frightfiction Chapter 540 The Truth About the Year of Lockdown
Chapter 540 The Truth About the Year of Lockdown
Looking at his greedy expression, Xu Ning shook his head and said, "There really isn't a wrong Winter People. Now you've finally shown your true colors."
Clement glared at Xu Ning with a ferocious expression. "Kid, I know you're skilled, but I only held back on the ship to avoid revealing my abilities. Don't think I'm afraid of you."
Zhongli stood with his hands behind his back, looking at Clement and asked calmly, "Regarding the order of taking the items, we made a contract before entering the ruins. Your current actions are breaking that contract."
"So what if I sabotage it? I already know how to open the mechanisms in these ruins. You're useless now. And don't forget, I'm the one who hired you. Why should I follow your rules?"
Zhongli's expression remained unchanged. "Since the contract has been made, it must naturally be kept. The Rock King Emperor once said that once a contract is made, those who break their word will be punished by being devoured by rocks. Once you experience it, you'll know that it's not an easy feeling..."
Clement chuckled, pulled a mask from his robes, put it on, pulled up the hood, and then drew two agent sacrificial knives. "The Punishment of the Rock Eater? That's your Liyue god; it can't control the people of Winterbreak. I..."
Before he could finish speaking, a clap of thunder suddenly rang out.
A sudden clap of thunder echoed through the underground space, the sound truly deafening. Wan Yan was so startled that she immediately covered her ears with her hands.
What surprised her even more was that the thunderous sound had actually come from Xu Ning's hand.
Along with the thunderous sound, a bolt of purple lightning struck Clement, blasting him away.
Wan Yan felt as if she were seeing Xu Ning for the first time. When she saw Xu Ning's wine gourd, a very famous name suddenly popped into her mind.
"It was him! How stupid of me. Who else could it be but him? I should have realized it when he said that the wine glass belonged to his family. But why is such a distinguished person so respectful to this Mr. Zhongli?"
Xu Ning had no idea what was going on in Wan Yan's head.
The Fools on the other side have all drawn their swords. If he doesn't make a move soon, even though the Emperor is disguised as an ordinary person, he hasn't forgotten to keep a divine eye for himself to make it easier to use his divine power.
But with me here, would it be appropriate to ask the Emperor to take action?
So the instant Clement drew his knife, Xu Ning casually threw out a palm strike.
This is a lightning strike capable of paralyzing even the most skilled soldier piloting a machine gun.
Although Xu Ning had withdrawn most of his power, it was still more than a Winter's Day agent like Clement could withstand, and he was directly sent flying by the blow.
After rolling twice on the ground, he struggled to get up, but Xu Ning rushed up, kicked away two sacrificial knives, and grabbed Clement by the neck to lift him up.
"Kid, I gave you a chance but you didn't do it! Since you broke the contract, let's do it the way Liyue does. Open your mouth, you don't want me to feed you on other holes, do you..."
Hearing Xu Ning's suggestive words, Wan Yan blushed slightly and said to him, "I think Morax means he will be punished, maybe he doesn't really have to eat it... Besides, the piece you took seems too big, he choked and his eyes rolled back..."
Xu Ning glanced at the amber in his hand; it was indeed a bit too big. He casually tossed it aside, and the rock elemental standing next to him immediately handed over a piece of amber of a suitable size. Xu Ning then stuffed it directly into Clement's mouth.
"Alright, those who break the contract are not qualified to move forward. I will also take back your gains. You can leave now."
Clement struggled to his feet and spat out the stone from his mouth.
“You just wait and see. The Fools’ style is to repay kindness. What is done today will be repaid in the future…”
Xu Ning picked up the salt cup that Clement had dropped on the ground.
"That's good. I didn't really put in any effort, but I still got a divine artifact. Haha."
Zhongli didn't look at Xu Ning and the departing Clement, but said to Wanyan, "Clement lost because of his own greed, but there are many temptations besides greed. Since this has already happened, why not take this opportunity to make things clear at once?"
Wan Yan was startled, but quickly calmed down.
"I don't know what you're talking about!"
"What I mean is, none of you three are here for archaeological research."
"That Clement goes without saying. You're so familiar with the Salt Demon, yet you know nothing about archaeology. Doesn't that say something? As far as I know, the legend of the Salt Demon seems to originate in the Silver Plains Hall..."
Wan Yan gritted her teeth, stepped forward, and said, "That's right, I am a descendant of one of the Seven Stars and Eight Gates of Liyue, the Silver Plains Hall. And many people in the Silver Plains Hall are descendants of the people who were once protected by the Salt God."
“During the war, Morax killed our god. He was jealous of the power of the Salt God and made us wander. But Liyue is his Liyue, and he can whitewash history. That’s why I thought of coming here with you to explore and find evidence to prove Morax’s guilt.”
