To put it more bluntly, it's probably because... the names "Lion Fang" from Vanessa and "North Wind" from Ravenwood are not enough to reflect their power, so people have to use the divine images of "Lion of the South Wind" and "Wolf of the North Wind" as a reference.

In fact, in the hearts of the knights of Mondstadt, these two were synonymous with "strength." If they were to create a ranking of the combat prowess of all the Grand Masters throughout history, then all the Grand Masters and Vice Grand Masters, including Vanessa and Rivendare, would only be vying for third place, because the first and second places would undoubtedly be Erendale and Rustam.

As for why... it's because the Knights of Favonius' renowned "Frontier Swordsmanship" was created by their vice-commander, "Young Wolf" Rustan, five hundred years ago.

Legend has it that if you give him a long sword, he can cut down all the falling rain, and the wind generated by wielding the sword can cut through roses and extinguish torches.

This is precisely the essence of West Wind Swordsmanship: lightness, speed, and precision.

More importantly, Rustin transformed the royal swordsmanship, once exclusive to noble knights, into a skill that anyone could master through diligent practice, and it was faster and stronger than the swordsmanship of the nobility.

In Mondstadt, longswords and swordsmanship were once exclusive symbols of nobility.

Unlike the reckless bravery of those who truly engage in battle, nobles practiced swordsmanship to cultivate wisdom and elegance. They believed that those of noble birth should fight with longswords. The sound of swords clashing was the harmonious hymn of noble souls.

Greatswords, which appear too rugged, do not fit the aesthetic of nobles, while spears, like crossbows, are weapons of lowly gladiators and commoners, which nobles should not even touch.

Even after Vanessa established the Knights Order, the swordsmanship of the knights remained the domain of the old nobility... or rather, "renowned knightly families," and was never passed down to commoners. The swordsmanship test required to join the Knights Order became a hurdle between the knightly class and the commoners.

Rustan himself was born into a tenant farmer family in the Knights' Manor. He was well aware of the power gap between the knights and commoners, and he was determined to use his intelligence to completely break the military power monopolized by the knights.

His creation, "Westwind Swordsmanship," opened up a path for the common people of Mondstadt to rise in status. In this sense, Rustan's position in the hearts of common knights was almost equivalent to that of Raiden, the god of swordsmanship who created the "Origin" and taught swordsmanship.

Five hundred years have passed since then, and no one, including Jean and Falga, has been able to reach Rustan's level of mastery in the West Wind Sword Technique. However, Rustan's passion and protective spirit have truly been passed down to this day.

—And Rustan, the founder of the West Wind Swordsmanship, learned his swordsmanship from "sparring" with Erendel.

Erendel is from the most orthodox knightly family in Mondstadt, and he and Rustam are childhood playmates—well, strictly speaking, Erendel and Rustam are more like Xun Ge'er and Runtu... because Rustam is a tenant farmer of the Erendel family.

The opportunity for the two to become friends arose when Erendel was a child playing a hero game, in which he played the great hero Vanessa, while Rustan, the son of a tenant farmer, played the villainous role of the old nobleman Lawrence...

Their shared dream of becoming heroes made them friends, then colleagues, and eventually, the leader and the deputy leader, respectively.

Rustan's West Wind sword technique became the model for later knights to learn, but it was not actually the complete version.

The truly complete West Wind Swordsmanship is a two-handed swordsmanship that is "ambidextrous"—the battle dance of "Lion of Light" Erendel, who uses both a longsword and a greatsword simultaneously.

Because it requires excessive strength and talent, only Erendrin has been able to wield such swordsmanship for five hundred years, thus the lineage of its transmission has been severed.

As Grand Master, Erendel is an anomaly in the entire history of the Knights of Favonius—he is the only Grand Master and Vice Grand Master in history who has never been granted the Eye of God.

His strength comes entirely from his amazing talent and extremely hard training.

Therefore, he also has a unique title in the history of Teyvat: "The Strongest Human".

Those who were fortunate enough to witness Erendlin's swordsmanship on the battlefield later remarked, "He was simply too powerful."

Besides "strong," there seems to be no other word to describe the power of this "Lion of Light." After all, wherever he goes, any enemy is like a flock of sheep in front of a lion. It is said that his strength is so great that he can pierce the largest ruin guard in Kanria with a tree branch.

However, even the mighty Erendel suffered a defeat during his expedition to Canria, losing his comrades and close friends. Moreover, shortly after returning home, he abandoned his sword and went into seclusion, disappearing from history and bringing an imperfect end to the legend of the "strongest human."

The Knights of Favonius, having lost their captain, vice-captain, and squad leaders, completely collapsed in strength, leaving their legacy entirely incomplete. This forced Venti to appear and fight alongside Dvalin when Durin attacked, indirectly leading to the "Dragon Plague" that recently ravaged Mondstadt...

And what happened between Erendrin's return from his expedition and his retirement after laying down his sword—

"...The 'Autumn Equinox Fire,' was the real reason for Erendel's departure from the Knights?"

