The gentle monsoon blows over this city of freedom.
The sweet aroma of honey-glazed carrot and pan-fried meat drifts in front of the Hunter's Lodge.
"Hello, that will be a total of 40,000 Mora," the waitress Sarah bows slightly as she hands the bill to the golden-haired traveler.
"Paimon ate too much," the traveler glances at their wallet, which is now half empty.
Paimon floats in the air, with a satisfied look on their face, rubbing their small belly with both hands.
"Well, what can I do? The food at the Hunter's Lodge is just right for me," the little white sprite floating in mid-air chuckles.
"I had to fight with Ying and Oz for our food, you know! It was a tough battle," Paimon emphasizes.
"Paimon was just watching from the sidelines!" Ying sighs helplessly, rubbing her head.
"Let's go check if there are any commissions in Mondstadt today," Ying says as she leads Paimon towards the Adventurers' Guild.
She needs to replenish her wallet, which has been depleted by their meal.
Miss Catherine from the Adventurers' Guild is standing behind the counter, while a short white-haired boy is holding a few sheets of paper in front of her.
He spreads out the papers in front of Miss Catherine and tries his best to explain something.
"No way! I risked my life to retrieve all these from the ruins," the white-haired boy grabs his head, feeling frustrated.
"Oh my, isn't this Bennett?" Paimon greets him with a wave.
The white-haired boy in front of them is none other than Bennett, the famous adventurer in Mondstadt, the unluckiest guy, and the leader of the Benny's Adventure Team.
Bennett heard Paimon's voice and immediately turned his head.
"Ah! It's Paimon and Ying," Bennett said, waving his hand in greeting.
"What's up, Bennett?" Paimon asked curiously, approaching him.
Her eyes fell on the papers in Bennett's hands, which looked like ordinary papers with no special features except for the ancient block-shaped characters on them.
Paimon squinted her eyes, trying to understand the characters.
"Can Paimon read these characters?" Bennett asked curiously.
"Um, um, um... " Paimon nodded like a scholar and then said, "I can't understand them."
Bennett couldn't help but sigh.
"I found them in a ruin! But Miss Catherine told me that no one can read the characters on these papers," he said, showing a slightly dejected expression.
But soon he regained his spirit.
After all, this kind of bad luck is too common for Bennett. He has been plagued by inexplicable bad luck since birth.
"Mr. Bennett, and these papers don't look like ancient artifacts," Miss Catherine picked up one of them and said.
Ying glanced over from afar, and as Miss Catherine said, these papers didn't look like artifacts. They were not yellowed, nor did they show any signs of rot or insect damage.
They looked like they were no more than ten years old.
It's just that the characters on them... Ying inexplicably felt familiar with them.
"Could this be a prank by a treasure-hunting group or some predecessor?"
Bennett rubbed his hair in distress.
"It's really too bad, Bennett," Paimon also showed a regretful expression, "if it were ancient documents, could we exchange them for a lot of Mora?"
Hearing Paimon's words, Bennett shook his head.
"No, although we didn't gain anything, this adventure itself is valuable," Bennett clenched his fists and said.
Miss Catherine also showed an encouraging smile to Bennet.
Ying was still propping up her chin, searching through the memories accumulated during her long years.
"Not that world... not this planet... could it be that one? No, that's not it..."
Ying recalled the experiences of each world.
Until the bottom of her memory, a certain memory that had been sleeping in the deepest part of time was gently awakened.
Ying's pupils contracted slightly, the muscles on her enduring face moved a little, forming an expression of surprise and confusion.
"How is this possible? How could it appear on the continent of Teyvat..."
Ying murmured to herself, instinctively walking towards Bennet.
"Bennett, can I borrow these papers to take a look?" Ying couldn't help but say.
As the distance got closer, the text on the paper became clearer.
"Crossing", "Hometown", "Genshin", "Primitive People", "Demon God", "Fanes"
These words gradually appeared in front of Ying's eyes.
It was a familiar yet unfamiliar text, the text she and her brother used in their hometown.
"Of course you can!"
Bennett did not refuse Ying's request, and he proactively handed the papers to her.
"Could it be that Ying can decipher the text on it?"
Paimon curiously asked as she approached.
Ying seemed to not have heard Paimon's words, her fingers trembling slightly as she quickly scanned:
"I spent more than a week digesting the knowledge carried by my body. Now, I am sure that I have really crossed over!"
"I crossed over to the Teyvat continent! Teyvat 6,000 years ago!!!"
Seeing the words at the top of the diary, Ying couldn't help but widen her eyes.
Crossing?! A traveler...
