The Culinary King Competition of the Moonchase Festival ended with the disappearance of the three judges, and the one who won the championship was, naturally, only Xiangling.
Xiangling had actually long anticipated that he would be able to win the championship, and he also learned one thing: Gods are truly not omnipotent.
"Sister Ei's new dishes..." Fortunately, he had not tried the previous two dishes, and he felt somewhat relieved.
After Keqing finished rinsing his mouth and returned, he likely wouldn't try dishes made by Raiden Ei again; that was simply an unforgettable memory.
"Ei, your food is really too sour..." Even after rinsing, Keqing's mouth was still filled with a vinegary taste, and he felt it was still sour.
"Now that the Culinary King Competition has ended, why don't we go see the God of Stove's stone statue?" Paimon suddenly recalled the existence of another stone statue.
"Hmm?"
"Alright."
"Is Mr. Zhongli coming with us too?" Keqing then turned his gaze toward Zhongli, feeling a bit of anticipation; the Emperor surely knew about matters related to the God of Stove.
"Hmm." Zhongli nodded with a calm expression; he had already been exposed anyway, so he simply stopped hiding it.
Moreover, he had never really hidden anything.
"Then let's go."
When everyone returned to the plaza where the large stone was placed, Keqing was somewhat disappointed; that large stone was exactly the same as before, only with a few cracks.
"Can't the Culinary King Competition awaken the statue either?" Keqing said with a disappointed expression, but then he recalled something, "When my grandfather was researching the God of Stove, he discovered that the God of Stove had once taught people a dish... that dish is called Spicy Meat Bun."
"Spicy Meat Bun?" Xiangling looked at the still-excited Guoba beside him, and then he recalled something: when he first met Guoba, hadn't he made Spicy Meat Bun? At that time...
"Spicy Meat Bun, I can make it." Xiangling said seriously, "Keqing, do you mean you want me to make it and try?"
"Hmm."
"So Spicy Meat Bun is a dish passed down by the God of Stove." Xiangling said thoughtfully; he still remembered that his dad had learned the dish from Keqing's dad, but he had never thought that it was a dish passed down by the God of Stove.
"Guoba seems very happy too."
Guoba was hopping around beside Raiden Ei, and afterward, he hopped around in front of Zhongli.
Zhongli's expression was calm, but there was a hint of gratification and joy in his look at Guoba.
"Giligulu..." Guoba tilted his head and looked at Zhongli, and a smile even appeared on his face.
"Does Mr. Zhongli know Guoba?" Xiangling did not know Zhongli's true identity, and among the people present, he was the only one who did not know that Zhongli was Rex Lapis.
"Hmm."
"It has been a long time, old friend." Zhongli said calmly, his expression indifferent, "Marchosias, you have not changed."
"Marchosias? Is that Guoba's former name?" Xiangling was slightly stunned, then he looked at the bouncing Guoba, "It doesn't sound as good as Guoba's current name."
"Enough talk, I'll go make some Spicy Meat Buns first, and while I'm at it, I'll let you all have a taste."
Keqing was looking at Zhongli thoughtfully; the Emperor knew Xiangling's Guoba? And he had a sense of familiarity with the name Marchosias; he felt as if he had seen it somewhere before.
Could Guoba also be an adeptus? There are simply too many adepti in Liyue, to the point that even Keqing did not know many of them.
Moreover, the adepti are becoming increasingly distant from their lives.
"Sister... am I really not suited for cooking?" Raiden Ei's mood was a bit down; the few new dishes she had meticulously prepared were evaluated by her sister as "poisoning them," and her young heart suffered a heavy blow.
"What do you think?" Raiden Makoto rolled her eyes; why did she feel that her younger sister had absolutely no self-awareness?
"Gods are not omnipotent either."
"You have no talent for cooking, but you have exceptional talent in martial arts, and you also have transcendent talent when tinkering with your new inventions." Raiden Makoto said with a smile, "I think you should focus on flourishing in the fields you excel at."
"It's not like you can't do anything."
Raiden Makoto's words caused Raiden Ei to fall into deep thought, and she then smiled at Raiden Makoto, "Sister, I understand."
She understood.