This is the most reasonable speculation that Han Fulai can make based on the currently known intelligence.

During his expedition, Erendel discovered some secrets and decided to bury them completely. So he set fire to the library and then left the Knights.

The Grand Master of the Knights set fire to the Knights... As a role model for knights, a guardian and great hero in the eyes of the people of Mondstadt, Erendel could not leave such a stain.

This would not only shake the people's beliefs, but also shake the foundation of the Knights' rule—so this history was completely buried within the Knights, and the great fire, along with the whereabouts of Erendel, all disappeared into the dust of history.

“There’s one more thing…” Mona frowned, her voice somewhat uncertain, “I also performed a divination on that Elendrin, but the result wasn’t very clear. The only thing I could confirm was… that the Grand Master from five hundred years ago is still alive.”

Chapter 196 Mondstadt Edition of *Zizhi Tongjian*

“People from five hundred years ago are still alive…” Han Fulai fell into deep thought once again.

To be honest, he was already chatting and laughing with those immortals and gods who lived for thousands of years, so living for five hundred years didn't seem like a long time to him.

But he knew this couldn't be calculated according to the immortals' timeline. As a transmigrator, he encountered a whole host of special characters right from the start, so he had a feeling of "Immortals? Aren't they everywhere in Liyue?"... However, ordinary Teyvat natives might never see an immortal in their entire lives.

Eren Delin is the "strongest human," but even the strongest human will grow old and die.

The strongest human Han Fulai knows so far is Jiang Xue, who wields the "Sword of Wind Slash." However, even that Jiang Xue is now a middle-aged man with a scruffy beard, and he sometimes reminisces with Han Fulai about how dashing and popular he was with girls in his youth...

Those "original gods" who have transcended the human realm and possess the eyes of God in the eyes of the world will still die when their lifespan is up.

Mona, as a witch, may have other ways to prolong her life, but according to Mona, the witches in the "Witches' Guild" who are ordinary people will also grow old, die, and be replaced—for example, Miss Lisa will soon be promoted to "Aunt Lisa," and Mona's master is already an "old woman"... Speaking of which, Mona has also said things like, "I will be free when the old woman dies of old age."

As far as Han Fulai knew, there were only three explanations for "longevity" on the continent of Teyvat:

Races with long lifespans, such as immortal demon gods and dragon kings, as well as celestial beast bloodlines like Gan Yu and elves like Alice.

Humans who have learned immortal techniques, such as Shen He, a legitimate disciple of an immortal family, generally have very long lifespans.

And... the Kanriyans, who were given the "curse of immortality" by the laws of nature, such as Dainesreb.

Eren Delin, who was still serving in the Knights, did not fit any of the above identities. Perhaps he had some new experiences after leaving the Knights, but even Mona couldn't predict that, so there was no need for her to speculate.

Of course, what happened to Erendlin later was not something they urgently needed to know right now. Even though they were curious, he still knew exactly what was important and what was urgent.

Mona brings up the case of the library's "Autumn Equinox Fire" mainly to prove to him that "the higher-ups in Mondstadt have been trying to erase history." In other words, Mona discovered the secrets they were trying to hide, even at the cost of setting fire to the warehouse, in the forbidden library.

"So what did you find in the forbidden library?" Han Fulai went straight to the heart of the matter.

"Well..." Mona looked somewhat troubled, clearly considering how to explain the secret she had discovered to him.

"Um, Mona, wait a minute."

Han Fulai made a pause gesture, then silently recited a string of poems that Mona couldn't understand.

This is him using "Word Spirit" to combine divine and immortal power to unfold the "exterior scene" he once activated at the bottom of the giant abyss of layered rocks.

That's the troublesome thing about Teyvat; even chatting requires you to be careful not to trigger the Sky Isles' censorship of sensitive words, and then a big nail might fall from the sky.

Mona's living room was instantly transformed into a pure white world.

Although Wendy and Lisa allowed Mona to enter the restricted book section, proving that there shouldn't be any slides there that you can't even touch, it's always better to be safe than sorry.

"In my current state, this outdoor barrier can only last for ten minutes, so Mona, you'd better keep it short."

He's currently deploying a barrier without connecting to ley lines or wish power; it's entirely reliant on his own strength. Of course, it won't last long. If he were wielding the Salt Sorrow Spear combined with the power of the Salt God, it could probably last much longer, but bringing out a divine artifact for a casual chat seems like overkill. Anyway, as long as he can hold out until Mona reveals the crucial secret, that's fine.

Mona looked at Han Fulai's golden pupils and roughly understood that this should be the kind of barrier that Wendy used on Musk Reef.

"Okay. I'll state the conclusion first, and we'll add the relevant evidence later."

"First, I divided Mondstadt's hidden history into four parts:"

"The first section covers Mondstadt from three thousand years ago to two thousand six hundred years ago;"

"The second section covers Mondstadt from 2,600 to 2,000 years ago;"