"Mr. Zhongli, we signed a contract, right? We're supposed to face the truth here. Can you give me a fair judgment?"
Zhongli nodded. "Of course, but there's one thing you're wrong about. Liyue is no longer the Liyue of Morax, but the Liyue of humans, the era of humans."
It turns out she is a descendant of the people of the Salt Demon God.
However, what Xu Ning couldn't understand was how they could have inherited this hatred towards the Geo God when they were able to survive under the protection of the Geo God of Liyue. This was clearly the behavior of an ingrate.
But since the Emperor didn't say anything, he didn't dare to say anything either, and could only walk dejectedly to the next room.
Like the previous two rooms, there were also objects on the altar in this room. Xu Ning immediately recognized that it was a broken one-handed sword.
The two broken sword sections were placed one on top of the other on the shelf.
Wan Yan became excited as soon as she saw the broken sword.
“This is a sword, and it’s broken. This at least proves that our demon god resisted, but couldn’t withstand Morax’s vicious hand. If we can repair this sword, we can demonstrate the power of the Salt Demon God to others.”
Xu Ning could no longer stand this guy's preconceived notions.
"Hey, little girl, don't think you can talk nonsense just because you're a woman. You have a loyal follower of Lord Yan by your side. If you don't have any evidence, at least consider my feelings, or I might trip you up somewhere."
Zhongli raised his hand to stop Xu Ning from speaking, "Don't be angry, the truth is not far from us, let's talk about these two cultural relics first."
"According to the contract, Wanyan can take one of them with her."
Xu Ning couldn't help but laugh out loud; the Emperor had just presented him with a "trap."
Xu Ning patted the salt cup in his arms and said with a smile, "I won't behave like those fools. I'll give you the right to choose first. Do you want the hilt or the tip?"
"No, this won't do. It's only half. There's no way to fix it or restore the power of the Salt Demon God."
Wan Yan looked at Xu Ning and pleaded, "I'll give you the salt ruler, can you give me this sword in return?"
Xu Ning slowly shook his head. "The contract has been formed, and I cannot break it. You should know that, after all, I am a loyal follower of the Rock God."
Wan Yan suddenly dropped the salt ruler in her hand, ran over and snatched the broken sword from her hand.
Xu Ning saw that countless salt grains were beginning to overflow from the salt ruler stuck in the ground, so he quickly reached out and pulled it out.
“Ms. Wanyan, your behavior is a breach of contract.”
Zhongli looked at Wanyan's expression and said calmly.
"Yes, even if it means breaking the contract, I am willing to accept the punishment, as long as I can bring back proof of my faith."
Hearing Wan Yan's words, Xu Ning sighed and rubbed his temples with some difficulty. This girl was quite stubborn, and he couldn't really hit her. This was going to be a difficult situation.
Zhongli looked at the broken sword in Wanyan's hand and said, "Since you have made your choice, as punishment for breaking the contract, I will tell you the truth here."
Eldest sister, are you sure this isn't a reward for her?
She's now completely focused on finding out what happened here.
Zhongli ignored Xu Ning's winking and said to himself, "First of all, the Salt Demon God is not the kind of powerful demon god you are talking about."
"On the contrary, she was too weak, too accommodating, and too tolerant. But in order to seize the continent of Teyvat, the demons of the mortal world exhausted all their strength and wisdom, but Heureia repeatedly retreated to protect her people, until there was nowhere left to retreat, and finally this last place to stay was left."
"Even at the very end, she didn't have a single weapon to fight with."
Wanyan looked down at the broken sword in her arms, "But this sword is enshrined here..."
"This was not her weapon, but the murder weapon that killed her."
"No, what you're saying is all lies. You're trying to deceive my faith in God. I won't listen to you anymore. You're also a follower of Morax. Don't try to fool me."
Wanyan suddenly grabbed the broken sword and ran towards the main hall inside.
"So this is what punishment is?"
Xu Ning seemed to understand what Zhongli had just said. "Your Majesty, is it really as you described?"
A look of pity appeared on Zhongli's face. "Yes, let's go behind that door and take a look. The traces from that time are still preserved, truthfully recording everything that happened back then."
The final stretch of road leading to the main hall was almost entirely filled with fleeing white statues. People scattered in panic, and there were even scenes of people kneeling in repentance or weeping and begging for mercy.
"What happened to them? What did they do? Why is it like this?"
Wan Yan stood in front of the door, which was blocked by three rock elemental tablets, and muttered to herself.
Having arrived here, even she knew that something beyond her expectations must have happened inside, and perhaps Zhongli was right.
Xu Ning stepped forward, summoned his rock elemental body to activate the square tablet, and the stone door slowly opened.
The scene from a thousand years ago reappeared before his eyes.