I slowly turned around and looked at Morax before me.
"This meaningless war of internal strife..."
"The only way to break it is to shatter the war imposed by the outsiders."
My gaze slowly lifted toward the floating islands high in the sky.
"There were once seven hundred Archons in this mortal world."
"And now, eighty have already fallen in this war."
Then I turned back to Morax and spoke softly.
"I understand..."
Morax sighed and replied.
I nodded slightly and walked toward the forming streets of Liyue Harbor. My clothes, woven from divine power, were pristine and white.
But around me, the people of Liyue wore thin, tattered garments.
A frail old man walked toward me with a cane, holding a steamed cornbread bun.
"Lord Rex Lapis, Immortal Lord."
"Have you eaten? I have this little bun for you."
The old man looked at me and Morax who both appeared youthful with a kind smile.
"I..." At the moment I saw the old man, I couldn't help but clench my fists.
"Immortal Lord, what's wrong?"
"Won't you eat?"
The old man lifted his head and smiled at me.
His face was full of wrinkles, his hair white with age, yet he looked at me with such warmth.
"You eat it. I'm not hungry..."
Seeing the old man like this, I as god, lowered my head, unable to meet his eyes. Behind me, Morax also turned his head, unwilling to look at the old man.
"Everyone's been hoping you would return."
"They all say hunger is only temporary and that Lord Rex Lapis, Immortal Lord and the other adepti will surely find a way."
The old man looked at both Morax and me and spoke with a smile.
Then, more and more people of Liyue emerged from the surroundings, each of them smiling at us through sunken cheeks and yellowing skin, dressed in worn clothes.
"Yes, I've found a way."
"From now on, none of you will go hungry again."
I raised the glowing orb in my hand and smiled at the people before me.
"Follow me."
I nodded to the crowd and slowly walked toward the outskirts of Liyue Harbor.
We arrived at a flat plain just outside the harbor, separated by a mountain ridge, where rivers converged within.
I held the white light in my hand and pressed it into the earth.
At once, a tender sprout began to grow rapidly.
Before long, the sprout grew into a mature grain plant. I harvested its seeds. Repeating this process over and over, after a while, a vast field of golden grain plants appeared before our eyes.
"Now, no one will go hungry anymore, right?"
I turned around and smiled at the people of Liyue standing before me.
A woman held a child in her arms.
"Did you see that, my child?"
"From now on, Mama will make delicious food for you every day."
The woman looked at the baby in her arms, gently touching the child's nose with a loving smile.
"Did you find the grain?"
Marchosius, tall as two men strode over and looked down at both me and Morax.
"We did."
Hearing his question, I smiled and looked at the nearby grain field.
"Now, we won't go hungry anymore."
"This new grain... I've never seen it before."
Marchosius looked at the field with a smile on his bear-like face.
"I have to study it."
"Let's see what kind of delicious dishes I can make from it."
Despite his heavy and burly appearance, Marchosius gently plucked a stalk of the grain.
"The God of the Stove has come too."
"Surely, he'll cook up something even tastier now."
An old man smiled as he watched Marchosius walking among the grain plants.
Night fell on the early Liyue Harbor. Smoke slowly rose from earthen houses still under construction.
Faint firelight spilled from windows made of wood and paper.
That night, laughter could be heard from every household.
Morax and I stood silently atop a mountain, watching the homes below.
"This can't go on..."
After a long silence, Morax finally muttered.
He knew all too well how terrifying the battles between Archons could be.
If even one god came to invade, even if they resisted, the aftermath of the battle would still reach this place.
"What do you mean?"
I frowned, a bit unsure of what Morax was trying to say.
Morax gaze turned to the sea of lights below—the thousands of homes illuminated in the dark.
"I may have no intention of seizing power..."
"But I understand the suffering of the people..."
He slowly lowered his hands, eyes shimmering as he looked upon the land he protected.
"I'm sorry, Morcius..."
"For the sake of the people I guard... I cannot back down any longer."
Morax turned to me and spoke with deep apology.
During the day, he had seen the brutal clashes between Archons and the people of Liyue, thin and starved.
He knew that the "balance" I spoke of, and the halting of this depletion, were both illusions. I closed my eyes slightly as a gentle breeze brushed across my face, as though I were making up my mind.
Since the loss could no longer be stopped, and the balance could no longer be maintained.
Then what was the point of the balance I had been protecting all this time?
"I knew you'd say that."
"Then let me cause some chaos with you."
After a long while, I opened my eyes and smiled at Morax as I spoke.
"The balance they desire is a balance they can control."
"But a balance depleted by outsiders, can that even be called balance?"
My gaze turned to the floating island in the sky, as I murmured to myself.
"Summon the Adepti..."
Morax looked up at the moon in the sky and slowly spoke.
Elsewhere...
Qiu Bai sat beside Cloud Retainer, flipping through the book page by page. After a deep breath, he closed the book with both hands.
"So, Morcius."
"Was this really written by mortals out of fantasy?"
Cloud Retainer leaned close to Qiu Bai, curiosity in her eyes.
"To be honest, I'm not sure either."
Qiu Bai picked up Cloud Retainer teacup, took a sip and smiled at her.
"Probably made up."
"If what the book says is true, then why doesn't Marchosius recognize you?"
Cloud Retainer looked at Qiu Bai, puzzled. She then took back her teacup, filled it again with tea, and gently sipped with her red lips. She placed the cup back onto the stone table.
"Hahaha, who knows."
"I was born a thousand years ago. These events supposedly happened thirty-six hundred years ago... I wouldn't know much about that either."
Qiu Bai chuckled softly, gazing at the moon above as he murmured.
He picked up the same teacup Cloud Retainer had just placed down, blew on it gently and took another sip.
"Mm, good tea."
"There's even a strange, pleasant aroma to it."
Qiu Bai turned to Cloud Retainer and smiled.
"You... you're so improper."
Cloud Retainer face flushed as she looked at him, muttering under her breath.
"If I really had met you thirty-six hundred years ago..."
"With the kind of person I was back then, I probably wouldn't have even spoken to you."
She turned away with a pout, her face still red.
(T/N: Like the story fellow daoist? Read 20 chapters ahead on my P@treon [p@treon.com/DaoistRongyi] Thanks for your support! 😊)