After the incident at The Chasm came to an end, Ji An returned to Liyue Harbor.
As the key figure in resolving the crisis, he found himself momentarily at the center of attention.
First, the Yuheng, Keqing, set the tone — declaring that Mr. Ji An was a meritorious contributor to Liyue.
Then, the Tianquan, Ningguang, announced that Mr. Ji An would henceforth be an honored guest of the Jade Chamber, and as an additional reward, she would grant him one opportunity to ask her anything. Whatever the question, she would answer it truthfully.
Anyone from Liyue understood the weight of that promise.
It might seem like just one question, but in the hands of a resourceful person, it could be leveraged into something far greater. Inquiring about Ningguang's plans for Liyue Harbor in the coming year, for instance — even a seemingly small piece of information could be invaluable intelligence for merchants. Whoever received the news first could seize the initiative.
After word spread, the threshold of the inn where Ji An was staying was practically worn smooth by a constant stream of visiting merchants, each arriving with heavy gifts of gold or precious goods to pay their respects.
This was still bearable. Merchants who dealt in serious business were generally tactful. Even after being turned away by Ji An, they left without ill feeling, expressing only polite hope for future cooperation.
But the visitors who came later grew increasingly absurd. Everyone wanted a piece of the pie.
Miss Ying'er, for instance — claiming to be a shop assistant from Chunxiang Kiln — spoke like a seasoned veteran, with nine out of ten sentences carrying some innuendo. Even Ji An, who had survived the full breadth of internet culture in his previous life, found himself repeatedly thinking: good heavens, what a fast car.
Finally, when Li the Butcher from East Street arrived at his door bearing a pig's head as a gift, Ji An had had enough.
Door closed. No more visitors.
---
With some peace and quiet restored, he finally had time to go find Seymour and ask about the matter that had been weighing on him.
"Sal Vindagnyr?"
"That's right, Mr. Seymour. Does that name mean anything to you?"
Ji An watched Seymour's face carefully.
If even Seymour didn't know, things would become genuinely difficult.
However — as Murphy's Law would have it, the more you hope something won't happen, the more reliably it does.
"...I'm sorry, Brother Ji. I don't believe I've ever come across that name."
Seymour frowned in thought for a long moment, then ultimately shook his head.
The disappointment in Ji An's eyes was hard to conceal, but he nodded. "It's alright. It's such ancient history — it's perfectly understandable."
Seymour said thoughtfully, "How do you plan to search for it, then, Brother Ji?"
"As I mentioned before, that ancient kingdom was buried by ice and snow. So I'll look for it somewhere in the frozen north."
Seymour: "Snezhnaya?"
Ji An nodded.
"Hmm — actually, I'm not sure it would be there."
Seymour was quiet for a moment, then said, "Brother Ji, I do have some thoughts, but to be certain, I'd need to consult a friend of mine who works out of the Akademiya. If you're not in a hurry, give me a few days. I'll write to him."
"Not in a hurry at all."
Ji An's face brightened. He asked, "Is your friend also a historian, Mr. Seymour?"
Seymour nodded. "His name is Saeed. Unlike me, he's currently based in the free city-state of Mondstadt. Some of what you described reminded me of a particular area near there, but I'd need him to confirm it."
With some progress finally being made on a matter that had been weighing on him for some time, Ji An felt a knot in his chest loosen.
"Then thank you very much, Mr. Seymour."
---
A few days later, Seymour received the reply from Mondstadt.
Ji An came over as soon as he heard.
"Brother Ji, I've found it!"
Seymour was beaming before Ji An had even fully stepped through the door.
He was holding a stack of handwritten notes — presumably sent by his colleague Saeed — all laid out across the table, with the look of someone who had already spent considerable time poring over them.
"Come, sit down. Let me tell you everything."
Ji An's heart picked up. He hadn't expected things to go this smoothly. He walked over and sat down beside Seymour.
"Haha — honestly, at first I just couldn't stand seeing you look so downcast, Brother Ji. I had a few half-formed thoughts, so I figured I'd try. I never expected we'd actually turn up something this remarkable!"
Seymour's face shone with the particular excitement of a historian who has stumbled onto something precious — the same joy, Ji An imagined, a gourmand might feel upon discovering an extraordinary dish.
"To understand the story of the ancient kingdom called Sal Vindagnyr, we need to start with the ancient history of Mondstadt."
Seymour arranged the notes in order on the table and asked, "How much do you know about that free city-state, Brother Ji?"
Ji An shook his head. "Only the basics — that it's one of the seven nations, situated in the northeast of the continent, built between mountains and open plains. Beyond that, not much."
