"Guizhong?"
Zhongli's words were like a key, unlocking the door to Ganyu's memories.
The world knew that the so-called Guizhong Ballista was created by her master, Cloud Retainer.
Yet few people knew who Guizhong truly was.
But Ganyu did.
She remembered a woman who was intelligent, gentle, benevolent, and straightforward—
a being as pure and graceful as a spirit.
Though Ganyu had been very young at the time, she still remembered clearly:
those small arms held in warm, gentle hands.
Her name was Guizhong.
She was one of the earliest gods to follow Zhongli—
the God of Dust.
She was also a close friend of Ganyu's master, Cloud Retainer.
In front of Cloud Retainer's abode once stood a table, with three chairs beside it.
Each chair bore a carved name:
"Here sits Cloud Retainer."
"Here sits Guizhong."
"Here sits the Lord of Geo."
As the door of memory opened, more scenes surfaced in Ganyu's mind.
Indeed, Rex Lapis had not understood the suffering of mortals from the very beginning.
Long ago, Zhongli—born a natural god—emerged at what is now Mount Tianheng.
Kind by nature, he used his boundless divine power to raise Mount Tianheng, suppressing the raging tides below, allowing nearby people to mine and live safely.
They called him the Lord of Rock.
Thus, the earliest form of Liyue was born.
As people gathered and food demands grew, agriculture flourished.
The ancestors of Liyue gradually moved north from Tianheng, toward what would later be known as Guili Plains.
And then—
Guizhong arrived.
What began as a chance alliance soon became something more.
The Dust Lord Guizhong chose, of her own will, to form a pact with Zhongli.
And Zhongli—detached and indifferent though he was—did not drive her away.
Thus, the alliance between the Lord of Geo and the Lord of Dust was forged.
Strength and wisdom combined.
Under their leadership—especially Guizhong's—the people lived in peace and prosperity.
At Guizhong's suggestion, they took one character from each god's name.
Thus, Guili Plains was named.
As Guizhong's creation, beautiful Glaze Lilies bloomed across the land.
At its height, Guili Plains thrived—roads crisscrossed the fields, markets and farms stretched endlessly all the way to Stone Gate.
But prosperity never lasts forever.
The Archon War soon erupted.
Though the adepti fought valiantly to defend Guili, the land was still devastated by divine conflict.
Guizhong fell in battle.
She died among the final sea of Glaze Lilies.
And as the Archon War continued, even that last field of flowers was eventually destroyed.
At this realization, Ganyu's eyes flickered with understanding.
Beside her, Zhongli took out an object resembling a cube.
Ganyu recognized it at once.
It was the Memory of Dust—
the ultimate creation in which Guizhong had condensed all her wisdom.
Gazing deeply at the object in his hand, Zhongli spoke:
"There—
among the last sea of Glaze Lilies—she said to me:
'This is both a token of our contract and a challenge to you.
My wisdom, my everything, is sealed within this stone lock.
If you can unlock it—'"
He paused.
"But…
I was too foolish."
"Even to this day, I cannot unlock it.
And so, I never learned how that sentence was meant to end."
As he spoke, Ganyu realized something astonishing—
Even Zhongli's face—unchanging for millennia, as firm as bedrock—
now bore unmistakable sorrow.
Rex Lapis had not been born understanding mortal suffering.
Rather, a wise goddess had taught him—
with all her passion and love.
The wisdom of dust had softened a heart of stone.
Even if it took a thousand years.
Ganyu fell silent.
An unnameable emotion lodged in her chest, heavy and suffocating.
From an unknowing god of stone, he had become Morax, the God of Contracts—
before whom even the shrewdest merchants could not deceive.
With six thousand years of accumulated wisdom,
how could he fail to open a lock frozen in the past?
Was it truly impossible—
or simply unwilling?
Ganyu did not know.
But she understood why Zhongli had spoken to her today.
"Tomorrow and accidents—
you never know which will come first.
When you encounter something you cherish,
hold on to it tightly.
Do not wait until it is lost to feel regret."
"Ganyu," Zhongli asked softly,
"do you understand what I mean?"
"I… understand," Ganyu replied, her expression complicated.
"Good," Zhongli said with a light chuckle, turning to leave.
Left alone atop Mount Tianheng, Ganyu stood dazed.
She did not see—
That Zhongli stopped at the foot of the mountain.
"Come out, Cloud Retainer," he said calmly to a large rock nearby.
"I've done what you asked. Ganyu will need some time to think."
From behind the stone emerged a white-haired adeptus woman, dressed in elegant blue-and-white robes—
No longer in crane form.
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