"Spicy Meat Buns are fresh out of the oven." When Xiangling returned with those few Spicy Meat Buns, he had a smile on his face.
"You all try some..."
Guoba also shifted his attention to the Spicy Meat Buns in Xiangling's hands and returned to hopping around beside Xiangling.
"Guoba, you want to eat too? There's plenty, plenty..."
After Xiangling distributed the Spicy Meat Buns in his hands to them, he stood there with a smile on his face.
"Spicy Meat Bun? Hmm... delicious." After tasting a bite, Raiden Ei found the taste quite good.
"Xiangling's cooking is indeed much better than mine." Raiden Ei now completely understood that cooking was completely unsuitable for her, and she seemed to have found her own path while cooking.
She had discovered many interesting phenomena while working on new inventions, and she realized she could utilize those phenomena to create many new inventions.
"It's the taste from before." Zhongli nodded calmly, and a bit more appreciation appeared in his eyes as he looked at Xiangling.
"A good chef."
Keqing was completely immersed in it; after tasting the Spicy Meat Bun, he looked up at the sky.
"It's a nostalgic taste; my grandfather once, for the sake of testing... he tried many kinds, and every time he would invite me to taste them." Keqing looked up at the sky, a hint of nostalgia on his face, and then he looked at Xiangling, "Xiangling, you are truly an outstanding chef."
"Hee hee hee." Xiangling was quite happy, "That the Spicy Meat Bun could be made is probably thanks to your grandfather's research... now it seems, your grandfather's research must have been successful."
Just as Xiangling was happy, Lumine and Paimon discovered something: that large stone seemed to be starting to emit light.
"Hey, don't just focus on chatting, look at that large stone..." Paimon said with some alarm, "Is it about to explode?"
Following Paimon's shout, they turned their heads to look at that large stone, only to see that the round stone was emitting a dazzling light, and as that dazzling light vanished, the giant stone exploded.
Revealing the original form inside.
And when the original form inside was completely revealed, Keqing, Lumine, and Xiangling all widened their eyes, staring blankly at that spot.
"Ah? Guoba, how is it you?" Xiangling looked, completely bewildered, at the statue revealed after the giant stone exploded; that statue was exactly in the shape of Guoba.
Keqing regained his senses; he should have thought of it earlier, Guoba could be an old friend of the Emperor, and he was once discovered by Xiangling in the God of Stove temple...
Didn't that already indicate that Guoba was the God of Stove? But he was a bit surprised.
"You are all here?" As Grandma Ping's voice came from that place, she walked over from the side with a smile on her face.
Upon discovering Zhongli among the crowd, she nodded to Zhongli in passing.
"Grand Master!"
"The God of Stove statue is actually Guoba's likeness." Paimon was somewhat surprised; as for Raiden Makoto, she had already anticipated it, while Raiden Ei did not pay attention to such matters.
"Yes, Guoba is exactly the God of Stove you were looking for, the God of the Stove." Grandma Ping nodded.
"The God of Stove has always been a God close to the people, complying with human wishes; to him, wishes and painstaking effort are different. Painstaking effort is technique, talent, and experience, while wishes represent the purest power from the bottom of people's hearts."
"The Culinary King Competition is certainly spectacular, but it contains more painstaking effort than wishes."
As Grandma Ping spoke about wishes, Raiden Ei couldn't help but lower her head; was her compliance in stripping away Vision... the stripping away of people's wishes? To achieve eternity... was it suppressing the wishes of the people of Inazuma...
She now fully realized her mistake, realizing just how outrageously wrong she had been.
But because Grandma Ping said those words, she was still a bit embarrassed; Raiden Makoto looked at her younger sister with her head lowered, and she roughly knew what her sister was thinking.
"When Keqing ate that dish just now, it satisfied his wish; it was precisely his wish that awakened him." Grandma Ping said with a smile.
"Guoba, how does it feel to see yourself in your prime? Do you feel majestic?" Grandma Ping looked at Guoba with a smile.
Guoba still looked like he didn't know anything, swaying left and right, just somewhat happy.
He didn't know why he was so happy.
"Guoba's prime? Was he not like this before?" Xiangling looked at Grandma Ping with curiosity.
"Yes."
After Grandma Ping told everyone the story of Guoba's past, Raiden Ei, Raiden Makoto, and Zhongli walked to the side together.