Someone who crossed over from another world to the continent of Teyvat?!
Her kind had already arrived on the Teyvat continent 6,000 years ago.
"I write in simplified square characters."
"Hehe, maybe I hoped that later generations would understand."
"I am now a demon god, perhaps the earliest one to be born. I was conceived in the brain of the primitive people, and naturally possessed vast knowledge and power."
"I have tried several times, but my current title cannot be written on paper. But I still remember my true name."
"Zhou Yun."
"Zhou Yun..." Ying murmured this name softly.
The style of this name was similar to that of her hometown.
Ying became more certain that this person named "Zhou Yun" was her fellow countryman.
He had actually crossed over to Teyvat and become one of the earliest demon gods, born from the brain of the primitive people.
Ying quickly continued reading.
"A few weeks after my crossing, a celestial body fell from the sky and the barren land that faced it was torn apart into a vast and profound chasm."
"I delved deep into the chasm and faced the celestial body."
"The gods advised me not to reveal my title easily."
Ying suddenly understood that this was the origin of the Liyue's Abyss. But what did the celestial body mean? Why couldn't his title be revealed?
Ying revealed a bit of confusion. What did this fellow countryman actually gain from the celestial body?
She quickly looked down, but as if deliberately avoiding it, the diary skipped directly over the conversation between the celestial body and Zhou Yun.
"After leaving the Great Abyss, I encountered the Rock Demon God - Morax, who of course, is the future Archon of Geo."
Ying was slightly surprised that Zhou Yun knew 6000 years ago that Morax would become the Archon of Geo.
"Foreseeing the future? Or something else..." Ying murmured to herself.
Ying flipped to the first page and looked at the content behind.
"Morax asked for my name. After thinking for a moment, I decided to call myself 'Demon God of Clouds - Murphys,' and told him that he could call me Zhou Yun."
"Ha! Legend has it that the brain of the original human turned into the sea of clouds in the sky. As I am also formed from its brain, calling myself the 'Demon God of Clouds' is not a problem."
"Morax invited me to visit 'Shan Hui Zhai,' his earliest stronghold. I did not refuse."
"The food here is terrible."
"Human development is still in its primitive stage, and there is no entertainment. The girls are not pretty either."
"There are no novels, newspapers, online articles, or live-streaming girls."
"As I was too idle, I taught Morax's people how to make paper and personally 'created' the first story."
"Hehe, it will be recorded in the legend of Liyue in the future; 'Demon God of Clouds - Murphys' created paper and solidified fleeting knowledge on it."
"I found that the paper I made will never decay, as if it was stripped out of time. There are still many unknown aspects of my abilities."
"Human creativity is truly wonderful. In just a few weeks, they wrote many stories. Should I guide them to write a story about Morax as a big sister?"
"Not bad, maybe someday they will call me 'God of Stories.'"
"Little humans, may your small and fragile lives be forever recorded in stories." Ying finished reading the entire diary and couldn't help but take a deep breath.
Six thousand years ago, a traveler from Earth came to the Teyvat continent.
And this man named Zhou Yun became the earliest Demon God.
He befriended Zhongli and invented paper, guiding the people of Liyue to begin literary creation.
"It's really incredible." Ying couldn't help but exclaim.
Her thoughts were countless.
She wanted to learn more about this fellow villager. If she could discover some clues from this Demon God from 6,000 years ago, she might be able to solve many mysteries of Teyvat.
Perhaps this fellow villager is still alive and exists in this world.
But Ying's current clues are only the pseudonym "Demon God of Clouds - Murphys" and the two clues of Zhongli.
"Let's go, Paimon! We're going to Liyue!" Ying grabbed Paimon's arm and said uncontrollably.
This startled Paimon.
"What's wrong?! Traveler? Suddenly going to Liyue?" Paimon asked in astonishment.
Ying organized her language a bit and said, "These diaries are related to a Demon God from 6,000 years ago, and I want to investigate."
"Zhongli is knowledgeable about history, maybe there are some clues."
Before Paimon could react, Bennett, who was standing aside, spoke up:
"History? I remember Lisa saying that the Mondstadt Library has the largest collection of books in the northern continent! Even though only one-sixth of it remains now, it's still the case."
"Why don't you go to the Northland Library first to ask Lisa, maybe she has relevant documents?"
Mondstadt, Northland Library.
"Oh? Little cutie, what brings you to see me today?" Lisa lounged in her armchair.
She put down the ancient Liyue book in her hand and looked at Ying with interest.
She had never seen Ying so urgent before.
Normally, Ying didn't speak much and relied on Paimon as her spokesperson.
