Genshin Impact: Great, you guys still remember

Demon War 1767, the th day of the first lunar month,

"Old strange, that tornado demon is dead,"

The thin snow pressed against the eaves, and the cold wind blew up clumps of snow, which seeped into the lights of thousands of houses and then into the cracks in the brick walls and tiles.

The mining and excavation of the Layered Rock Abyss must continue... The hydropower resources of the Blue Water Source must also be fully utilized... The offshore fishery cannot be abandoned... And...

He Li bent over his desk and thought seriously. There would be many things that needed to be considered in the new year.

At this moment, the candlelight suddenly flickered twice, and the accumulated heat in the room leaked out a little.

"The rice is in the pot. Just heat it up and you can eat it. Xiao Ganyu and I have already eaten. If you are bored, there is..."

It seemed as if this scene had happened hundreds of years ago, He Li said casually without even raising his head.

Cha Cha Cha...

What responded to him was not the usual words, but the sound of footsteps.

Noticing the shadow on the wall slowly getting bigger, He Li realized something was wrong and was about to turn around.

Gray hair and arms were the first to rest on his neck and shoulders, and at the same time, a warm body with the scent of pear blossoms came close to him.

"what happened?"

He Li put down his pen, turned his head to look at her and asked softly,

Unlike in the past, the pear blossom spirit was particularly abnormal today, with half-melted snow particles hanging between its brows and its eyelids drooping, looking sullen like a withered pear blossom.

"Ms. Tornado is dead,"

Gui finally buried his head in his neck and said in a muffled voice.

...

Diocletian is dead?

The polite lady whom I had only met once flashed through my mind.

There was a hint of surprise in He Li's eyes, which was then replaced by understanding.

Her ending...is it really like this?

But unlike himself, after Guizhong realized the world's mind, he actually went there with Zhong Li several times.

So perhaps in the end, Miss Tornado is one of the people who can truly be called a "fellow Taoist".

...

For a moment the room was quiet, with only the sound of burning wood.

call--

Feeling the slight tremor on his shoulders, He Li breathed a sigh of relief.

He reached out and pulled Guizhong from behind to the front of him, letting her lie on his chest.

Patting her on the back gently:

"This is her own decision and persistence. It's also what she wants, isn't it?"

Gui Zhong sniffed and said softly:

"I know...but..."

Even though I knew that was what she wanted, even though I knew that was what she had been pursuing for thousands of years, even though I knew rationally that I shouldn't stop her,

But she is ultimately a thinking individual, not an execution machine of authority.

"Why don't we change the angle?"

He Li suddenly said again.

"Change the angle?"

Gui finally looked up at him.

"Yeah, think about it, why did Miss Tornado transform into a thousand winds?"

He Li asked.

"She was meant to be free...

"Then guess, will the thousand winds of freedom she transformed into blow towards us?"

He Li smiled and reached out his hands to hold her face, wiping away the drops of water or tears on her face.

"I think so."

Gui Zhong answered uncertainly, blinking her eyelashes.

"Stupid, of course I will."

He Li smiled and said:

"The people of Mondstadt have been trapped by Tornado for thousands of years. Miss Tornado has also been trapped by them for thousands of years. Now that she has gained freedom, how can it be impossible for the Thousand Winds she transformed into to come here?"

“Yes—”

The pear blossom fairy finally showed joy on her face.

"Miss Tornado is now free from her confinement and can travel around. Isn't this a good thing?

And if she sees you crying, no matter how well-mannered she is, she will definitely say something bad to you."

He Li scratched her nose with a smile.

After a few words, the sadness on Gui Zhong's face finally disappeared completely.

She pursed her lips, bent her brows again, and arched her back in He Li's arms.

"I'm not crying, those are just snowflakes,"

"Yes, yes, the pear blossom spirit is the strongest."

...

The thin snow on the plain reflects the lights of thousands of houses, and the spring is not yet approaching in the warm light.

Countless encounters become part of the myriad forms of the world, countless myriad forms of the world constitute the mortal world, and the mortal world finally strings together history.

History continues to move forward.

But...under the light, the sound still lingers——

"So, what I admire most is actually Diekarapian's determination,"

"determination?"

