A month after the monster incident, at the foot of Mount Aocang, herb gatherers from Liyue Harbor often climbed the steep cliffs in search of rare medicinal herbs. Farmers from nearby mountain villages would also come to gather firewood or hunt in the forests.
But one day, the herb gatherers and farmers noticed something new among the jumble of rocks at the mountain's base: a pile of stones arranged like a grave, with a tombstone bearing no name.
"It's probably a fake grave."
"Just by looking at it, you can tell it's amateur work. Definitely not handled by Wangsheng Funeral Parlor."
"Could it have something to do with the adepti on the mountain?"
"It must be related to the adepti. Otherwise, who would dare bury someone at the foot of an adeptus's mountain?"
Everyone who saw this strange grave would speculate, but because it was at the foot of an adeptus's mountain, no one dared show disrespect. No one dared touch it.
At the summit of Mount Aocang, a new figure had appeared: a white-haired young girl. She was Cloud Retainer's newest disciple.
The other adepti were puzzled. Cloud Retainer was one of the oldest adepti and usually very selective about disciples. Why had she accepted an ordinary person?
Whenever another adeptus asked, Cloud Retainer would smile and say, "Look closely. She is no ordinary person. She has an adeptus's heart. She is a true adeptus."
Indeed, though Shenhe's adeptus heart was not her own and was very weak, it gave her the foundation to learn adeptal arts.
The other adepti were curious. They quickly understood: the heart within this girl belonged to someone else.
Though it was not Shenhe's own, it had merged perfectly with her body. With her own hard work, within a few years, Shenhe had mastered several adeptal arts. The fragile little girl had become what mortals called an adeptus.
Until one day, standing at the highest point of the mountain, Shenhe gazed into the distance at Liyue Harbor. A wave of sadness washed over her.
As an adeptus who had severed all ties with the mortal world, she shed tears. What was worse, she did not know why she was crying, or for whom.
So Shenhe went to Cloud Retainer and asked to go down the mountain.
"Master, I would like to visit the world below."
Having lost all her memories, she did not even know what the world below looked like or how bustling Liyue Harbor was.
Cloud Retainer did not refuse. She gave Shenhe the address of another disciple.
"It would be good for you to see the world below. Even an adeptus must understand the joys and sorrows of the mortal realm. Only by seeing through the mortal world can one sever ties with it."
"This is the address of your senior disciple, Ganyu. Go find her in Liyue Harbor. She may be able to help you."
She handed Shenhe Ganyu's address at Yuehai Pavilion.
And so, with her senior disciple's address in hand, Shenhe "for the first time" descended Mount Aocang.
She was filled with curiosity about this world—curious about the village houses at the mountain's foot, curious about the nameless grave, curious about the hilichurls on the hillsides. But now, having learned adeptal arts, she was no longer afraid of Hilichurls. The Hilichurls, sensing her adeptal power, fled in terror as if seeing their natural enemy.
Wherever Shenhe went, people looked at her with admiration. This girl who could use adeptal arts was someone to be revered.
So storytellers and opera singers began creating stories based on Shenhe. Some portrayed her as a natural-born adeptus, invincible since birth. Others portrayed her as a long-famous adeptus who had made great contributions to Liyue Harbor. Some stories were even more absurd, casting Shenhe as a savior of the world.
They brought all these stories to Shenhe and asked her to choose her favorite.
In the end, Shenhe chose the story called the Divine Damsel of Devastation—the tale of a brave little girl who slew a monster with an exorcism dagger and became a hero.
For some reason, the moment she saw this story, she loved it. She even came to believe that she was the protagonist of the Divine Damsel of Devastation.
When she asked about the story's origin, the storytellers told her it was based on a monster incident that had occurred several years ago.
Fortunately, the terrifying monster had been killed in a cave by someone before it could cause a major disaster. So people had created many stories about that incident. Someone had combined those stories with Shenhe, the adeptus's disciple, and the Divine Damsel of Devastation was born.
Shenhe did not dislike the story, so she allowed it to spread. She did not know that soon, the story would spread across all of Liyue, and the little girl in it would become a famous hero.
As for Shenhe—after crossing forests and villages, she finally reached Liyue Harbor. She was curious about everything around her. She walked along the streets until she came to a notice board covered with various commissions.
Just like years ago, there were commissions for washing dishes at Wanmin Restaurant, serving tea at teahouses, and finding Ganyu for the Liyue Qixing.
Seeing these commissions, Shenhe felt a strange sense of familiarity. As if, sometime in the past, she had stood in this very place, standing on tiptoe, trying to pull down a commission paper.
But no matter how hard she tried, she could not remember. She stopped trying.
She looked at the commission she had just taken down. It was simple: find the missing Lady Ganyu—who was also her senior disciple.
Since she had come to Liyue Harbor to find Ganyu anyway, she began searching.
But she found no trace of Ganyu at Yuehai Pavilion, nor at Wanmin Restaurant, nor at Yun-Han Opera Troupe.
Just then, a man carrying a birdcage appeared before her. He looked very leisurely.
"You seem to be having trouble," he said indifferently. "Would you like to tell me about it?"
Perhaps he was too idle. He initiated a conversation with Shenhe.