He changed Tiwat

After the battle at the Abyss of the Layered Rocks, I was paralyzed in all four limbs and could only dictate the events. I had someone record them and inscribe them here.

Although he survived the fierce battle, he could not sleep at night whenever he thought of his fallen comrades.

Moreover, I truly regret that I cannot go with you all while I remain in this crippled state.

...When his attempt to sever ties failed, the Emperor heard of it and severely rebuked him, thus bringing him to his senses.

It is lamentable that the Emperor was so benevolent, returning the helmets and armor of the Thousand Cliffs Army. I feel I am unable to repay this kindness, and leaving them here would only cause them to gather dust. Thus, I place them here, waiting for a destined person to claim them.

Fellow travelers, since we have no chance in this life, let us be comrades again in the next. Then, we will drink a cup of sworn oath together and fight against the enemies of Liyue.

The "treasure" is this set of Thousand Rock Armor.

If there's anything special about this armor, it's that it was once touched by the Rock King Emperor and was personally returned to the soldier by him; that's all.

The legendary paralyzed Thousand Rock soldier buried his armor and his longing for his comrades in this cave.

This is a cenotaph built five hundred years ago.

Facing the cenotaph, Ye Lan suddenly clasped her hands together, bowed respectfully to the stone tablet, and then recited the memorial inscription carved on the stone:

"Though the years may pass, only the thousand cliffs remain unmoved."

Chapter Twenty: Staying True to One's Choice

After paying their respects at this "cenotaph," the next question facing everyone was what to do with the armor.

According to the wishes of the armor's owners, as "destined ones," they should take this "treasure" away so that it can continue to fulfill the armor's mission.

However, none of the people present were soldiers.

Moreover, this set of armor has been worn down for five hundred years and is no longer usable. Even if you take it away, it will not be able to play its original role.

But leaving it like this seems to go against the wishes of the armor's owner... This "treasure of the Thousand Rock Army" has presented a dilemma for all those "destined to possess it".

At this moment, Ah Wang, the miner who had been mostly silent, did something astonishing—he stepped forward, picked up the suit of armor, and carefully brushed away the dust, as if searching for something…

Amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd, A-Wang repeatedly searched through the already rotten lining inside the armor.

His expression grew increasingly disappointed. Finally, he lowered his armor and murmured, "...No, still nothing..."

"What are you looking for?" Paimon couldn't help but ask.

Awang was still looking down at the armor. "Name... I'm looking for the name of this Thousand Rock Army soldier."

"Ah..." Yan Fei was equally surprised upon hearing this, "So it seems that neither the memorial stone nor this monument bears the name of the person who erected it."

Generally speaking, the Chiiwa Army would sew the soldiers' names into the lining of their uniforms, but five hundred years have passed, and those linings have long since decayed, so where can one find the names of their former owners?

"In the end, I still don't know who he really is..."

Awang gently shook his head.

“I grew up listening to those legends and stories… Of all those legends, my favorite is this one—a paralyzed soldier moved the gods with his strong will and gained the ‘eye of God,’ not only healing himself but also becoming a renowned doctor… But now it seems that legends are indeed just legends…”

Han Fulai looked at the stone tablet without saying a word.

The person who erected this stone tablet was indeed a Thousand Rock Army soldier who was paralyzed in all four limbs during the war, but he probably did not obtain the God's Eye as the legend says, nor was he able to cure his illness.

The opening sentence of the stone tablet says it all—even the content of the tablet was dictated by the soldier and then commissioned to be carved by someone else.

If he had truly obtained the Eye of God and been cured of his paralysis as the legends say, he should have personally erected a monument for his comrades... However, the reality was that he was so desperate that he wanted to commit suicide, and later he left his armor, a symbol of military pride, in this "cenotaph".

Even though the armor was personally bestowed upon him by the Emperor, he could no longer wear it.

That memorial stone, that monument, those magic arrays... were probably all set up by someone else at the soldier's request.

He remained an unknown disabled veteran throughout his life.

In the dead of night, when he thought of his fallen comrades, he always hated himself for not being able to die alongside them, and could only endure his own gradual decay in the rest of his life.

He hoped that future generations would remember his fallen comrades, but he did not want them to look at him with pity and sympathy...

Perhaps that's why he left behind such a treasure trove of legends—the ending of which may well be the old soldier's dream.

Such a person would not be willing to leave their name.

Awang sighed.

"Actually, many people think the legend of the 'Thousand Rock Army Treasure' is absurd. Even my grandfather and father, who told me the story, thought it was fake... After all, we are miners. Everyone only believes in the value of doing things steadily. They always say that only hard work is real."