"That kind of determination to transform into a thousand winds to blow away the snow and serve the people for the rest of their lives..."

"I see... So my pear blossom spirit has it too."

"I have it too?"

"Well, you have it too. I believe that if there comes a day, you will do the same thing as her without hesitation."

"Me... too?"

"Yes..."

"..."

“But I won’t let that day come.”

...

Demon War 2024, lunar calendar April th,

"You are here,"

"I am coming,"

"You shouldn't have come,"

The woman with her back to him turned around, revealing the stove in front of her.

She pointed at the porcelain pot on it, looked at the visitor with her crimson-gold pupils, and a beautiful smile blossomed on her calm face:

"Because the wine is not warm yet."

Hearing this, He Li turned his gaze to the small stove.

He sniffed and smelled the aroma of wine in the air. He took a step forward to the table and tilted the porcelain lid slightly to catch a glimpse of a few clusters of petals floating on the light yellow wine.

“Is this osmanthus wine?”

"Yes, there are no osmanthus flowers in summer,"

Seeing He Li sitting down, Zhong Li smiled and moved to sit opposite him, saying:

"But compared to osmanthus flowers, people are more rare, so I picked the few flowers in the 'greenhouse'."

"That's it,"

He Li nodded and smiled:

"Then I am giving you too much face."

The war between demons and gods became more intense. Everyone had their own things to do, and he had even more things to do. In addition to Gui Li Ji, he also had to manage the various affairs of the Qianyan Army... Even with Gui Zhong and Wu Yasha's assistance, he was still always too busy, not to mention that he was always secretly practicing with spears -

This is what Zhong Li meant by "people are even more precious". It is rare to have a break.

"It's just a few osmanthus flowers,"

Zhong Li shook his head and waved his hand. Two porcelain cups appeared out of thin air on the table:

"Besides, you and I already have a contract,"

'There was a contract long ago' refers to the bet made a long time ago.

The bet is 'you and I will have a drink together somewhere'.

"Doesn't that mean I win?"

He Li smiled somewhat helplessly.

"yes,"

Zhong Li, who was pouring the wine, looked up at him, a smile flashing in her eyes:

"If you win, it's 'I and you', and if I win, it's 'You and me',"

This statement seems to be a bit lame, but it is also strangely reasonable.

After all, the place where the contract that looked like a bet but was actually a witness was produced was very mysterious.

An inexplicable gambling will produce inexplicable bets, which will naturally no longer be inexplicable.

"You are really..."

He Li took the wine glass, took a sip and said with a smile:

"Why didn't you just say you wanted to take this opportunity to have a drink and chat? Why are you beating around the bush about something like a contract?"

Yes, that is a testimony. When this testimony appears and you feel joy for it, it is time to fulfill the "bet".

"No, a contract is a contract,"

As the God of Contract, Zhong Li was quite stubborn about this. She shook her head and said:

"This testimony comes from you and is realized by you. Naturally, it is just a contract between the two of us."

As she spoke, she looked at the porcelain cup on the table, where the amber wine swayed with warm steam:

"And this osmanthus wine naturally belongs to you, and only to you."

And the "belong" in her words——

These are testimonies from Guiliji, Guiliyuan, and even Liyue, witnessing what he has done for this land over thousands of years.

She never ignored that.

Facing Zhong Li's praise, He Li only said:

"It's just my duty."

"Your duties?"

Zhong Li smiled and pointed her jade finger directly at He Li's chest:

"Are you talking about the duty given to you by the heart, or the duty given to yourself?"

"..."

He Li is speechless,

This is actually what he has been asking himself.

Is this something I do to maintain the status quo, or is it something I just feel I should do?

As for the former, when they have certain purposes, everything they do seems to have a commercial flavor.

"A gentleman is judged by deeds, not by heart."

Zhong Li suddenly laughed and said,

"No matter which one it is, it can't change the facts.

And even if you don't have any of these, I still hope you can still call me Sister Zhong Li."

Finally, she paused and looked at He Li with her pupils blurred by drinking.

"I can feel that you have always had this thought in your heart, the kind of thought that cherishes everything and wants to maintain everything.

I know exactly what this will entail.

But I just want you to remember one thing -

Liyue...is yours and mine.

There are some things you don’t have to handle alone.”