"Lisa! Do you know anything about Demon Gods?!" Ying asked eagerly, placing her hands on the table with some expectation.
As someone who had traveled through countless worlds, she had discovered traces of her homeland for the first time.
"Oh? Demon Gods..." Lisa put down the ancient book in her hand and arched her delicate fingers to prop up her chin.
"Which Demon God do you want to know about? The Demon God of the North Wind, Andrius? The Demon God of the Whirlpool, Ocelot? The God of Thieves, Hermes? The Demon God of Wishes, Aladdin? The Demon God of Navigation, Gol Roger? The Demon God of Magic, Merlin...?"
Lisa listed a series of names like reciting a menu, leaving Ying and Paimon dizzy.
"Th-there are so many Demon Gods..." Paimon said in disbelief.
"of course, most of these Demon Gods have disappeared from history," Lisa chuckled.
She pointed her finger and said, "The ones active and well-known in Mondstadt are only four: the Wind God Barbados, the Demon God of the North Wind Andrius, the Demon God of the Tornado Dvalin, and the Demon God of Magic Merlin."
Ying lowered her head and thought for a moment before saying, "I want to know about the Demon God of the Clouds who was active in Liyue, Mephistopheles."
"Is that right, the Demon God of the Clouds Mephistopheles?" Lisa laughed.
Ying nodded quickly.
"Legend has it that the gods used the white clouds in the sky to weave the first paper and used the dark clouds as ink to write the first stories. Therefore, the Demon God of the Clouds is also the God of Stories," Lisa explained with a smile as she looked at Ying.
The eyes of Ying suddenly brightened, and he hurriedly said, "Yes! Lisa, it's this demon god. Are there any other legends about this god?"
"Many," Lisa said one by one. "The name of the god is widely spread among the children of Liryue, and many Liryue fairy tales are said to be His works. For example, 'The Little Match Girl,' 'The Emperor's New Clothes,' 'The Ugly Duckling'..."
Ying's expression stiffened slightly. Why did these fairy tales sound so familiar?
Suddenly, a wicked man's face appeared in Ying's mind.
"Is there more?" Ying asked.
Lisa shook her head helplessly. "This demon god has an important position in history, but some ancient books record that this demon god has a lazy and carefree personality and rarely intervenes in demon god wars."
"There is a popular saying in Liryue that is said to come from this demon god..." Lisa continued.
Paimon's eyes flashed with curiosity, and she asked, "What saying?"
"When Liryue is on fire, I take pictures; when the demon god is in chaos, I go to sleep~~" Lisa laughed.
Paimon and Ying were almost choked.
Indeed, this demon god's personality was truly carefree.
Ying couldn't help but wonder if the current Rock King was becoming a "social recluse" because of the influence of this demon god.
Lisa showed a curious expression and asked, "Cuties, where did you learn about this demon god?"
Ying took out those diaries from his arms and placed them on the table. "It's because of these diaries," Ying said.
Lisa saw the white papers and couldn't help but raise her eyebrows. "So these are diaries?!"
Upon hearing this, Ying straightened his body. "Have you seen something similar, Lisa?!" Ying asked.
Lisa nodded gently. "Wait here for a moment," she said.
Saying that, Lisa walked deep into the library and pushed open two sturdy poplar doors...
Isn't that the "forbidden book area" behind there? Ying couldn't help but think.
After a while, Lisa walked out with a stack of papers.
Ying looked at those papers, which were not decayed, yellowed, moth-eaten, or dirty.
"Just like Ying's diary in hand, these papers seemed to be undisturbed and unaffected by time.
Lisa placed the papers in front of Ying.
"These?!" Ying couldn't help but ask in disbelief.
The papers were written in the familiar ancient block characters.
"Legend has it that these are notes left by Merlin, the Trickster Demon God, which record the secrets of magic," Lisa whispered.
"Anyone who can read the words on it can learn the most significant secret of the mortal world."
Upon hearing this, Paimon became excited.
"Secret?! Is it a treasure?!" Paimon thought of treasure upon hearing the word "secret."
"If it's the demon god's treasure, can't we sell it for a lot of money? We can buy a lot of honey-glazed carrot and pork dishes?!" Paimon danced around.
"Hehehe, Paimon might as well go look for the treasure of the Nautical Demon God, Gorougeur," Lisa chuckled. "Legend has it that the demon god left his treasure at the end of the world."
"Really? Really?" Paimon asked curiously.
"The people of Inazuma all believe this, but no one knows if it's true or not," Lisa replied.
While Lisa and Paimon were playing around, Ying had already looked at the diary.
The first line of the diary read:
"The taste of a witch is really good."