“Only I have always believed that the legends are true… I believe that an ordinary soldier can receive the attention of the gods, and that an ordinary miner can be remembered like him… When I was a child, I even told them that when I grew up, I would find the legendary treasure and prove it to them…”

"but……"

He looked up and gazed at the stone tablet again.

"Why? Why did the Rock King Emperor rebuke him to his face and forbid him from committing suicide, yet refuse to heal him? For a god, this should be very simple, right? And why won't the Emperor grant him the Eye of God? I don't mean to speak ill of the Emperor... but to let him live like this is truly too cruel."

"Five hundred years have passed since that calamity. Just thinking about how this place was a battlefield of carnage five hundred years ago, where countless martyrs sacrificed their lives, makes one wonder..."

"In that era, among the countless ordinary people who followed Lord Yan in his campaigns, did any one of them believe that they were participating in a cause that would be remembered by future generations for thousands of years?"

"Don't they ever have even a moment's doubt about their duties...?"

How can mortals who have not obtained the "eye of God" remain loyal to a god who has never looked after them, until death?

Awang's series of questions silenced everyone present.

Apart from Awang, everyone present was a superhuman being with power, either possessing divine power or the eye of a god... Even Paimon, who seemed the most useless, could at least fly.

Only A-Wang is a truly ordinary mortal.

Of course, there is an answer to A-Wang's question. For example, Han Fulai knew very well that the Eye of God was not given by the Seven Gods. The Rock King Emperor really had no right to give the Eye of God to people. Moreover, he was the God of War, not the God of Medicine... Besides, there were so many casualties in the war, and even many immortals died in battle. How could Zhongli take care of every ordinary soldier?

Ultimately, the gods that ordinary people look up to are not omnipotent. At least the "Seven Rulers of the Mortal World" are not that powerful. They also wear down and age. There are things they want to do but cannot do. He has always believed that immortals and gods are just more powerful humans.

But he couldn't bring himself to say it.

He realized that, without realizing it, he had lost his position as a "mortal".

The same applies to others.

Yan Fei was born a demigod, and she could obtain the Eye of God by living a happy life; Ying Mei had traveled through countless worlds and fought to a standstill with the Keepers of Heaven's Law five hundred years ago; even Jia Ming had been accompanied by the legendary Lion Beast since childhood, and he himself did not know whether the inexplicably appearing Eye of God was a blessing brought by Wen Zai. Several times he wanted to speak, but the words would not come out...

To mortals who yearn for divine attention, everything they say seems like a mockery of mortals.

Only Yelan spoke without hesitation: "Before I obtained the Eye of God, I had entered the most dangerous places and faced the enemies that my ancestors faced five hundred years ago... I almost died many times, and even in those times, I never prayed for the watchful eye of the gods—and the gods would not help me."

She took the Eye of God from her waist and handed it to A-Wang.

"Touch it and see."

Awang accepted the Eye of God with trembling hands.

He didn't dare to actually touch it, but simply held it in his palm and felt it...

"Can you feel the temperature?" Ye Lan asked.

Awang nodded silently... That divine eye carried a warm heat, like the lingering body temperature of Yelan.

That's the temperature of blood.

Awang looked up in surprise, but did not meet Yelan's gaze.

Ye Lan turned her head to look at the stone tablet and said softly, "I used to think that the lives of mortals lacked excitement. I longed for and pursued danger, going to my death again and again, surviving... and experiencing the fulfillment and satisfaction that can only be felt between life and death. I used to think that I was different from ordinary people."

"But later I found out that wasn't the case."

"Many times, I was able to come back alive from desperate situations because my companions saved me with their blood and lives, and it had nothing to do with any deity. I only realized this when I was all alone."

"I obtained this Eye of God not because I received the gaze of some deity, but because I made a choice—I chose to no longer let my companions protect me, but instead I would protect my companions. That's all."

"Whether it's me, my dead comrades, or the Thousand Rock Army soldiers who sacrificed themselves five hundred years ago... we're all the same."

"We are simply staying true to our choices."

Chapter Twenty-One: The Monument to the Unknown Heroes

Yan Fei and Han Fulai exchanged a glance, both seeing surprise on each other's faces.

Was the one who just said those words really Ye Lan, who is known as "one person with a thousand faces"?

Of everyone present, only the two of them had ever interacted with Ye Lan.

They all had to admit that Yelan was a very mysterious person.

Everything about her is a mystery.

Even if they had known each other for a long time, they didn't feel they could understand Ye Lan better... or rather, Ye Lan wouldn't allow them to understand her better.

