As little Li Mo made his way through the forest, over hills, carefully past hilichurl territory, searching for Shenhe—
On the mountain behind Shenhe's home, her father had already fallen into complete madness, fully succumbing to the demonic path.
Using the methods recorded in the ancient book, he had fully released the monster sealed within its pages.
He had trapped his beloved daughter, Shenhe, deep inside a cave, sealing the entrance.
He had sacrificed her to the monster.
After it was done, Shenhe's father slammed his head against the massive boulder before him until his skull split and blood flowed, staining his hair crimson.
Then he slowly stood up, staring blankly at the boulder at the cave entrance. His expression turned ice-cold. His eyes had become completely bloodshot.
He murmured to himself, "I've succeeded—"
"I've finally resurrected you—"
With that, he turned and trudged up the hillside, step by step. With each step, his blood dripped onto the ground, staining the forest path red.
Finally, swaying like a corpse, he crossed the hill and returned to his home. He sat at the doorstep, staring vacantly toward the back mountain, waiting for his wife to return.
Lost in a daze, stripped of all awareness, Shenhe's father did not know that his daughter was already inside the cave, fighting the monster that had emerged.
...
Now, at Wangshu Inn in Liyue Harbor, Li Mo, in an exceedingly calm, hoarse voice, retold the story of the Divine Damsel of Devastation.
But the version he told was different from the one that had been passed down.
In this story, there was a monster, a little girl, and the girl wielding an exorcism dagger to fight the monster.
But Shenhe, the little girl, was nowhere near as powerful as the legends claimed.
She was not a hero. She was not a warrior.
She was just a stubborn, resilient, hardworking little girl.
She had been pushed toward a terrifying monster by her own father, on the verge of being devoured.
Fortunately, the story was far from over.
And in the present timeline, Shenhe was still alive and well, which meant she had defeated the monster.
Thinking of this, the audience breathed a collective sigh of relief.
But many also began to murmur:
"Storyteller, don't hurt Shenhe—"
"Beast. That father is an absolute beast. He sacrificed his own daughter. He sealed her in that cave himself."
"Damn it. How could someone like that exist in Liyue Harbor?"
"A man like that doesn't deserve to be called a father."
"Storyteller, stop wasting time and get on with it. What happened to Shenhe in that cave?"
"What else? She must be fighting the monster by now—"
"The monster had just been released from the ancient book. It hadn't regained its full power. But Shenhe is just a child. How can she fight a monster?"
...
Below, the audience knew that in the end, Shenhe must have defeated the monster.
But they were deeply curious: how had a little girl managed to defeat it?
So many listeners could not help turning to look at Shenhe in the corner.
But to their disappointment, Shenhe's expression was calm and indifferent, as if none of this had anything to do with her.
Yet judging by the clothes Shenhe's mother had made for her in the story, they were the very same clothes Shenhe was wearing now.
Which meant that the Shenhe in the story was indeed the Shenhe of the present—the disciple of the adepti.
The audience could not remain composed after hearing this story. How could Shenhe remain so calm?
But she was a disciple of the adepti, untouched by the mortal world.
Shenhe, sitting in the corner, was certainly aware of the audience's stares.
But she did not care.
She was thinking about something else: had the events in the story truly happened to her?
Why had she forgotten all her childhood memories?
According to her master, Cloud Retainer, Shenhe had lost her childhood memories due to an accidental injury.
But now it seemed her master, who was so fond of conversation, had deliberately deceived her.
Beside her, Hu Tao, watching the irresponsible father in the projections, could not help but complain.
"So there really are fathers this irresponsible in the world. Hurting his own daughter like that."
"What a disgrace. Even a Hilichurl is better than that."
Even the usually playful Hu Tao sighed.
Keqing said, "Let's keep listening. In the end, Shenhe must have defeated the monster."
"Of course, it's also possible that Shenhe's adeptus master intervened and saved her."
Keqing analyzed seriously.
Logically, it was nearly impossible for a young girl, unarmed, to defeat a terrifying monster.
That was why Keqing guessed that Shenhe's master, Cloud Retainer, had stepped in to slay the monster.
But even so, there were still many contradictions in the story.
For example, what had happened to little Li Mo, who often did commissions with Shenhe?
Just as the crowd was speculating, Hu Tao suddenly said, "Look, the storyteller is drinking tea again."
"Time for more story. Maybe we'll learn some unique poetry."
Keqing: "…"
Qiqi: "Don't like Hilichurl rhymes."
...
Meanwhile, on stage, Li Mo took a sip of tea as before and continued.
As he spoke, the Electro projections above the inn shifted once more.
The image showed not Shenhe's father, but the helpless little Shenhe.
After her father sealed the cave entrance, the small cave had become pitch black, with only a few cracks letting in slivers of light.
Shenhe could only cry out, hoping to wake her father, who had fallen into the demonic path and lost all humanity.
But no matter how she called, her father did not come.
Shenhe had failed.