Although Zhongli said so, he had no intention of personally intervening, as that would be too much bullying. In the end, he let the Traveler do it.
In the end, Clemente not only took a beating, but the Salt Chalice he had obtained was also confiscated.
It was like paying money for a beating.
However, the people of Liyue were happy to see this scene; they currently dislike the Fatui quite a bit.
"The Fatui are indeed a comedic organization!" Arataki Itto declared.
"It's a pity the old man didn't do it himself this time," Venti sighed, lamenting that the other party couldn't 'enjoy' it as he could.
In the story, after Clemente left, Zhongli revealed the truth about this small team: not a single person was genuinely there for archaeology.
Clemente was looking for treasures to sell for Mora, and Wanyan was not an archaeologist; she was only there for The God of Salt.
Seeing her identity exposed by Zhongli, Wanyan admitted her true self; she was actually a descendant of The God of Salt's people.
And Morax was the culprit who assassinated their God.
[Wanyan: "Morax assassinated our God! He was jealous of The God of Salt's clearance and made us homeless!"]
Salt God believers appearing in the Rock God's homeland, what kind of script is this, where order believers appear within harmony?
Speaking of Wanyan's words, everyone was puzzled.
Morax would be jealous of The God of Salt's clearance? Are you serious?
The God of Salt's clearance currently seems to be just making salt? What is there to be jealous of?
Morax can directly print Mora, and he's jealous of a salt seller?
Anyway, the people of Liyue didn't believe for a second that their Lord would be jealous of The God of Salt and assassinate her.
[Zhongli did not explain, only saying, "Follow me, all answers lie ahead."]
The few people in the book continued forward and found a broken sword.
Wanyan believed the broken sword was a symbol of The God of Salt's power and clearance and wanted to take this treasure.
[Wanyan: "It's a broken sword! This is proof! Proof that The God of Salt once resisted! She just couldn't withstand the poisonous hand of Morax!"]
[Zhongli: "Two pieces of a broken sword, from an archaeological perspective, are two artifacts."]
"According to the contract of 'take items in sequence, one at a time,' you can only take one of them."
Taking only half would make it impossible to restore the broken sword, which Wanyan naturally could not accept.
[Wanyan: "No matter what, for my faith in her... even if it means breaking the contract, I will not hesitate..."]
Those who break their word shall suffer the punishment of eating rock, but Wanyan's punishment was not a beating.
Instead, it was being told the truth of the event, which was undoubtedly the greatest punishment for a believer of The God of Salt.
[Zhongli: "It is regrettable that The God of Salt, Heuria, was not a God with great clearance."]
"On the contrary, she was too weak—too accommodating, too gentle, absolutely impossible to ascend to the position of one of the Seven Archons... a loser."
"So, there are such weak Gods?" Hu Tao observed the broken sword.
Lin Qiu had already told her that this broken sword was the weapon used by Heuria's people, ordinary humans, to stab Heuria to death.
Is a God killed by ordinary humans perhaps too weak?
"The strength of Gods cannot be generalized," Lin Qiu shook his head.
"You'll know once we go inside."
In the story, Wanyan, after hearing Zhongli's words, was full of disbelief and ran off alone, wanting to find the truth.
Entering the final room, in the center of the room was a blooming 'salt flower'.
The statue closest to the 'salt flower' was in a 'stabbing' pose, while the other statues were in a fleeing state.
[Zhongli: "This is the scene. Heuria's form disintegrated, leaving only traces of salt. The scene of her demise is frozen here."]
"The rest of the story is: Among her people, some finally realized that this benevolent but weak God could not protect anyone in the war."
"The Archon War was very cruel. Rather than letting her endure the torment of defeat, it was better to grant her a relatively easy release."
This excuse made everyone secretly shake their heads, saying it was a relatively gentle release, but it was just betraying their own God.
Those Salt God's people fled to Liyue, seeking the protection of the Lord of Geo, and later:
["Their descendants feared the God's remnants left by Heuria, fearing she would cast an eternal Curse upon them..."]
["But in fact, they were doing something unnecessary. How could this God, who did not resist until the very end, harbor resentment towards her own people?"]
Venti raised his wine bottle and drank deeply, thinking of Decarabian.
Unlike Heuria, Decarabian's actions could not be called gentle, but even when he was overthrown, he still loved his subjects.
Even Decarabian at that time did not put up much resistance.
He loved people, but his way of loving was not to their liking.
The Tyrant of the Tower might have been a 'foolish king', but he was not a 'tyrant'.
After hearing Heuria's story, Nahida also hesitated.
Am I also a bit weak? Am I too lenient with my people?
But my people are like this because of my immaturity...
"What should I do?" Nahida was a bit troubled.
As the God of Wisdom, she could solve all sorts of problems, but she couldn't unravel her own emotions.
"Lord Orobashi..." Kokomi was a little sad.
"Was The God of Salt stabbed to death here?" Hu Tao tilted her small head, observing the statue in the 'stabbing' pose.
"Yes, she didn't resist until the last moment. She probably still felt she owed her people," Lin Qiu replied.
This benevolent God was willingly killed by them... never harboring any hatred towards them.
It could even be said that Heuria, by allowing herself to be killed, gave her people a 'pledge of allegiance' to seek the protection of the Geo Archon.
In the story, Wanyan was stunned after hearing Zhongli's words. She couldn't accept that it was her fellow believers who had killed their God.
Wanyan fled the scene, and it's unknown how long it will take her to accept all of this.
And in reality, Wanyan learned the story of The God of Salt earlier and more accurately through Lin Qiu's book.
"Lord of Geo... thank you..." Wanyan uttered this title for the first time.
She had said so many bad things about the Rock God, yet he patiently offered her psychological counseling. One must say he is a good God.
Morax is the God of War feared by outsiders, but towards his own people, he is truly gentle beyond measure.
Heuria deeply loved her people, and Morax was the same, only Morax's love was more silent and strict.
He hoped his people could leave his wing, even abandon their faith in him, and forge their own path.
That's why he said in the book, "There is no benefit in believing in a God who has passed away."
"...Whether it is faith in Heuria or faith in Morax, it is the same."
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Character Voice Line · Dehya: About the Departed Gods
"Most of the Desert's people believe in the Scarlet King, look at what they've done... The Rock God's