This was the first time they had heard that mysterious woman reveal her past... and the first time they had heard her true feelings.

"To stay true to one's own choices...?"

Awang stared blankly at Yelan. As an ordinary miner, his life had never been about "danger and excitement"—unless you counted mining accidents.

Honestly, he has never faced any "choices"... His life is just like his ancestors': eating in the mines, living in the mines, and living in the mines. If he gets married and has children, his descendants will do the same...

That's life for miners; you can see right through it all.

Awang also had his fantasies. In his childhood, he would hold a small shovel and imagine himself as a general wielding a thousand-stone spear, fighting alongside the Yaksha Sage. He would also pretend to wear a shiny stone as the Eye of God on his chest, as an adventurer's badge, showing it to every neighbor and friend...

He once aspired to grow up to be a great man, so that children would pester their parents to tell him the legend of Ah Wang...

But in the end, he became the miner Awang he is today.

The most outlandish thing he has ever done in his twenty-odd years of life, and also the most extraordinary experience in his ordinary life, is probably participating in this "treasure hunt".

But at the end of this "adventure," the answer he received ruthlessly shattered his childhood dreams...

Ordinary people are just ordinary people, just like a miner's son is still a miner.

...until I heard Ye Lan's words.

He had not experienced what Ye Lan had described, nor could he imagine the desperate situations Ye Lan had faced, but he knew that what Ye Lan said was true.

It was his intuition—just like when he first heard the story of the "Thousand Rock Army Treasure" as a child, his intuition told him that the treasure must exist.

...So, the legend may not be a lie. Perhaps that quadriplegic veteran really did gain divine insight after persevering in his struggle against the cruelty of life? He was just like those chivalrous heroes in stories who "disappeared after accomplishing their deeds," unwilling to leave his name.

Moreover... he was already a legend.

Even though he didn't leave his name, the legend of the "Thousand Rock Army Treasure" has indeed been passed down for five hundred years, hasn't it?

A relieved smile appeared on Awang's face.

"Yes, you're right. Whether you have the Eye of God or not... people still have to strive for a future with infinite possibilities. That's the driving force."

“We are all the same. Not for the legends of the past, nor to become some extraordinary great figure... but to support each other and leave our mark and voice in the times.”

He returned the Eye of God to Yelan and then solemnly bowed to the stone tablet.

"Perhaps long from now, the deep abyss will become our monument. The marks of chiseling and carving all over the pit and valley, the sweat of generations of miners... will also bear witness to the arduous path we chose. Just like this monument, it will stand here for the next hundred years, no, for the next thousand years, proving that the sacrifices of our soldiers have not been forgotten."

"Hehe, although I certainly won't be able to see it... but when that time comes, I hope someone will come here and share a cup of bitter wine with us poor miners, and I'll be content."

The heavy atmosphere was finally broken by A-Wang's laughter, and even Ye Lan, who was usually stoic, showed a faint smile.

Han Fulai seized the opportunity to make a suggestion: "Awang's mention of the 'monument' reminded me... Let's keep this armor here. I'll go back and discuss it with Steward Mu Ning later, and ask someone to repair this 'cenotaph,' so that together with the memorial stone on it, it can be used as a historical site for people to admire."

"'Though the years may pass, only the cliffs remain unmoved.' — What this nameless hero left us is a spiritual treasure more precious than anything else."

“From today onwards, let this place be renamed the ‘Monument to the Unknown Soldier’.”

His proposal was unanimously approved by everyone present.

Months later, the "Monument to the Unknown Heroes" was erected on the original site of the Tiangongxia Memorial Stone.

The main body of the monument is that "Tongze Spear".

"Your name is unknown, but your deeds will live on forever."

—The commemorative inscription personally written by Secretary-General Han later became the most famous inscription in Liyue, and has been passed down for five hundred years.

This journey in search of the "Thousand Rock Army Treasure" has come to an end.

Although they successfully found the legendary treasure, it was not the "Taiwei Yipan" left behind by Narumi Shinjun that they had initially been looking for.

Yan Fei's expression was full of regret: "Now the clues have gone cold again..."

Although A-Wang knows many legends about the Layered Rock Treasures, none of them are related to the great war five hundred years ago. Even if he finds them, they probably won't be the Taiyi Plate.

The whereabouts of the Taiwei Instrument Plate remain unknown.

Jiaming scratched his head in frustration: "Even if it's like finding a needle in a haystack, you still need to have a direction. If this continues... um, Miss Yanfei, how about you lend me that immortal's original calligraphy for a moment?"

"Huh? Why do you want to believe that?" Yan Fei asked curiously.