Although he had been diligently catching up on Teyvat history lately with Teacher Hu Tao and Professor Zhongli, time was limited. He couldn't expect to cover everything at once.
Speaking of which, he couldn't help but smile at the memory of those lessons.
During the day, things were relatively normal. At Heyu Tea House, he would watch Miss Yun perform opera with Zhongli while absorbing knowledge at a comfortable pace.
The evenings, however, were a different matter. Hu Tao had a habit of dragging him into all-night study sessions.
Ahem. Just normal studying, naturally.
But ever since they had returned from The Chasm, Hu Tao seemed to have developed a quiet sense of urgency.
She had no concrete evidence, but her instincts told her that her Xiao An was being circled by ill-intentioned women.
And while she and Ji An had grown quite close, she'd recently had the uncomfortable feeling that their progress had stalled.
'Granny Ping is right,' she had thought. 'Matters of the heart between a man and a woman are like rowing upstream — stop moving forward and you start drifting back.'
Was Director Hu the type to sit idly by?
Absolutely not.
It was time to accelerate.
So: by the window, she combed her hair with new care; before the mirror, she applied a touch of powder.
Director Hu Tao was naturally beautiful — one of the top-tier beauties in Liyue Harbor, by any measure. But she had always been too spirited, too careless about such things, and in day-to-day life she rarely stood out the way she might have. Now, neighbors around Liyue Harbor occasionally caught glimpses of Hu Tao in pretty dresses, even wearing lipstick. More than a few hearts stuttered at the sight.
Of course, no one dared approach her. Everyone in Liyue Harbor understood who was responsible for Hu Tao's transformation. She was endlessly warm with Mr. Ji An — but if some oblivious fool decided to get in the way, did they really think the Director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor couldn't send them off with a very fine tombstone?
---
Back to the present.
Seymour picked up a note and began. "Around three thousand years ago, Mondstadt was still a wild, frozen wasteland."
"According to records held in the library of the Knights of Favonius — the organization that currently governs Mondstadt — at that time, two extraordinarily powerful gods were contending for the heaven-appointed throne over that northern tundra."
"Two gods?" Ji An leaned forward. Ever since the Azhdaha incident, anything to do with gods had captured his attention.
Seymour nodded and placed two sheets of paper on the table, each bearing a rough sketch.
He pointed to the giant wolf totem on the left. "Andrius, the Wolf of the North Wind."
Then to the throne atop a tower on the right. "Decarabian, the God of Storms — the Towering King."
Seymour smiled. "And the nation you've been searching for, Brother Ji — Sal Vindagnyr — is connected to this Towering King."
Ji An listened even more intently.
"This Towering King is said to have been a deeply cruel ruler."
Seymour continued. "As I mentioned, Mondstadt had not yet been opened up at that time. It was frozen tundra as far as the eye could see. For humans to survive, they had no choice but to seek Decarabian's protection."
"And that Towering King, having provided humanity shelter from the wind and snow, believed that humans should submit to him without reservation. He built a tower as the symbol of his power, and upon the throne at its peak he received the prostrations of all who lived under his rule."
"People lived within Decarabian's city. They were kept from the wind and the cold — but their bodies and minds were caged. They resented it and dared not say so. Almost no one had any love for this tyrant."
"As for the Towering King, he required only obedience. Only those who submitted to his authority received his protection."
Ji An could already see where this was going. He sighed quietly. "Life is precious, but freedom more so. That kind of longing can't be suppressed forever. Some people would inevitably choose to leave."
"Exactly. You see it clearly, Brother Ji."
Seymour nodded. "And indeed — within Decarabian's city, two factions eventually rose up and chose to flee the cage. One of those factions became the origin of the ancient kingdom of Sal Vindagnyr."
He paused and held out a sheet of paper. "Take a look at this, Brother Ji."
Ji An took it and read the words written there:
*"...Far from ice and strife, arrived at this lush and verdant paradise, thus erected this stele, and established the capital here, named Sal Vind..."*
"Where does this come from? It seems like a lot is missing."
"This was recorded by my friend Saeed," Seymour said. "He accompanied a Mondstadt expedition team to Dragonspine. They found this inscription on a fragmentary stele near the mountain's peak."
"Dragonspine?" The name was new to him. "What's that?"
"A mountain in the Mondstadt region," Seymour said. "Three thousand years ago, Dragonspine was green and verdant all year round — a rare and beautiful haven at the time. One of the two factions that fled Decarabian's city was led by a chieftain named Farushi. They made their way to that mountain, and there they founded the nation called Sal Vindagnyr."
"Dragonspine..."
Ji An's eyes slowly lit up.
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