"Sister... at that time I really thought that people whose Vision were stripped away wouldn't have any issues... I thought it wouldn't be a big deal." Raiden Ei sighed deeply; it was only after she came out later that she realized that people who lost their Vision would become like that, and might even lose their lives.
"I also thought that eternity was maintaining everything unchanged... for the sake of..." Raiden Ei's expression was a bit downcast.
"Then, do you understand now?" Raiden Makoto smiled and rubbed Raiden Ei's head, "Taking the unchanging as the essence, and change as the manifestation, that is eternity."
"Have you seen the essence of Liyue that has never changed? The people have always been prosperous, and have always been passing down traditional culture."
"But Liyue is also changing, changing every day and every moment."
"If you ask me, Zhongli understands eternity better than you." Raiden Makoto couldn't help but sigh, but it was good that her sister realized those problems now; at least it was completely not too late.
"From a general rational perspective, Makoto's words make a lot of sense." Zhongli nodded, "How could eternity be maintaining everything, unchanging through the ages?"
"The Heavenly Principles imposed erosion upon you and me; from that time on, it was impossible to remain unchanging through the ages." Zhongli said calmly.
"It is better to leave the fate of humanity to themselves; as for us, we should have long exited this era." After a long sigh, Zhongli looked deeply at Raiden Makoto; it turned out that Raiden Makoto's thoughts were completely in line with his.
They were indeed very compatible.
"Yes." Raiden Makoto nodded, "However, just letting them develop on their own is not good either; we cannot repeat the tragedy of Khaenri'ah."
"So you also support the Tsaritsa's actions, is that right?" Raiden Makoto looked at Zhongli seriously, and Zhongli was taken aback for a moment, then he nodded, "Is the existence of the Heavenly Principles truly a good thing?"
"Who knows?"
Zhongli did not seem to know about matters related to the Honkai, otherwise he would not directly support the Tsaritsa's actions.
If the Honkai truly exists in Teyvat, then it means that the existence of the Heavenly Principles is definitely beneficial to the Teyvat continent.
As someone with memories of a past life, she knew just how terrifying the Honkai was; that power which transcends all civilizations is enough to annihilate civilizations.
If the Honkai were to descend upon Teyvat, it would be enough to cause Teyvat's destruction.
But those were just a small amount of information she knew from her past life's memories; she didn't know anything else, and of course, she would not tell Zhongli about those things.
"The old era will eventually pass, and the new era is arriving." Zhongli said calmly.
"When they complete their journey, that will be the time when everything ends." Zhongli's words had a very profound meaning.
"You have also seen her brother, right?" Raiden Makoto looked at Zhongli seriously, and Zhongli nodded seriously.
But he did not say anything.
Zhongli's affirmation also made Raiden Makoto completely certain of her guess; the other of the twins from back then had already taken the lead in completing a journey through the Seven Nations. During that journey, Lumine's brother, Aether, had already met with the Seven Archons, and they even had contracts.
And that was about the final war to end everything; among the Seven Archons, there would definitely be those who would resolutely stand on the other side. That final war is unavoidable.
She did not want that war to happen, but that war was already destined, and no one could change it.
"The fate of humanity should be mastered by themselves, but Lumine's fate should also be mastered by her." Raiden Makoto sighed slowly; she increasingly felt that Lumine's future path seemed to have already been planned out, just waiting for Lumine to walk it slowly herself.
In a sense, isn't that also fate not being mastered by oneself? Lumine just doesn't know it.
"Sister... what are you talking about? I don't quite understand." Raiden Ei looked at Raiden Makoto and Zhongli with a blank expression; she really didn't quite understand their conversation.
"If you don't understand, then you don't understand; you don't need to know those things." Raiden Makoto said with a smile, gently rubbing Raiden Ei's little head, "Sister will handle some things well."
"But..." Raiden Ei looked at Raiden Makoto seriously, "I also want to help sister share some of the pressure..."
"Hmm..."
At this moment, Xiangling called out to Raiden Makoto: "Master... Master, let's go back first, shall we? Let's go back and make a table full of sumptuous feasts for you; today is the Moonchase Festival."
They were going to have a family reunion.
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