That self-proclaimed wise woman had never understood—
the Gnosis held no allure for Lori at all.
As his thoughts drifted, the words he suddenly spoke carried a faint melancholy.
"It wasn't easy coming back after so long… I plan to visit her next. Want to come along?"
Morax immediately understood who the "her" referred to.
He shook his head lightly.
"I won't disturb you two."
"Yesterday's festivities were lively. I'm a little tired—let me rest a few days."
It was an excuse.
Morax simply wanted to leave this moment to Lori and Guizhong alone.
He patted Lori's shoulder gently, then turned and walked back toward Yujing Terrace.
Once indulgence ended, countless matters in Liyue awaited his judgment.
He could not afford to linger in sentimentality.
Any survivor of ancient wars knew—
emotion could never be allowed to rule the heart,
at most, one occasionally reminisced.
Morax was rational, dividing public and private clearly.
Standing alone atop the high terrace for a long time, Lori took in this completely new Liyue.
It was no longer the one he remembered.
But… perhaps that was fine.
Guili Plains
A boundless, fertile plain.
Endless reeds and wild grass swayed with the wind.
Shallow pools dotted the land, providing rest spots for cranes and wild birds.
Frog calls echoed softly across the fields.
And through this peaceful wilderness,
a solitary figure walked slowly forward.
Though monsters in Liyue were not many, hilichurls occasionally blocked the way.
Even merchant caravans avoided this region.
Over a thousand years, what had once been fertile land grew desolate and forgotten.
Now, as Lori set foot once more on this familiar soil,
shattered memories resurfaced.
Broken walls.
Collapsed homes.
The ruins of Guili Assembly—most of it now swallowed by water.
Long ago, the ruins came to be because the Ocean Demon God had invaded this region.
Morax encountered him near Qingce Village and struck him down,
forcing him to flee, leaving behind the corpse of his Chi beast.
Lori suspected that the sea god driven off then
was likely the same one later slain by Ei—
the Orobashi of Watatsumi.
Though it could have been another—
the ancient texts of "Sea God Palace" recorded that each Chi beast under the Sea God
was the size of Mt. Tianheng.
Walking along the ruined outskirts of Guili Assembly, Lori took his time.
His destination was clear.
Nearly an hour later, he reached the base of a cliff—
an extremely well-hidden place.
The deeper he walked, the taller the vegetation grew.
Finally, he reached the destination:
A secret realm
protected by countless seals and enchantments.
There were footprints nearby.
Even in such remote wilderness, treasure hunters and adventurers sometimes came seeking fortune.
The stone gate of the domain was weathered,
the old carvings flaked and faded.
Standing before it, Lori inspected the outer seals.
Most ancient runes had dimmed, but newly carved ones—Morax's handiwork—reinforced the protections.
Likely to prevent outsiders from entering.
Lori didn't linger.
He stepped forward into the domain.
The runes along the walls lit up, scanning his presence.
Recognizing him, they fell silent once more—
and in the next instant, his figure vanished into the depths of the realm.
Inside the Domain
Though carved into a mountain cliff, the inside was vast as the sky.
Floating isles drifted among the clouds,
and swirling mist replaced the ground, forming complex pathways through the air.
A single glance told Lori:
No one had entered here in a thousand years.
Every flower, every blade of grass—
exactly as he remembered.
Beyond the outer enchantments, numerous Adepti mechanisms and elemental guardians filled the realm.
Calling a floating stone over with a gesture, Lori stepped onto it
and ascended toward the highest island.
Upon landing, the entire isle unfolded before his eyes.
Contrary to what outsiders might expect—
a domain guarded so heavily should contain some world-shaking treasure—
Yet Lori saw only a simple wooden courtyard,
no more than ten meters across,
surrounded by flowers and young ancient trees.
"Such a humble place… yet it holds the most precious person under heaven."
He whispered softly.
Crossing the trap-filled ground without triggering a single mechanism,
he stepped into the courtyard.
There, at the center—
a glowing crystalline coffin.
And within it lay a woman of serene beauty:
Guizhong, the Dust Archon.
"Long time no see."
Lori placed wild Glaze Lilies he had picked during the journey atop the coffin.
Gazing at her unchanged face, he spoke to her
as though greeting an old friend who would wake at any moment.
Eyes closed, hands folded peacefully over her abdomen,
Guizhong looked less like one who had died
and more like a sleeping maiden.
Beside the coffin rested a complex stone lock—
the famed Lock of the Mortal World, said to hold every secret of the Dust God.
But the lock was already undone.
When Lori opened it long ago,
all he found inside
were written words—
her confession,
concealing every unspoken feeling
she never had the chance to say aloud.
He smiled faintly.
"Unfortunately, Tenseiga is useless on you."
When he first acquired Tenseiga,
he attempted to resurrect Guizhong.
But whether due to her divine nature or something else—
even wielding the blade, he could not see the messengers of the underworld near her.
But Lori was not discouraged.
As long as he continued collecting rewards,
one day he would obtain a way to bring her back.
And if all else failed—
when he became strong enough,
he could climb the branches of the Imaginary Tree itself
and descend into the Sea of Quanta.
One way or another,
he would bring her back.
If a seed could lie dormant for five hundred years before sprouting—
then an ancient tree could bloom again after a thousand.
When that day came,
he would tell her the stories of all these years…
Though knowing her personality,
she would probably chatter so much he wouldn't get a word in.
"But before that, so I won't forget… let me tell you everything now."
A gentle breeze carried his words.
Lori sat beneath a nearby tree root
and began speaking softly.
In the crystalline coffin,
the girl's lips curled ever so slightly—
as though smiling at his return.
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